Page 177 of Golden Queen
"Not a chance," he said.
"I am not so delicate, Io. And I know you have better control than to really hurt me."
He shook his head, smile fading. "It will never happen, Sera. Even if I had not sworn an oath to you that I would never move against you, there is no force in the realm that could make my hand rise against you."
I wanted to be annoyed. I really had been looking forward to seeing how well I could defend myself. But the words,dear gods, the words entirely undid me.
I lowered my sword, feeling the connection between me and the blade fading as a new force, more welcome, more substantial, stole the space the power occupied inside me. Stole all the space inside me.
Sangui clattered to the stones, but I barely noticed as I went to him, sliding my arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely. I pulled him to me, as though I could actually meld myself to him with that same lightning that connected the sword to my hand.
He kissed me back, and at some point, I heard his sword slide to the stones a great deal more gently than mine had.
He laughed against my lips as he held my armored body to his. "I should have known that would turn you on," he said, sliding his lips along my jaw.
"Oh? Why's that exactly?"
"Because you love to see me yield to you, to be your loyal, devoted supplicant. You really should be ashamed to always want me bowing before the temple of Seraphem."
I rolled my eyes, but it was true. Nothing gave me a thrill so much as the idea of him, so strong and powerful, so far above any creature I had ever known, kneeling in service to me.
It had started with that oath, freely given and from his heart. That had been the moment everything had changed. That had been the moment there was no going back. For the Lord of Darkwatch, who bowed to no one—not even the King of Nightfall, whose realm his kingdom lay within, to go to his knees before me, the battered and broken queen on the verge of exile from her own kingdom, and swear me those old words of fealty…it had been, and still remained, a greater honor than any I could ever hope to deserve.
My armor came off a little less carefully than it had gone on, and when he had stripped me down to only my shirt, as though he could wait no longer, he gripped my hips and slid into me, standing in the middle of the chamber holding me against him.
He groaned and stilled, sinking his head to my shoulder as he held me against him, the deep ache of him seated so fully, making me shudder. "I don't know how long it's going to take for me to learn to control myself when I feel not only my own pleasure, but yours as well."
"You are operating under the mistaken assumption that you need to control yourself," I replied, grasping his shoulders and lifting myself so that I slid along his impressive length.
He growled into my ear. "Wicked." And then he did loosen his control. He slid his hands from the backs of my thighs to my ass so that he could lift me and lower me roughly over him as he strode across the chamber.
In a heartbeat he had pulled my shirt over my head and laid me on the soft moss. And then he was over me, thrusting long and fast into me while I watched the taut muscles of his chest and shoulders.
The tension inside me skyrocketed as he moved, one hand on my hip pulling me to him as he met the thrust with his own body.
His fingers slid down my neck, my chest, and then across my stomach until they met my flesh where our bodies were joined. He stroked his fingers down and up, catching the bundle of nerves and sending my pleasure over the edge so that I came fast and hard, my body shuddering with dual waves of pleasure.
His climax was nearly simultaneous as he growled, "Fuck, Sera," while he thrust into me again and again, his own waves of pleasure darkening his expression to something wild and hungry as he ground his hips against mine.
Even as he slowed, the second wave of release hit me so hard that my back arched from the floor. I moaned the same curse he had, my legs hooked around him, drawing him in against me, his cock inside me hitting some deep ache of pure satisfaction.
He caught my nipple between his teeth as he chuckled a deep satisfied rumble from his chest. I felt his tongue replace his teeth as it swirled around the peaked bud, and then the sides of my breast.
His hips were still moving, slower and slower as the pleasure wound down and down. I was shaking, my breath ragged and my heart pounding as I relaxed my body and lay against the cave floor.
He leaned down to me, holding his weight off me as he kissed me, my lips, my cheeks, my neck, raining sweet, gentle kisses across my skin. When he met my eyes again, they were full of a stark, unbridled happiness that took my breath away. "Let's go home, Sera."
Heartache split through me like a knife. I wanted to agree, wanted to say yes. I wanted to feel that same happiness I saw in his eyes.
“Stop that,” he admonished, lips curving in a half grin. He felt my pain, and I saw it reflected in his eyes, though he was doing his best to make light of it.
“Or you could stay out of my head,” I snapped. I pushed up, forcing him back as I turned to search for my shirt, trying to hide the shaking of my hands.
“I could lie and say I’ve been trying,” he said ruefully. When I didn’t answer, he reached for me. “Sera?”
I jerked away. “Don’t,” I said, fumbling with my shirt, trying to turn it right-side out. I regretted snapping at him almost immediately, but the terror I felt was turning to anger—anger that he could be so cavalier about what we were doing—the path we were prepared to walk.
He took my shirt and deftly turned it right-side out, handing it back to me.
