Page 82 of By the Horns
That sets him off. “We’re not. We’re not the same atall.”
He hauls me into the air, and I let out a squeak of distress. In the next moment, I land atop the mattress, my torn pants falling farther until they tangle about my ankles. I’ve barely gotten up on hands and knees before two massive hands grab my hips and haul me backward. The rest of my pants are ripped away and tossed aside, and then Raptor sits on the floor next to the bed. He drags me to the edge of the mattress, and then his muzzle is between my legs, his hands gripping me and pinning me in place so I can’t wriggle away.
As if I want to go anywhere? This is the place I’m desperate to be.
I moan, collapsing on the bed and pressing my cheek to the blankets as his enormous, thick Taurian tongue sweeps over my throbbing pussy. He groans, making a sound of pure enjoyment, and laps at me again. “Secrets…tell me….”
He sounds like he’s getting distracted, too.
“You’re going to have to try harder than that,” I pant, and make another horrid whining sound when his tongue strokes deep into me. Oh goddess, is it possible that it can feel thicker than his fingers?
He growls low, as if reminding me that I’m supposed to be talking, but I bite down on my knuckles and give in to the pleasure as he tongues my pussy. One hand slides under me, and then he’s teasing my clit as he licks me, and pure ecstasy flares through my body. I lift my hips, driving up against his mouth as he moves me closer and closer to what’s surely going to be a mind-blowing orgasm—
—and then he lifts his head, his fingers pausing in their relentless rolling of my clit. “Speak up.”
“Argh!” I arch my hips, trying to push my pussy into his face for him to lick again. “You stopped! I’m so fucking close!”
“Good. Tell me what you know.” His tongue teases along my folds again, his breath hot against my skin. “And I’ll give you what you need.”
Now I’m starting to get annoyed.
I push his hands away, only for the one at my hip to lock down tighter. He teases a little circle around my clit, his teeth grazing my buttock.
“Tell me.”
“I don’t know anything!” I wail.
“You’re a little liar and we both know it.” He toys with my clit until I’m frantically rubbing against him again, and then he stops once more.
I growl.
“I can give you what you want. Just tell me what I need to know.” His finger is poised against my clit again, as if he’s going to start rubbing the moment I suddenly spill.
And I’m just…frustrated. I can’t win. Because I can’t tell him who I really am. Even if I could, why would anyone ever want to touch a mancer? Especially one who deals with the dead? Either I lose him now because he can’t trust me…or I lose him forever if I tell the truth.
A sob escapes me. I bite down on my knuckles again, trying to muffle it, but the damage is done. Even as I choke down the next one, Raptor’s hands are gone. In the next moment, his big body presses over mine, all but lying over me in the bed. “Shh. It’s all right.”
“It’s not all right. Nothing is all right,” I manage to choke out, even as hot tears sweep down my cheeks. “And I f-fucking hate c-crying over it.”
He nuzzles my neck and face, the metal ring in his nose as warm as his skin. “Let me help you, Gwenna. If you’re in trouble, I can help. But I need to know what I’m working with.”
More tears spill out. I can’t tell him. It’s not the same as confessing to Mereden and Lark, who already knew that I’d pointed us at two dead bodies back when we were in a Five together. Those were friends. This is Raptor. This is the Taurian I want to touch me, desperately. This is someone I want to look at me with love and affection, and I just know that will change the moment he learns the truth of who I am.
He’ll look at me with wariness. Like he doesn’t know who or what I am.
And it willdestroyme inside.
I just cry harder.
“Shh, please, Gwenna.” He lifts off me in the bed, then turns me over with gentle hands. When I gaze up at him, my eyes swimming with tears, he leans in and ever so carefully presses his muzzle to my lips. It’s a kiss. A strange one, but the meaning is all the same. “I hate it when you cry, little bantam. Please don’t. If you’re in some sort of danger, I want to help.”
I reach up and caress his face, my fingers stroking down his long, beautiful nose. “No one can help me.”
“What will it take for you to trust me?” He cups my cheek, nuzzling at my neck again.
My eyes start to fill with tears once more, and I shake my head. I press a kiss of my own on his nose, cupping his face in my hands as I do. “Maybe just don’t torture me anymore? If I could tell you, I would.”
“Tortureyou?” He nips at my ear, sending shivers up my spine. “Woman, do you think you’re the only one suffering? My knot is as hard as iron right now.”
