Chapter 7 #4
“Lord, help me,” Reule ground out almost savagely as his entire body tensed into a taut mountain of muscle above her. He shook with the effort he was using and she tried to see his face but he had purposely turned away from her.
“Reule? Did I say something wrong?” she asked anxiously.
“Shh,” he said softly, turning to press a tender kiss against the skin of her shoulder before lifting most of his weight off her and onto his hands and knees.
She felt the loss of the warmth and pressure of him as though half her body had been stolen away.
She shivered at the terrible deficit, and he noticed when she withdrew her arms and crossed them protectively over her breasts.
He studied her only briefly with hazel irises that were nearly invisible around passion-dilated pupils.
Then he lowered himself to kiss her cheek before pressing lips just beneath her ear.
“Listen to me, kébé. Firstly, I won’t do what we both desire when you’re injured.
And I pray you know how hard it is for me to withdraw from you, sweetheart.
All you need do is look at my body to see how badly I want to give us both all of those things we want.
But not while you are hurt. I can barely stomach myself as it is for ignoring your care this much. ”
“Stop,” she whispered. “I’m fine. It almost doesn’t even hurt anymore.”
“That’s not the point. And it’s also not the only reason.
There are things …” He hesitated, drawing in a deep, shaky breath.
“There are things I need to tell you first. You need to know everything before … There are things about Sánge mating that you’ll need to know.
I’m afraid if I don’t prepare you, you’ll be terrified. To hell, you may be terrified anyway.”
The shocking dawn of comprehension splashed over her like frigid water, awakening her to what she hadn’t been seeing.
What she hadn’t been hearing. She suddenly sank powerful fingers into his hair and forced his head up, making him face her.
She studied him sharply, then touched his sealed lips with a tentative fingertip.
“Show me,” she said in a whisper. Then she leaned forward and dragged her lips over his, coaxing and warm. “Show me, Reule.”
Reule parted his lips just enough to cover hers and then kissed her. He let the passion of it grow gently, listened to her exhale with the relief the contact gave them both. Then he opened his mouth and dipped for her tongue, finally exposing himself to her.
Mystique felt the brush of deadly fangs against her lips and tongue, and it made her shiver.
Her tongue touched the exaggerated canines in a curiously sensual stroke and Reule shuddered against her briefly.
It made her smile and draw his mouth tighter against hers so they could enjoy the discovery of a kiss of passion with him in that state.
It really wasn’t all that different, although the small pricks of sharpness were actually a little too stimulating.
It sparked off her imagination about feeling the sensation elsewhere on her body.
But before that happened, she would need him to tell her why he’d been so reluctant to tell her that arousal caused this to happen.
She pulled back from his kiss, just as reluctant as he was to do so, but knowing it was needed.
He met her eyes, refusing to shy away from her reaction.
It was a bravery that made her heart clench hard in her chest, a sense of pride overwhelming her though she hardly understood all the reasons why it mattered so much to her.
She smoothed her fingers through his wild hair, knowing she was mostly responsible for its state of disarray.
She smiled, a feeling of possession taking root inside her. She allowed it to stay.
“Did you think that these would frighten me away?” she asked, her fingertip stroking his lips again and the pronounced fang beneath.
“They may still,” he said, his tone a mixture of apprehension and hope. “kébé, do you know about Sánge mating rituals?”
“I told you that I did,” she said with a shrug of one elegant little shoulder. “You didn’t believe me?”
“I’m … not certain. There was mixed information.
Mystique, I want to be very clear about this, so I’m going to be very frank.
Sánge cannot climax without taking the blood of their partner.
It means a bite, usually in the throes of ultimate pleasure.
There are places on our bodies where these bites, when received, can cause overwhelming gratification.
We’re designed for this. You aren’t Sánge.
I can’t predict how you’d respond if I …
if we …” To hell, Reule thought with frustration.
Even the thought of it was sending surges of hard heat into his already aching arousal.
He thought of his teeth breaking past that parchment-pale skin and it was enough to nearly make a lie of his claim about Sánge release.
“Sánge take blood in moments of extremity,” she said, her voice whisper soft as her fingertips soothed over the contours of his face and blended into his hair until he was reeling with the pleasure and sensuality of it.
“In agony, passion, rage, climax, starvation, exhaustion, and the heat of battle. I know this,” she assured him, “and it’s never disturbed me.
In fact, I believe there’s a part of me that craves your extreme passion, Sánge.
” She lifted her head to kiss his lips and capture his soulful groan.
“I cannot bear the idea of hurting you, kébé,” he cried against her mouth. “Mystique, what if I—”
“You won’t,” she said, silencing him with fingers, lips, and tongue.
Reule gave in to her confidence with a sigh, resigning himself to the knowledge that in spite of his attempts to argue, a part of him had already decided to claim her, in every way.
He’d have to hope that her fearlessness was well-founded.
If there were problems, they could be dealt with at the time, but he was determined that it wasn’t now.
He knew she was intent on convincing him otherwise, but he wouldn’t allow himself to be swayed by his body or hers.
“Reule!” Mystique cried out when he suddenly surged away from her and rose to his feet.
He left her grasping hands empty and her small body entirely chilled.
But then he was there scooping her up, hauling her against his chest. He moved with confidence through the thick steam until he’d set her on a bench and was wrapping her up in the dry, full warmth of clean cloths.
He took special care with each of her wounds, his head bent silently to his task.
That was when she understood with absolute certainty that she wouldn’t be learning what it meant to be loved by a Sánge male that night.