Page 59 of Beast of Blood and Ash
I answered by surrendering completely.
I let her see me shiver. I let her feel the tremor running through me, the way I would do anything for her pleasure, for her forgiveness. My mate was a gift. Her courage, her want, her hands on me, around me—these were everything I’d ever craved, and everything I never believed I deserved.
She sucked me deep, throat fluttering around the head of my cock, her lips sliding down the length, letting the mobile lip at the tip rub against her tongue. I groaned, a ragged, broken sound, not caring how desperate it made me. My hips jerked, restrained only by the last shreds of my control.
She didn’t flinch. She took me to the root, the heat of her mouth tightening, her jaw aching, but refusing to let go. Her hair brushed my thighs, her hands holding me as if I would vanish if she eased her grip for a moment.
I moaned, the sound guttural and raw. If there had been pain, I would have welcomed it. Instead, there was only need—her need, my own, tangled and indistinguishable.
I did everything I could to hold back, to let her have this, to let her take me to the edge again and again. My hands fisted in the bedding, my tail wrapped around her waist, anchoring me to the moment.
I couldn’t stop the noise in the back of my throat. “Off,thravena, if you don’t want this to end now.”
She pulled back. Her lips were swollen. Her pupils blown. She looked like she’d been fucked and I now I needed to make good on the promise of that look.
“I need you,thravena.”
The words snapped whatever self-control I had left. I hauled her up, desperate, and crushed my mouth to hers. Honey and salt and myself on her tongue; I tasted her hunger, her pride, the small, trembling certainty that lived in her hands when she slid them up my chest.
Her legs straddled my lap, knees wide on either side of my thighs. She didn’t hesitate. She guided herself over my cock and slowly slid down.
She was in control now, but I shared it with her. I let her set the pace, every motion slow and deliberate, her body taking the thick, ridged length inch by inch.
I was overcome with need for her, every muscle trembling with restraint. I moved slowly, careful not to overwhelm her.
She looked at me, cheeks flushed, hair sticking to her damp forehead. “I’m not going to break.”
“But you are precious.”
The words tumbled out, a confession, a vow. Her eyes went wide, the last of the fear burning away, replaced by joy, fury, hunger. She braced herself, palms on my chest, and began to move.
We picked up the pace, every stroke a prayer and a challenge. Her hips rolled, finding the rhythm that made her breath catch,her head fall back. I met her, slow at first, then rougher, letting her ride, letting her take, letting her claim me.
It was hot. It was intimate. It was real. I watched the way her chest heaved, the confession on her lips each time she gasped my name, the way her body opened for me, took me deeper, clung to me. My claws raked the bedding, my wings flared, the world narrowed to the place where we joined.
We were fucking, bodies moving in perfect sync. The friction, the stretch, the pressure—it was too much, not enough. I kissed her, open-mouthed, tasting her moans, swallowing her need. My hands slid down her back, cupped her ass, guided her up and down, up and down.
This was intense, the slap of flesh, the slick slide, the heat gathering low and fierce, threatening to consume us both. Each roll of her hips brought me closer, made my vision swim with black and gold and the memory of every pain that had come before.
She rode me faster, chasing the edge, her cunt gripping me in strangling pulses. Her nails dug into my skin, pain and pleasure indistinguishable. My tail wrapped her waist, holding her close. The words spilled out without thought:
“You’re mine. Only mine.”
She met my thrusts, gasping, “Yours. Always.”
We clung to each other, desperate, hungry, shuddering on the edge.
And we finally came together.
It was violent, shattering, her body tightening, milking me, her voice breaking into a sob as she convulsed around my cock. I growled, a raw sound, releasing inside her, every muscle locked, the mate-bond roaring through my veins like fire and mercy.
This was what it felt like to be whole.
To be home.
I held her tighter, my wings instinctively curling around her, a shield against the world outside. She slumped against my chest, breath stuttering, arms winding around my neck. My heart hammered, wild and grateful, as I pressed my mouth to the damp edge of her hair.
Peace in Scalvaris was a fragile thing. But in that room, we had it, and I wasn’t letting go.
