by Bec McMaster
“Done.”
She drove another boot toward his face, and this time he’d had enough. Capturing her heel, Marduk ducked under her leg, and then hauled her back into his arms. He let himself fall. The second he hit the stone, he rolled, pinning her there.
It was ridiculously easy.
And it shouldn’t have been.
“You couldn’t wrestle a snake, right now,” he snapped, as the breath drove from her lungs. Thunder grumbled in the distance.
Solveig wrapped her legs around his hips, intent upon throwing him, but he wasn’t going anywhere.
And after two days of hovering over her, desperate to protect her, desperate to touch her, this was exactly where he wanted to be.
His cock hardened, and Marduk ground against her. “Looks like I’m going south.”
He knew the second she felt him, for the fury in her eyes turned molten. Her dark irises were black pools that threatened to drown him; and worse, he couldn’t have saved himself if he’d wanted to.
Marduk bit the skin of her shoulder gently. Not enough to mark her, but enough to draw both their minds to the suggestion of it. He wanted to broach the topic of their changed relationship—where were they right now?—but for the first time in his life, he didn’t know how.
This was all he had.
“Don’t you dare,” she breathed.
“No?” He nuzzled into her throat. “You liked it that last time.”
He kissed her. Hard. Fierce. Bruising.
And her tongue danced against his, slick with desire. Solveig grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and suddenly she wasn’t trying to fight him anymore. Instead, her hips undulated against him, until he was the one desperate for breath.
Goddess. Every ounce of frustration and anxiety he’d felt over the past couple of days came to the fore.
It was difficult to be careful with her when she was in this mood. And he needed to be, for he hadn’t missed her wince when she landed on her back.
Solveig tore her mouth from his, and then sharp teeth sank into his earlobe. “I’m not made of spun glass.”
“And yet, you are just as precious in some ways.”
She drew back, until they were nose-to-nose. “What does that mean?”
“Haven’t you realized yet?” His heart gave a nervous twist in his chest. “I’ll tell you. One day. I’ll tell you when you’re ready to believe it.”
Another soulful look.
He kissed her.
“Marduk, stop.” She drew back, gasping. “We’re on the tower.”
Anyone could see them.
“Let them.” He slowed his sensual assault, though he didn’t forsake it. Kissing his way down her throat, he waited for her to deny him again, but it didn’t come.
“Yes?” he whispered. “Or no?”
A shiver ran through her. It was a yes. He knew it was a yes. But it wasn’t until her hand snaked between them, curling around his cock, that he let a sigh escape him.
Tugging her shirt free of its buttons, he found the linen she bound her breasts with. Hauling it down, he captured her tightly furled nipple in his mouth. Solveig arched beneath him as the first raindrop struck his skin.
“Surrender, Solveig. You know you want to.”
“I wish I’d never met you,” she whispered, grabbing a fistful of his hair, but her thighs parted and he was sinking between them, tearing at the buttons of her breeches.
Such tight, bloody breeches. He almost tore them down her legs, tangled in her drawers, and then she was naked beneath him, her sweet, wet quim bare to the sky.
“You’re such a liar.” Kneeling over her, he kissed her, capturing her bottom and forcing her thighs to part around his shoulders.
She tasted of musk and sweat and forbidden delight.
And she was so wet, she was slick beneath his tongue.
“Oh, gods.”
It was music to his ears. And the sensation of her fingers clenching in his hair drove him wild as he tongued her deeply. Solveig writhed. She was so close it was surprising she hadn’t come already. Harder droplets of water struck them. Maybe the sky could feel his longing.
Marduk lifted his head, and kissed her thigh. “If you hadn’t met me, you wouldn’t be here right now.” He lowered his head and traced his tongue over that pulsating bud. “If you hadn’t met me, then you wouldn’t feel like you were about to fly apart.”
Her spine arched. “Just do it.”
“Do what?” he whispered, letting his breath stir the curls of her mons. And then his tongue was flickering over her, like a cat lapping at water.
She came with a ragged cry, her thighs clamping around his head. The heavens opened, and she melted beneath him, slumping bonelessly to the floor as if he’d wrung her dry.
Marduk kissed his way up her body, licking the rain from her skin. He rubbed his cock between her wet folds, feeling her body open around him like some sort of lush flower. “Do you know what I think?”
Her gaze met his, as he rested his elbows on either side of her face.
“I think that you love this.” He drove inside her with one firm stroke. Her body fit him like a glove, but it was the way she arched her head back with a moan that made every inch of him tight with need. She was beneath him. He was inside her. And he never wanted this moment to end.
“If you tell yourself you hate me, does it make it easier to surrender to this?” He thrust again, feeling her clench around him.
Nails dug into his back and she hissed with pleasure.
He couldn’t take his eyes from her face. She was glorious and wild and so beautiful it broke his heart a little. “You hate the way I make you feel, because it leaves you vulnerable.”
An anguished moan tore from her.
“And you hate the way you don’t hate me,” he whispered. “Not even a little bit.”
Their eyes met.
“Tell me a secret,” he whispered, slowly rocking his hips into her.
