Gah.He refused to give an inch.
She shook her head and dampened a dishcloth under the pump, then turned to find him closer than she expected. Too close. Her chin tipped up of its own accord, caught in the quiet intensity of his stare.
That constant simmer of desire under her skin unfurled, and her body leaned toward him before her mind could connect.God.
Forcing herself to focus, she wiped the blood from his side, revealing the pink scabs forming. His breath hitched, his muscles tensing beneath her hand.
“I’m sorry, I’m trying to be gentle.”
“Gentle’s not the problem.” He grasped her hips, his mouth skimming along her jaw. “Ten minutes before Attor’s sigil fades. That gives us enough time for this.”
“Only ten?” She was already on tiptoe, looping her arms around his neck, the damp shirt falling to the floor.
His eyes burned with hunger. “Full-on fucking between us will take days, heart-fire—table, wall, the floor, anywhere—beforeIam satisfied. And even then, it’s not guaranteed.”
“Promises, promises.”
With a low, toe-curling growl, his mouth slanted over hers, his kiss fierce, desperate, tasting of darkness and smoky desire. His arms tightened around her.
Ash moaned, arching into him, her fingers tangled in his hair, an answering heat coiling through her. His mouth grew demanding, his tongue sucking hers, and she responded with the same scorching hunger.
The man was making love to her mouth. He lifted her, and she locked her legs around the base of his spine, his cock a hard branding bar against her core.
Only her desperate need for breath forced her to break the kiss.
“God.” Ash dragged air into her burning lungs. “That was?—”
His arms tightened around her. He claimed her mouth again. She rubbed her core against his erection, needing more?—
With a harsh breath, he broke the kiss this time, his eyes blazing like garnets in the dim light. “We should…”
“Stop,” she finished reluctantly, pressing her cheek against his. “I know.”
He let her slide down his body.
Hot and trembling, she turned for the hissing kettle, wishing they had a little more time together.
“Ash.” His hand closed around her arm, his serious expression slamming like a door. “Whatever happens at dawn, when I say go, you get the hell through that portal. No arguments?—”
“Stop.” She pressed two fingers to his lips. “We both will get through. Or else, I’m dragging Koal along.”
His eyes narrowed. “Dammit, Ash, Flaeron will have his guards everywhere!”
“I know that.” She tipped her chin, knew she didn’t play fair, but she refused, not when it came to him.
He was all that mattered.
“If you think for one minute I’m leaving alone, you are wrong. It’s you and me or Koal and me.”
So there.
Chapter
Twenty
Didhe really think she would leave without him? The vexing dragon.
Ash raked back her hair and turned toward the kettle, but trepidation crept through her. Race could be so bloody inflexible when it came to her.
