I leaned back and grabbed his hand, placing it between my breasts over the shattered and jagged heart he continued to hold and nurture. “I am. It’s still in there. Half the time, I feel nothing but bliss. The other half, I am nothing but agony. Every bit of pain and rage I have ever felt festering and waiting. It always will be. No matter how much you heal it. I have accepted that I will not heal from the loss of her. I will always ache with her absence. It is not in me to let go. I will grieve her, and if that is penance for how much I loved her, I accept it.”
“Give me your pain as you give me your love,” he said, placing my hand against his chest. “Let me carry it as you do, so you’ll never be alone with it.”
My lips curved in what felt like my first real smile since I woke. I looked up at him and stepped closer, trapping our hands between our bodies. “Your burdens are my burdens.”
“For eternity and long after.” Samkiel smiled and slanted his lips across mine for a hard kiss. He pulled back just enough that our noses still touched. We stayed pressed together, our hearts beating in unison and sharing the same breath. It felt so right, as if we’d been one long before we had form.
“What do you need from me?” he asked. “What can I do to help?”
My heart thudded, needing the one thing I was denied. I slid my hand up to the back of his neck and pulled him down to me, claiming his lips and sliding my body against his in invitation. Samkiel moaned as he pulled back to meet my eyes. “That’s what you need?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
His grin was pure male as his hand cupped my face, fingertips brushing the base of my skull and tilting my head. “Tell me exactly what you want. What you need, akrai?”
I swallowed every bit of trepidation I had. Samkiel knew me better than anyone. He trusted me as I did him, so when I spoke, I knew he knew exactly what I meant. “I wish for control again.”
“Control me then. Whatever you wish.” His thumb traced my cheek. “I am only ever yours to command.”
“Anything I wish?”
He nodded, steadily holding my gaze, love shining in his silver eyes.
I wanted to feel like myself again. I wanted to prove that I had control of my limbs, my power, all of it. My body heated as his tongue swept over mine. The Ig’Morruthen curled and twisted as if feeling the same. A fire flared to life in my chest. My body. My fire. Not his. Mine. The kiss turned bruising until I felt a different kind of heat against my tongue. We both pulled back, his confusion matching mine as his eyes dipped to my lips, then back. He licked his lips, and I saw the soft orange glow in his mouth disappear as he swallowed my flames.
His eyes darkened, the room following suit as if my fire had just stroked some hidden beast from a deep slumber, and it turned its head. “Do that again,” he demanded, rough lust lacing every syllable.
I didn’t even know how I’d done it, but I’d try.
His hand gripped my chin, pulling my lips to his. We kissed until I felt that tickle of fire once more, but this time I felt the control I had over it. Heat radiated from me to him, enough to warm my cheeks but not burn. He made a sound I had never heard before as my tongue danced over his, fire coating our kiss, igniting my core into a pool of living lava. I pulled back a mere fraction, flames leaping between our mouths. They cast a warm glow over his features as he swallowed them down, seeming to savor the taste and burn.
My mouth snapped shut, the blaze fading. My eyes widened. I had never done that before with anyone. Had I hurt him?
“Did I burn you?” I whispered.
Samkiel didn’t even open his eyes. He just wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and said, “Burn me alive if you must. I’d gladly die by your kiss.”
To prove his point, he leaned down and took my mouth again, his tongue desperately exploring as if seeking the source of my fire.
I pulled his shirt open and raked my nails over his chest. He pulled back with a hiss, the thinnest line of blood welling on his golden skin. I dipped my head to lick at it, and he ground his already swollen cock against me. My eyes flicked up as I closed my lips over the already healing wound and sucked.
His mouth dropped open as he watched me.
I slid my tongue over the heavy, thick muscles of his chest, and he groaned. His eyes burned silver as he watched me. Samkiel liked to be licked everywhere, and he loved my bite. My fangs descended, and I sank them deep right above his nipple. Blood hit my tongue, and he cradled my head, refusing to let me pull away. His moan shuddered through me, making my clit throb.
My tongue swept out, lashing over the bud that was far too sensitive from my bite. His hands tangled in my hair, gripping hard and pulling my head back with a jerk. His lips slammed down onto mine, licking the small amount of blood lingering on them before spearing his tongue deep. The kiss was hot, passionate, and damn near animalistic. I ripped at the front of his pants, desperate to touch more of him. Growling in frustration, I felt heat bathe my hands and then smelled smoke, and I knew I had incinerated the barrier between us, just as I would anything that kept me from him.
He tore his mouth from mine and gasped as I gripped his thick length. I slid my hand up and down his shaft, watching enraptured as his brows knitted together in pure ecstasy. The heat and tightness of my palm were only a small taste of what I was about to do to him.
“Who do you belong to?” I asked, stroking him lazily.
His eyes seemed to glow a shade brighter at the demand. “You,” he answered breathlessly. “Only you. Forever.”
“Good.” I slid my mouth down his chest. “I want you throbbing.”
My hand stroked in unison with my words, drawing a mangled gasp from him as my teeth pinched his skin.
“I want you aching.” Another kiss and nip as I sank lower, tracing the dips of his abs.
