Page 80 of Wild Flame

But still he made no move to touch me. He truly was letting this be my choice.

Taking another deep breath, I moved so I stood directly in front of him. Then I rose up, and for the first time, I kissedhim.

I poured everything into the kiss. My doubts and fears, all my wants, secrets, all the times I’d wondered and hoped and imagined what it would feel like to be with him, the awakening desire and confusion I felt, that consuming need that rose in me whenever he was near, all of my anger and frustration for hishigh-handed ways and the sheer arrogance of him—everything. I sank it all into the kiss.

Tears fell unbidden from my eyes as those big arms I loved so much encircled me, and he returned my kiss with a swirling fever of his own. Our shallow breaths mingled as he pulled back, staring into my eyes with that familiar intensity.

“You want me,isholet?”

I nodded my head, frantic to have his lips on mine again.

“Give me the words,” he demanded.

My voice trembled as I breathed, “I want you, Malik.”

The smile he gave me in return was somehow joyous and impossibly wicked at the same time.

He kissed me again and our mouths fused as he carried me swiftly over to the bed, lying not far away. My back hit the mattress, and he followed me down. I loved the way his muscular body caged mine—the feel of him on top of me.

For once, the warmth of the night didn’t feel oppressive or cloying, but rather decadent and relaxing against my skin. Being out in the open like this with nothing but the sky and the stars as our witness felt sensual and erotic, and I sank into the feeling. His mouth began to kiss and caress slowly down my neck while his hand slid possessively up my leg, pushing my dress up as he went.

“Azrun, he’s—he’s not . . . will he be . . .” I couldn’t finish.

Malik smiled softly. “He is giving us privacy.”

Hard lips captured mine in a kiss that should have melted the bed beneath us. But then he pulled back. “I want to see all of you.”

My heart lurched, but then I nodded. He helped me slowly remove my top and then the skirt, kissing and caressing along my newly exposed skin as he did. When I lay back, completely bare before him, his eyes devoured every inch of me. I made sureto keep my back to the bed, and he didn’t comment on it, for which I was grateful.

“Your turn,” I challenged, ignoring my own blush.

He cocked an eyebrow but said nothing as he slowly unlaced his tunic and removed it and the rest of his clothing. My mouth went dry as I took in the sight of him. He was a beautiful specimen. Every inch of him reflected the warrior he was. I blushed even harder as my eyes dropped lower and Malik’s dark chuckle rasped in my ear as he lowered himself back over me.

His hips settled against mine as he kissed my neck and his fingertips became a velvet pressure on my skin as he traced and explored the dips and curves of my body. His masculine scent surrounded me, and I breathed him in as his mouth traveled lower.

His soft lips grazed the underside of my breast all the way to the hardened peak of my nipple. A moan slipped out of me as his warm mouth encased it completely. Starbursts of sensation consumed me as I clutched at his shoulders and arched upward in silent demand.

Malik obliged and flicked the nipple with his tongue before teasingly raking his teeth over it, all while cupping my other breast in his hand. When he moved up to kiss my mouth once more, awareness gripped me, and pleasure spiked as he pressed his body to mine and rocked his hips against me.

I gasped. The area between my thighs began to throb with a deep, insistent, empty ache.

His lips found mine again as his hard length slid against my aching core and ground against me.

He muttered a harsh curse. “Realms, siren, you’re already slick and ready for me.”

“Please,” I murmured, knowing and yet not knowing what I was asking for.

His hands tangled in my unbound hair, cupping my head in his hands, as his eyes stared down into mine. “All right, siren,” he breathed.

Then he slid inside me.

I cried out at the sudden sharp slice of pain, and he stilled. His lips captured mine, his mouth and tongue demanding my attention, distracting me while one hand slid between us and began to stroke at my center. His ministrations continued as he coaxed and teased me with his mouth and fingers until my body finally began to relax and adjust to him. The pain eased, and I clung to him as the dulled pleasure began to build once more.

Slowly he began to move in and out of me with shallow thrusts.

I gasped his name. My nails sank into his back, and I loved the feel of the muscled planes flexing under my hands as he moved inside me. My body melted into his until it was impossible to tell where he stopped and I began.

“Realms, you feel unbelievable,” he groaned, as I shifted slightly beneath him. He licked my hot skin and swollen lips as our foreheads touched and his strokes increased, growing deeper, harder.

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