Page 125 of Poisoned Kingdom
And suddenly, I didn’t care who was in control anymore. I just needed him inside me.
The man I loved.The berserker king.
‘Touch me, Rey,’ I whispered, swallowing hard.
He froze. A low, feral rumble rose in his chest—the sound of a sleeping beast awakening. Then, with one swift motion, he tossed the broken wood aside and reached for me, yanking me into his arms as his mouth crashed onto mine.
‘Say it again,’ he demanded, gripping my braid, pulling just enough to force my eyes up to his.
‘Touch me, Rey,’ I whispered. ‘I want you.Allof you.’
‘Fuck, Sanika . . .’ he growled, his chest heaving, the pulse in his neck thundering. ‘It’s too strong. I want to devour you—Ineedto—but I’m afraid I’ll hurt you if I touch you now.’
Yet even as he said it, his mouth was already on mine again, locking us together in a kiss so searing it set my body ablaze and wiped my mind of any doubts.
He tasted like winter apples, sweet and tangy and so intoxicating that my lips parted, letting him in. My body and mind yielded, giving in to the desire I’d so long resisted.
‘I can’t live without you, my light,’ he said, his lips landing on my collarbone, teeth scraping oversensitive skin, leaving a mark. ‘I’ve never wanted someone so much, so desperately. Until I saw you in that forest, I thought that women like you only existed in dreams. My forest goddess, my vila, give yourself to me.’
‘I’m real,’ I breathed, arching into his touch.
He smiled—a savage, reverent thing—and kissed me again.
‘Then let me taste you, let me fuck you so hard that reality becomes a distant memory. Then, when I’m deep inside you, maybe you’ll understand how much I need you.’ His hands grasped the collar of my nightgown and tore it open in a single movement, the fabric falling away in scraps. ‘I claim you, Sanika,’ he groaned, inhaling deeply. ‘You are mine and always will be.’
The sudden exposure sent a chill across my skin, my nipples tightening—but I didn’t care. Not about the cold. Not about the possessiveness in his voice. Not even about the claim he’d just made.
Because when Rey looked at me like that, like I was sacred and sinful all at once, I didn’t want to run.
I wanted tostay.
It had been too long since I’d lain with a man, and Reynard’s unbridled desire, wrapped up with his brutal strength, was exactly what I needed.
Make me forget the world outside your arms,I thought as his teeth bit sharp enough to leave a mark. I arched into him anyway, offering my breasts to his mouth, because every whispered word, every worshipful murmur of praise, sent sparks down my spine and a pulse of heat between my legs.
‘Yours . . .?’ I teased, nails dragging over the muscle of his arms. ‘But will I be able to tame this ravenous beast?’
His growl was low and dark, curling heat in my belly. ‘Tell me you’re mine and you can put the fucking collar around my neck yourself.’ His fingers tightened on my hips. ‘Tame the beast. Play with fire. Let it burn your name into my skin.’
That was the essence of his claim, not to own but to cherish. The simple beauty of it tightened my throat with a swell of emotion.
Reynard hissed when my nails raked down his torso. I gripped his shaft, circling the slick head with one finger, teasing him, claiming him in my own way.
‘I like the fire,’ I said, voice husky. ‘I’m not afraid of you. Do your worst, my Wolf.’
He groaned, hips jerking at my touch. ‘My worst? The things I want to do to you . . . no honest man should want them.’
‘But you’ll do them the moment I say I’m yours?’ I asked sweetly, tightening my grip and stroking him until he moaned, his self-control unravelling in my hand.
‘Say it,’ he panted, golden eye blazing as something shifted in him—his restraint cracking, the berserker rising. ‘Say it and find out.’
‘I’m yours,’ I whispered, catching his groan with my lips, swallowing it down. My breath hitched as his hands slid around me, and with a strength that took my breath away, he flipped me onto my back. ‘I want to be yours.’
‘My Viper,’ he rasped, kissing my neck, his voice and plea and a promise, ‘my sweet, forbidden poison. I’ll destroy yourenemies, I’ll wage war for you, I’ll defy the fucking gods—but please,please, my wild desire, open your legs for me. I cannot take it any longer.’
His mouth trailed heat down past my collarbone, and when my fingers tangled in the thick waves of his hair, I parted my thighs for his questing mouth.
‘Like that?’ I breathed, lifting my hips towards him.
