Page 123 of House of Ashes
Rhylan growled, biting my lip gently, thrusting upwards to meet me. This time I was ready for the sensation of fullness, riding against him stroke for stroke.
The heat was a delicious spiral, and when he gasped, hips pumping upwards, bolts of lightning ran through my nerves, my core clenching around him.
I shivered despite the heat, so close to the edge of the liquid loss of control, the earth-shaking crescendo I chased, but I didn’t want it to be over yet.
Not when I had Rhylan beneath me, a dragon at the mercy of my pace, my desires.
I ran my claws over his chest, riding him slowly, watching his muscles tense and release in time with my motions.
Tasted him on my tongue, breathed in his spicy scent, made him a part of me.
My skin prickled all over at the sight of him straining to fill me, and I rocked against him harder, faster, wanting to watch him come undone.
My dragon…he was the fire that raced through me, chaining me to him with smoke and cinders.
His sensuous lips, full and pillowy, drew back in a snarl, eyes flashing as he thrust upwards, a groan escaping him.
That was all it took to send me over. I rode him hard, core aching, until the climax rocked me, forcing me to shudder against him and ride out each and every wave of pleasure.
When I finally came to a halt, panting, pushing my hair back over my shoulders, he lifted a hand to run a finger over my collar bone, running between my breasts and down my stomach.
“I really like that,” I whispered, ducking my head. Once more I was torn between the feeling of rightness, of being so close to completing the other half of my dragon’s circle, and embarrassment at my lack of experience. “Can we…do this again tomorrow?”
Rhylan held me in place, that lazy grin back in place.
“What makes you think we’re done now, Sera?” he asked. “You haven’t screamed for me yet.”
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Iwas weak.
That was what all my problems came down to: I was weak, and when Rhylan opened his arms, I gave in without a murmur of protest.
Wrapped in them now, with my leg flung over his hips, I wondered if it would ever be possible to rip that weakness out of me by the root, because I could not resist this.
I could handle the sleeplessness, the fear that took small bites out of me all night and left me a husk in the morning, the heaviness in my chest. I could handle uncertainty, and being alone.
I could not handle this desire. The knowledge that I wanted him so intensely, and that I could not have him beyond sex. Not in the only way that mattered for a draga.
Kirana’s words had burrowed into me and fed me the truth. Rhylan was in this for revenge, because he would never rest until Tidas was dead.
And if he kept his enemies close…he kept his allies closer. He only wanted me in his bed because I was his path to Tidas. So long as he had me, he had someone guaranteed to stand as the driving force against Yura and her mate.
What better way to keep your allies close than to make them feel wanted? To give them the affection they craved, the touch that my skin had ached for?
It was a special kind of pain, to crave physical touch so deeply it became a need, the agony of never feeling a loving caress.
It was my weakness.
Rhylan stirred, pulling me closer so that my face nestled in the hollow of his throat. I wanted to kiss him there, to feel his pulse under my lips…but I couldn’t allow it. Sex was one thing; allowing myself to perform any tiny, tender motions towards him would set me on a course that could never be undone.
Not in the way of a mate bond, no; but with or without a bond, if I allowed myself to feel anything more, I would never be able to disentangle Rhylan from my soul.
I had to hold myself back from now on. Or I would lose myself, and when I finally gained the throne…I didn’t want to sit atop it alone, feeling all the emptiness of a hollow victory.
He stirred again, his lashes fluttering before his eyes opened, and he gave me a sleepy smile. “I could get used to waking up to you.”