Page 97 of The Death King

Why is your mind different?

I don’t have that answer. The shamans tried to break through my mind, but as hard as they fought, I fought harder. I escaped—and burned a few on the way. I felt Talon’s mind like a beacon because his distress was so profound. There was no time to think, only act, and I took him before I fled. I’m grateful I did because enduring this alone would have simply been too much. No one understands my sorrow the way he does. He’s my other half—even if he’s not a dragon. I would give my life for his. And I know he would do the same for me.

That’s beautiful.

I hope Inferno will agree to the fuse—and you’ll both fight for us.

I didn’t realize I had a choice.

Like Talon has already said, you always have a choice.

I turned my gaze to the fire but still felt his stare on my face.

I let the request hang in the air.

Talon finished cleaning his blade before he sheathed it. Then he wordlessly went into the tent and disappeared behind the flap.

I sat there with Khazmuda, feeling the fatigue from the day even though I hadn’t moved much. The cold was right up against my skin despite my armor and clothes. The only thing that stopped the shiver was knowing I had a warm bed tonight.

Join me.

I didn’t react to his words, but they were jarring. I was used to hearing Khazmuda’s voice in my head, not Talon’s.

Khazmuda stepped away at that moment, like Talon had asked for privacy. He moved twenty feet away and curled up to go to sleep.

I left the campfire and stepped behind the flap of the tent.

Talon was already undressed, his chest bare above the top of the bedroll. His head was propped slightly up by resting on his arm, and he looked at me with the stare I hadn’t seen since we were in the castle. He didn’t say a word but somehow issued a command.

I removed every piece of armor and let it drop to the floor before I started on the clothing underneath.

He watched the entire time, watched me without breathing.

All that was left was my panties, and I pulled those off my hips.

He looked me over shamelessly, focusing on my sex like he liked the way I shaved. He pulled back the cover of his bedroll and silently beckoned me to join him.

I dropped to my knees then got into the bedroll beside him, immediately enveloped in his body heat. Before I had a chance to get comfortable, he was on me, guiding my head to where his had been a moment ago. His heavy body was like a thick blanket, searing me with warmth that made my tight muscles relax. His knees worked to separate my thighs as he dipped his head and kissed me.

This kiss was…different. Slow and purposeful, passionate rather than desperate, his mouth feeling my lips like he wanted to memorize the way they felt. He tilted his head and kissed me again, stealing my breath away. His nose brushed against mine as he turned, and I felt the heat seep into my bones and make me boil. A single kiss had ignited me, had made me desperate for him, when I’d been too cold, hungry, and miserable to feel anything at all.

My fingers dived into the back of his hair as my thighs widened to accommodate him, and I anchored him against me with my ankles. When my palm pressed against his shoulder, I felt the burn from his skin. As I touched him, it felt like the first time I was really feeling him. My heart had softened from his tale, pitying him rather than hating him, feeling a connection between us that hadn’t been there before. I knew how it felt to want to end my life—and he knew how that felt too.

He made me feel alive, and I wondered if I made him feel the same way.

He guided himself inside me and sank smoothly, my body ready to take his because he’d made me weak from the first kiss. He moaned against my mouth but didn’t break our kiss. He pulled my bottom lip into his mouth and issued a gentle bite before he gave me his tongue. He rocked slowly like there was no rush to finish since the journey to the top felt just as good as the moment we reached the summit of the mountain.

My ankles squeezed against his back and pulled him hard into me, wanting to feel every inch even when it hurt to feel it all at once. My hand left his hair and moved down his back, following the grooves of muscle that hugged his spine. My nails dug deep before I grabbed his ass and tugged, wanting more of him even though there was nothing left to give.

His kiss turned hungry, giving me his tongue and breathing hard into my mouth as his hips rocked a little harder. Except for the sound of our brushing lips and our gentle moans, it was quiet, the world silent around us.

I’d never felt safer than I did buried underneath him, his body a mountain that shielded me from the wind and the storms. It was all muscle and strength and heat. He continued to kiss me while he rocked into me, our bodies more in sync than they’d ever been.

He said he didn’t want to be intimate with me, but if this wasn’t intimate, then I didn’t know what was.

I knew I was about to hit my threshold. It’d been building since the moment he kissed me. Every muscle in my body had slowly been tightening, preparing my body for the shake that would ripple through every inch of me. With every thrust, it built higher and higher, and then it hit a tumultuous level that made me break.

I came around him with an unrestrained moan, crying against his mouth because it felt so good, it made my heels dig into his back. My nails sank into his hard flesh, and I panted against his mouth. “Talon…” I’d never dreamed of sex before, never fantasized about it or craved it. Never imagined I would whisper a lover’s name as he took me to a state of pure bliss. But now I had, and it was the best thing.