38
Dante
Awareness flares in her eyes. Those silver irises go impossibly liquid. Her pupils darken. Her gaze sweeps over my chest, farther below to where I am already semi-erect. Blood rushes to my groin. I know I am hardening right in front of her eyes. Yeah, that’s the kind of male I am. I brought her here to heal her, yet I can’t seem to keep myself from wanting to touch her, to be close to her. To look into her eyes and see my own desire reflected in them. To feel my body as it reacts to her nearness. It’s a special kind of hell. Being so close to her yet not allowing myself to touch her.
Her breathing grows shallow; her breasts tremble. I don’t need to look at the swollen flesh to know that her nipples are sharp enough to cut me if I lower my chest and crush them against my planes. Just the thought of holding her, licking her, sucking her sets off a fire deep inside. But I cannot, will not, let myself have her, not yet.
I may be selfish enough to want her only for myself, but even I know it’s important to face the one thing that shimmers between us. “You are changing, Gia.”
Her lips thin, then a low chuckle bleeds out of her. “That’s an understatement.” Her shoulders tremble. She squeezes her palms at her sides. Fear rolls off her.
My heart squeezes. The mating cord bunches in my chest, sending a pulse of fear racing down my spine. I push away from the bed, then rise to my feet.
She watches me from under hooded eyelids.
I hold out my hand.
She firms her lips.
I jerk my head at her, urging her with my gaze. Something tells me now is not the time to speak. If I do, I’ll destroy the semblance of calm she seems to have wrapped around herself.
She sits up and places her hand in mine. Thank fuck. I wrap my fingers around her delicate wrist. Then tug.
She follows my direction and swings her legs over. Her knees buckle, then she catches herself.
I release the breath I’d not been aware I was holding.
I walk across the floor of my bedroom to the mirror that is propped up against one corner of the wall.
She follows me, her body rigid. Her shoulders are stiff, her muscles coiled. I run my thumb over the delicate skin of her wrist where her pulse thuds.
Her breath catches, and I can’t stop the flare of heat that coils in my gut. How can I want her so much, even now, when she is vulnerable and hurting? When she is so open that I can feel every single emotion that rolls through her, cutting her, as if it were my wounds that were open? My heart that hurts, that beats for her. My skin that trembles with the need to wrap my body around her and protect her. Forever.
Stopping in front of the mirror, I fold my other palm around her hand, dwarfing her little one between both of mine.
I tug, exerting just enough pressure to pull her in front of me. Her gaze skitters to the side.
“Look at us, Gia. Look at what you are. What we are…” I can’t bring myself to say anything more.
She shakes her head. “Some things are better seen, better experienced than spoken about.” Her chin wobbles. Tears streak her cheek.
Then she angles her face toward the mirror. In the reflection, her eyes meet mine. Her gaze widens, and she swallows hard.
“What do you see?”
“You, I see you,” she whispers.
A fierce surge of satisfaction fills my chest. The mating bond throbs. I drop my grip on her hand, only to prop my hands on her waist.
She shudders but doesn’t break our connection in the mirror.
“What else?” I bend down so my face is next to hers. My cheek grazes her skin.
Her throat moves as she swallows.
“Tell me, Starlight.” I want to move in and surround her with my body, but something still holds me back. I need her to acknowledge what she sees, what she is becoming. It’s important that she knows how it will be between us…should she choose to take this last step.
She raises her eyes and runs her gaze over her reflection. The hook of her nose, the pink bow of her lips, the soft skin that stretches over high cheekbones. The arch of her ears that end in tapered points.
She gulps. Her gaze is fixated by that change. “What am I transforming into?”
“The most beautiful Fae female I have ever seen.”
“H…how?” She reaches a hand up then hesitates.
I coil my fingers around her wrist then bring it up to her ear. She runs her palm over the delicate shell-like shape.
“It’s still me.” She gnaws on her lower lip
“And more.” I cup her cheek.
