His laugh is a deep rumble in his chest. “All we needis to bring your lust to the surface. You can do it on your own, if you like.” I frown, disappointed, and his smiles grows as he goes on, “Or, I’ll help you, if you’ll allow it.” His thumb lazily strokes across my bottom lip, spiking my desire once again before he drops his hand.
I miss the contact immediately. “And if it doesn’t work?”
Ozias leans in close, his breath coasting along the shell of my ear. “I’m fairly certain it will.”
I shudder, my body responding by tightening everywhere I imagine him touching.
“And if by chance it doesn’t, we’ll find another way. We always do.”
“We’ll try tonight?” I ask.
“Tonight,” he promises.
That evening as the sun prepares to sink below the horizon, I meet Ozias along the wall, somewhere to the south. It’s quiet and dark, the cold stones leeched of the lingering heat of the day. I’ve thought of our meeting all afternoon—I haven’t been able to help myself—the anticipation keeping my mind preoccupied, brimming with the lust he said would aid my energy output. I imagine it’s exactly what he intended when he propositioned me earlier.
“This is a bit strange,” I admit, twisting my fingers.
Ozias hesitates a beat, then asks, as if the thought only now occurred to him, “Have you been intimate before?”
“Oh,” I breathe out in surprise. “Of course. Many times.”
He nods. “Somehow that doesn’t soothe me as much as I’d hoped it would.”
I smirk, pleased, but not fooled. “Trying to make me feel special?”
“You are.” His answer is quick. Earnest.
My skin flushes. I’ve always enjoyed this aspect ahead of being intimate with someone. The feeling of being wanted. It eases some tension within me, and even if the respiteis only brief, it stills a part of me that always feel like it’s running.
Ozias draws nearer and runs his fingertips up my bare forearm, along my shoulder and collarbone, the side of my neck, sending static through my veins. He locks his eyes with mine.
“When you transform, think of me. Think of all the things you wish I’d do to you, the things you wish to do to me. Hold them in your mind and let them rush through your dragon. She will emit that energy out into the world, desperate to put it somewhere. When you transform, it will no longer feel sexual, but it will be powerful all the same. Hold onto that power for as long as you can to give me time to open the barrier.”
All while he explains, his hands rove my body, skipping every possible place I want them to rest, and my mind struggles to hear him properly. I’m thrumming with need and I see him as a means to an end. A very attractive, alluring means to an end.
“Kaisa,” Ozias says into my ear, his voice so inviting. His thumb presses under my chin, tipping my head back. “Did you hear me?”
I hum, leaning into his touch. “I don’t think I could let go of this feeling right now if I tried.” I love physical contact. Crave it, desperately sometimes. His fingers coil into my hair. Then his other hand is on my wrist, fingers on my pulse. He tugs me closer to him, then guides me until my back is against the rough stone, the contrast of the cool surface and the molten heat of his body delicious.
He cups my jaw with his palm. His thumb sweeps across my bottom lip. “Can I kiss you, Kaisa?” His voice is breathless, his eyes intent.
The question surprises me, given that we’ve already agreed to this, but it warms something in me that I can’t name. I press myself closer to him and manage a shallow nod.
His smile unfurls just before he fits it over mine. The kiss is soft at first, tentative, like an apology he’s not sure he can give. Then his teeth flash against my bottom lip andI open my mouth, tongue meeting his. He groans as I sigh and he uses the moment to dive deeper into me, and my insides feel like the beginning of a rockslide—trembling and inevitable. He tips his forehead against mine until our mouths part.
“And if I wanted to touch you, what would you say?”
My voice is a rasp. “Where did you have in mind?”
He hums, the hand on my jaw trailing down my neck to hover over my breasts. “Here.” The hand that had clasped my waist travels lower, fingers dancing dangerously close to the curve of my backside. “And here. For starters.”
My breath is coming fast and loose. “I would say yes.”
Without another question, his strong hand descends on my breast, a firm press of his palm, fingers tightening and loosening, brushing across my peaked nipple. His other hand cups my bottom, pulling us closer together, bodies flush, and I can feel the full extent of his arousal pressing against me. I slip my hands up his arms, hard and tense with corded muscle, until my fingers curl around his neck, bringing his mouth to mine again. Our tongues dive and dance together, teeth nipping and biting. His hand leaves my breast to dive into my hair, where he tugs, gently, angling my head back more, giving him better access.
“Kaisa,” he breathes against my mouth, my name a plea upon his tongue.
Ozias fully molds his body to mine, trapping me against the wall. I press my hips forward and feel him, hard and full of desire, like a brand against my hip. He trails a hand down my mark, my stomach, all the way to the band of my pants.
