25. Lora
Lora
The snap of a twig yanked me out of sleep.
A canopy of thick branches blocked most of the sky, letting through only slivers of moonlight. Beside me, Erion’s chest rose and fell in the slow rhythm of deep sleep.
Had I imagined the sound? The constant murmur of the river rushing past dulled other nearby noises.
Mossy ground pressed through my clothes, damp in the humid air. At least it was soft.
After three days on foot through Blightlands, we’d just made it into Moon Queendom territory before making camp for the night. None of us had mentioned the “incident” after Erion’s story about his past. I had no desire to talk about the disastrous kiss, and he hadn’t pushed the matter either.
Without waking him, I crept away from our hollow hidden in dense underbrush. No monsters should bother us here. The sound had probably just been some animal.
Or the pirates.
My pulse kicked as I scanned the dark forest for movement. I crept further from the bank until the river’s sloshing faded to a soft whisper. I shouldn’t leave Erion unguarded, but some undefined urge pulled me deeper into the dark, like a current I couldn’t fight.
Nothing stirred between the trees. No snapping twigs. No heavy footfalls. Only the chirping of insects and the soft rustling of leaves nudged by a lazy breeze.
I turned to head back—and walked straight into a wall of muscle.
The breath left my lungs.
Amber eyes stared down at me through the gloom. Moonlight illuminated the deep red of his hair, setting it ablaze with a fiery glow.
Zaivareth.
The pale light accentuated his sculpted cheekbones and the hard line of his jaw. Everything about him seemed carved from sharp angles and controlled strength.
Silt and rot, he was handsome. Stunning. Devastating.
My hands snapped up as I reached out with my senses, searching for the nearest water source. His fingers wrapped around my arms, and he slammed my back into a massive tree trunk. The air left my lungs in a gasp. In one swift motion, he pinned my wrists above my head between his hands.
“Get off me,” I snarled, panting for air.
A predatory smile curved his lips. “Why?” His voice dropped low, barely above a murmur. “You’re exactly where I want you.”
My teeth ground together as I glared up at him. “I’ll kill you before you get anywhere near Erion.”
His gaze held me captive, amber eyes swirling with searing heat. “I’m not here for the Dual Wielder.” He leaned in, his breath ghosting against my lips. “I’m here for you.”
The unexpected words sparked a flutter low in my belly.
“What do you mean?” I hissed between my teeth.
“You know what I mean.” His voice was a low growl. “You felt it too. This… connection between us.”
My heart raced, hammering against my ribs. Even if I’d felt anything like that, he was the last person I’d admit it to. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A low laugh rumbled through his chest as he pushed closer. His gaze dipped to my mouth. “Too bad those pretty lips are only good for lying.”
Heat ignited in my core, a thrilling rush flooding my veins. My chest heaved with shallow breaths, each inhale pressing against him.
Every instinct screamed to fight, to freeze him, to shove him off—but my body refused to cooperate. Some feral part of me wanted this. Wanted him closer.
He tilted his head to the side, his lips hovering infuriatingly close to mine. As if handing the decision over to me, inviting me to make the first move.
Fury seared through me. I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face. I wanted to rip him apart. Currents take me, I wanted those lips on mine. Rage and desire mingled together, igniting my body with a burning need to do something.
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I slammed my mouth onto his. He met me with hot intensity. His mouth claimed mine, deep and relentless, like a tide pulling me under.
The world dissolved. There was nothing but him—his warmth, his lips, his hard body against mine.
My wrists were still pinned above my head, and bark bit into my back through my clothes, but I stopped caring. Stopped thinking. My pulse roared in my ears, drowning out every sensible thought I’d ever had about this man.
As he broke away to catch his breath, his amber eyes burned darker than I’d ever seen them before.
His hands released my wrists and slid down my arms. The feather-light touch sent tingles racing through my body. He traced a path across my shoulders, along the outside curve of my breasts, continuing down my waist.
My fingers tangled in his flaming hair, pulling his mouth back to mine. He captured my lips with his, but slower this time, taking his time to taste me.
Aching desire pulsed between my legs. As if sensing my need, he wedged his thigh between mine. A moan clawed up my throat.
His hips pressed into me, his arousal hard against my stomach. Desperate longing built in my core, feverish and aching. My fingers found his waistband. Clawed at it. I wanted it gone, wanted everything between us gone.
