“Rynna. I l—”
Her fingers clawed into his tunic, mouth crushing against his, hauling him down in a desperate collision that swallowed the confession whole.
No more words.Her fangs dropped as his tongue crashed into her mouth.
This is what I want now.Her hand shoved into his pants, tugging the fabric down his hips until her fingers closed around the hot, thick length of him. Catching his lower lip between her teeth, she sucked until another bead of blood burst free, the copper rush pouring over her tongue and drowning out the fear raging within her.
A snarl ripped from his throat as his hands tore at the knots of her trousers, yanking the ties loose until the fabric jerked down. Cool air hit her bare skin, sharp against the molten ache building low in her belly.
Her hips lifted, hovering just long enough for the blunt head of him to nudge and slide against her entrance. The contact made her whole body seize…for just a moment…before his fingers stiffened into her hips and yanked her down.
“Kaelith!” The cry tore loose as he speared into her, splitting her wide, forcing every shuddering inch to stretch aroundhim.
The burn shot deep, delicious and raw, until he bottomed out, her cunt clamping down around him. And still, his palms flattened against her back to bring her closer, deeper, his cock easing out, pulsing and wet, before driving back in.
More.She moaned into him, fingers tangling in his hair, yanking until his head snapped back, throat bared.
“Do it.” His groan sounded through the night, hips bucking up into her. “Take it.”
Her mouth hovered, tongue flicking out against the steady pulse beating beneath his skin. And the throb under her lips grew frantic as his grasp constricted, forcing her body down onto him again and again, punching into her so hard her vision spotted.
She bit, teeth sinking deep—
“Ahh—fuck.” The snarl ripped out of him as his body shook beneath hers.
The taste hit like lightning, flooding through her, erasing panic, erasing fear, until all that remained was the delicious mass of him wedged inside her, filling her, and the endless rush of copper heat coating her tongue.
Kaelith’s snarl broke into a guttural moan as her body convulsed around him, the orgasm tearing through her, blood and sex tangling until she couldn’t separate one from the other. Grounding down, she refused to let go, teeth still buried, cock still clenched, until he finally collapsed onto the gravel beneath them.
Only then did she lift her head, lips smeared red, chest heaving.
Her focus trailed down, drinking him in, until it landed on the mark she’d left, then climbed to meet the purple fire in his eyes as he stared back at her, undone, claimed. And beneath the pounding in her veins came the terrifying, staggering truth—she had taken him, made himhers, and there was no turning back.
Chapter eleven
“No!No.No.”Kaelithsnatched the spoon and the bowl from her hands, scowling. “That’s too much wild pepper root.”
“Hey!” Rynna spun, reaching for the ground spice she’d already measured out. “You wanted me to cook. I’m cooking.”
“And that’s far too much heat.” His voice carried an edge now. He leaned past her, shoulder brushing hers, and lifted the cast-iron skillet straight off the small woodstove set into the rock wall.
“You’re screwing it up!” She shoved back against him. “Getting the perfect sear is hard as fuck.”
Kaelith swung the skillet up near her face. “You can’t possibly have done this on purpose.”
Observing the pan, she found the trout they’d taken from the stream that morning lying crinkled and black at the edges, the skin blistered and crisped. She wrinkled her nose, then leaned closer and sniffed. The char gave way to a smoky, savory scent that made her grin.
“It’s actually—” she declared, grabbing for the pan. “Perfect.”
Before he could stop her, she removed a slim paring knife from her belt and slid it beneath the edges of the fish, lifting until the blackened skin cracked loose from the iron.With a quick flick of her wrist, she flipped both pieces into the air. The fish landed back in the pan, skin-side up this time, sizzling on the fresh side.
“Two more minutes,” she announced. Grabbing another jar from the collection of spices he’d scavenged for her, she scattered the coarse green flakes over the fish.
“And then we can eat!” She whirled to face him, as the piney bite of mountain sage burst upward with the smoke.
Kaelith stood there staring, mouth open, eyes cutting between her and the pan. “You can’t be serious.” He jabbed a finger at the skillet. “There is no possible outcome where I let you so obviously poison me.”
“Get the plates.” Rynna ignored the dismay etched across his face, eyes fixed instead on the pan as she counted down the seconds.
