Part of me wished to tease him more, to flirt and play—but there was a slip of vulnerability in his gaze. Something…lonely.
How long had it been for him? Did he find sex and intimacy too revealing for himself? With all his secrets and intensity and devotion to duty, was there no place for him to be this—walls stripped down? Just Blake?
“I do,” I breathed, staring up into his eyes and letting my own walls down as much as I knew how, so he could see exactly how desperately I craved him. “Please, Blake.”
He shifted his weight, his body pressing hard against mine as I raised my legs, cradling his hips between my thighs. His erection, thick and pulsing, pressed against my center through the thin barrier of our clothes. The pressure was maddening, and I could feel the throb of him, desperate and needy, as it aligned perfectly with the ache building inside me.
His lips found my neck, biting and licking a path down to my collarbone. My pulse thundered beneath his mouth, each nip a delicious tease. His hand slipped lower, tracing the line of my tunic, and with a swift, fluid motion, he pulled it up and over myhead, baring my chest to the cool air. I trembled beneath him, anticipation crackling in every nerve as hands moved to the drawstring of my leggings, the light tickle of his fingers as he untied the knot, causing my stomach to jump. He took his time, rolling the leggings down my thighs, brushing a kiss to the inside of each knee as he pulled them lower until he finally freed me of them. His hot breath ghosted over the exposed skin of my thighs. I was fully exposed to him, completely naked, and something in me snapped, my desire pulling taut.
I pushed up, shoving on his chest before he took the hint and rolled beneath me. His body was so long, legs hanging off the bed since we were lying sideways across it. I straddled his waist, then scooted down to straddle his thigh as I pulled at the waistband of his soft pants.
“Easy, songbird,” he laughed when I yanked on the fabric as it caught on the hard muscle of his thigh. He pressed on my shoulder until I scooted off him, watching his abs bunch and move in a way that made my mouth water.
He pulled down his pants, stepping out of them and the soft undergarments—only after my snarling look at them. His hands inched them down, peeling off the black fabric. He stood in front of me as I knelt on the bed.
Blake Axefire looked like a god, rising from the fire still roaring behind him, silhouetting him in bright, warm light. The lines of his body were beautiful and deadly, every single muscle honed to perfection. The sharp line of his hips a perfect V-shape, as if highlighting the place my gaze had avoided until now.
He was big, the weight of him in my hand as I reached out to cup him heavy and daunting. My mouth gaped, which stretched the wicked smirk on his face.
“Afraid, songbird?” he asked, his voice husky. His hand touched my shoulder blade, thumb rubbing just where Malissa’sstab wound had healed. He brushed over it with gentle care, as if he would wipe it away entirely.
“No,” I said, voice breathless.
Blake’s hand climbed my neck, before circling it and pressing me down to the bed and covering me with the bulk of his body. “Don’t worry. You can take it.”
A moan, unbidden, worked from my throat, vibrating against him as he reseated himself between my naked thighs. His hand, wet as he’d just swiped his tongue along the pads of his fingers, reached down to my sex, pressing and circling slowly, working me into a frenzy until I was whimpering and begging, writhing on his mattress, sticky and hot andwet.
“That’s it, Rubi,” he breathed; then he knelt on the floor and pulled me swiftly to the edge of the bed, grinning up at me wickedly. He lifted my hips to his mouth. “Come for me.”
“Blake,” I cried, almost like a song, and something pulsed in the air as his tongue lapped at me, sucking and licking. He found my clit, and the sound of the wind howled louder; the fireplace roared as he stoked me higher with each lick. Blake feasted on me, and I came undone, hands fisted in the sheets. As I came back to myself, I glanced down at him and ran my hands through the silken bronze strands of his hair. Blake’s eyes flashed as he crawled over me, wiping his mouth with his hand as a delicious grin revealed his dimple.
“Holy gods,” he muttered, punctuating each word with a kiss to my breasts. “Damn it, Rubi, I can’t wait any longer. I need to be inside you.” He kissed along my neck, lifting my hips to cradle him. “Please let me inside you.”
My head nodded so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.
Blake’s skin was tan and smooth, his lips sensual as he pulled back to watch while he entered me, slowly, carefully, as I stretched to accommodate him.
I felt completely out of my depth, unable to form words around the enormous pressure of him inside me. A gasping breath, a muttered confusing swirl of words, my nails in the skin of his biceps—to push him away or pull him closer, I didn’t know.
“That’s it, love,” he breathed, and the word pulsed over me. It was bedroom talk—nothing more, I tried to tell myself—but its effect washed over me anyway. “Take me. Breathe, Rubi.”
I did, gasping, then surprising myself as a moan, high and wild, tore from my throat.
He seated himself entirely inside me, his hips flush to mine where he still held them lifted, his thighs supporting mine. I breathed deep. I swear I could feel him in mychesthe was so overwhelming.
“Blake—”
“Shh,” he said. “Just breathe. Gods, Rubi, you feel so fucking amazing.”
I whined again, moving my hips at the torture of having him so deep and yet unmoving.
A growl then, low in his throat as his hand shot out to grip my throat again. “Careful, songbird. Or I won’t let you adjust.”
“Please,” I begged. “I have. I’ve adjusted. Let me have you—”
The words had barely left my mouth before he thrust. He fucked me slow and steady, the stretch and friction sending shock waves of pleasure through my entire body.
Sweat beaded on my brow, my hands clenched in his skin, desperate for him like an anchor. He held tightly to me, his mouth taking turns sipping at my lips, my neck, whispering encouragement and teasing words along my ear.
