Page 41 of Sanctuary and Spices

I leaned in, letting my lips find the soft curve of her hip, then lower, tasting her as her breath hitched. Her hands fisted in the sheets, her body arching toward me, every movement a silent plea.

“Please...” The word escaped her in a broken gasp, her voice trembling as she reached for me.

I answered her without hesitation, letting my mouth and hands explore, memorizing every curve, every sound she made as I drove her higher. Her cries filled the space around us, soft and unbridled, each one making me want to give her more.

Her fingers found my shoulders, pulling me upward, and when her lips crashed into mine, the desperation in her kiss sent my pulse spiraling.

“I need you,” she breathed against my mouth, her voice raw and shaking.

“Jani.” Her name was a prayer. “My mate.”

The words slipped out unbidden. I froze, but she was too lost to pleasure, rocking beneath me.

The last threads of my control snapped. I claimed her mouth in a searing kiss, pouring years of loneliness and longing into the contact. She met me with equal fervor, hands roaming my back as I pressed her into the mattress.

“Show me,” she demanded between kisses. “Show me what that means.”

My markings blazed like stars as I moved to answer her challenge.

JANI

His hands skimmed up my sides, leaving trails of warmth in their wake. My fingers traced the glowing markings that spiraled across his skin, memorizing their patterns. Each touch drew a soft sound from him, his breath catching when I found particularly sensitive spots.

“Tell me what you want,” I whispered, arching into his exploring hands.

“Everything.” He pressed open-mouthed kisses down my neck. “Want to taste every inch of you.”

I gasped as his mouth found my breast, tongue circling before drawing the peak between his lips. Heat pooled low in my belly. My hands tangled in his hair as he lavished attention first on one breast, then the other.

“Ronhar...” His name fell from my lips as he kissed lower, mapping the curves of my stomach.

His hands gripped my thighs, spreading them wider as he settled between them. The first touch of his tongue made me buck against him. He held my hips steady, thorough in his exploration until I writhed beneath him.

Pleasure built with each stroke of his clever tongue. My fingers clutched the sheets as he slipped one finger inside me,then another, curling them just right. The dual sensations had me climbing higher and higher.

“Let go,” he murmured against my sensitive flesh. “Want to watch you fall apart.”

The combination of his mouth and fingers pushed me over the edge. I cried out his name as waves of pleasure crashed through me.

He kissed his way back up my body as I caught my breath. When he reached my mouth, I tasted myself on his lips.

“Need you,” I breathed, wrapping my legs around his hips. “Please...”

He pressed into me slowly, giving me time to adjust to his size. The stretch and fullness had me moaning. His markings blazed brighter with each inch.

The ridge of his cock brushed against me in ways I’d never felt before, sending jolts of pleasure racing up my spine. The sensation was unlike anything I’d experienced—textured, deliberate, as though every inch of him had been designed to drive me higher. My breath hitched as he shifted, the subtle spiraling ridges along his length creating friction that left me trembling.

“Gods, Ronhar...” The words escaped me in a gasp, my body arching toward him, speaking where words failed me.

“You feel... perfect,” he groaned, his voice rough with need.

I clung to him, my hands sliding down his back to trace the glowing patterns there. Every movement sent sparks of pleasure racing through me, his body attuned to mine in ways that defied explanation.

“Okay?” he asked, trembling with the effort of holding still once fully seated.

I rolled my hips in answer, drawing a groan from him. He started moving, setting a steady rhythm that had pleasure building again already.

My hands roamed his back, tracing the glowing patterns there. When I found a particularly bright marking near his spine, his hips jerked.

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