Page 76 of Secrets of Avalon
He begins with soft kisses along my collarbone, his fingers drawing light patterns on my skin. He's in no rush, savoring every moment. His lips move lower, leaving a trail of warmth that makes goosebumps rise everywhere. But I’m not cold. I’m hot. So freaking hot. And I can’t...
I push frantically at his shoulders. “What if I can’t do this right? What if I’m terrible? What if we–”
“Breathe, love.” Hawke commands, calmly holding me in place with the weight of his body. “There’s no universe in which you would be terrible at making love.” He caresses my cheek and I finally take that breath he’s asking for.
Tight. Beneath him. His weight. His smell. It’s so much. So wonderful. So hard. His erection presses against my thigh and I want more. I suck in a deep breath. Then another.
“Good?”
I nod.
“I’m going to need words, sweet girl.”
“I’m good. Please.”
He nuzzles at my exposed neck, his breath hot against my skin. I tilt my head back, instinctively offering him better access, my body responding to his touch in ways I never knew possible. He scrapes his teeth over my pulse point, the pressure just firm enough to send a jolt of excitement mixed with trepidation through my veins. I freeze, my heart hammering in my chest, but the needy whine that escapes my throat betrays my true desires.
Do I want him to bite me? The thought is both thrilling and terrifying. I've seen his fangs, glimpsed the sharpness that lies beneath his sensual smile. The idea of him sinking those teeth into my flesh, marking me his own, is simultaneously exhilarating and nerve-wracking. It's a level of intimacy I've never experienced, a bond that goes beyond the physical and into the realm of the soul.
"Are you going to bite me?"
Hawke pulls back slightly, his eyes finding mine. There's a heat in his gaze, a hunger that makes my toes curl, but there's also a tenderness that takes my breath away. "I want to," he confesses, his voice low and rough with desire. "But not yet. Our bond is sealed with a bite." He pauses, searching my face for any signs of fear or hesitation. "Does that scare you?"
I take a moment to consider his question, to examine the emotions rattling around inside me. There's a part of me that is frightened, that fears the idea of such a permanent and irrevocable connection. But there's another part, a larger part, that desperately desires that bond, that craves the intimacy and the sense of belonging that comes with it.
"No," I finally breathe, my voice steady and sure. "It doesn't scare me. It feels... right." This is where I'm meant to be, in his arms, bound to him in every way possible.
The devilish smile he flashes me makes my core ache. He dips his head and runs his tongue along my neck again, sucking but not biting. He’s warming me up. Getting me ready for it. It’s coming. My body knows. Now my mind does.
And I want it.
I want him inside me, even though I’m terrified.
And I want him to bite me.
CHAPTER 30
All Mine
Hawke Stormblood
She tastes like honey and fruit and pure bliss. The sight of my mate, bare and open before me, her beauty steals every last bit of air from my lungs. She is a vision, a goddess in mortal form, and I am humbled and grateful that she is mine. The shard of my soul pulses in her chest like a second heartbeat, synced perfectly with mine.
Melinda is everything.
My destiny.
The silk of her skin against my fingertips, the siren song of her sighs in my ear, awaken parts of me I never knew existed. And when a smile graces her lips, haloed in an aura of disbelieving wonder, as if joy is an unfamiliar friend, it simultaneously breaks my heart and sets my blood on fire.
I want to spend the rest of my days coaxing out that smile, until the shadows of fear melt away and she can revel in her own radiance. I want to show her that her magick is a gift to be celebrated, not a curse to shy away from. I know in my heart with time it can be controlled–wielded even. With every touch, every caress, I want to remove the chains that bind her, to set her spirit free to fly as it was always meant to.
The vision Yggdrasil granted me that fateful morning haunts my waking dreams–the image of Melinda, glowing and ripe with my child, surrounded by the melodic laughter of our future children. It's a promise of a life I never dared to imagine for myself, a tapestry of love and belonging that I now crave with every fiber of my being.
I will move heaven and earth to make that vision a reality. I will stand by her side, no matter what challenges we may face. She is my forever, my mate, my love, my queen. And I will spend the rest of my days proving to her that our bond is unbreakable, that our love is the most powerful magic of all. And that the curse she fears has no power.
My fingertips dance across her skin, tracing constellations between her freckles, marveling at the way she shivers beneath my touch. Her skin is a canvas of smooth velvet, begging to be worshiped. And worship her I will, until she understands the depths of her preciousness to me, how she has become the very center of my universe.
I take my time, a cartographer mapping the undiscovered country of her body, committing each dip and curve to memory as if my life depends on it. And in a way, it does. She is my salvation from the darkness.