Chapter 6 #8
“I-I didn’t m-mean to w-worry you. I’m s-sorry.”
Riftan stared at her for a moment, then began to remove his armor. After shedding his vambraces and gauntlets, he threw them to the floor and cupped Maxi’s face in his hands again.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, examining her closely.
“N-No, I’m fine.”
“Show me.”
Like a moth to a flame, Maxi’s gaze was caught in the dark of Riftan’s eyes.
Warm, calloused hands grazed her cheeks and combed through her hair.
Her breath quickened, and her heart began to race.
Every night that he had been away, she had curled up alone in their spacious bed, missing him terribly.
“I want to see with my own eyes,” Riftan murmured, caressing the soft spot behind her ear.
He pushed off her robe, and Maxi shivered, though she was not cold. Riftan’s body radiated heat from beneath his cold armor, and it ignited a spark within her. Sweat prickled at the back of her neck.
Riftan removed Maxi’s hairpin, and her hair cascaded down. Tossing the pin onto the floor, he grabbed a handful of her mane and brought it to his face. “A head for every scratch.”
“W-What?”
“I’ll sever a head for every scratch I find on you.”
Such violent words, whispered in gentle tones, made Maxi shiver, but Riftan ignored her reaction and slowly slid her dress off her shoulders.
His jet-black eyes roved over her, from her pale collarbone to her breasts, which were still hidden under her thin chemise.
Trembling like a dragonfly caught in a spider’s web, Maxi was breathless with anticipation.
“That’s one head,” Riftan murmured, pointing at a small scrape on her forearm.
Maxi tried to cover up the mark. “Th-This is from when I-I bumped into a shelf in the l-library…”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m n-not—oh!”
Riftan grazed his mouth over her skin, sending a shiver down her spine.
His lips made soft pecking noises as they moved down her arm.
When he reached the spot on her wrist where her erratic pulse quivered through her skin, he gently bit down.
Nibbling and sucking her soft flesh, he lifted her off the floor and carried her to the bed.
“Riftan…I-I promise, I’m not hurt.”
“I told you, I’ll confirm that myself.”
He slowly lowered Maxi onto the blankets and grabbed her dress where it was bunched at her waist, pulling it off and throwing it to the floor.
Stripped down to her chemise, Maxi watched nervously as Riftan knelt at the foot of the bed and lifted the hem of the chemise.
His hand slid up her leg, then stopped when he discovered another scrape on her calf.
“This one has sealed their fate,” he said darkly, rubbing his thumb over the cut.
Maxi quickly tugged her chemise back down. “It d-doesn’t hurt at all. Please d-don’t kill anyone.”
“They not only destroyed my gate and attacked my guards, but they harmed my wife. Killing them wouldn’t be enough. I’d have to make examples of their families, or this could easily happen again.”
“B-But y-you’ve only just returned….”
She had not meant to whine, but the words escaped her lips before she could stop them. Flustered, she squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out, “Y-You would have to l-leave again if w-w-war broke out. Th-Then I’d be a-all b-b-b—all alone again.”
“Damn it,” Riftan muttered, pulling her toward him and kissing her with such hunger that she thought he might devour her.
Maxi moaned into his mouth. As he pushed her back down on the bed, her body arched into him.
Riftan pulled her chemise up to her waist and stroked her hips.
The chill of his armor, and the searing heat of his hands—the opposing sensations flared with an intensity that made her lightheaded.
Maxi clung to his shoulders, her body shaking with quick, uneven breaths as Riftan broke their kiss and licked her wet lips.
“The things you do to me,” he said, his voice heavy with his desire.
Tasting the saliva on her chin with the tip of his tongue, Riftan pulled the chemise over her head. Before Maxi could cover herself with her arms, he cupped one of her breasts in his warm, calloused hand and greedily sucked her nipple.
She pulled him closer, brushing her hands over his bronze neck before combing them through his thick black hair. It was a strange feeling. She was naked under a fully armored man, allowing him to do to her as he pleased. She was powerless and powerful, lost to her hedonic desire.
Unable to contain himself any longer, Riftan pulled her into a crushing embrace and kissed her once more.
The warmth of his tongue intertwined with hers and their heartbeats raced together.
His cold armor pressed against her breasts, sapping the heat from her skin, and tingling sensations raced through her body, blooming heat in her ears.
“These past few weeks have felt like years,” Riftan breathed against her mouth as he pushed his hands between her thighs. “You were all I could think about.”
A startled cry escaped her throat, and she was torn between a desire to spread her legs open and the instinct to clamp them together.
Riftan smiled and spread her legs wide open, lowering his head between them.
Embarrassed, Maxi twisted her body away, but Riftan took her in his mouth without a moment of hesitation.
“R-Rift—ah!”
Her thighs squeezed down on Riftan’s head. As if annoyed, he seized her knees, holding her legs open as he continued to caress her with his tongue. The obscenity of the act left Maxi gasping for air even as she writhed in pleasure and clenched her fingers in the sheets.
