Aries

by Kim Faulks

  I was happy with him.

  He dropped his hand to my thigh and slid to my knee. Tendons pulled taut as he gently lifted my leg, moving higher to rest my calf over his shoulder. The smile on my face wavered and fell. The position made me vulnerable.

  Zadoc held my gaze as he braced his body and surged against me. His brutal strength stole my breath.

  All or nothing.

  His erection pushed against my crease. I gripped his arms. Power rippled through his muscles as he eased inside, and then withdrew. I stilled with the sheer size. Slowly, so slowly. Heat spread through my body as he moved again.

  Just inside. Just enough to…

  I dropped my head against the blankets, absorbed with that slow rock, that…tease. In and out. In…and…out.

  His cock stretched my barriers, driving deeper to fill me, and then slowly withdrew. I raised my head, catching sight of us surging into one. And with every move he watched me with those ancient eyes, cataloging every catch of breath, every…

  Jesus.

  I met his thrust, bearing down, taking all I could and growled. “Harder.”

  The sudden brunt stole my thoughts…stole everything. He angled his hips, driving with heated passion.

  I reached for him, finding his lips with mine. Hot breath filled my mouth. His tongue was seeking, pushing into me the same time he filled me with his cock.

  Heat rolled off the two of us in waves, dragging me under and then floating me to the surface. I left his mouth as the undertow swept me away. Tension built as he picked up pace, slamming into my center.

  Something in me ignited, sending sparks through my body. The slick slap of our bodies drove me higher. I gripped his arms and closed my eyes. I was almost there, almost…there.

  With a growl of hunger, he buried himself with wild abandon. But I was lost…lost to the feel of him—lost to the inferno inside. A cry slipped from my lips. My body throbbed, caught on that peak. His gaze hardened, staring at me, but not at me—there was something else driving him in this moment—some unseen desire.

  With a savage thrust, he stilled. He pulsed deep inside as his heat flooded my body, cradling me, and carried me down that long slope of release. I eased back against the blankets and dragged my leg from his shoulder.

  He moved fast, catching my limb mid fall and bore down inside my body. He was no longer hard, softening with every explosive thud of my heart. But it didn’t seem to matter.

  He shoved harder, marking some unseen territory as his as the Dragon in his gaze held mine until some connection clicked into place. His eyelids drooped, chest rose and fell with burgeoning frenzy as a wicked smile of satisfaction stretched those beautiful lips.

  With a kiss on my ankle, he lowered my leg and dropped his chest down on the blankets beside me, throwing an arm over his head, and a leg across my thighs.

  I shifted under that massive weight, moving his leg higher. Harsh breaths filled my ear and then slowed. My body ticked like an overworked engine. I sucked in a breath and tried to wet my arid mouth. “Zadoc, that was—”

  He shook his head. My hair scattered under the sudden exhale. “Can’t…talk. Not yet.”

  Gone were the flames in his eyes. The Zadoc I knew had returned. His eyes had that sleepy look, lids eased closed and then cracked open. I rested one hand against his leg and trailed my fingers through the soft hair—but the weight was crushing.

  I shoved against the ground and rose from the blankets. His eyes snapped open. He moved without a warning, pushing me against the soft pile. That predatory look filled his gaze. He shifted his leg and moved his gaze to between my thighs.

  A spear of panic raced as he eased his grip on my shoulder. That half-sleepy look returned and a slow smile returned. He dropped his head, lips found mine. He kissed my cheek, and nuzzled my neck. “Where were you going?”

  His hand found my breast, fingers circled my nipple, stealing my thoughts. “Nowhere.”

  “That’s right—nowhere is right here.”

  His fingers rubbed and brushed. Heat moved in, still his hand never stopped. His lips were so warm, trailing down my neck, my chest. Agile fingers found and fondled while his tongue trailed the peak of my other breast.

  “Is this the nowhere you want to be?”

  Breathe. Breathe. I…

  His lips scraped the underside of my breast while I tried to find the words to answer. Lower. He skimmed my belly. His breath was warm against my hip, kissing before running his tongue over my abdomen and then down.