“I don’t know if I can ever be what you want me to be.” The words blurted from her, as if she couldn’t let herself think about them too long or she’d never say them.
There was a long moment of silence.
And then Marduk brushed a strand of wet hair from her face, where it had stuck to her lips. “You’re already everything I want. You don’t have to change.”
“I’m not talking of changing. Being with you feels like I’m losing some part of myself.” She swallowed. “I swore on my mother’s grave that I would never, ever let some male do to me what he did to her. And I think some part of me meant it. My dreki meant it. She… She doesn’t want to surrender. ” The look she gave him broke his heart. “How long would you wait for me?”
“Forever,” he replied, simply.
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I.” The yearning in her eyes gave him some hope, and lightning flashed in the distance, highlighting the sharp lines of her face. “There’s something you don’t know about me, my love. If I want something—want it with my entire being—then nothing is going to stop me from having it. I won’t falter, Solveig, just because you’re struggling to give into this feeling between us. I will wait for you. Forever, if need be. Because you are mine.”
“I am not some object that some dreki male thinks he’s going to claim, just because—”
“Mine,” he repeated, grinding against her. “The thing I’ve been yearning for my entire life. My hopes. My dream. My sense of belonging. My home. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. And that’s what that means. Nothing else.
“When I was a little boy I used to test my wings. I would shoot straight into the sky, trying to capture a star. I would fly as high as I could, desperate to reach it, until the air grew too thin and my wings started to fail. You’re my star, Solveig. And maybe I won’t ever have you, but I’ll never stop trying to reach you. Never.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“It is simple. Let me tell you my secret,” he breathed, the hot flu
sh of pleasure sliding down his spine like a woman’s fingertip. He kissed the tip of her nose, trying not to explode. “I’m glad I met you. I’m so fucking glad. Because this is real. And I’m not afraid to surrender to it.” He thrust shallowly, trying to contain himself. “You’re the most perfect thing I’ve ever touched. You’re my star, Solveig, and I finally caught you.”
She kissed him.
And then there was no more chance of restraining himself.
He came with a gasp, thrusting his way into her slowly. He wanted the moment to last forever.
Rain slicked her skin. Both of them panted for breath as he collapsed atop her.
“I’m not scared of you, Solveig,” he whispered. “I’m not going to tuck tail and run, just because you’re frightened of what’s happening between us. I don’t know what this is, but I intend to ride the storm until it either dashes us upon the rocks, or kicks us out into sunny, blue skies. Because you’re the adventure I’ve been looking for all my life. You’re mine, and I’m not letting go.”
“Let me tell you a secret,” she whispered.
His heart skipped a beat, because she was looking at him with her soul stripped bare. “What?”
Teeth sank into her lip. “I don’t want you to let me go,” she blurted. “I don’t ever want you to let me go.”
And the feeling that swept through him was more pleasurable than the greatest orgasm. “Good.” He nuzzled at her lips again, lacing his fingers through hers. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”
The storm blew in, wild and whipping.
Marduk swept her into his arms and carried her back to their rooms.
The second he’d kicked the door shut, he was on her. Again. He would have to leave in an hour. Maybe two. If this was his last chance to love her, then he was going to slake every ounce of his desire on her willing flesh.
He pushed her back against the wall and kissed her, long and slow and drugging. Stripping her trousers and boots from her, until she wore only her shirt.
“Make it hard,” she whispered, inching those fingernails up his abdomen. “Make it hurt a little. Make me scream. Let us make war.”
War. He liked that. And maybe this would always be the way they found some form of peace.
But he also wanted it softer.
He wanted her to beg.
He wanted to make love to her too.
“Mmm.” He hauled the slap of his belt free of its loops. “As my queen commands.”
And then he hauled her wrists together into one fist, and looped the belt around them. He carried her to the bed and tied her there.
Solveig squirmed. “What are you doing?”
“Capturing the enemy. I’m going to make her scream.”
He slapped her lightly between the thighs.
A gasp stole from her lips.
He watched as shock stole over her expression, a creeping tide of red. And then she was glaring at him as if she wanted to rip his heart out of his chest.
A dangerous reckless laugh tore through him. “Of course, you like that.”
“I’m going to murder you with my bare hands.”
“What’s wrong?” he whispered, hauling her shirt up until she was bare before him. His fingers found her, wet and soaking. “Don’t like the way I make war? I can always be softer. Gentler. I can make love to you. Like this….” Marduk traced lazy fingertips around her clit, watching as she stiffened. “This could be my tongue.”
And then he was sliding one finger inside her.
Another.
Stretching her with soft thrusts.
Watching her twist beneath him as he curled both fingers and found that wicked spot deep within her.
“Goddess,” she breathed, her eyes going distant and her thighs falling apart as if she couldn’t help herself. “Damn you. Damn you!”
“Ah, ah, ah,” he chided. “Tell me how much you love this. Tell me how much you need me.”
“I need you to— Oh, fuck.”
Perfect. Just perfect. He withdrew his fingers and slapped her again, his hand firming around her pussy.
This time, it tore a scream from her lips.
