Last Ride of the Umbra Fae

23. Vessa

23

Vessa

T he blanket was a welcome comfort this strange, frosty morning. Sometime in the night, I had draped it over us. Well, mostly over me. My palm remained on his chest, and beneath, his heart was a resting pulse. I could ruin and crush his heart within the same breath and, by the next, be ready to douse myself in whatever magic he would cast my way. I was on opposite sides of my own spectrum, hating the way he made me feel. He was a warning and a desire, rough with a simple touch that could unravel me, and here I was with my legs intertwined with his.

With Ryder still asleep, I was left with nothing but reeling thoughts. He lazily moaned at the sudden drag of my leg as I shifted. He turned onto his side, facing me with warm, muscled arms caging me in. My face was buried between his pecs, halting my next breath. His rich scent enveloped me. How could such a rough, rugged man smell so good? Indecisive about what to do, I closed my eyes and hoped to drift back to sleep and forget about any of this, but there was something hard nestled between us, right below my stomach.

My eyes widened as I felt his length throb against me.

Fucking hells.

There was a deep warmth pooling just below my belly as his bulge pushed against my center, the angle pressing just right. It pulsed in response as the rest of me stilled. The sensation grew to a need. I moved slightly against him, feeling the pressure build, coaxing me ever so slightly to thrust my hips. Heat flushed across my face and chest as my pulse pounded in my ears. Before I knew it, another thrust of my hips, and I was quietly grinding against him. The pleasure grew to a wild, untamed need as another carefully taken breath escaped me. I pressed down a little harder, allowing more pressure to build between the apex of my thighs, with my center clenching and aching for what was not inside me.

What am I doing?

His body was so massive beside mine. Just his length alone could tear me apart. My heart pummeled against my chest, and I found it hard to breathe.

“Vessa.” Ryder’s length twitched in response to what I’d been doing. I could have sworn it grew bigger once his thoughts connected. I exhaled a shaky breath at how he said my name, deep and husky. It was a relief to know he was awake, because my heart and lungs couldn’t have handled much more. He groaned, another throb, and his hand was in my hair, cupping the back of my head. With surprising force, his lips came crashing down, our tongues clashing in a mangled mess as his hips pushed against mine. His tongue was a warm welcome inside my mouth. I moaned against him as he rolled onto his back, aligning me right back where I belonged. I straddled his thighs as I rocked against his length with the shame still blushing my cheeks.

Oh gods.

His hands trailed up my waist, and with a simple pull, I lifted my arms and my top was off. He groaned, eyes hazed with lust as he took in the sight of my breasts, nipples hardening against the cool morning air.

“Fuck,” he exhaled on a bated breath, and by the end of it, he was kissing the center of my chest, moving down toward the mark of the moon. His tongue slid over that flesh, eliciting a spark deep within my core. Whatever was brewing there felt like banked embers blooming back to life, and he was here to fan the flames.

“Ryder,” I softly moaned. I had never allowed anyone to touch that space before, and I wanted more of it. He began to move his head upward, but I nudged him right back to the very center. He licked me there again, this time ending in a little bite. A soft whimper escaped me. He enjoyed exploring my body with his tongue, taking his time as if it didn’t exist around us.

He brought his lips to my nipple, sucking and flicking the hardened flesh. I moaned, moving my body against his, core clenching nothing but air as heat pooled below my belly.

I needed more.

“I should torment you for starting without me,” he finally said, gliding his lips across my chest before taking the other nipple into his mouth. My head tipped back. I was so hot and crazed, but it wasn’t fair I was exposed and he wasn’t. My nails dug into his chest, and with a simple grab, his shirt split down the middle. I tore his sleeves off next, tossing the fabric somewhere behind me.

“Just to keep it fair.” I smirked.

A primal sound raptured through his throat, and he suddenly grabbed me by my waist and hauled me onto my back. My dark hair splayed across the blanket.

“I think I like this game,” he said, positioning himself between my thighs. He studied me for a moment, leaning his weight on one arm, half caging me in while his other hand explored the peaks of my breasts. “Maybe this time, we can finish what we started.”

Ryder’s fingertips trailed over every curve of my body, featherlight in the way he explored me. His eyes flicked to mine; a pale and cooling warmth of blue reminding me of a calming sea. A look that could surely undo me. His hand hovered over my pants, tracing the seam until he slipped beneath, and I felt his bare flesh on mine. I was left waiting on another heavy exhale, eyes drenched in desire as he rested just above my wet entrance.

“Do you remember when I said I was far from a gentleman?” His gaze darkened.

He moved faster than I could respond, gliding his finger the rest of the way, down my bundle of nerves, and plunged his middle finger inside me. I gasped, arching into him, gripping his arms as he caught my moan with his mouth, kissing me with a ferocious passion. I felt his muscles strain against my hold while he slid in and out.

My gods, he is the devil.

Thanks to the fucking curves of these mountains, we were far from sight and sound as another moan ripped out of me.

“You’re so tight, Desert Storm,” he said into the shell of my ear, pulling out to roll his middle finger over my bundle of nerves. “And so very wet.”

I moaned. “Don’t stop or I’ll kill you.” The only words I could manage to say.

He darkly chuckled. With every penetrating stroke of his finger, heat flushed my face, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted more. I wanted to see what he would look like gazing up at me with his head buried between my thighs. It was hard to pull away with his thick finger already filling me, going so deep as if he knew exactly where to hit. I was chasing that high.

