Page 33 of A Wolf's Bargain
He so rarely used her given name. She’d almost forgotten how much she liked the sound of it. The way he rolled the ‘r’ of her name sent shivers across her skin, especially when he said it like it was the most holy, most precious word he’d ever spoken. He spoke her name like men spoke prayers to the Almighty, and she held every time he’d said it in her heart.
Cillian pulled back enough to look into her eyes, and before Cora could get the words out to ask why he’d said her name that way, he kissed her. Heat raced through her body like a winter wildfire. If a single spark could set an entire forest alight, Cillian Fane could set her body on fire with a single kiss.
Cora buried her hands in the soft, thick wolf's skin at his shoulders, using it to pull him closer. He responded with a deep groan that vibrated into her chest and left gooseflesh all over her skin.
Closer, closer. Please, God, don’t let go!
She spoke the words in her mind, but Cillian pulled back as though he’d heard them. Cora opened her mouth to protest, but it quickly faded into a moan when Cillian grasped her hips and bit sharply at her throat.
“You must be a witch,Mo Chroí,” he growled. “How else could you bewitch me so?”
At any other time, she’d have a smart remark about what spell she’d cast on him if she could. But now? With his warm breath and teeth at her neck, and his hands pulling her closer until she could feel the hard length of his cock against her belly? “Cillian—Cillian, please don’t stop.”
Thick fingers wrapped around her braid and tugged her head back. The kisses on her neck grew rougher and sharper until she gasped at a particularly painful bite. “Easy, love, easy,” shecoaxed, combing her fingers through his hair. “You’ll break me if you’re not careful.”
Cillian pulled away, his eyes twin flames in the night. “Won’t ever break you, lass. Don’t know that anyone could.”
He sucked in a breath and loosened his grip on her hair. “But you’re right. We should stop—”
Panic doused the heat in her blood like a bucket of icy water. “Wait, no! That’s not what I meant! I only—”
Cillian laid a hand over her lips, silencing her protests with a strained smile. “Peace, wife. I didn’t mean for good. I brought you out here for a purpose, believe it or not, but you’re enough to drive a monk off from his vows.”
Cora wondered why, after all they’d done, it was his words that brought pink to her cheeks. Perhaps it was because Cillian had not shown himself to be a man of many words where she was concerned. To hear that he found her desirable felt like a victory.
“Wh—what did you bring me here for if not—well?” Her blush deepened as she searched for the words to ask the right question.
Cillian grinned in that playful way that caused the throbbing between her legs to start up again. “It’s an ancient tradition among my people. Most would claim that it ought to have happened the night of our wedding, but I didn’t think you—we—were ready.”
“Ready? Ready for what?”
“The hunt.”
His words shouldn’t frighten her. She knew him well enough by now to know that he wouldn’t hurt her. So why did those two tiny words send her shivering?
“As luchthonn, we bond with the wolves who have bound their spirits to ours. We share our bodies and our minds with them, and we accept their nature as our own. A wolf is apredator, a hunter, and it is our custom that a new husband proves his worth and skill in a hunt.”
Cora tried to step back, but Cillian’s grip held her in place. Unease soured the desire she’d felt only moments before. “I don’t understand. Do you mean to bring me a rabbit like a barn cat brings a mouse to its master?”
Cillian smiled at her question, but it didn’t ease her nerves. “No, wife. I’ll be hunting something far more precious than a mouse or rabbit tonight.”
The hungry look on his face sent her heart racing. “And... if you catch what you’re hunting?”
His grin widened, baring his teeth. She shivered, remembering how they’d felt at her throat. It should have felt dangerous, but it had been exciting.
“When, Cora—when I catch you, you will know we are both worthy of you.”
Cora opened her mouth to argue about the fairness of such a task but snapped it shut when Cillian loosened his belt and let it fall to the ground. The wolf skin came next, draped carefully over an arm while he removed his shirt. He tugged the skin over his head and bare shoulders, looking for all the world like some sort of dark forest god. The sight of him made her knees weak.
“Cillian, I—I can’t—” She tried to speak but gave up when the thoughts in her head wouldn’t slow enough to form a sentence.
“The first time you witnessed this, I took pity on you.”
His boots came off next, joining the pile of clothing on the forest floor with a dull thud. When his hands went to the ties at his trousers, her mouth went dry. “What do you mean?”
Slowly—too slowly—he tugged at the laces, letting them hang loosely on his hips. “You were trying so hard to be brave. I wasn’t sure how you’d react to the wolf, but I knew the sight of my cock would send you running clear back to your castle.”
Cora found enough nerve to roll her eyes. “Come now, Cillian. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re not as ugly as all that.”