Page 25 of Kazmyr: Molten for Her
I pressed my palm flat against the Heartforge's console, feeling the ship's wounded heart beating in rhythm with my own. A vow formed in my mind… I would burn this place down before it took another mate. Before it took Jenna from me.
"Prepare for approach," I ordered, my voice resonating through the chamber as the Heartforge responded to my command. "We end this now."
The ship surged forward, damaged but defiant, carrying us toward the fortress and whatever waited within its twisted halls. My scars blazed with purpose, no longer a reminder of failure but a promise of retribution. For Jenna. For Maya. For every mate whose bond had been twisted into a tool for profit.
The fire within me burned clean and true, ready to consume everything that stood in our path.
CHAPTER 11
JENNA
My heart hammered against my ribs as I dragged Kazmyr toward the moss chamber, my fingers wrapped around his obsidian wrist. The marks beneath his skin pulsed with surprise, then hunger, molten gold tracing paths up his forearm where I touched him. Every siren in my head screamed this was bad timing, but I didn't care. If we were flying into battle against Asset P—if this could be our last day alive—I refused to face it with our bond half-formed, with questions hanging between us like smoke.
"Jenna." My name vibrated through his chest like distant thunder.
I silenced him with a look. "What? I refuse to hear excuses."
His massive frame filled the corridor, heat radiating off him in waves that distorted the air. The ember marks along his jaw flickered, catching my reflection in their molten glow. His eyes, those impossible pools of liquid gold, narrowed.
"What is this?"
I pulled harder, refusing to let his mountain-sized stubbornness deter me. "Insurance."
The moss chamber door recognized my approach and spiraled open, releasing a warm cloud of spice-scented air. Inside, the living walls pulsed in greeting, thousands of tiny, sentient fibers stretching toward us like eager fingers. Kazmyr hesitated at the threshold, his entire body tensing.
"You are not ready for what completion means," he rumbled, but his marks betrayed him, flaring hot enough that I felt their heat against my cheeks. "Your human form?—"
"Fuck that." I yanked him forward, using his momentary surprise to pull his massive body into the chamber. The door sealed behind us with a satisfied hiss. "I'm sick of everyone deciding what I can handle."
His chest expanded with a breath so deep it seemed to draw half the oxygen from the room. The moss beneath our feet responded instantly, creeping up around our ankles in welcoming spirals. Kazmyr's molten gaze tracked every microexpression on my face.
"You think this makes us safer?" His voice dropped lower, a sound more felt than heard. "That binding yourself to me before battle somehow protects you?"
"No." I stepped closer, tilting my head back to meet his eyes. "I think flying into hell knowing exactly what I'm coming back to makes me stronger."
His hands—massive, powerful, capable of crushing stone—came up to frame my face with impossible gentleness. The contrast between his raw strength and careful touch sent liquid heat pooling between my thighs.
"And if you do not come back?" The marks along his throat pulsed with emotion I couldn't fully read. "If your Earth calls you home after this?"
I pressed my palms against his chest, feeling the unnatural heat of him even through his cooling beads. "Then at least I'll know what I'm leaving behind."
That broke something in him. His control, his restraint, whatever wall he'd built between us… it crumbled in an instant. With a growl that vibrated through the floor, he lifted me against him, the motion so swift I gasped. My legs wrapped around his waist instinctively as he carried me to the center of the chamber where the moss grew thickest.
"You believe you know what you ask for," he whispered against my neck, his breath scorching my skin. "You cannot."
I dug my fingers into his shoulders, nails scraping against obsidian flesh hard enough to leave marks. "Then stop talking and show me."
He lowered us both to the moss, which swelled eagerly beneath us, forming a perfect cradle for our bodies. The living tendrils crawled up my legs, tugging playfully at my clothes as Kazmyr settled me onto his lap. The hard ridge of his arousal pressed against my core, separated only by thin layers of fabric.
"If we begin this," he warned, marks pulsing with each word, "I cannot guarantee I will stop."
I rocked against him deliberately, watching his eyes flare molten bright. "Did I fucking ask you to?"
His mouth crashed into mine, stealing my breath and any remaining doubt. The taste of him exploded across my senses… smoke and iron and something ancient that reminded me of volcanic stone. His tongue swept past my lips, hotter than human-normal, the texture slightly rougher. I moaned into the kiss, my hands finding the curved spires of his horns and using them as leverage to press closer.
Kazmyr growled against my mouth, his massive hands sliding under my thighs to adjust my position. The new angle ground me against his hardness with perfect pressure. Pleasure spiraled through me, sharp and demanding.
"Your heat," he murmured against my jaw, teeth grazing sensitive skin. "I can taste your fire already."
