Page 37 of A Dream Shrouded in Fury
Any grip I had on the nothingness slipped when a noise of understanding rumbled in Kalla’s throat and she closed the distance between us by another step.“Unwinding sounds good.”
My cock twitched at the roughness in her voice, the raw want that echoed the arousal burning in my veins.“It does.”I cleared my throat again.“But we should probably...”
Probably what?I was sure there were reasons for me to walk away, but as I stood next to her, eyeing the span of her neck when she tilted her head to look up at me, they didn’t present themselves.My hand moved without my permission, my fingers stroking the softness of her bare arm, up to her elbow, her almost-healed shoulder, to the base of her jaw until they slid to the back of her neck.And with every part of her body I claimed, the space between us disappeared until her chest pressed against mine.
Against my will, my gaze dropped, drawn to the swell of her breasts beneath the thin black cotton.My other hand itched to cup her, to stroke my thumb over her hardened nipple, but I maintained enough control to keep it clenched at my side.
“This isn’t a good idea,” I whispered, needing it to be said.I was about to sacrifice myself on the altar of my revenge, a mission so far beyond me that there was no way I’d succeed.Kalla had her life to get back to.Indulging in this pleasure would only complicate everything.
If I tasted her again, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let her go.My desire for her had grown so strong that one more night wouldn’t be enough.I would need an eternity to slake my need.
Something I could never admit out loud.If I said it, I wouldn’t be able to tuck the truth back into the recesses of my mind, and then how was I supposed to keep walking?All of this was a bad idea.Silence and distance were my best safeguards.
But her lips came closer, and her hand curled around my closed fist, loosening my grip on myself, sabotaging my self-restraint.
“It’s not,” she agreed.“But I want it.I tried to keep my distance, but fuck, Jael.That was too close.Death almost dragged me under, and the thought of—of—I need you.”
I might have gulped, my tongue suddenly too thick and unwieldy.My hand at the back of her neck pulled her closer, acting of its own volition.Her heart raced against mine, igniting a fire in my stomach that spread everywhere.My other hand finally broke through my self-control and brushed a loose lock of hair behind her rounded ear.
“Can I kiss you?”she whispered.
At that echo of our first kiss, my resistance cracked.I caught her lips with mine, starving for her.The coyote’s blood lingered on her tongue, and the primal nature of her meal woke matching primal urges within me.I ground my hips against her, needing her to feel the effect she had on me.My rigid cock pressed into her belly, and she pressed back as she curled her fingers around the top of my armour.
Too much armour.The leather was too thick.I needed to feel her.
“More,” I growled, and when she whimpered, I swallowed the sound, drowning in arousal.“I need more, Kalia.I need all of you.After tonight—after I thought I—”
She kissed me again, ravenous, and without pulling away from her, I undid the buckles and unlaced the straps.Another growl escaped me when I was forced to break our kiss long enough to pull the breastplate over my head.As soon as it hit the ground, my arms were back around her, and she was tearing at my shirt.The laces at my collar snapped, and I didn’t care that this was my only shirt.She could rip the entire thing to shreds, and I would go to my death without it.
A surge of desperation swept through me.Tomorrow night, I’d be walking towards my end, but if I carried the memory of her, I would hold on to my courage.
It made no sense that this vampire should have dominated my senses.Fae were immune to vampiric compulsion.It was fact.Yet somehow, over the past few nights, I’d become hers, and if this was my last chance to show her, then I would make sure she never forgot it.
I slid my hands under her shirt and moaned into her mouth as I cupped her breasts.She arched her back into my palms, and a squeak left her when I pinched her nipples, twirling them gently before rubbing them with the pads of my thumbs.
When my eyes grew jealous of my hands, I pulled off her shirt and tossed it onto the ground, then bent my head to take one of her pebbled peaks into my mouth.I nipped and laved in equal measure until Kalla squirmed against me, her fingers in my hair, her hips thrusting at nothing.
“Please, Jael—fuck.I want—”
“What do you want, lutrena me?Anything you want, I’ll give you.”
Through her panting breaths, a knowing smile curled the corner of her mouth, her blue eyes fully black.“You.All of you.Inside me.Now.”
With a lustful groan, I tore myself away from her breasts to reclaim her mouth.That was a debt I would gladly accept.How could I deny her when she was so fucking perfect?How could I reject the gift of the sky when this would be my last chance to experience the full beauty the world offered?
Kalla
XXVI
This man.This beautiful fae who’d saved my life and guided me back from a world of torment.He tasted of dreams and sunshine and every forbidden vice.
As I’d fed on that coyote, its lifeblood reviving me, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Jael’s reaction to the guard who’d stabbed me.The murder in his eyes, as though that fae had committed the worst possible crime.I thought of the terror in Jael’s voice when I’d nearly slipped too far out of reach.
What had I done to earn such intensity?Whatever magic had brought me to him, he deserved to know how deeply those feelings were returned.
When I kissed him again, I filled it with every warm thought and desire, hoping he understood.His tongue stroked mine, exploring, delving—no longer teasing.He wasn’t playing; this was real and it was everything.
I pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the ground to join mine, then set to work unlacing his breeches.His hardened length twitched against my hand, and my mouth watered with a craving so sharp I swore I would cry if I didn’t give in.My lips still on his, I shoved him against the tree.His eyes flew open in confusion, then stayed on mine as I dropped to my knees, taking his breeches with me.