  The blankets rustled as he moved. His tongue was warm delving into the top of my slit to trail across my clit. I shuddered with the caress. My desire was so close to the surface—barely sated it rose once more.

  He slid his hands under my ass and tilted my hips, dragging my center toward his mouth. Over and over he ran his tongue across the nub and then pulled it gently into his mouth.

  I slammed my hands to the blankets, fisted the fabric, and rode that wave. He dragged me higher, lifting my ass from the floor. I was splayed open and vulnerable. His hungry gaze skimmed where I needed his fingers, his tongue.

  “Please.” My cry was a hiss.

  That mouth kissing, tongue licking, drawing me closer. My center tightened, heat rushed as he flicked. The tiny slap of flesh sent shivers racing. I opened myself wider, needing him to see…needing him to own.

  He raised his head and found my gaze. That half-sleepy look was there… His beard glistened. I kept focused as he lowered that mouth to me, never straying from my tiny nub.

  My hips jerked under his mouth. He dragged me higher, deeper than I’d ever been before.

  “Mine,” he growled against my body and staked his claim. “Mine.”

  I cried out and shuddered. I free fell into destiny.

  All or nothing, Joslyn.

  I had no idea what that had meant. I struggled to breathe and those words were all I could think of. He kissed the tender flesh of my inner thighs and lowered my body gently to the blankets.

  My body trembled from the strain as I lifted my head. He hadn’t…didn’t he want to?

  He wasn’t ready. His cock semi-soft. This…act hadn’t been because he wanted to make love—it’d been all for me.

  He dragged his leg from my body and collapsed with that slick, stunning smile. One arm snaked across my hips; with a sudden jerk, he dragged me closer, molding my body around his.

  “Mine,” he whispered as his hand drifted to my stomach and settled over my abdomen.

  A throb deep inside echoed and Zadoc whispered once more. “Mine.”

  7

  Zadoc

  Her breaths were deep and even, light snores were followed by a mumble. I drifted in and out of sleep with my arm across her chest, watching her as I dozed.

  Strands of dark hair stuck to the side of her neck as she thrashed her head. I wanted to kiss that place, nuzzle my nose under her arm and lick the curve of her breasts.

  I wanted to bury myself inside her until I lost control.

  My cock twitched, my pulse picked up pace. The Wretched lifted his head and stared at me with an endless hunger. He wanted more than to lick and nuzzle—he wanted to mark her, take her—he wanted to stake his claim.

  Mine, he growled and inhaled her scent. Mine.

  Her chest rose and fell. Goosebumps broke out across her skin, tightening her nipples, trembling her belly. She tossed her head from one side to the other and cracked open her eyes. “What are you doing?”

  “Watching you.”

  The corners of her mouth twitched. “Why?”

  I leaned in close to brush my lips along her arm. “Because I’m remembering how your eyes widened when I slid inside.” I trailed my fingers along the curve of her hips and then over to her stomach. Her breath caught, tremors raced like ripples on a pond. “And that tiny gasp as though you fought for air.”

  The thunder of her heart echoed, a stampede inside her chest. I slid my fingers lower, delving through the hair, over her mound to find
the top of her slit.

  “Your taste drives me wild, like the earthy scent of a virgin forest and those tiny flowers that bloom in the dark. No one knows they’re there, not until they get close enough to become enthralled.”

  She closed her eyes. A moan slipped free. That deep, guttural sound made my cock twitch. I pushed my length against her thigh, rocking, needing her while all the time I drowned in her scent. “And I am enthralled, Joslyn.”

  She had no idea.

  No fucking idea.

  Her body opened with one slide of my thumb. Dark eyes found mine and drifted to my cock. Desire and an unspoken need echoed with the lick of her lips—a need I desperately wanted to fulfill. Heat rushed, breathing life into my body.

  “I don’t think I can move,” she murmured, her voice deep and sultry, filled with sleep.

  “Then don’t,” I murmured against her skin. “Not right now anyway. There’s plenty we can do. Talk to me…tell me what you want.”

