31. Clash of Stone and Steel #2
He cocked his head in confusion. “Again, I thought my intentions were fairly transparent.” His voice grew husky.
“After I explore every inch of your body with my tongue, I plan on plunging my cock into that tight little sheath between your legs and fucking you so hard you won’t be able to ride a horse for days. ”
Talyn’s mouth fell open. Gods above. She’d heard plenty of men say things like that before, and she usually just rolled her eyes, but when Samhail said it, the tension between her legs only coiled tighter.
Samhail started to lower his head to hers once again, but he snapped it up a moment later to look down at her in alarm. “You’re not a virgin, are you?” he asked.
Talyn couldn’t help the bark of laughter that erupted from her throat. She clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle any further outbursts, and it was a few seconds before she could pull it away and shake her head.
“No,” she said, still trying to suppress a smile. “I’m not a virgin.”
“Thank the gods,” Samhail said, real relief in his voice. “I’m not the kind of man a woman should have for her first time.”
Talyn had to agree. She’d seen the size of his cock, and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone for their first time.
It was bigger than anything she’d ever had inside her, and while she found the prospect of pushing herself down onto that huge, glorious length of him exciting, she couldn’t imagine an untouched virgin trying to take him inside her.
She still remembered the pain of her own first time, and the man – barely more than a boy – had been averaged sized.
Samhail frowned down at her. “So if you’re not a virgin, then why are you stopping me?”
That was a damn good question. She’d been fantasizing about him since she’d met him, and her body was screaming at her to take everything he was offering right now. It was her mind that held back, and she wasn’t entirely sure why.
“I just tried to kill you,” she said, deflecting the question.
“I know. It was making my cock hard as fuck,” he said.
He brought his mouth down on hers again, and Talyn went limp as she gave in.
His kiss was still insistent, but his lips moved over hers slower now, so it was more an exploration than a conquest. His tongue delved in to play with hers, and Talyn struggled to focus on anything but the desire making her lightheaded.
Samhail’s hand closed over her breast through her sweater, and the jolt of pleasure oddly cleared her mind. She pushed on him again, and he pulled away reluctantly.
“I thought you were going to kill me. Why didn’t you?” she asked.
“I could ask you the same question,” he said as his hand slid down to rest on her hip. “I have sword marks on my neck right now that say I should be dead. Why am I not dead?”
She shook her head slowly. “In all honesty, I don’t know. I really tried to kill you, but I couldn’t.”
He brushed her hip lightly with his thumb, and Talyn’s world narrowed to that one gods damned finger. She tried to ignore the flutter that stirred in her stomach at the touch.
“So why haven’t you killed me yet?” she asked. Then her eyes widened again. “Wait, are you planning to fuck me and then kill me?”
She started to move out from under him, but Samhail’s hold tightened on her. “Easy,” he said, his voice calming. “I’m not planning to kill you.”
“Why not?”
He chuckled. “You seem disappointed. Did you want me to?”
“No, of course not, but I don’t understand why you don’t want to. Aren’t you afraid I’ll attack you in your sleep again?”
“No,” he said without hesitation. “If you couldn’t kill me when you had me on my knees with two swords to my throat, then I’m not worried you’re going to crush my head in with a rock while I sleep. Now answer my question.”
Talyn furrowed her brows. “What was your question again?”
“If you’re not a virgin, why do you keep stopping me?”
Talyn raised a brow. “It’s awfully presumptuous of you to think that because I’m not a virgin I want to fuck you. Maybe I just don’t want you.”
It was Samhail’s turn to raise a brow. “Your body is clearly saying otherwise,” he said.
He slid his hand off her hip and over her stomach where he slowly undid the first fastening on her pants.
“I’m fairly certain if I put my hand between your legs, it will come back dripping wet. Should we see if I’m right?”
His voice had gone husky again, and Talyn bit her lip.
She knew she should stop him, but all she could think of was how much she wanted him to push his hand into her pants.
She thought about him brushing his thumb over the sensitive spot at her apex, and her hips lifted unconsciously.
She imagined him slipping a finger into her and her riding his hand until she felt the release she so desperately needed right now.
Samhail’s eyes flashed when her hips pressed up against his hand, and he popped two more fastenings on her pants.