“Meaning?”
“It’s the physical manifestation of our mating.” I choose my words slowly, knowing it’s important she understands what I am going to say.
“So our essences combined, when…”
“When you reached out to me through the mating bond and your energy filled me.”
She opens her mouth to speak, and I place my fingers over her lips. “You gave me the impetus to harness our joined-up energies and use it to overpower him.”
“No.” Her breath is hot against my skin.
My groin tightens. My leg muscles go solid.
“Yes.” Everything in me wants to throw her down on the floor and claim her. Tell the world that she is mine…only mine. I step back from her. “You completed the mating bond when you shared your essence with me. You saved my life, gave me the will to fight, to live.”
She wrings her hands together in front of her. “So this is how I will be for the rest of my life?” She tips her head to the side.
“It’s not that bad.” I twist my lips. “There are fringe benefits to being Fae.”
“Like?”
“Energy levels for one. You won’t stay tired for very long; you’ll recuperate fast after…” I pause. “After any physical activity.”
Her cheeks grow fiery, and I can’t stop the smirk that lifts my lips.
“And?” She juts out her chin.
“Your body will heal itself.”
She frowns, then lowers her eyes to run her gaze over the rest of her reflection. “Hence any injuries from the fight have faded?” She raises her arms, then parts her legs, surveying every inch of her body in the mirror.
Only it also affords me a view of that secret part of her between her legs. Her lower lips are pink and glistening, waiting for me, calling out to me. My pulse races. My dick hardens with the need to be inside her.
I stifle the groan that rips up my chest. “You’re not making this easy.”
“Huh?” Her gaze swings up to mine. Her forehead furrows, then her entire face turns a fiery red. “Right.” She wraps her arms around her waist.
“Don’t.” I reach for her hands and pry them away from her body. “Look at you. Human and Fae. A perfect blend of the two worlds.”
“A freak of nature.” Her shoulders droop.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous. And all mine.”
39
Gia
His voice sinks into my skin. My blood heats. Moisture trickles down my inner thigh. I want to look away from his face, but I can’t. Everything in me insists that I obey the command in his voice.
What is it about this man that makes me want him so much? After what we’ve been through, after mating me, after sharing my essence with him. Knowing that he can rip me apart and put me back together over and over again when there’s nothing left of me, nothing but him… Knowing all that I still want him. And I shouldn’t.
I should leave, get away from him, while I can still keep some semblance of independence. While I can still hold on to that part of me that I value most, that secret part inside me where I haven’t let anyone else in.
“I can’t do this.” My voice stutters.
“Can’t do what?” The heat of his body surrounds me. Swirls over me. His shoulders shut out the sight of the world.
“This.” I fix my gaze on his throat. “Whatever this is between us.”
I sense his smile but don’t look up.
/> He bends down and peers into my eyes. “I’m not asking you to do anything.”
“Liar.” A chuckle sticks in my throat.
“You’re right.” His shoulders go solid. “I’m telling you.” He straightens his spine. “I want everything from you. Your body, your soul. Every breath you take. Even as we are talking right now, I want to shove you against the wall and ram into you. I want to be buried balls deep inside you.”
His words heat my blood. It’s always like this with him. All he has to do is touch me, and all my barriers crumble. All thought dribbles out of my head. “Dante,” I breathe out his name on a sigh.
I reach out and trail a finger over his throat. The tendons bunch.
It’s all I can do not to press my nose to his chest. I want to inhale the scent of his skin.
The mating cord thumps against my rib cage. My cheeks flush. Sweat trickles down my back. Never have I felt anything quite like this. It’s not just that I need him… I want to immerse myself in him. Fuse myself with him.
I want to drop into him until there is no him, no me, only us.
Every muscle in me tenses. My skin seems too tight for my body. I raise my head and meet his gaze.
“I’m scared.” I gulp.
A hoarse chuckle rumbles up his chest. “That makes two of us.”
