She gave in to her overwhelming need to touch him, sliding her hands up his back, under his shirt, between his wings, reveling in the satin heat of his skin under hers.
He ducked his head and took her mouth, and she lost herself in him. In the heated scent of his skin. Saltwater and soap, open air and Val. The way his hands felt so massive against her back as he pulled her closer. How his wings trembled slightly as he wrapped them around her, slanting his mouth over hers to kiss her harder, deeper, until they were both panting and she was almost mindless with her need for him.
He spun her and stepped her backward, his mouth still over hers, his wings lifting, until she felt the heavy oak of the door behind her and she moaned helplessly as he pushed his thigh between her legs, almost lifting her off the ground, somehow knowing exactly how to find that place that ached for him.
She started pulling at the laces of his breeches, almost had them open, when he groaned and grabbed her hands, then lifted them above her head. He pinned them against the door, holding her wrists in one big hand, the movement arching her back so that her breasts pushed up, the scraping slide of cotton over her puckered nipples an additional torturous sensation to drown in.
Her dress rode up around her thighs and he dropped his free hand to her leg, wrapping her calf around his waist, gripping her bottom in a way that opened her further against him as she ground down, whimpering into his mouth.
His mouth left hers to trail scalding kisses down her neck and over her throat, and she let her head fall back against the door, tilting to give him better access. He followed a fiery trail down her chest until his mouth closed over her nipple, laving it through the cotton of her dress, tugging it between his teeth and then blowing a stream of air over the damp cloth as she writhed against him, desperate for more.
He lifted his head and watched her through half-closed eyes. “What do you want, Lanni? Tell me.”
“I want….” A fiery blush climbed across her chest and up her neck as she tried to find the words, her arms still held over her head in his firm grip, her thoughts focused on the heat of his thigh between her legs.
He smiled at her, lines of happiness wrinkling the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t answer for her. Instead he shifted, lifting her higher up his leg, increasing the pressure, and dropped his mouth to her breast once more, lazily circling her throbbing nipple with his tongue.
“You know what I want, Val.” Her voice was a rough whisper. “Please.”
He ran his mouth up the tendon of her neck and tugged her earlobe into his mouth before murmuring against her skin. “Tell me, Lanni. Tell me exactly what you want.”
“I… um….”
She could feel him smiling as he held her. “Do you want me to tuck you in and sing to you?”
“No! Bard, no.”
“Do you want me to go?” His voice was as rough as gravel.
“Absolutely not.”
“So then…?”
Brave. She had to be brave and take what she wanted. To be everything she could be. And that was his gift to her, the knowledge that he would only ever raise her up. That he would give her his own wings if it meant she could fly.
She lifted the leg she had been balanced on so that she could wrap herself completely around him and nudged her hips forward, trusting him to hold her, immensely gratified when his breath hitched.
“I’m yours, Val. Make love to me. Please.”
He looked down at her with so much heat that she almost felt she could fly without needing wings. “Are you sure?”
He was asking about everything. Not just this moment, but every moment that would come later. He was asking her to choose him. Be with him. To forsake the life she’d led and commit herself to him.
She didn’t hesitate. “I’ve never been more certain of anything.”
Before the words were even out of her mouth, he had her in his arms. He strode across the room and set her gently onto her feet beside her bed.
He quickly pulled off his boots and breeches, and then tugged his shirt over the top of his head, abdominals tight and hard beneath their dusting of rough hair. Then he sat on the bed, his dark eyes never leaving her.
She stood for a moment, lost in the image of him, his tanned skin almost glowing in the flickering lamplight, his body so much bigger and harder than hers. She licked her lips, imagining running her hand down those enticing ripples, imagining the heat of his body engulfing her.
Val sat and watched her, not moving, as she lifted her eyes to his. And then he raised one eyebrow, and she suddenly realized what he wanted. With trembling hands, she reached up to the ties of her bodice.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, watching her intently as she pulled out the laces and then, with a shrug, let her dress fall to pool at her feet.
“Come here.” The deep growl of his voice made her shiver.
She stepped forward, between his legs, as he ran his hands lightly up the back of her thighs, trailing his fingers over her hips and up the sides of her waist and then back down again, all the way to her knees.