Talyn’s mind screamed at her to stop him, but she said nothing, did nothing, as his hand slipped into her pants and found the knot of nerves between her thighs.
She jerked as his fingers stroked over her clit on their way to her soaking wet folds, but he didn’t even pause as he pushed two long fingers inside her.
Talyn made a noise that was part whimper, part moan as Samhail began to stroke between her legs.
She forgot they were enemies, forgot to be annoyed at him, and forgot she’d promised herself she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how much she wanted him.
She forgot it all as Samhail pumped his fingers slowly in and out of her.
“This isn’t…a good idea,” she managed to say between pants.
“I disagree. This is the best idea I’ve had in days,” Samhail said as he lowered his head again to press his lips against her neck.
His teeth scraped lightly over her skin, and Talyn couldn’t help the shiver of bliss that traveled down her body all the way to her toes.
She pushed her hips up as she gave in to the urge to ride his fingers as she’d imagined.
Talyn struggled to bring her mind back from the brink. She didn’t think she’d ever wanted a man as much as she wanted Samhail right now, yet something was holding her back, almost like when she’d tried to kill him. The desire was there, but the ability to act wasn’t.
Talyn let out a strangled sound of frustration and pushed against Samhail’s chest again. “No, I can’t! Let me up.”
Samhail lifted his head from her neck reluctantly. Talyn saw the momentary indecision in his eyes, but then he slowly took his hand out of her pants. He didn’t let her up, though. Instead, he brought the fingers that had been inside her to his mouth and sucked on them.
“Mmm. You taste so fucking good,” he rasped. “I can’t wait to get my tongue between your legs.”
Talyn swallowed hard. Her voice would break if she tried to speak, so she only pushed on his chest again, and he shifted his weight to let her pull herself out from under him.
Talyn got to her feet unsteadily, and Samhail followed a moment later.
Her eyes dipped to his groin where the evidence of his arousal was very, very apparent.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she refastened her pants. He was likely to feel some discomfort for a while. She was feeling a rather acute discomfort herself that she tried to ignore. “But this is a business arrangement, and I try not to mix business with pleasure.”
Liar. She mixed them all the time.
He cocked his head. “Business? I wasn’t aware you were being paid to take me to Sandrian.”
“Even exchange,” she said. “I take you to Sandrian, and you don’t let Lord Bressen throw me in Revenmyer.”
“And after I have Sandrian and our business arrangement is over?”
“Then maybe we can revisit our boundaries.”
“Our boundaries?”
“Fine. My boundaries.”
Samhail stepped closer to her, and Talyn clenched her teeth as she craned her neck up to look him in the eyes. She was taller than most women, and she wasn’t used to having to look up so far at someone. It was…disconcerting.
“We should get moving if you’re not going to kill me,” she said.
“I might be rethinking that decision,” he grumbled, but there was the curl of a smile on his lips.
“Well, we should put some miles in while you make up your mind,” she said as she turned to head for the horses.
She untied her horse’s reins from Samhail’s saddle, but when she turned around, he was right there.
“You’ve used up your second chances,” he said. “Behave yourself from now on, or I won’t have a choice. You’re on your honor not to use your powers against me.”
Talyn looked down at her bare wrist. She’d almost forgotten about the caronium cuff. Apparently he hadn’t been able to find the one she’d tossed away.
Talyn flinched as Samhail raised his hand.
He paused at her flinch, but then he lifted the hand to her shoulder and pushed her hair away from her neck.
She didn’t understand what he was doing at first until his finger brushed the wound where he’d sunk his fangs into her.
She couldn’t tell if her tremble was from the memory of her body going numb or from the unexpected gentleness of his touch.
Yet there was an implicit threat in the touch as well, a reminder that he had a way to subdue her if needed.
“Do we have an understanding?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” Talyn said, meeting his gaze. “I’ll behave, and you’ll keep your hands to yourself.”
His brows pinched into a deep frown. She knew he didn’t want to agree to that, but he nodded finally.
“Fine. I won’t touch you until you ask me to,” he said. His lips curled into a grin. “Because you will ask me, hummingbird. I’ve tasted your nectar, and it’s only a matter of time before you give me more.”