Page 118 of Crown of Briars
A building heat pressed in on me, making me hard for her, the aching need almost unbearable. It felt ridiculously unfair that Dream Varius was engaging in these acts with Sybelle while I was here, doing nothing.
And here I was, jealous ofmyself. It was ludicrous.
But I could guarantee that whatever she was envisioning in her dream was nothing compared to the pleasure I could give her.
I moved to the bed, noting the way she squirmed under the sheets. She murmured something incoherent, then sighed again, her body arching.
Oh, yes, she was definitely dreaming about something scandalous.
“Oh!” she cried out, the sound echoing both in my mind and from the sleeping figure before me. Her hips bucked, and she thrashed against the blanket.
My black shadows exploded from the bed, spearing in every direction and climbing the walls. I let out a shout of panic, trying to reel them in before they hurt Sybelle.
Then, I faltered. These shadows were different. They had a strange blue tint to them, and they were more translucent than my own.
My pulse skittered as I stared down at Sybelle, who still writhed against the blankets. Tendrils of that bluish-black smoke oozed from her fingertips.
My shadows.
“Sybelle,” I said urgently, leaning down to shake her shoulders.
She hummed a soft sound, her eyebrows lifting. But she didn’t wake.
“Sybelle!” I bellowed, shaking her more roughly.
With a strangled gasp, her eyes flew open, her pupils dilated.Her body sank down into the mattress, suddenly going limp. Gasping for breath, she looked around in a daze until her gaze landed on me.
“Varius,” she breathed. “What?—”
Her eyes went from the stone in my hand to the shadows still climbing up the walls. Her face paled. “What the hell happened?”
Varius’slarge body pins me to the bed, his strangled gasps tickling my ear. He buries his face in my neck, his incisors gliding up the column of my throat, scraping my flesh without breaking skin.
“You smell divine,” he groans.
I arch against him, eager to have his hands on me.Inme.
“Please,” I gasp. “Please, I can’t wait any longer.”
“Patience,dannahla.First I want to make you so wet you’ll soak these sheets.”
I tremble from the promise of his words before he brings his mouth to mine. His tongue is long and smooth and plunges deep inside, exploring every part of my mouth. I kiss him back, hungry for more. My tongue brushes his sharp fangs, but I am not afraid. If anything, the point of contact sends shivers of awareness skittering across my body.
His hand moves between my legs, and my cry is part shout, part moan. He lightly drags one claw along my center, and I lose my breath, unable to even think clearly. One of his knuckles slides inside, and I shudder, my body taut with awareness.
“Mmm,” he purrs. “So wet. But not wet enough.”
He adds another knuckle. Somehow, he manages to stroke me without piercing me with his talons, his hand curling inward so his claws are angled toward himself. I remember his claim that he had perfect control over his claws.
Was this what he referred to?
I cry out again as his fingers pump in and out, gaining speed. My body writhes against him, urging him onward. My panting grows louder.
With his other hand, Varius cups my breast, pressing his thumb against my nipple. Stars burst in my vision, and I bite back a scream. My hips buck as I ride his fingers, desperate for release. I’m so close to the edge. So close to tumbling over.
Varius leans over me, capturing my nipple in his mouth. When his fangs drag along the peaked tip, my climax shatters through my body, breaking me completely. A strangled scream bursts from me, and I thrash against him, chasing that feeling over the cliff. Varius groans in my ear, his voice low and deep. I thread my fingers through his hair.
“Sybelle!” he says urgently.
