Page 97 of Blood of Dragons

“It’s only out of the respect I have for your uncle that you’re even allowed to be here, to still call this place your home. Don’t push my mercy—because there’s very little left. You can speak to him outside the border. If he crosses that line, I will duel him myself.”

Ezra turned to look at her like he might say something, but he seemed to change his mind and let the tense silence pass.

I rose from my chair and ignored the arrows ready to fire in her eyes. “Then I will speak to him outside the forest.”

I made the long journey to the border alone, his cape draped over my shoulder, and made it past the tree line just beforesunset. The signs of battle were still visible in the red-stained dirt, in the trunks of felled trees that slowly decayed.

Khazmuda was visible in the distance, his enormous size and black scales distinct in comparison to the greenery around him. A campfire was between them, the flames growing brighter as the sun continued to set over the horizon.

Talon sat on a boulder and sharpened his knife, his head tilted down, a clear shadow over his jawline. Khazmuda noticed me first and must have told Talon, because Talon suddenly sheathed his knife and got to his feet, tall and strong like a mountain, and regarded me with that intense gaze.

I came closer to the campfire then extended the cape that he had offered me, the material that had cocooned me in safety, that had protected my naked body from the sight of anyone unworthy.

He didn’t look at the garment in my hands, his eyes on me.

I was nervous, my breaths uneven, my pulse painful in my neck.

He took the cape out of my hands and tossed it aside before he moved closer to me, his hands cupping my cheeks as he bent his neck down and kissed me, kissed me hard like we were alone in his bedchambers.

My body melted in his fire, and my arms hooked around his neck, my lips dissolving onto his like butter on warm bread. I rose on my tiptoes and pressed my entire body into his, wanting our bodies to merge and become one.

Khazmuda’s heavy thuds sounded as he moved away. Then he took flight, soaring into the sky and leaving us alone by the campfire.

Talon’s arms scooped under my ass, and he lifted me into him, holding me like I weighed nothing as he kissed me just as hard, carrying me to the tent on the other side of the campsite.

We made our way inside, a single bedroll in the middle, and he immediately pulled off my boots and my bottoms to get access to my bare skin. In a rush, we both undressed, our skin coming into contact as our bodies joined together in the bedroll. His hips squeezed between my thighs, and he tilted my hips as he moved over me, a mountain that blocked the sun. Then he slipped inside me, pushed through my tight lips, and felt the wetness that had been there since the moment my eyes had locked on to his.

He gave an appreciative moan as he sank until there was nowhere else to go.

I moaned louder than I meant to, his dick feeling so good inside me, like a piece of me had been restored.

His mouth dipped to mine, and he kissed me as he rocked into me, as he made love to me like he did on our last night together. His hand fisted my hair, and he brushed his nose against mine as he turned his head. Locked in a white-hot embrace, we moved together, our bodies slick with arousal, our heat hotter than the campfire that burned in the distance.

A pain burned in my chest, a fire of undying desperation lit deep inside. It was a pleasure so good it hurt, a longing that couldn’t be erased, no matter how close together we became. I felt his hair with my fingertips, felt the muscles of his back as I brought him close, but I still missed him like he was on the other side of the world.

Tears pricked my eyes because it hurt…everything hurt.

He kissed the corner of my eye as he rocked into me, hand deep in my hair. “I’m here, baby.”

My thighs squeezed his hips, my ankles locked together against his ass. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” He kissed me, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth. “Don’t ever leave me again.”

“I won’t.” My nails scratched down his back.

“Promise me.” With his forehead to mine, he rocked into me harder, his pelvic bone right against my clit.

“I promise.” I cupped his neck and looked into his beautiful eyes, eyes that burned directly into my soul. “I never want to be apart from you again.”

The night was spent with us wrapped together, him on top or me on top of him, bouncing up and down while he guided my hips with his hands. Conversation wasn’t engaged in, just the most passionate lovemaking we’d ever had.

It was sometime early in the morning when I opened my eyes, expecting to find myself alone in the empty tent, the air cold because Talon wasn’t there to warm it with his fire. But my eyes focused on the muscular chest right against my face. My eyes lifted to his chin and the shadow on his jawline. Then his eyes…which were closed.

He was asleep.

His arm was hooked around my waist under the bedroll, my thigh over his hip, our bodies tangled together to become asingle person. His chest rose and fell with his gentle breaths, his mind deep in the land of dreams.

I studied his face, seeing how handsome he looked when he was relaxed, how soft his mouth looked. I didn’t dare move, wanting to stare at him forever, to treasure the first time he’d truly dropped his guard.