Page 68 of Suncatcher

She opened her mouth to say she couldn’t stay long, but Driz covered it with her own. Her lips were firm yet gentle, and so eager as she kissed Pearl until she grew dizzy and had to step back to breathe.

“What would you like to do tonight?” Driz asked, grasping both of Pearl’s hands in her own. “Anywhere you want to go, I can take you. There is a beautiful waterfall I know of. Or the sky and stars are clear. I can bring you closer to them, so you can see.”

Pearl swallowed, her words getting stuck in her throat. She just didn’t have the heart to crush the raw excitement on Driz’s face. It seemed too cruel, even for her. But not stopping this now would be cruel too. Pearl faced an impossible internal standoff of her own making.

Selfishly, Pearl still wasn’t ready to give Driz up. One more night. They could have one more night, right? “Where’d you be if I weren’t here?” she asked.

“Probably my trove.”

“Then take me there.”

Pearl wound herself around Driz, shivering in pleasure as their bodies molded together, recalling how well they’d fit against that tree. Pearl almost said not to bother flying, but she could behave.

The air rushed past them as Driz’s powerful wings beat through it, carrying them higher. It was still a bit alarming to see the land falling away, but it was also exhilarating. And Pearl trusted Driz would keep her safe. Even when Pearl had stabbed her, Driz had caught her.

One of Driz’s hands gripped Pearl’s hip. Pearl wiggled higher, grinding herself on Driz’s lower stomach.

Driz’s rumble reverberated through her chest and into Pearl’s. Pearl snaked one hand into Driz’s hair, gliding a finger experimentally to the tip of one of her horns. They were mostly smooth but ringed with delicate ridges where they had grown.

Driz gasped, her hold tightening.

“D’you like that?” Pearl breathed in Driz’s ear.

Driz folded her wings. And they started to plummet. Pearl tensed, her heart and stomach tumbling at different rates, arms clinging as they fell.

Wings snapped out, the walls of the canyon appearing and passing.

They hit the bank, and Driz lay Pearl back, covering Pearl’s mouth and body, her kisses frantic as she pressed Pearl into the sand.

The adrenaline from the descent rushed and morphed into pleasure. Pearl reached up with both hands and gripped Driz’s horns.

The guttural sound Driz made was new, unlike what Pearl had heard before. It sent shivers of delight to Pearl’s toes.

Driz’s hands were everywhere, pushing away fabric to get to skin. Pearl grinned. So Driz liked her horns touched. Noted.

The hesitance of their last encounter was replaced by a hunger. Driz cupped the back of Pearl’s head, bringing it up to her bare, unblemished throat in a silent plea.

Pearl understood what she wanted, but Pearl was the one hesitating this time. Driz’s words returned, about biting her each night. Those words terrified Pearl, not because of the act, but the implication of permanence they held.

So instead of biting, Pearl kissed Driz’s neck, running her fingers to the tips of her horns, and Driz shuddered.

Pearl arched, loving the intensity of her goyle tonight. But guilt soured in her stomach. They should talk first. They should’ve talked first last time too.

“Driz, wait,” she managed just as Driz’s fingers slid between Pearl’s legs.

Driz stilled. “Wait?”

“Never mind,” Pearl panted. Talking could wait. “Keep going.”

Driz listened.

Pearl writhed and panted and climaxed, and still Driz didn’t stop. Her wings twitched above them, eyes intent on Pearl’s face the whole time as she wrung pleasure from Pearl’s body again. Until Pearl couldn’t take any more and she gripped Driz’s strong wrist.

Driz brought her glistening hand up and dragged it over her own throat and chest, painting herself. It shouldn’t have been so arousing. It should’ve been alarming. But Pearl wanted Driz to wear her scent.

The top two buttons of Driz’s shirt were open, and Pearl undid the rest, sliding her hands inside and tracing the lines of muscle. Driz purred and trembled, and Pearl explored more. She stroked the soft velvet of her wings, the curve of her horns, the dip of her back. Each touch made Driz vibrate. She hadn’t taken her eyes off Pearl’s face. Far too seen, Pearl leaned up and captured Driz’s mouth as her hand slipped past Driz’s waistband.

When Driz tensed and shuddered above her, her hands gouged canyons through the sand on either side of Pearl. Perhaps that too should’ve been alarming, but Pearl wasn’t afraid.