“I have never felt anything like this before.” A shiver runs down my back. I am hot and cold at the same time.
“Welcome to my world, acushla.” His lips curl. That smirk is so hot, so bad, so filled with promise my toes curl. My nipples tighten into aching points of need. I cannot stop myself from thrusting my breasts into his chest.
A groan rips out of him. “If we start now, there is no going back.”
“Who says I want to?” I bite my lower lip.
“You shared your essence with me. You accepted the mating bond. If we make love now you will never be able to leave me.” He takes a step back from me. “If you can’t live with that…then now is the time to leave.”
I don’t reply.
I can’t.
The truth is that I am still coming to terms with what I am. No longer just human but a creature swayed by emotions. Someone driven by instinct. Someone who sees things, feels things, on a level so deep that I’m just beginning to comprehend it.
I hesitate.
Tension rolls off him. His muscles tense. But he doesn’t move. He’s waiting for my answer. And he’s afraid that I’ll turn him down. The flash of insight takes me by surprise. Never have I felt so much with anybody else. The mating cord thrums against my ribcage. Waves of restlessness flood down the connection. The emotions slam into my chest. My breath stutters. My throat closes. I want to tell him that it’s okay. That I understand what he’s feeling right now. That I want the same. But something stops me.
“Tell me what you want, Gia.” His shoulders bunch. The planes of his chest flex. “I can give you everything you need.”
And there, right there is the problem. If he touches me now, I will combust. Everything that was the old Gia, the human Gia, will fade away. Leaving what? A woman I don’t know anything about. A Fae female who will not hesitate to take pleasure from her mate, to satisfy him, draw from him, to give in to her base instincts. And would that be so bad? Why not just allow him to have his way with me?
“You were right.” My gaze drops to his lips. “Sometimes it’s best not to speak.” It’s best to take what you want. No regrets. He is my mate, and I want him. One last time I can have him. I can sink into the feelings that have me in thrall. Can open myself up to him and he can take what he wants. I don’t say this aloud. Yet it’s as if he read my mind, for he tilts his head.
A shudder grips him, or perhaps it is me. I can’t tell anymore. Those black eyes of his glow. Blue and turquoise swirl in them. His ears lengthen and when he peels back his lips, his canines drop.
My belly quivers, an answering smile curves my lips. The tips of my ears stretch and my own canines pierce through my gums.
His gaze widens.
I can see myself reflected in the depth of his eyes. His chest rises and falls. The breath rushes out of him. I sense his pulse race. Sense the blood pounding at his temples. Thud-thud-thud, the sound of his heartbeat fills my mind, sinks into my blood, pours through me. Every part of me seems to be tuned in to him. My eyesight narrows. The rest of the world fades away, then there is only him.
He bends his knees then sweeps me up in his arms. Turning, he stalks to the bed. The world tilts, I feel the mattress give, then the fabric chafes my skin.
My nerve endings tingle. I lie there watching as he looms over me.
His big body blocks out the rest of the room.
Anticipation tightens my nerves. My toes curl. The muscles of my thighs firm.
His gaze drops to the triangle between my legs. It’s as if he touched me there. Every part of me seems to be on fire. Moisture trickles down my inner thigh.
His nostrils flare.
The bed dips as he kneels between my parted legs. My pussy quivers. I try to squeeze my thighs shut. But he clicks his tongue then wraps his fingers around my thighs and shoves them apart.
“It’s too late, Gia. I gave you a chance, and you didn’t take it. Now it’s my turn to show you everything I want to do to you.”
He lowers his head.
40
Dante
I bury my nose in the folds of her pussy. Every muscle in her snaps with tension. Her pelvis rises off the bed. I move my shoulders just enough to hold her down, pin her to the mattress. To shove her legs even wider until she is spread apart for my delectation. For my worship. For my gaze. Only mine. “Mine.”