“I have another game I’d like to play,” I said, but I let him plunge into me a few times more before reaching down to slide my pants past my hips. I was halfway there when he leaned back onto his knees. The blanket fell down around him, exposing his pitched cock inside his pants. A dark, wet spot had formed above the tip as the morning light filtered behind him. With his bare chest exposed, his dark, tousled hair brushed the edges of his shoulders. I held a hand above my brow to block out the sun. My gods, the devil was awfully tempting.

He slowly leaned down, gently tugging the hem of my pants the rest of the way with his gaze never leaving mine. He smiled, a grin so wide, I caught a flash of shyness flush his cheeks when I bent my legs and fully opened for him.

“Are you blushing, cowboy?”

He grabbed the blanket and hung it behind his body, blocking out the sun to get a better view. I lowered my hand now that he’d given me shade, my eyes roaming over every muscle on his body.

“I cannot confirm nor deny such accusations,” he said, his voice a soothing calm. “But when I’m done with you, it will be you who’s blushing.”

Slowly, with every tantalizing second that passed by, he lowered his head, kissing my inner thigh first before linking both his arms around my hips. The torment was driving me mad. He made his way down, kissing and stroking his tongue against the soft flesh before he gently grazed his lips over my bundle of nerves. With a hard, languid lick, his tongue slid up my core, igniting a wildfire inside me. He then kissed my other inner thigh. A groan rumbled in his chest, roused by the power I allowed him to have in this moment. He was exploring how my body reacted to his. And then, with a sudden thrust, he yanked me onto his mouth and slid his tongue in. I sucked in a sharp breath as he began to work my center. My gods, a mouth like that could make me hate and need him at the same time. Another soft whimper escaped me.

“You taste so divine,” he rasped. He looked ravishing himself, so breathtaking the way his eyes seemed to penetrate my soul as they narrowed in on me, as if he knew how deep to go and what spots to hit. Our bodies were syncing as the mark on my sternum thrummed. I chased the wave, longing for a release that I knew would leave me throbbing hours after. He was giving me what I desired, what I yearned for, a taste of how it would feel to forget the world around us as I allowed myself to get lost in this.

My power moved in wispy shadows, curling in the air and giving shade from the rising sun.

“Fuck, don’t stop.” The words fell from my lips in a darkly coated demand. He moaned into my sex, a song to his soul as he succumbed to my desire. Every stroke of his tongue rode me to ecstasy. His sweet, sexy mouth and the scruff of his beard seared into me with every tantalizing touch. He speared his tongue endlessly, so continuous that I wondered how he could even breathe, but greed eradicated any more of those concerns. He reached up, cupping a breast and barely getting a handful. My core clenched, my pulse growing with a tempest’s speed. My chest was tight as I grabbed onto his shoulders, thrusting harder onto his tongue as his arms pulled my hips into a deeper embrace.

He moaned as the pleasure coursed through him. The sound so deep, it vibrated over my clit, creating that final push to spur me over the ledge, and I crested that wave. The release came crashing through me in a dance of pulsating throbs around him. I cried out in ecstasy, riding the fuck out of his tongue as if the sun would never rise again. I gasped and moaned as if the mountains would come tumbling down. He thrusted again and again, driving his tongue so deep, I nearly saw stars when everything around me blurred. And when my release began to slow, we flowed into a soft rhythm until the waves were calm. With both our hearts still thrumming, he slowly slid his tongue out, giving me one gentle lick before he collapsed beside me.

I was spent. We were left a heaving mess with only our panting, misted breaths to fill the silence of a serene morning.

When my heart was a resting calm, I pulled the blanket back over us.

“You are way too damn pretty,” I observed, staring at his swollen lips and his sliver of a pearly smile that seemed to peek out every time I spoke.

He chuckled, turning onto his side as he rested his head on his hand. A few strands of hair lay slick against his neck. “Well that doesn’t seem like much of a problem,” he said, gaze devouring me within the same breath.

“It could be. I guess we will have to see how it goes,” I teased, not minding the distraction at all. His hair was tousled, a sheen of sweat glistening beneath his eyes.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as enchanting as you.” He plucked a lock of hair from my face and tossed it over my shoulder.

My heart beat wildly against my chest as he seemed to map out every freckle across my face. I didn’t have to hide who I was with him. As if he could sense my thoughts, he brought my hand to his lips, hands that didn’t need to be gloved in his presence, and he kissed every single finger.

“These hands are dangerous,” I warned him, smirking in the process. I pointed two fingers, aiming for his heart, and curled my ring and pinky, gesturing the form of a pistol. He smirked at the motion when I cocked my thumb. “Bang, bang, cowboy. You’re dead.” I slightly jerked my hand up.

He brought my hand to his chest, tucking my middle finger back in so that there was only one pointing at him. “You only need one bullet to kill.” A wicked grin formed on his face. “But it would take a whole lot more to kill me, Desert Storm.”

“It takes one bullet to kill, two because I’m a spiteful bitch.”

“Maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to you. I have a thing for danger,” he said.

“Is being a guide always dangerous? I’m sure it’s not every day you have clients like us.”

Something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone so damn quick, it was hard to grasp.

“There will always be danger at every corner, no matter what side you’re on or what you do. We are living in a time when nothing is safe anymore. I’m sure your father thanks the gods for blessing you with such a gift.” He gestured to my magic-honed hands with a stroke of his thumb. “You are quite the storm: dangerous but worth the risk.”