Chapter 15 #2
It purred as he took a step closer, and how I hated the molten need that pooled low in my belly with the way he raked his gaze over me.
“What do you want to know, little fugitive? Ask me anything and I will tell you,” he rasped, sinking to his knees in front of me. His hands found the backs of my thighs, squeezing.
“Do you really believe everything you said to them?” I questioned, snatching for a semblance of self-control. This damn connection to him would force me into his arms again, whether I wanted it or not.
But you do want it.
I smacked the thought away. Lying to myself was far better than my mate doing the same.
He stiffened, fingers tightening. “I used to…” he trailed off, his iron-gray brows pinching. “Now, I’m not so sure.”
“Then why tell them that?” I pressed, crossing my arms.
“Because they need comfort to face what lies ahead,” he explained.
“And, pray tell, what is that?” Sarcasm dripped from my tone. We both knew I’d Seen exactly what was coming. Only I knew the truth of it, and I savored that sip of power I held over him.
“War. Battles. Demons who are eager to kill them,” he said through gritted teeth. “And without my Command, the only way I know how to save our realm is by putting their bodies between us and the red-eyed beasts.”
“But you gave them no choice,” I hissed. “Who would fight for something they don’t believe in?”
“Just because your own convictions are forged from steel doesn’t mean others cannot participate at a lesser level,” the Issaraeth snapped, releasing me and surging to his feet.
He towered over me, even steps away, shoulders so broad and vibrating with restraint.
“You think I'm closed-minded? Take a look in the mirror.”
Fury flared hot up my spine. This was the most we’d spoken since the trial. Since he shut down. Since I decided that I would lie to him about what I truly Saw. Since I realized that my pacifism would no longer serve me.
And fuck him, he didn’t get to know any of that.
“How can you be falling all over yourself, professing your love one moment, then fling cruel words at me the next?” I said, fingers curling into claws. The bite of pain was enough to force my next inhale.
His strides devoured the distance between us until I had to crane my neck to look up at him.
“Because you are the most infuriating female in all the worlds. Your defiance makes me crave you. Envy you. I want to seed it into the skies until your rain pours down on us all.”
I started to tell him I didn’t believe him, but he silenced my words with the crash of his lips against mine. Stormwood filled my nostrils, making me forget my fury. His tongue swiped at the seam of my mouth, and I opened for him, tasting smoke and musk.
He groaned, the sound vibrating to the core of my being. Strong hands snatched my waist and wound through the hair at the nape of my neck, trapping me against him.
“Release me.” But the order was breathless, even in my mind.
“Never.”
He backed me to his makeshift bed, still kissing me. I clutched his tunic, holding on so I wouldn’t fall.
Because I couldn’t. Not again. Not when my heart was already broken and I didn’t know if I could put the pieces back together.
The Issaraeth gripped the backs of my thighs and hauled me up his body. His hardness dug straight into my center, eliciting a whimper.
I pulled away, chest heaving. “I hate you.”
“I know.”
He knelt, lowering me onto the soft cushions with more care than I wanted from him. In fact, I wanted nothing more than for his incandescent power to spring forth and pin me, like he had done so many times before.
My mate froze. Because I’d been careless and left our connection open, the thought trickling from me to him.
A muscle ticked in his jaw as he rolled his hips—hard—against mine. The moan that fled me was sinful.
He smirked, shifting so his hands framed my head. He towered over me like he owned me.
Because he does.
The thought whispered from the recesses of my mind, only banished because he lowered himself, his muscled body slanted completely over mine.
“Tell me you don’t want this.”
“I don’t.”
“Liar.”
He ground into me again, tearing another wanton sound from my throat.
“I bet if I caressed that pretty pussy of yours, I’d find it soaked.”
“You wouldn’t.”
He huffed a laugh against my neck. Pebbles broke out across my skin.
“Tell me you hate me again, little fugitive.”
“I hate you.”
His nose trailed up my skin, teeth finding my ear and nibbling. My back arched, my body a traitor to my mind.
“Lie to me again. I do so love to hear it.”
“I hate you.”
Vaeron’s mouth trailed lower, over my collarbone and down the center of my chest. He shoved up my cropped tunic, baring my stomach. His fingers hooked in the waistband of my pants and dragged them down—just enough that his tongue could flick over the apex of my thighs.
I reached for his head, holding him there, silently urging him to continue. He jerked on my clothing, and I lifted my hips higher for him. He shimmied the linen down and tossed it away.
Then, he knelt between my thighs, rough stubble scratching my skin.
“Fucking soaked. And the scent of you,” he groaned. “My little liar. My little fugitive. Mine.”
My center pulsed at the possessive edge to his tone. One finger traced the seam, coming away wet. He sucked it into his mouth, and I couldn’t look away.
“I thought you said you’d never have sex with me again?” he murmured, hot breath ghosting across my flesh.
“This is far from sex,” I panted as his tongue traced a path higher.
“For now,” he crooned, and then he latched onto my core.
Bliss exploded as he lapped, teeth and tongue working in tandem. Everything fell away, save for undeniable need. He kneaded my legs, working them wider and himself deeper.
Iron gray tangled in my fingers until the mess of his hair fell loose from the strip of leather. I should have used the hold to shove him away. Should have done anything other than beg for him to give me more.
He slipped one digit inside. A pleased growl rumbled against my core for how I opened for him. Another entered me, stretching me out in the most delicious way.
My eyes dipped closed as his tongue swirled my clit. “Goddess,” I swore, lower back rolling forward, chasing the sensation.
“You may hate me, little fugitive, so I’m only going to give you this one warning. You say my name, and my name alone, while I pleasure you.”
My core clenched around his fingers.
He worked me faster, the tempest of my pleasure gathering. My breath hitched as energy crackled beneath my skin, a bolt of lightning waiting to strike the ground.
“That’s it. Come for me.”
He curled his fingers into my walls, teeth raking over my clit.