  She exhaled on a shudder. Lips parted, brows creased. She wanted to say all those things good girls aren’t meant to—all those things whispered to herself in the dead of the night—all those things that made her skin flush—made her writhe, made her…wet.

  A battle raged within her dark eyes. Need, virtue fought for space inside that beautiful mind. She was a kaleidoscope, so raw, so alive…I opened my thighs and climbed on top, splaying my hands wide on either side of her head.

  My shoulders flexed with the weight, drawing her focus. She liked looking at my body, liked the way I crouched—the way my scars shone white in the orange glow of the fire.

  I dropped my head and kissed her lips. She needed me to protect her…needed me to keep her child alive. It was a mother’s natural instinct—no matter the loss.

  She’d need me to put everything on the line—my body, my immortality, my soul. And I would, without hesitation.

  But I had more at stake here—I had my heart.

  Her mouth opened for me. Her tongue darted into my mouth, sweet, seeking. I met it with a ferocious sweep of my own and she pulled away.

  Predator and prey.

  I smiled and kissed the corners of her lips and then her jaw, her throat. “Do you want me to kiss here?”

  I pressed my mouth against the hollow.

  Silence…her chest stilled. I licked the ridge of her collarbone and moved down. “Or here?”

  A tiny lap of her nipple made her shiver. A taste on the tip of my tongue…sweet and alive…just a drop. I trailed the dusty pink ridge and dragged the peak into my mouth. Her body responded, hardening…warming. I dropped my body lower and buried my nose in the underside of her breast and moved up.

  My tongue circled right to the point, still that faint taste was gone. But there’d be more, of that I was sure. “Do you want me lower, Joslyn?”

  A tiny moan, like an animal caught in a trap. There was no getting away.

  “Do you want me to spread those beautiful thighs? Or do you want to be on top?”

  The moan deepened. Her feminine scent bloomed. I didn’t need words—not with her. “You want to ride me, is that it?” I licked her navel and lifted my gaze. “I’m big, too big for you to be on top.”

  One tiny shake of her head. I’d take that as a no…

  I dropped my elbow, and eased against the blankets. She followed, sliding her hands beside me. Her hands gripped my waist as she straddled my thighs and splayed her body wide. I closed my eyes as her scent rocked me. A rumble echoed somewhere deep.

  Breathe…just breathe.

  Her cheeks flushed, breath quickened as my cock bowed between us. She settled and the friction singed like fire through my veins. Her small palm splayed against my stomach and cupped my ribs and the crisscrossed scars. Soft words slipped free, something I couldn’t catch. “Say that again?”

  Her voice quivered. “All the near misses.”

  I cupped her hand in mine. “And all I won.”

  She yanked those dark eyes to mine and whispered. “Get knocked down.”

  “And we get back up. It’s what we do…”

  Dark strands lashed the air as she shook her head and dropped her gaze. “Not me.”

  I reached for her, cupping the edge of her chin with a finger and lifted. “Why not you?”

  Tears shone like glass, with a bitter bark of laughter she answered. “Don’t you know? I’m mortal. I was born to die.”

  My arm dropped away. I’d suffered spear wounds that had hurt less.

  She slid her hands along my chest, one finger circled my nipple.

  I wanted her to take her time—I wanted her to take everything she could. One hand dropped away as she gripped my thighs and rose from my hips.

  There was barely a bump low down on her stomach—barely a tell she was pregnant at all. But I knew the child was there—knew it from the very first moment I heard her.

  I felt it—just as I’d felt her.

  And somehow the Wretched knew this was…destiny.

  I splayed my hand across her belly. She clenched her thighs and rose, taking hold of my cock. Lightning pulsed under her touch, sending sparks along the shaft as she slid her hand over the head.

  And while she eased down I opened my palm and cupped her belly.

  A yearning took hold. This was my desire. My whisper in the darkness—giving life to this ruptured stone I called a heart, and for a second…just one perfect second, I closed my eyes and gave in to the hope and the illusion.

  Bright eyes. Lips curled. The sight of white needle like teeth filled my head. The tiny patter of paws nearing closer…closer.

