Page 37 of Great Falls Protector
Lera’s chest heaved, beads of sweat glimmering at her temples as she struggled to get to the knife despite the futility of the effort. One deep look at the desperation in her chocolate eyes, and River knew that she’d not been toying with him. Shehadbeen trying to plunge the knife into her own flesh, though it scared her spitless.A desperate last-chance move toward an end River could not begin to guess. And it drove him insane.
Leralynn’s lilac scent wrapped around River as his lips pulled back into an infuriated snarl that felt more animal than human.His breath came in short, shallow bursts that grew more desperate the longer he looked at her. Really, really looked.
The ears, he saw those first. Delicate elongated points that made River hard from a single glance. Leralynn’s face was her own, yet somehow even more beautiful, the bones slightly elongated, sculpted into ethereal perfection, the skin satin smooth, almost pearlescent. The girl’s hair had strayed from her braid and cascaded over her bare shoulders in locks of thick auburn that River’s fingers longed to bury themselves in. Leralynn’s strapless dress had slid down in the tussle, showing the tops of lush breasts peeking above the red silk.
And then there was something else, a shimmer of power that River felt rather than saw. Just as he felt a power inside himself rouse to it in response. Waking his body to fuller sensations. To strength. To need.
River inhaled again, the girl’s lilac scent making the blood in his veins rise to a simmer. Especially when he could tell that the female was drinking him in as well, her gaze resting so intensely on his features that, despite what he’d just done, he knew she wasn’t giving up on him. “Why don’t you hate me?” he demanded.
“Because I love you,” Leralynn whispered.
River’s heart clapped like thunder, dizziness threatening the edges of his vision. Watching those words cross her perfect fae lips was a surreal kind of torture, hardening every muscle in his body.
Her nostrils flared delicately as if she could smell the bead of moisture River knew was at the end of his engorged cock—the bloody thing having a mind of its own. Her lips parted, the scent of her own reciprocal arousal flaring even as River held her against the wall. Which only made his cock pulse harder, drowning out the pain in his side.
“River—” Leralynn’s musical voice was husky, her hands wrapping around his neck.
“Quiet.” The order came in a snarl that echoed the chaos the girl was wreaking inside him. River was going to kill her for turning that blade on herself. Was going to bundle her up like a package and throw her somewhere she could harm no one, least of all herself. He was going to … He was going to kiss her, stars damn it.
River pressed his mouth against Leralynn’s, her lips parting hungrily to let him inside. She was warm, the tips of her elongated canines sharp little points that sent zings of sensation from River’s tongue all the way to his straining cock, making his senses swim.
River’s tongue swept through her lips, softly at first, then deeper. Harder. Pillaging the mouth that Leralynn yielded to him freely while his mind finally quieted, this moment between them existing beyond time. As if the pull of some undeniable magic had taken his soul hostage.
Pulling his head away for breath, River stared into Lera’s face as he held her up against that wall. Her lips were pink and swollen, her skin flushed. Without the necklace on, her brown eyes were only deeper and more intoxicating, threatening to drown him whole. His entire body trembled with longing, the heady taste of her having triggered a new level of desire that made his hips press forward of their own accord, grinding against her mound.
When Lera moaned softly, it was all River could do to keep from howling with desire. Yes, more. He wanted—needed—more. And from the girl’s dilated eyes and tight grip on his shoulders, so did she.
Lera’s nails dug into River’s coat, and he stepped forward roughly, hoisting the girl’s legs around his hips, even as his wound gave a screaming blaze of protest. The pain made him waver for a moment before his cock took over his common sense, Leralynn’s body feeling too perfect around his to change anything.
Yes, with her thighs wrapped around him, River couldn’t care less how much his wound hurt. Couldn’t care about fires, or fae, or the end of the world itself. And when he slid his hand beneath her dress to find her shift soaked with the same thick arousal that coursed through him, there was no more thought to spare for anything.
Swiping the hem of Lera’s shift out of the way, River ran his hand between her wet folds, her hips pushing into his touch in desperate command. When his fingers reached her apex, the small bud already swollen and ready, he felt the growl rumble through his chest. Baring his teeth, he ran the tip of his finger over the sensitive nub, the flesh smooth and engorged enough to make Leralynn’s small body shudder beneath his touch.
“Stars.” Lera’s desperate gasp was sadistically delicious, echoing in River’s core as he jerked open his buttons.
Positioning the head of his hard cock at her entrance, River sheathed himself inside her in a single stroke. The girl moaned, tightening her legs around his hips like a vise. With one hand beneath Lera’s silky backside, River paused for a heartbeat to let the girl adjust to the intrusion, tracing the hood of her swollen apex with his free hand.
“More,” Lera growled, her tight channel gripping River, magnifying the throbbing in his shaft until it echoed through his body. She bit her lip, her breath coming in small pants as she jerked against him, her brown eyes flashing as she tried to slide herself along River’s cock. Trying to make him start pumping.
River bared his teeth, making her wait an extra heartbeat just to gather the reins of control. Then he started thrusting, the strokes deep and powerful, his cock pounding out its own rhythm.
Lera buried her face in River’s shoulder, muffling her moans as River drove into her, shoving her toward the release he could smell coming. One of her hands tangled sharply in his hair, making him gasp and pump harder. Arousal dripped from her filled sex, slicking his hands. Her body trembled, strong and vulnerable with him inside her, where he could feel each of her responses. The pleasure at each thrust, the frustration as he pulled out, teasing her bud for just a moment before impaling her again.
Yes, there was no hiding for Leralynn now. Not anymore. And River was going to make as much clear to them both before they finished. He was going to command her body and soul, giving them both the reckoning they needed.
10
Lera
The coarse wool of River’s coat scratches against my cheek as I press my face into his powerful shoulder, clinging to him tightly as his hips slam against mine at a furious, spine-tingling pace. Drawing a shaking breath, I fill my sharpened fae senses with River’s woodsy scent. With my amulet off for the first time in his presence—the mating bond writhing through my veins at full force—River has become overwhelming, tipping my hunger for him into a frenzy.
As the thick head of his cock slides over my ridges, the escalating crescendo of sensation rises and rises, stops just short of pushing me over the edge. Again. I grit my teeth.
Thrust. Thrust. Thrust.
Outside these walls, Academy life is moving on. Servants curse as they discover the door to this stairway locked and find another way around to bring refreshments into the Great Hall. Each rattle of the lock downstairs prods my arousal, making my toes curl. I press my face into River’s neck to more effectively muffle my moans…and sink my teeth into his skin. Tasting him—and prodding him to give me what I want.
River roars and pounds harder, clutching my bottom so tightly I know I’ll have bruises.
