Page 96 of Wings of Shadow
Her gaze locks with mine, and I pull her closer, urging her to glide beside me on the bed. Her body molds against me like it was always meant to. I lean in, my lips brushing against hers softly at first, savoring the moment, the warmth of her breath mingling with mine.
Then, with a growl of need, I deepen the kiss, pulling her in, the fire of her desire igniting against me. My hands thread into her hair, tilting her head as I want more, my tongue sweeping into her mouth, claiming her with a hunger I can no longer control, demanding everything she has.
She gives it willingly.
Her sweetness is addictive. I drink from her like a dying man, our tongues entwining in a delirious rhythm. Candlelight flickers over our bodies, casting our passion in gold and shadow, painting it sacred.
But it’s not enough.
I need more—more of her skin, more of her sounds, more of her soul.
My hands fumble at the buttons of her gown, impatience setting in. I tear the fabric, exposing her ivory flesh until she stands before me in nothing but lace and vulnerability.
“Kai…” she breathes, her voice trembling on the edge of need, cheeks flushed with heat. “Can we… Can you…?”
I take in every inch of her exposed form—every curve, every line. My blood roars in my veins. She doesn’t need to finish the question.
“Oh, I can,” I growl, seizing her with the kind of grip that says mine. “And I will—until your body knows nothing but me.”
She shivers, anticipation crackling in the air, and I sweep aside the final barrier. My hands glide over her thighs, hips, as I lay her back on the bed. And she straddles me, skin flushed against my touch.
I take my time, memorizing her with mouth and tongue, but the fire within me burns too hot. With one last, forceful heave, I pin her beneath me with deliberate, possessive intent. The movement sparks a sharp, burning pain searing through my shoulder—Azrakan’s wound might no longer mar my skin, but dark magic always leaves a trace.
I grit my teeth, refusing to let weakness dictate my actions. No. I take the pain, seize it, and twist it into something else. Fuel. Hunger. A fire that burns hotter than before.
“You smell so fucking good right now.” My breath is ragged against her skin, every word edged in lust. “I can almost taste your need—thick and heady, like the sweetest perfume.”
She shivers, a pulse fluttering at her neck. “Take it…” she moans. “Take everything.”
A satisfied rumble vibrates in my chest as she clutches my shoulders, instinctively yielding to me. “Mm… I will,” I rasp, rough and possessive. “I’m going to devour you, Clarissa—ruin you so beautifully you’ll beg me to do it again.”
Her breath comes fast, lips parted, eyes dark with need—but it’s the way she looks at me, as though I’m the only force in the world that matters, that nearly breaks me.
I lower myself over her, caging her in, my fingers tracing down her body, staking my claim. “You’re mine,” I murmur, my voice raw with hunger. “Say it.”
Her breathing catches. “I’m yours, Kai.”
And that’s all I need to hear before I take what belongs to me.
Her hands tremble as she reaches for the fastenings of my trousers, and I suck in a sharp breath as they hit the floor. Kicking them away, I stand before her, naked in her lust-filled gaze. She drinks me in greedily, and the hunger I see there sends a torrent of need straight to my core.
As our bodies press together, a primal urgency overtakes me—raw, consuming. I tear my mouth from hers, trailing heated kisses along her jawline, down the supple curve of her neck. She moans, tilting her head, offering herself without hesitation. My teeth graze the spot where her nape meets her shoulder, and she shivers beneath me, her breath catching.
The scent of her arousal floods my senses, drowning out everything else, stoking the inferno already raging inside me. I want to worship her, to linger on every inch of satin-smooth skin, to savor this moment I’ve hungered for. But that patience has long since burned away.
With a groan dragged from the depths of my soul, I thrust into her, sliding in to the hilt. Her inner walls clench around me like a velvet vice, and we both cry out—one sound, one breath—as our bodies finally, irrevocably, become one.
Her nails dig into my back, sharp crescents branding me as hers. I drive into her with reckless abandon, our hips colliding in a rhythm both frenzied and fated. The room dissolves into shadows and flame, the scent of sweat, sex, and something more filling the air. Something ancient awakens with us.
“You’re trembling,” I rasp, dragging my mouth up the column of her neck. “D’you feel that, baby girl? That’s your body begging me to claim you.”
She nods, breathless. “Yes…”
The climax builds like a storm on the horizon, but with it comes another hunger—deeper, darker. A hunger that stirs from the marrow of my bones. My fangs extend, unbidden, aching for the offering so close, so willing.
Compelled by sheer instinct, I lower my mouth to her throat. Her gasps fan the fire inside me. And with a final growl, I plunge my fangs into her pulse.
Her blood pours into me—hot, sweet, sacred. Ambrosia. I drink like a man starved, like a dragon unleashed, and the world fractures around us into color and sensation. Clarissa arches into me, her body shuddering, pleasure crashing over her in waves that pull me deeper.
