Viper stared up at me as he sucked and licked, and I held that intense, peridot gaze. His tongue flicked rapidly over the crest of my sex, sending a riot of tingles up my chest. He reached up to massage my breasts and pinch my hardening nipples, his wide palm sliding from one to the other as if it couldn't decide. My breath quickened and my hips moved automatically, seeking that rising pleasure—needing more. A thick finger slid inside me as Viper moved his mouth side-to-side, using those full lips to his best advantage. Warm, wet tongue dragging slowly over me, his groans becoming another source of rapture. Viper's finger pumped faster, his stare brightened, and my body began to tense—on the verge of release.
When my moans began to shift into screams, Viper struck. Slim fangs sank into my tender flesh as his tongue continued to flick and his fingers thrust. The heat of his venom spread across my belly and upper thighs, burning and stinging but in an oddly pleasant way. Combined with the explosion of my climax, it became nirvana. If I hadn't already been a goddess, I would have thought I'd been transported to heaven. I would have thought I'd just found enlightenment.
As it was, I roared loud enough to shake the floor.
“Come for me again!” Viper demanded as he rose from the water like a sea god—rivulets running off his glorious body—and stood on the bench.
As I continued to tremble through ecstasy, he grabbed my thighs to lift my lower body to meet his. I fell back and he dragged me forward. Upper back pressed to the tiles and hips hanging in midair, I felt a thrill of excitement at my vulnerability. Viper slid home and started a pounding so savage that I couldn't hold myself still for it. My body slid and jerked under his primal attack. My limbs shook and breath soughed across my lips. I pressed my hands to the tiles and tried to find traction. Viper finally climbed out of the tub and slid me backward as he lowered me to the floor. I set my feet to the ground and immediately started shoving up to meet his thrusts.
The Star God bent forward—his forearms holding him above me—and started bucking like a wild thing. His face was drawn into a rapturous rictus and his muscles clenched into stone. My hands went to his ass, urging him even deeper, and then my mouth sought his throat. I ran my fangs along his skin and he shivered.
“Vervain,” Viper groaned. “My star.”
“Almost there, baby,” I panted against his flesh.
“Vervain,” his voice strained.
“Now!” I screamed.
Then, as Viper gave one last shove and started to empty into me, I bit him. His moans turned into a roar, and I smiled against his throat as I drank his blood.
My dragon adores blood, especially from her lovers. It's not just the taste, although it was a savory delight. It was also what the blood gave us—a glimpse into the memories it held. Usually, they were the most recent memories but sometimes, they were of important events that had left their mark. In this case, it was both.
As the taste of Viper's blood rolled over my tongue—as he filled my body and his climactic shouts echoed in my ears—I fell into his memories. I felt the burning sting of shame as he stood before me, trying to find his place in my world and life as I cursed at him. I felt his anger for me and himself. I saw myself in his eyes and felt the love that consumed him even while he experienced those other emotions. I felt his pain as he traced away and his despair as thoughts of inadequacy and regret rose in his chest. I crawled through the earth with him, fled through those tunnels, and sought relief from those feelings. Viper had needed something to dominate—something to leave his mark upon and show that he was still powerful. He needed to prove to himself and me that he was worthy of respect and love.
But even as my heart cringed under that onslaught, the memories changed. I saw myself again, this time standing naked in so many ways. Standing before him, baring myself completely. Vowing my love in a way that I had never done before. And I felt Viper's deep gratitude to receive that love—his awe and relief that I was his as completely as he was mine. And over that—through it and him, in every cell of his body—was his love for me that had never once faltered. Not through my fury or his retreat. Not even when he was taken unaware and tossed into a freezer. As his body cooled and his brain slowed, his last thoughts weren't only of regret, they were of love.
The memories withdrew and my eyes cleared to find Viper above me, staring down at me adoringly.
“I love you just as much,” I vowed. “Even when I'm angry or scared, that love is still there. It will always be there.”
Viper blinked in surprise then smiled in epiphany. “The blood.”
“The blood,” I confirmed.
“But I've got so much more to show you, my star.”
And he did. Sweet snake gods, he did.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Viper needed a nap after all of his amorous efforts, but I was wide awake. I slipped into some comfy jeans and a T-shirt, then padded downstairs barefoot—a brave and possibly stupid choice in a home with children. But I didn't have far to go. The sound of little voices and laughter led me outside. I walked across our veranda—which looks like a drawbridge—and down the steps, between the enormous dragon statues: one red and one gold. They were a way for me to pay homage to my fey essence and family, there in the God Realm. A way to have Arach and our boys with me.
“Mommy!” Lesya spotted me first.
Her cry alerted her brother, and Vero turned to shout over his shoulder, “Mama!” He'd been on his way to his father but switched direction to head toward me.
“Babies!” I cried back.
Lesya had remained where she was since she had a prime spot atop the miniature castle I'd built for the children. She stood in a tower like a fairy tale princess and waved at me. I waved back before leaning down to scoop up her brother.
“What are you guys doing?” I asked them.
“We're defending the castle from a pack of savage Froekn,” Zariel declared.
The savage Froekn—AKA werewolves—included Zariel's mother, Trevor, and Vero. Vero bared his fangs at me and growled, giving credence to Zariel's declaration.
“Oh, no!” I cried and set him down. “The werewolves are attacking the castle!”