  A stampede resounded in my chest, galloping out of control as in my head the tiny shifter circled me, dragging a smile across my lips.

  I was aware of him—aware of very movement, forcing him to hunt, to be merciless and merciful—to be powerful and kind and always protect and defend what was his—no matter the cost.

  His little growl echoed in my head, daring, filled with delight and danger. He was moving closer…creeping up behind me—testing the boundaries, testing his strength—testing me as his…

  I pulled away from the word.

  Words gave my need power, and right now I had none to give.

  Right now, everything revolved around Joslyn, keeping her safe, keeping her warm, until I could somehow get her home.

  I opened my eyes as she eased my cock inside. Warmth flooded me, drowning out the cold air and the stale blankets—but my hand never moved, cradling her belly as that unspoken word lingered, that whisper…

  That need to be…a father.

  She rocked her hips and sat down hard, pushing me all the way inside. Her eyes closed, lips parted as she whispered. “I want this.”

  I gripped her hip with one hand and held her belly with the other as she rocked. The slow grind was seductive, drawing me into the feel of her body.

  Over and over, until there was nothing left but the friction and the heat.

  “I want this,” she whispered. “I want you.”

  I clenched my ass and drove to the edge. Joslyn tumbled forward, grasping my arms as she bounced her ass. Sweat beaded across her top lip. I lifted my head, keeping rhythm and kissed the drops away.

  Her breasts bounced against my chest. I slid my hands around her waist and dropped my head. Her nipple rose as she moved. I caught the tip with my tongue and tasted the sweet drop once more.

  I drove her harder, forcing her body to keep pace while all the time I reached for that taste of ecstasy, that spark of a woman….of a mother.

  My scent mixed with hers—heady, erotic, forcing me over the edge.

  Joslyn cried out, drove her nails into my arm. She hovered for a second. But I was already there, already burrowing deep, giving her everything I had.

  Her arms buckled. I caught her fall and laid her head on my chest. She sucked in the air and answered with gasping breaths. “You wanted me to talk to you. To tell you what I want.” She raised her head and held my gaze. “I want to belon
g to someone. I want to feel something more than…emptiness. I want to finally belong to someone, and I think with this baby I can have that.”

  I slid my hand over her body and pulled her close. She stilled, focusing on a spot on my shoulder while the faint crackle of the fire filled the space.

  She had something to say. Something she wrestled with.

  Her brow narrowed, a tiny crease broke out between her eyes and cut deeper the longer she waited. “Do you ever feel like your life isn’t your own? Like there’s something out there shoving you this way and that way?” She dropped her head and gave a small shake. “I’m not making any sense, am I? What I mean is that—”

  “Fate. Destiny. Take your pick. You feel like you’re a pawn in someone else’s game.”

  She jerked her head up. Wide eyes met mine. “Yes. Yes, exactly that. You feel it too?”

  I lifted my hand and brushed back a strand of hair. “All the damn time, and for the most part I couldn’t have cared. But this…right here. This I care about. This I want to understand.”

  Her chin puckered and trembled. The sight was so damn adorable. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted make love to her. I wanted to show her everything in this moment was perfect and the both of us were right where we needed to be.

  She shuddered and her stomach let out a howl. “It creeps me the fuck out, if I think about it too much. So right now, I’d settle for more wood on the fire and food, if we had any. Maybe a nice steak, yeah…nice and bloody, and maybe moving.”

  There was a tortured look on her face.

  “Jesus, this kid’s gonna be the death of me, isn't he? Lucky I’m not a damn vegetarian.”

  My legs felt like jelly, but it was my heart that suffered the most. She broke my chest. Shattered bones, pierced skin, and exposed the most vulnerable part of me with every look and every word and every delicious scent.

  I was completely at her mercy.

  I leaned in and kissed her shoulder. “Food, right. Let me see what I can do about that.”

  The air had a bite I hadn't noticed. I shoved myself from the blankets and yanked on dirty jeans. The small pile of wood wouldn’t last. I’d need to go hunting.