And then he strikes.
His mouth claims mine in a kiss that makes everything else vanish.
Chapter Thirty-One
There's no softness in this kiss. No careful exploration. Only determination. Plunder. His tongue sweeps into my mouth and tangles with mine, hungry and demanding.
I fist my hands in his hair. Wrap my legs around his waist. When he grinds into me, the moan that escapes is shameless.
He does it again. Harder. Growls against my mouth when I meet his thrust. Bites my lip when I do it again.
He tears his mouth away long enough to yank the tunic over my head. Stops. Stares. I'm bare beneath it. Nothing between us but air and heat.
"Temptation." His voice is raw. "That's what it stands for."
Every other time he's asked, I've had a quip ready. Now I can't think of a single word. Not with his eyes on me like that. Wild. Ravenous.
His gaze traces my jagged scars. Travels up the sigil on my torso. He releases a shaky breath when his eyes reach my breasts. My nipples are peaked, aching for him. When his gaze finally lifts to mine, I'm trembling.
We stare at each other. Chests heaving. Wanting. Needing.
Holding his gaze, I rise onto my elbows. Stretch out my leg. Press my foot against the hard length straining his pants. I bite back a gasp.
Gods, he's impossibly hard. His eyes flare and darken as he takes a step back and begins to undress. His eyes stay on my face, tracking every shift in my expression as he reveals himself inch by inch.
Hard muscle. Golden skin. Scars that tell stories I want to learn. When he stands fully naked before me, I don't bother hiding my admiration. Don't bother pretending my mouth isn't watering.
"The way you look at me." His voice is gravel and smoke.
He steps forward. Drops to his knees. I gasp as his mouth finds my ankle. He presses hot, open kisses up my calf. My knee. The inside of my thigh.
The combination of his tongue, his teeth, the scratch of his beard against my skin makes it impossible to stay still. By the time he reaches my inner thighs, I'm shaking. He groans against my skin like I'm the best thing he's ever tasted.
He worships my scars with his mouth. Traces my sigil with his tongue. Finally, finally, he reaches my breasts. I stop breathing when he licks my nipple.
Arch off the bed when he draws it into his mouth and sucks deeply. The deep moan he releases vibrates through me, settles between my thighs, makes me clench around nothing.
I sink my fingers into his hair, writhing beneath him as he moves from one breast to the other. Licking. Sucking. Biting just hard enough to make me cry out. I could shatter from this alone.
Then he starts kissing his way down. Nipping. Tasting. Until his face is between my thighs and I forget how to think.
His rough fingers part me gently. The glazed, reverent look in his eyes as he stares at the most intimate part of me ... that might be my undoing. And then he licks me. Just once. A slow,deliberate stroke that makes every thought in my head scatter like ash.
"Gods, Menace." His breath fans over my sensitive flesh. "I've dreamed of this, but ..."
He doesn't finish the sentence. His mouth closes over that bundle of nerves instead. My hips bow off the bed and he presses me back down against it. I fist the sheets at my sides, desperate for something to anchor me.
"Oh my gods, Malachi?—"
He uses his tongue the way a painter would use a brush, his mouth the way a starving man devours his last meal. My hips undulate on their own accord, chasing a release on his tongue, and he growls in approval, gripping my thighs hard as he sets to demolish me.
Even through the haze of pleasure, I know this man is going to ruin me. And I'm going to let him. He groans against me like he's the one losing his mind. Like he's the one unraveling.
He uses everything. The bond. The hitch in my breath. My writhing. The sounds spilling from my lips. He takes it all and uses it against me until he's found every spot that makes me scream.
Until I shatter. Convulse. Until my voice is hoarse from screaming his name. A ragged groan tears from his chest as he lifts his head. He slides two fingers inside me and starts pumping slowly, stretching me.
"Oh my—" I arch off the bed, unable to form words as his fingers work me and his thumb circles that sensitive bud.
