Serenna rolled her hips, drawing herself along the hard line of him in a slow, ruinous grind, drinking in the curse he bit off. Rocking with deliberate torment, she shifted forward then back, each stroke building to unravel.
As the burn set into her thighs, she leaned her head back against Fenn’s shoulder. “Still think you’re in charge, Captain?” she whispered, the taunt nearly lost beneath the surf crashing below.
Fenn choked on a groan, his hips jolting against hers. “Stars, I hope not.”
His fingers cinched at her waist. Every muscle drew tight as if it took all his restraint not to flip her onto the earth and claim her hard and fast.
Serenna reached between them, fingers curling around his length as she lifted herself. Fenn went still, breath hitching as she guided him to her entrance, heat slick against her palm. He traced up her thighs and back again before gripping the flare of her hips.
Inch by aching inch, Serenna slowly sank onto him, pleasure surging through her. Her spine arched as he filled her, stretched her, until she had to brace against his legs just to stay upright, the fullness of him stealing every other thought.
A guttural groan broke from Fenn’s throat, his claws nearly branding bruises on her hips. His mouth pressed into the nape of her neck, voice shredded to ruin. “Stars slay me.”
“Quiet,” Serenna hissed, battling to stifle her own moan as she seated herself fully.
Fenn buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, arms locked around her. A tremor shuddered through her, another sound released barely smothered.
“Move with me,” Serenna breathed, shattering the silence she’d demanded moments before.
Fenn met the rise and fall of her hips, each stroke plunging him deeper. Serenna’s body clutched him, drawing and yielding in turn, until their rhythm surged and shattered like waves breaking against the shore.
“Still”—his hips slammed up—“watching…the horizon?” The words fractured between thrusts and grunts, his fangs catching her skin, dragging fire through every nerve.
Serenna meant to laugh, but a helpless gasp escaped as Fenn adjusted beneath her. His hips angled deeper, striking that place inside her that split thought into molten starlight. A sound tore from her throat too loud, cleaving the quiet. She froze, gaze darting downslope to where Cinderax’s talons flexed before stilling.
But Fenn didn’t slow. He quickened his pace, the muted strike of their bodies drumming through the night. Each thrust splintered her breath into shards, every gasp a risk the surf might not swallow in time.
“Serenna,” he panted. “If you keep moving like that—”
Fenn’s voice broke as she clenched around him, hauling a curse from his throat. His palm slid around her waist, knuckles trailing down to where they were joined. He leaned forward, bare chest searing against her spine, cheek pressed beside hers.With talons tucked carefully away, he circled her slick core—once, twice—each touch a shock that sent her body arching.
“Come for me,” Fenn growled.
The command cracked through her, every slow drag of his knuckles winding her higher. Each stroke drew the coil inside her tighter, straining toward the point where pleasure blurred into something destructive.
Serenna felt him responding, thrusts deepening with desperate insistence. The stutter of his breath betrayed his own unraveling, his grip on her hip shaking as if he held himself together by threads plucking loose.
Thighs burning, Serenna hovered on the knife’s edge, her teeth catching her lip to trap the sounds Fenn wrung from her.
And then the tension broke, shattering through her like a storm.
Her body locked around Fenn as pleasure crashed over her—a violent, consuming wave that scattered her vision into stars. Her cry tore loose, far too loud.
Fenn moved fast, one palm muffling her cries, chuckling dark against her ear. His arm banded around her ribs, anchoring her against his chest as pleasure stole her balance.
He didn’t let her fall from the peak, driving her through each tremor until Serenna thought she might break all over again. His praise spilled hot against her skin, ragged words that sent shivers down her spine.
Hips plunging deep, Fenn followed her over the edge, his snarl collapsing into a groan. White-hot pleasure flared through the bond as Serenna felt his release seize and spill. Heat flooded into her in rhythmic pulses, his breath shuddering against her neck as her body tightened reflexively around him—holding him there, needing one suspended moment more before the night reclaimed its hush.
Fenn’s forehead dropped into the hollow between her shoulders, contentment rippling through the bond in steady beats. His fingers lingered low across Serenna’s stomach, his chest rising against her back as she coaxed air into her lungs.
Sound returned slowly. The sea murmured below, folding into the hum of blood in her ears. Above, the moons poured light over the cliffs in pale ribbons.
Serenna closed her eyes as the night settled around them—salt drifting on the air, the tide brushing stone, the faint rumble of Cinderax asleep on the slope below. For a rare and fragile moment, the world felt peaceful.
Fenn’s grin curved against her skin. “Best watch I’ve ever kept.”
Serenna huffed a breathless laugh. Legs still trembling, she eased off him slowly, every muscle protesting the movement. Before she could reach for her discarded trousers, Fenn flexed his fingers.
