Chapter 23
GILLIAN
Ifeel Dalox tense as our lips brush together.
I pull back slightly, but he follows me, closing any gap between us and keeping our lips pressed.
The kiss deepens, our mouths exploring each other slowly and hesitantly.
He tastes of soft smoke, warmth, and spice.
I slip my tongue in through the seam of his mouth.
Once again, Dalox tenses and then he allows me access and…
His tongue is forked! I feel the sweep of it against mine, two tips distinct and flickering.
I gasp against him, and he presses his advantage, sweeping through me, and it is incredible.
How can I ever have enjoyed a kiss without a forked tongue?
Dalox is the absolute master as he clutches me to him, plundering my mouth and sending heat soaring inside me.
One kiss can’t hurt, but one kiss has completely broken me for any human ever again.
“You have two tongues,” I gasp when he finally lets me up for breath.
In response, Dalox pokes out his tongue, and I see the talented tips wiggling at me.
“And you have one,” he growls. “I like it very much. I like the mouth mating too.”
“Mouth mating?” A slight shiver runs through my body. Is this how Sarkarnii mate? If so, what’s the cock for?
“Yes. I have seen other Sarkarnii mate their human females with their mouths.” He smacks his lips. “It is as good as it looks.”
“You’ve never kissed before?”
“Kizz-d?”
“The mouth mating.” I feel my cheeks bloom with color as I say the phrase. “Humans call it kissing.”
“Kizz-ng.” Dalox rolls the mangled word around in his mouth as if he’s tasting it. “It is not something Sarkarnii do. Mostly because we bite.”
“You bite?!”
“I wish to bite you, little spark, to cement our bond, but only when you wish it.” Dalox releases a small curl of smoke from his nostril. “Biting is a bond between Sarkarnii mates, unless the female wishes to envenomate her male for not meeting her standards.”
“Has that ever happened to you?” I stare up at him.
“I would not ever allow myself to be envenomated by a female,” Dalox says loftily. “My rut is for my mate, and my mate alone. She would never feel the need to envenomate me.”
I look over this incredibly handsome male, from his broad shoulders, his abs for days, and a bum…well a bum most women would happily bounce an orange on…he is gorgeous.
“You think?”
“A Sarkarnii warrior ruts. If there is no rut…there is no envenomation or mating.”
Good lord…that’s some self control…
“What do you do…instead?”
“We fight.” Dalox grins at me. “We might assist some other species in handing their cargo from time to time. There is plenty for a Sarkarnii warrior to do, if he does not rut.”
“But…” I’m studying his face because he seems entirely fine with this. “You must have more than one rut.”
“Some Sarkarnii do. I have not,” Dalox says. “But I paid attention during all my lessons on how to please a female, although they did not include mouth mating.”
“You had lessons?”
“Of course. Do human men not have lessons in how to rut for their females?”
“If only.” I grumble under my breath. “No, it would appear only males who turn into dragons get lessons in how to do it right.”
“No male wants to displease a female. Not only is there the risk of envenomation, but an unhappy female makes for an unhappy clan. Females should be pleased at all times.”
“So, Sarkarnii females bite males?”
“And envenomate them.” An emotion crosses Dalox’s face which is probably the closest to fear I think I’ll ever see. “No male wants to be envenomated.” He gives me a swift look, as if there’s a possibility I might suddenly decide to bite him. “Which is why it’s important to pleasure your female.”
“You did well with the kissing,” I say.
“I did?” Dalox says. “I did,” he repeats in a lower voice. “It is my honor to mate your mouth, Gillian.”
I can’t exactly hide my smile. “When you put it like that…I’m not sure I want to do it again.”
“But you were thinking about it?” Dalox grins.
“I was.” I raise my eyes to the ceiling. “Possibly.”
“It will be the best mouth mating you have ever had,” Dalox says with some considerable enthusiasm.
“You think?”
“I know,” he says, clearly emboldened I haven’t bitten him yet.
There’s still time.
“I don’t know about that.” I stare up at him.
Dalox’s lips hit mine before I can blink. This time there is no hesitation. His tongue tangles with mine.
He is a fast learner, and I am not complaining.
Dalox’s hand slides behind my head, gently cradling me as he continues to do gorgeous, terrible things to my mouth. My body, unbidden, lifts up to him, still entirely naked beneath the towel. His other hand slides under my bottom, touching the skin there.
He could do even more things to me, but other than a small groan, half muffled in our kiss, he does not take any further action.
But I want him to.
So, I shift my position and get another groan. Which is when I realize why there is something uncomfortable pressing into my side.
It would appear the Sarkarnii do mate with the massive appendage I saw earlier. My core pulses, and Dalox’s eyes widen, his nostrils flaring as he lifts away from my mouth, leaving me wanting more.
“Little mate, if you continue to scent like that, I will not be able to control myself.”
“Scent? You can smell me?”
“I can scent your arousal.” Dalox’s eyes are less fire and more obsidian as he gazes down at me. “For me.”
I can’t deny it, even if the thought he can smell me is somewhat disconcerting.
“Perhaps I can taste what smells so good.” He licks his lips with his forked tongue.
Oh boy…