Heat coursed through her, simmering on the edge of release.
Unable to clutch at Riftan in this position, Maxi grabbed a pillow and sank her teeth into it.
An overwhelming sense of pleasure swelled in her as Riftan’s tongue explored deeper, but just as she was about to reach her climax, he stopped.
Maxi whimpered and rocked her hips urgently.
“I’ll be inside you soon enough.” Riftan lightly stroked her thigh, then undid his trousers, freeing his desire.
Unable to contain the heat surging through her body, Maxi forgot her embarrassment and pulled Riftan closer. When he brought his hips to hers, she rubbed herself against his hardness, frantic with her need.
“Damn it!” Riftan groaned and grabbed her hips, pressing himself briefly against her wetness before plunging into her.
Maxi’s legs spasmed and jerked as Riftan thrust into the deepest parts of her before swiftly slipping out. She clung to him, breathlessly desperate. Riftan let out a low moan and thrust into her again, harder this time. It was a little painful after so long without him, but Maxi needed more.
A little more. Just a little more…
She urged him on by rocking her hips, faster and faster, and he devoured her flushed body with his dark eyes, his lips parted in pleasure.
But Maxi wanted to devour him. She wrapped her legs around him and tightened herself, surprised by her own hunger.
She wanted more. Every last morsel, every last scrap.
As she bucked in desperation, a pained moan escaped her lips.
“You push me to the brink,” Riftan breathed, his fingers digging into her hips as he tried his best to restrain himself.
“R-Riftan,” Maxi pleaded, exasperated. She wanted him to take her with greater urgency, to embrace her like a man blinded by his desire. Without giving him any warning, she used her legs to pull him in deeper.
Riftan gasped a moan and his restraint snapped. Like a horse galloping through the fields, the silver-plated giant began to thrust wildly into her. Still, Maxi’s hunger grew. She wanted to feel him deeper inside her, so she stretched her legs wide and pushed against the bed, arching her back.
Not long ago, Riftan had carried her up the stairs with ease, but now his breath was heavy and labored. Maxi drowned in the sound of their bodies connecting, the creaking of the bed, the rattling of his armor.
“Maxi…Maxi…” Riftan panted, his voice breaking.
He was beautiful in his longing, and Maxi caressed his face. He crushed her lips against his as their bodies came together again, and again.
“Ahh!” Riftan moaned as he released himself inside her.
Maxi squeezed her eyes shut against the intensity of the climax, but it was not enough. She wanted him deeper still. She wanted him to fill her completely.
“Damn it, I haven’t even taken off my armor.”
Riftan tried to get up, but Maxi impulsively clung to him when she felt him sliding out of her.
“W-Wait.” Her body still throbbed with need.
He gazed down at her, his eyes dazed, and slowly pulled out. Maxi shuddered as something warm trickled between her legs, and Riftan gently rubbed her thigh as if to soothe her.
“Just wait,” he said as he loosened his cuff armor with his teeth. “We’re not done yet. I’ll do it again. As many times as you need.”
“N-No…I-I’m…”
Suddenly overcome with embarrassment, Maxi quickly brought her legs together. Riftan threw off his remaining armor and feasted greedily with his eyes. After dropping his breastplate, spaulders, and greaves onto the floor, he pulled his tunic over his head and made his way back toward the bed.
His broad back glimmered with sweat in the light streaming through the windows. Maxi stared, transfixed by the shape of his body and the contour of the muscles that covered him like a second armor.
“Come here.” Riftan sat on the bed and reached for her. As Maxi hesitantly approached, he began to stimulate himself with his hand. “Climb on top of me.”
“R-Riftan, I…”
“I know you weren’t satisfied.”
Riftan parted her thighs and helped her straddle his lap.
Embarrassed by the position, Maxi tried to get up, but Riftan held firmly to her waist. He took her breast into his mouth, nipping and sucking while grinding himself against her.
Maxi clung to his shoulders and rubbed her cheek against the softness of his hair.
Panting again, Riftan plunged into her. Sharp pain and pleasure coursed through Maxi as they merged, their limbs entangling like snakes.
“Did you miss me terribly?”
She gazed at him, dazed by the sensations flooding her. As their bodies began to rock against each other, faster and faster, Maxi feared that her heart would burst.
“Tell me you did?”
“I m-missed y-you t-t-terribly,” Maxi stammered, writhing in anticipation as their bodies melted together.
Riftan clenched his teeth and began to thrust deeper. His hardness ravaged her sensitive flesh, mirroring the friction between their sweat-soaked bodies. They were pressed so close, but Maxi needed him closer still. Whimpering, she slid her arms down his back, clutching him tightly.
More. She needed more. The black snake of desire coiled inside her stomach, and she wanted to swallow Riftan whole. She wanted him to possess her, and she wanted to possess him.
“Maxi…Maxi…” Riftan whispered, his voice shaking.
Maxi gazed down at him, hardly able to believe that such a beautiful man was so enraptured by her. Tears welled in her eyes.