“That feels so, so good,” I panted, fingers threading in his hair and holding him there. He obliged me with more suckling until my hips bucked of their own accord, chasing a release he promised to give.
The motion must have garnered his attention, for he released me and swept further down until he knelt between my legs. I expected him to remove his pants.
Instead, he flattened on his stomach, hot breath ghosting against the spot where I ached for him.“I cannot wait to taste you,”he spoke into my mind, his mouth continuing its progress toward the apex of my thighs.“You’re spread open like my own personal feast. Dripping so prettily for me.”
My nails dug into his scalp, entire body teetering on the edge of bliss. I shuffled my hips, silently begging for him to touch me.
When his tongue flicked over my clitoris, I nearly shattered from the impact. “Vaeron.” His name fled my lips, half-plea, half-exclamation.
He smiled against my skin, the stubble brushing against the sensitive flesh and pulling another whimper from my throat. Then, his mouth latched onto me, and I was gone. Lost to the sea of pleasure that he delivered with lips and tongue.
His hands kneaded the tense muscles of my inner thighs, relaxing me further and opening me wider for him. Fingers starleaped to my center, and one slipped inside, barely to the second knuckle.“Fuck, you’re so tight,”Vaeron swore in my mind, never ceasing movement of his mouth.
He worked the digit in and out, barely any motion at all and yet I was so close to shattering from that feeling alone. When it entered me fully and curled against that spongy spot, my head and eyes rolled back. “Do that again,” I demanded, greedy for the sensation.
He obliged me, caressing that sensitive spot while his tongue flicked over my clit.
I rocked my pelvis in time with his movements, chasing the moment I would fling myself over the edge of bliss.“Come for me, Sylaira,”Vaeron crooned, the authority in his tone making my walls clench over his finger.
And that was all it took to send me careening. “Vaeron!” I cried as pleasure crashed through me like a wave breaking over my body. He didn’t stop, guiding me through every following crest, dragging me into the ocean of ecstasy.
He finally allowed me to swim to shore as satisfaction yielded to sensitivity. Releasing my grip on his head, I flopped back, torso covered in a sheen of sweat. He reared up, his mouth glistening from my release. He swiped it with the back of his hand, then licked it clean.
“Holy water has nothing on the taste of you,” he growled, arms falling on either side of my head and caging me beneath him. The sinfulness of his words made my pulsing core clench again. “I’m afraid I’ve notnearly drunk my fill.”
The chain linking us agreed, twisting tighter like it would personally join our bodies.
I reached for his hardness and squeezed again. His eyes dipped closed, and a hiss slipped through his teeth. I palmed it and stroked, power flooding my veins at the sight of my mate, so cold, so controlled, crumbling beneath my touch.
Veins protruded from his tattooed arms. His jaw clenched tight. The fingers that had so expertly worked me dug into the sheets. “Sylaira,” he rasped as I rubbed my thumb over the protruding crown. The top of his pants were soaked in his arousal.
I worked him root to tip, eliciting a jerk of his hips. His breath came in ragged pants. But he made no move to free his cock completely and sink it inside me.
He thickened, pulsed against my palm. A low groan rumbled in his chest. Hot cum squirted from the tip, dotting my arm and stomach. I stroked him until he had no more to expend.
He lowered himself, his fevered flesh flattening into my body. His lips slanted over mine, and I tasted myself on his tongue, mixing with his stormwood scent.
“Thank you,” he murmured, his forehead coming to rest against mine. The gratitude ached more than the pleasure he’d delivered.
“For what?” I asked, tucking my sweaty hair behind my ears.
Vaeron reached up and traced the shell, then fiddled with the studs pierced into it. “For asking to start over.”
Even though we hadn’t had sex, the bond curled up and left us alone. Orgasms were enough, apparently—for now.
Muscles bunching, Vaeron pushed off me, careful to avoid my bad leg as he stumbled into the bathing chamber. He returned with a damp cloth and cleaned me. I nearly arched offthe bed as the rough fabric brushed over my still-sensitive center.
The corners of his lips twitched up. Sparks scattered beneath my skin as he eased me into a more comfortable position. I shuffled toward the headboard, securing the robe once I’d settled again.
“I need to check on our clothes and some food,” he stated, eyes dancing over my face as if he were searching for the slightest change in my attitude toward him.
“Okay,” I replied. A moment alone to collect myself wouldn’t be a bad thing. And I needed to secure my vial of virelthorn before he could see what I was hiding from him.
“I’ll return shortly,” he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead as he pulled on fresh trousers and a tunic. He left it untucked and unbuttoned. Then, without taking his focus off of me, he retreated out the door.
My body ceased buzzing as I came down from post-orgasm bliss…only for guilt to knot in my stomach. What was I doing, allowing desire to defeat my defiance?
Vaeron’s confessions had shifted my feelings toward him. But a fracturing in my resolve didn’t change the facts. I was Elessarum, and my pacifist beliefs would never change. His sister was the Korona, and she and her husband were warmongers. She bid Vaeron to commit violent acts against his kith. To hunt and kill those the monarchy deemed traitors.
