Page 68 of Light and Shadow
Aaran takes my hand and leads me back to our room. Once inside, he lets go and paces the two steps the room allows. “Jax is not angry with you. He’s frustrated with the situation.”
“He could have fooled me. His scowl is starting to annoy me, and I was just starting to find him tolerable.” Only barely. I mean at first, he was intimidating. After a while, I just got used to him, and he was in the party who saved me. Now, I’m losing my patience with his attitude, and my Jersey Girl nature is pushing through.
Stopping, Aaran stares at me, and a wide smile blooms on his already too-handsome face. “He’s a good man.”
It’s not easy to stay angry when Aaran looks at me like this. “Stop defending him.”
He wraps me in his arms and pulls me in. “You’ll need to get along with him. We still have a long journey ahead.”
“No.”
“No?” He cocks his head.
“Jax needs to get alongwith me. I’m done trying to be nice to a man who, despite needing me, treats me like I’m the problem. I have no idea why I’ve done so this long. There will be no more adjusting of my personality to suit anyone else.” I poke his chest. “And I’m including you in that. I’m not sweet. I’m not mild mannered. I don’t like to be told what to do. I was terrified when I came into this world, but I’m done with that as well. If I die, then at least I put up a fight and didn’t cower in the cabins with the children. No more, Aaran.” I push out of his arms.
His smile never falters. “Alright.”
“What does that mean?” I suspect he’s mollifying me.
Closing the distance between us, he backs me against the door. “I don’t want you to pretend to be anything, Harper. I loved you in your world when you were aloof, dismissive, and brave as a dragon. I loved you in my world when you stepped through an unknown portal to save a village full of people youbarely knew. I love you in this moment when you think you’re throwing off some guise that never existed. I have never asked you to be anything other than yourself. If you feel as if you’ve been stymied by events or people, you should do what you must to remove those issues.”
I’m struck dumb by his declaration. Not to mention that he’s standing so close, his heat is warming all my lady parts. “Oh.”
He tucks my hair behind my ear and skims my lobe with his finger. “I was thinking of kissing you, but I don’t want to block any human need you have for individuality.”
“You’re teasing me?” All of that, and now he’s making jokes.
His smile is wicked.
Trapped between his hard body and the door, I do what any self-respecting Jersey Girl would do. I reach between us and grab his cock. Holding it tight enough to gain his full attention and wipe that smile from his face, but not cause him pain, I stare into his wide eyes. “We have two options: I can turn this into a caress, or you can keep making light of my concerns.”
Grinding his hips into my hand, he lowers his lips until they’re a breath away from mine. “It’s not making light,mo chroi. I just find you even more irresistible when you fight back.”
I caress his thick cock through his trousers. “When have I fought back?”
He raises one curved eyebrow. “When have you not? From the moment we met, you have fought, either me with that bit of steel, or others with your magic or wits. You may not have been raised to be a warrior, but you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met. With you at my side, I know anything is possible, even defeating the witch queen.” He crushes my mouth with his lips.
I slip my hand inside his fly and grip his hot flesh, working him from base to tip. My pussy aches with need. “Why is everything you say so hot?”
Tugging the button and zipper of my jeans free, he works the denim over my hips, only stopping when I push him back.
“Everyone above will know what we’re doing,” I say, but I’m not one hundred percent sure I care.
“Probably.” He steps out of his boots and tosses his weapons and clothes on the floor.
God he’s beautiful. His cock stands out from his perfect body, and I quake with need. I push the bolt on the door into place and pull my shirt over my head. “What if Venora returns?”
“They’ll sound an alarm from above.” He lets me back him on the bed, and I straddle his legs.
When he reaches for me as if to bring me onto his cock, I shake my head. Leaning forward, I suck his thick shaft deep into my mouth.
His fingers thread my hair. “Harper.” It’s more growl than my name. He says it again and again as I release him and draw him deep.
My juices drip down my thighs and I can barely contain my own pleasure despite not having been touched. As his balls tighten, I crawl up his body and impale myself on him. I muffle my scream against his chest.
His groan rumbles in his throat. “All the old gods, Harper. You are magnificent in every way.”
Grinding my hips forward, I take him deeper. I’m so close to coming, it’s hard to breathe. I sit up and rise to my knees, then plunge, taking him inside me again and again. Faster and with his fingers digging into my hips to keep our pace, we both tighten and tumble over into ecstasy.