I growl the word out against the warmth of her clit. Her hips shudder. I hook my arms under her thighs, wrap my fingers around her hips, and hold her there.
“Dante.” Her voice bleeds over me. Her chin trembles.
I sense a hesitation in her. I’d seen how she’d held herself back earlier. The myriad emotions that crept over her face before she’d given herself up to me. And yet that is not enough. She’s submitted her body. Her essence is fused with mine. Not enough. I want her will, her every thought to be one with me. I want to know what she’s thinking, what she’s going to do next. I will not be happy until she’s yielded everything to me. Until I’ve broken her all over again and rebuilt her…and again. The awareness sinks into my blood. My cheeks heat. I raise my gaze and peer up from between her legs. Her silver eyes blaze at me. The color from them has faded until they are like mirrors of lust that reflect back all her doubts, her needs, her emotions…all of which belong to me.
“Do you trust me, Gia?” I hold her gaze.
Her forehead furrows. Some of the lust in her eyes clears. “What…what kind of a question is that?”
“It’s simple. We’ve come this far, yet you’re holding back from me.”
“I’m not.” She lowers her chin. Some of the color fades from her cheeks.
“I can sense it, Gia.” I reach out to her through the mating bond. Pulse a jolt of awareness at her. It crawls toward her, through that combined silver-blue essence that is us, then fades away.
She flushes then. The color sweeps up her breasts, her throat, to circle her cheeks.
I tilt my head. “You still deny that?”
Her gaze slides away. Her shoulders push back into the mattress. Her hands go slack on either side. She shakes her head. “Do you blame me?” She bites her lower lip. “Something is changing me from the inside out. A few days ago, I was a human with the Bureau of Shifters. My only goal was to guard my principal, the leader of Moscow. And now…” Her chin trembles.
“Now you are mated to me. You are Fae.”
“I no longer know who I am.” The words pour off her.
The anguish slams into me. I stay where I am between her thighs.
“You are mine.”
“So you keep saying.” She meets my gaze, her own troubled. “What does that even mean?”
�
��It means I can hold you whenever I want.” I squeeze the rounded flesh of her butt.
Her thighs flex.
“It means I can scent you whenever I feel the need.” I lower my nose to the cleft between her juicy lower lips and inhale.
Her hips shudder.
“It means I can taste you, and eat you out and nothing, no one, not even you can stop it.” I run my tongue up from her back opening, all the way up to her clit.
She moans. Her fingers lower into my hair, and she yanks at the strands. Tingles of pleasure pull at my scalp, down my nape. My spine goes taut. I curl my tongue around the bud of her clit and bite down.
She mewls her approval.
Her body rises off the bed. Her knees fold up to frame my face. I slide my hand up the outside of her thigh, down her calves, then fling her ankle over my shoulder.
“Dante, fuck.” The moan drools out of her.
“And only I get to do that to you,” I growl against her swollen flesh.
My words seem to turn her on even more.
Moisture flows out from her slick channel. I lap it all up. The taste of her sinks into me. Sweet, so sweet.
I need her. She’s my mate. And I’ll do anything to keep her with me.
I lower my head and thrust my tongue into her wet channel. In, out, in. I sense her body tremble, even as another moan dribbles out of her. Even that is not enough. I will not stop until she shatters around me and then I’ll put her back together only to claim her again, and again.
I will do everything in my power to keep her with me. I bite the swollen nub of her clit, and she shatters around me. Her fingernails dig into my scalp. A trail of fire shoots down my neck, down to the base of my spine. My balls feel heavy, and I know then I must have her. But first I need to make her come. I need her to be so high on me, so full of the pleasure that only I can give her, so drunk on my essence that nothing and no one can come between us again. I thrust a finger into her weeping channel and another. Her entire body rises off the bed. I feel the trembling sweep up her legs, over her belly, feel her tense. She wraps her legs around my back, and her heels dig into my skin, and then she screams my name.
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