A husky laugh rumbled from him. “So impatient.”
His lips dragged down my throat, tracing kisses across my collarbone. Before I could reach for his trousers again, he unhooked my belt. It hit the ground with a dull thud. He tugged my tunic up, and I had no willpower left to resist. I lifted my arms, allowing him to pull it off.
The humid air enveloped my bare stomach. His fingers slid along the neckline of the cloth covering my chest. With a gentle tug, he pulled it down, exposing my breasts.
Something dark and possessive seared in his eyes as he bent down and took one nipple into his mouth. I gasped as his tongue circled and teased, slow enough to make me dig my nails into his back.
Drown it all, I wanted more of that delicious friction. More of his touch. More of him. A needy whimper escaped me, echoing too loud in the still forest.
He straightened, covering my mouth with his warm palm. “I need you to be a good girl and stay quiet for me.” He leaned in, whispering against my ear. “Can you do that?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded.
He bent lower again, leaving a trail of kisses and nips across my breast, ribs, and stomach, stopping just below my navel. On his knees before me, he tugged my trousers and undergarments down with the unhurried certainty of someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
His touch traced up my bare calves, coaxing my feet to step free of the fabric, one at a time. The humid air kissed every inch of my naked skin. Only the cloth bunched beneath my breasts remained.
His gaze traveled up the length of my body. Those amber eyes turned molten, scorching. My hands twitched with the urge to cover myself, to conceal my body from those prying eyes.
“Perfection,” he murmured.
His palm brushed up my legs, along the inside of my thigh, nudging it to lift. He guided my leg to curl over his shoulder while he inched closer on his knees.
His hot breath ghosted over my naked sex.
My fingers dug into the bark. It didn’t even feel rough against my back anymore. All I could focus on was what would come next. My whole body shook with anticipation.
But it didn’t come. He took his time, studying me.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice a shaky whimper.
A low hum of approval vibrated against my throbbing skin. Then his tongue flicked over my most sensitive spot.
A gasp broke free from my lips.
He tasted me again, a whisper of pressure, deliberate and maddening.
“More,” I pleaded. “I need more.”
He responded with another growl and finally closed his mouth over that aching spot.
My breath hitched as his finger slipped into my already slick core. Arching my back, I pushed my hip against him.
A quiet growl rolled from him, low and satisfied. Another finger slipped in alongside the first.
I clung to the trunk with one hand while the other squeezed my breast, desperately trying to quell the pulsing need racing through every part of me.
A broken moan tore from my lips as I rocked against him. “More.”
I could practically feel his lips curving against me in a satisfied smirk. His fingers pumped deep, his tongue circling in slow, devastating strokes. My leg locked tight around his back, dragging him closer while the other barely managed to keep me upright.
A cry built in my chest, and I pressed my lips tight to keep it inside. My head twisted back and forth as pleasure tore through me in rolling waves.
My eyes squeezed shut as the sensation crested, flooding every nerve until my whole body shook with it. A thousand stars ignited behind my eyelids in a brilliant explosion, and my body shattered completely.
“You taste absolutely delicious.” His words drifted from below, his voice growing strangely distant, fading.
My eyes snapped open.
I was lying in the moss. One hand pressed over my breast, the other had slipped inside my trousers, fingers buried in my slick heat.
A dream. A deep-rotten, silt-tainted, salt-cursed sex dream. I’d never had one of those before.
My gaze flicked to the side. Erion lay on his back a few strides away, a soft snore rumbling from his chest. Relief fluttered through me. At least he hadn’t noticed.
As quiet as I could manage, I rolled upright and slipped through the underbrush toward the river to wash off.
Currents take me, what was wrong with me? Of all the tide-sodden filth I could’ve dreamed about, why him? Why the brine-hearted sun prince?
Erion wrinkled his nose at the silvery scales in his hand. “I’m so tired of raw fish. Don’t you think we could make a fire now that we’re out of Blightlands? Just a small one?”
“No.” The word came out sharp, exhaustion fraying my patience. “I wouldn’t put it past those pirates to track us even through the Moon Queendom.”
Erion’s shoulders sagged.
I tore off a strip of pale flesh and gulped it down before the taste could register. “Eat. The fish keeps us moving.”
The dream, or rather, the nightmare from last night, still haunted me, souring my mood.