Page 99 of Bride of Ice
Watching her face as he tenderly stroked her delicate flesh was almost more than he could bear. Her eyes squeezed shut with fierce need. Her mouth opened in breathless awe. She rocked her head as she floated in a world where suffering was a hair’s breadth away from satisfaction.
Furrowing his brow with his own torment, he swooped down upon her, capturing her rough gasps and lovely sighs in his mouth.
He knew the moment she began her ascent into the heavenly realm of surrender, when she’d reached the point of no return.
Her focus became so centered, she was no longer able to return his kisses. Her fists clenched the linens. Her breath caught in shallow gasps. Her body went rigid.
He watched her with awe as she finally yielded to her passions. He felt her release almost as if it were his own as, with a ragged cry of ecstasy, she arced in a blissful seizure and finally shuddered back to earth.
For a brief moment afterward, he held her in his arms, soothing her with soft murmurs, despite the white hot lust yet raging in his loins.
And then, just when he was convinced she was a beautiful angel, fallen out of the sky and left for him as a gift from God, she perpetrated a most devilish deed.
Chapter 26
Once, in a tournament melee long ago, in the midst of triumphant battle, Hallie had taken an unexpected blow to the helm. A blow that left her sitting on her arse, groggy and disoriented.
That was how she felt now. After a thrilling moment of unbridled joy and glowing satisfaction, now, in the dazed aftermath of her earthshaking release, she felt weak. Spent. Useless.
Colban had guided her on a remarkable journey—climbing up and cresting a great mountain, soaring blissfully across the sky, and finally plunging off a cliff of ecstasy.
Yet even in her dizzy state, she could sense the dramatic trek had changed her. It had forged her into a new weapon. A weapon that was stronger. More determined. And more willful.
Once she was rejuvenated and empowered, she felt it was only right to return his lusty overtures. To prove to him she could give as good as she got. But also to seek sweet revenge for the devastating blow he’d dealt her. To claim victory over the Champion. And to truly seal their bond.
Before he could brace for her swift attack, Hallie rose up and rolled him onto his back. While he lay pinned there in surprise, she boldly reached between their bodies, finding the still swollen evidence of his desire.
He groaned at her touch.
But when she guided him toward the aching hollow of her womanhood, he choked out a warning. “Easy, lass.”
“I want it,” she assured him. “I want this.”
“Ye say that now,” he said on a rueful chuckle, “but later ye may regret—”
Quickly, before he could change her mind and she could lose her nerve, she thrust him inside her, sheathing him like a blade.
He grunted in surprise and pleasure.
But like a blade, despite his velvety warmth, he wounded her. She winced as pain seared her loins.
Seeing her recoil, he sucked in a sharp breath of empathy between his teeth. “Och nay,” he despaired, his brow crumpling in dismay. “Are ye hurt? I’m so sorry, lass.”
It stung, but not nearly as bad as the cut of a knife. Sorry? What was he sorry for? She’d known to expect pain. And it wasn’t like she’d given him much choice in the matter.
“I’m not sorry,” she rasped out.
She reeled at the recklessness of what she’d done. It was the kind of impulsive action Jenefer might have taken. The kind of stealthy maneuver Feiyan might have planned.
But she’d accomplished what she’d intended. The consummation was complete. And in fact, the discomfort was already receding, replaced by a curious fullness.
“It shouldn’t have been like this,” he insisted. “It can be so much better.”
She swallowed as the burning subsided, then said, “Show me.”
He gazed up at her then with smoky eyes, raw with need, yet full of compassion. “Ye’re certain?”
“What’s done is done,” she said. “If we’re to be married, what difference does a few days make?”
