His arms wrap around me while the monster’s body stills, the silence after the battle ringing louder than the fight itself. His chest heaves in time with mine. I don’t want to move, don’t want to lose the feel of him holding me like this, as if I belong nowhere else.
His hand shifts, rough and cool against the small of my back, and I realize he isn’t letting go. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
I squirm in his grip, breath catching when his scars brush my cheek. His black eyes lock on mine, unreadable but burning. The air between us hums like the instant before lightning strikes.
“We’re alive,” I whisper.
His hand cups my jaw, thumb dragging slowly along the edge of my mouth. Pulse racing I lean into him before my mind can catch up. The truth is written in every line of his stance, every silent vow etched into the way he watches me.
“You fought, over and over,” he rumbles, voice low, almost reverent. “With me.”
The words shiver down my spine, sharper than any praise I’ve ever known. I nod, throat too tight to speak. My hand presses to his chest, to the scars carved deep into crimson-edged scales, to the steady thunder of his hearts. He doesn’t pull away.
Then his mouth is on mine.
The kiss isn’t soft.
It’s fierce.
Claiming.
As if he’s been holding back for too long. I gasp into it, lips parting, and his tongue sweeps in, rough and commanding. Heat floods me, molten and overwhelming, my knees threatening to give way.
I cling to him, fingers fisting in the leather strap that holds his lochaber. He gathers me up, lifting me against him as if I weigh nothing. My legs wrap around his waist on instinct, my body fitting against his with a rightness that steals my breath.
He carries me from the monster’s carcass, toward a outcropping, never breaking the kiss. The world narrows to the scrape of his claws against my skin, the steady flex of his muscles beneath me, and the way his mouth devours mine.
When he lowers me onto the sand, the heat between us spikes. He looms over me, wings half-spread, tail curling around my legs like a tether. His gaze rakes over me with such hunger I shiver.
“Mine,” he growls, the word vibrating through me.
“I’m yours,” I whisper back, no hesitation left.
His hand drags down my side, slow and deliberate. My body arches to meet it, desperate for more. My pulse pounds in my ears, in my chest, between my thighs—everywhere at once.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I cling even as I give myself over to him. The coolness of his scales against the burn of my skin exciting responses in a way I’ve never experienced. He kisses across my cheek then down my neck, nibbling as he moves. The rough ridges of his horns drag along my cheek.
One of his hands moves down, over my chest, massaging my breasts through the cloth of my shirt. I groan in response, nipples stiffening before their even exposed. Little jolts of pleasure sparking as his hands move.
He moves his hand down, over my stomach, pressing between my legs. Cupping and pressing up. The pressure is almost enough to make me explode. The tightness is overwhelming. I squirm and groan as he rubs.
His cock strains against his pants, digging into my thigh. I slip one hand off his neck, seeking, needing. He lifts his hips, giving me what I want even as we continue the kissing.
His cock is impressive, even through the fabric of his pants. I rub its length and it jumps at my touch, spasming. Fuck I want him. Wetness soaks my panties as my desire finds new heights to achieve.
He grabs my shirt with one clawed hand but I break the kiss.
“Wait,” I gasp, pushing against his chest.
He stops, instantly. So fast it makes me pause too. I look at him, wondering if I was misreading this, if all I’m feeling is only onesided as he pulls slightly back. But when I look into his eyes there is no mistaking his desires. I blink, then it hits me.
“Sure?” he asks.
A shiver races down my spine. He stopped. The instant I asked him to wait, he pulled back. No man I’ve ever known would have stopped. Not when we’d gone this far. He did. No hesitation. No pushing. Nothing but respect. Concern.
“Yes,” I exhale, tears welling in my eyes, ridiculously, but they’re there. “Better than okay. I just…” my voice cracks, I swallow hard. “My only shirt, don’t want to rip it.”
A slow smiles spreads over his face as he nods.
