Page 122 of The Burning Mountain
He barely had the presence of mind to make sure they were away from plain sight. Picking her up easily, he strode toward his bedchamber.
He carried her through the rooms, her legs wrapped around him. It was a miracle they didn’t run across anyone on the way.
She kissed his throat, her inexperience showing in the ardent way she did it. It drove him crazy. He shut the door behind them and then slammed her against it.
“Sorry,” he whispered, immediately contrite. He pulled her away, rubbing her back, soothing any hurt she might have experienced. The scent of jasmine rose from the cloud of her hair, winding up the need inside him to a fever pitch. He filled his lungs with her scent and tried to calm his racing heart.
“I don’t want you to be restrained tonight,” she whispered into his ear, and he didn’t know whether to fall at her feet in supplication or ask her to take it back since he was so on edge that his control hung by a thread. “I want to feel how much you really want me. Please, Veer.”
His eyes blazed for a moment. “Are you sure?”
Her eyes roamedover his beloved, handsome face, the strong jaw, the raptor eyes with their arching brows, the high cheekbones. His lower lip had a crack, and she knew she was responsible for it.
She placed her finger on it, trying to soothe the small injury. “Don’t worry about me, Veer. I feel the same.”
They didn’t make it to the bed. Luckily, the carpet was thick and deep. She luxuriated in the feel of the plush wool at her back as he moved powerfully within her. His hands were everywhere, and his mouth never left hers. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, tracing the bunching muscle as he thrust into her.
They didn’t engage in much foreplay, but she didn’t need it. She was already so close. And knew it was the same for him. His movements were urgent and unrestrained. She gasped when he struck a spot deep within her.
He reared back on his knees and grabbed her hips and worked her body over his shaft, rubbing the spot over and over again. He loomed over her, muscles slick with sweat, eyes wild with want, looking like a conqueror who took what he wanted. She scrunched her eyes shut, the sight too much, and screamed his name as she came.
Her orgasm felt endless, ripples of pleasure cresting and falling. He lifted her, cradling her body, and groaned her name as he climaxed.
Finally, she floated back to earth and found that he had laid her back on the carpet. He propped his head on an arm and stared at her, his hands gently brushing her hair away from her face.
She felt the acute lack of a blanket, something to cover herself from his penetrating gaze.
Her eyes fell on the perfect semicircle of bite marks on his shoulder, adjacent to a new wide scar that she didn’t remember seeing before. She couldn’t even recall biting him. Her gaze lowered, her eyes wandering down his muscular body and just as swiftly, her gaze flew to his, when it became evident, he wasn’t even close to being done. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment even after all that they had done.
His mouth tilted up in a wicked smile. The fire in his eyes was banked but still smoldering.
“Once was never going to be enough, Princess,” he said, rolling her over him. “The night is only beginning.”
“How do you not hate me?”she asked him later. They lay together watching the sunrise from the windows, painting the mountainous landscape in vivid shades of blush pink and coppery orange. They didn’t get much sleep through the night. A strange urgency seemed to have taken root, like a barrier between them, a vague sense that they were running out of time. A feeling they tried desperately to eliminate by physically being as close as possible.
“I don’t follow. Why would I?” he asked, idly sliding a lock of her jasmine-scented hair through his fingers.
“Because of my father.” She spoke into his chest. “I know Amaravathi is launching an attack.”
Veer went silent for a while, his fingers pausing. “How did you know? I thought your brother would keep it a secret from you.”
“It wasn’t him,” she admitted, looking up at him. “I figured it out myself. In fact, this matter was weighing on my mind for a while. Even King Pourava mentioned how this appeared shady. But without proof, I didn’t want to cast aspersions. I guess, with his plan to annex Kalpeet at this crucial time…well, there’s the proof I needed.”
“Are you all right, Chandra?” he asked quietly, concerned when he saw her fight to not break down.
“No. I am not.” Veer heard the hint of tears in her voice. “I’ll need some time to get over it.”
“I didn’t want to cause you hurt,” he said, tightening his arms around her, offering her comfort as best as he could.
She smiled sadly. “There is nothing you could do, Veer. I appreciate your attempt to shield me, but in the future, I’d like it, if you can share such things with me—no matter how painful they are.”
“I can’t exactly promise that, Princess. This comes instinctively to me.”
“I know. But you can’t protect me from everything. Which is why I’m begging you…please let me come with you to Meru.”
“It appears that I have no choice,” he said, his face turned serious as he relayed the conversation he had with her brother.
“What if something happens to you?” he said, his voice haunted. “How can I live with myself? I keep trying to protect you, but instead I push you into even greater danger. The yaksha warned me as much.” Briefly he explained about the Seven Lives Curse, feeling as if control was slipping from his hands, as if he was calling the prophecy into existence by uttering those words. “I already lost you once because of my stupidity. I don’t want to lose you again.”