“You want me so badly you’re burning with it.”
“Gods, I’m going to kill you,” she hissed, as she writhed against his hand.
“Mmm.” He burrowed his face against her throat and kissed his way lower. “No, you’re not. You’re going to take everything I can give you and more. You like this. Melt for me, my love.”
Another ringing slap.
She arched and cried out, and then he was soothing her once more, sliding his fingers through the wet crevice between her thighs. Feeling the heat in her tender flesh.
“I will make you beg for mercy,” she promised. “I will make you suffer—”
“All these dirty words you whisper.” He found her breast through the shirt, his tongue circling her nipple. A breath tore from her. “Pleasure? Or pain? You decide.”
Those perfect white teeth sunk into her lower lip.
So stubborn.
He tongued her through the linen, until it was wet with his saliva. Little cat-laps that made her curse and writhe. Tapping against her weeping pussy. Grinding the heel of his palm there, until every inch of her was desperate.
“Open for me,” he commanded.
It must have been a shock to her too, for her thighs fell wide open.
“Mmm.” He captured her ass in his hands and bent down, breathing her in. The thatch of dark hair atop her mons was ticklish. “You’re so damned pretty.”
“I am not—”
The rest of her words were lost as he opened his mouth and delved his tongue into the slick lips between her thighs.
The taste of her was intoxicating. He could taste himself there too.
And the sounds she made….
“Pretty,” she gasped. “Is so… insipid.”
“Pretty,” he insisted. “You even taste as sweet as a raspberry.”
He found the heart of her pleasure and suckled on that firm little bud.
“Marduk!” Solveig arched beneath him, like a bowstring pulled taut. He heard leather twist as she pulled desperately at her bonds.
“Let me make it feel better.” He licked her, long and slow. Plunging his tongue inside her, and kissing her as hotly and wetly as he did her mouth.
Then his fingers were inside her, even as her entire body quivered. Close. So close.
He withdrew and slapped her again, and she screamed his name in desperation as pleasure broke over her like an enormous wave. Marduk captured her clit in his mouth again, driving her as hard and fast over that edge as she could.
The look on her face….
It stabbed him right through the heart.
For there was no dissembling now. He watched pleasure strike its way through her like lightning, and this time, for the first time, she let him capture it.
Until she was trembling and gasping, shuddering with aftershock.
Gods, he wanted to be inside her.
Tearing his trousers off, he flung them behind him and bent over her. Kissing his way up her body, he found her mouth and claimed it, letting her taste her own need on his tongue.
“Beg me,” he whispered, pinning her wrists to the bed with one hand, as he pumped the other around his erection. “Beg me for my cock.”
Some part of her must have started thinking again. Her eyes gleamed murder.
And he laughed as he nipped her nose. “This is war, Solveig. And you will surrender.”
“Let me go and I’ll think about it.”
He laughed as he forced his knee between hers, and drove it up against her sensitive pussy. She shivered as he rubbed her there. And then he brought his cock into play, dragging the head of it through her slick folds.
Solveig gasped.
Still sensitive.
Still trembling.
“Fine.” She gripped him with both knees, until he was sliding between the vee of her hips, his eager cock jerkin
g as it fell against her wetness. “Take me.”
“Not yet, my queen.” He reached up to tug her wrists free. “Surrender. No more vengeance. Just this. Just you and me. Just us.”
He captured her palms and laced his fingers through hers, pinning her to the bed.
A flash of heat went through her dark eyes, but then she was curling her fingers through his, letting him do this.
“Good girl,” he whispered.
A devious look entered her eyes, and she nuzzled against his throat. He flinched, aware of her teeth, but then her breath rasped over his ear. “Make love to me, Marduk. Ruin me for all other dreki. Make me forget my name. Make me forget everything apart from you.”
He shuddered as those words wrapped around him. It was a ploy. She wasn’t begging for real. But the effect was just the same.
Her body opened beneath him and then he was nudging inside, breathless with the feel of her wet and slick beneath him.
“As you wish.”
He slammed inside her, driving deep until his thighs met her ass. And her smoky laugh wrapped around his heart, because no matter how often he had the upper hand, she would always own him.
Body and soul.
Marduk winged his way south as fast as he could, landing in the field where the entrance to the Sadu court lay. Using Solveig’s claw necklace, he swiftly gained entry and asked for the king.
He found King Harald within his solar. The elderly dreki monarch was seated behind a desk laden with scraps of paper, a pair of glasses perched on the tip of his nose. Siv glided around the desk, laughing at something Harald was scowling at. Marduk had never managed to learn anything about her, despite all the times they’d walked together, and he’d never seen her this relaxed.
Dreki aged incredibly slowly, but there were signs of it in Harald’s graying hair and the heavy lines around his eyes. He’d been childless for nearly seven cycles, before he’d been blessed with three daughters, one after the other.
While some dreki males yearned for male heirs, Harald seemed to care little about his abundance of daughters. Marduk had seen the adoration in the king’s eyes when he’d presented them to him that first time, and every time since.
“My king,” one of the guards called, rapping his knuckles against the door.