She huffed, though Fenn’s restraint was fraying just as swiftly as hers. His control cracked—just slightly—as he dipped inside. Barely the crown of him, yet enough to leave her gasping at the stretch.
Fenn’s mouth found the hollow beneath her ear, a place he must’ve memorized by now, the slow kisses disarming her completely.
“I think you had me,” he murmured, voice rough against her skin as he rocked into her the slightest amount, “that moment you brazenly stole my knife and valiantly tried to gut me.”
A disbelieving laugh escaped her. “But we’d hardly been in each other’s presence for a minute.”
Fenn shrugged, the motion causing him to sink into her another inch, the steady slide making her moan. “I was already gone.”
Mind clouded with pleasure, Serenna tried to corral her thoughts, but her words slipped away as he wedged in further. Memories flickered like candlelight—small moments between them, unnoticed at first, but now burning too brightly to ignore.
Her fingers tightened around his as she fought through the haze of desire, wanting him to know. “I think you had me whenyou fought for me,” she whispered, her breaths coming in shaky bursts as he rocked his hips the smallest amount. Plunging and retreating. “When you tried to fight that band of reavers. I saw something in your eyes that broke my heart.”
Fenn stilled, his gaze latching onto hers. His playfulness ebbed, leaving behind something exposed. Releasing her hand, he gently brushed away a stray tear from her cheek.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry, she-elf,” he said, his touch reverent.
Steering her thoughts away from how he’d nearly been taken from her—more than once—Serenna swallowed the tangle of emotions swelling in her throat. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she clung to him, his presence a steady anchor to quell the storm.
A different memory surfaced, tugging a smile from her lips. “But I think a close second would be when you showed me the stitches on your backside.”
Fenn chuckled. “And that was a work of art.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Serenna threw her head back, surrendering as his fangs elongated against her throat. “Please,” she whimpered, every part of her trembling. “I need all of you.”
Fenn snarled, the sound full of hunger and possession. With one powerful thrust, he buried himself completely, just as his fangs punctured deep.
A shriek of pleasure tore from Serenna’s throat as every sensation collided at once. A trickle of venom numbed the wound, but then heat bloomed in its wake. It seared through her veins, turning every nerve to molten want.
Serenna dug her fingers into Fenn’s shoulders as a wave of his emotions crashed over her—desire and care so strong that it stole the breath from her lungs. There was no more place for words, only the language of touch. The glide of skin against skin, the tandem beating of their hearts.
Fenn moved with unyielding intent, every stroke deliberate, every kiss another promise. Knowing what she needed before she even tried to chase it, he angled his hips, the grind of his length striking where pleasure burned hottest.
Breathless and undone, Serenna’s thighs shook around him, the tension coiling unbearably tight. Every roll of his hips, every thrust, sent her spiraling higher—until there was nowhere left to go.
The friction, the urgency, the devastating slide of him sent her tumbling into oblivion. His pace crested her to the brink and she shattered with a cry, white-hot pleasure detonating like a collapsing star.
A desperate, wrecked sound tore from Fenn’s throat as his rhythm disintegrated, his body surging into hers with wild abandon. Pursuing her over the peak, he buried himself deep and shuddered, dissolving in her arms.
Fenn rested his forehead against hers, their chests colliding with every rise and fall. For a moment, they simply existed, heartbeats thundering in time.
Slowly—reluctantly—Fenn withdrew, leaving Serenna gasping at the loss. Without a word, he gathered her against his chest, rolling onto his back and pulling her with him.
Serenna didn’t know how long they lay in the cradle of the oasis as the sun traveled across the sky. She absently traced the scars scattered across his chest as the hush stretched around them, palm fronds rustling lazily and water lapping gently against the shore.
But it felttooquiet.
Serenna strained her ears. The birds—there’d been a flock of them chattering earlier.
Glancing at Fenn, she noticed that his breathing had begun to slow. She propped herself up on an elbow and hesitated before nudging him.
With a groan, he cracked an eye open and dragged a claw across his face, mumbling about earning a nap. Her lips twitched as he stretched dramatically, then sat up and set to the task of rebinding his tangled hair.
Serenna’s fingers skimmed over the fang marks he’d left behind, realizing they’d have to face the others when they returned. Rubbing her eyes, she tunnelled through the bond. The prince was realms away, likely still in the jungle.
Fenn caught her eye and grinned—pleased and entirely unapologetic. Something in that look washed warmth all over her again. And since he didn’t seem inclined to stop looking at her that way, Serenna lunged for him—intent on pulling him back down.
“Ouch!”
