Stroke of Fire

by Kira Nyte

  “Syn.” The word fled on a rush of breath preceding a violent tremor. His hands cupped her ass and squeezed, arching her hips forward just enough for his mouth to devour her with possessive suckles and deep probes of his tongue into her body.

  “You taste amazing, love. I could feast on you all day. All night. Forever.”

  As the tremors grew more frequent the closer he drove her to release, the harder it became for her to keep steady on her knees. She tried to rock her hips, the need to move and deliver her over the edge hammering against every frazzled nerve.

  She would tear apart, splinter, shatter.

  Her heart was going to rip from her chest in the best possible way.

  Her body coiled and tensed.

  Her back hit the mattress.

  Before she could open her eyes against the throbbing pulse of impending climax, Syn’s hot mouth closed around her nipple and suckled gently…at first. His tongue curled and licked.

  Then he nipped.

  Briella cried out, arching into his mouth, his body, as sparks exploded through her vision.

  “Sweet Goddess, are you sensitive,” Syn murmured, the prickle of his day-old scruff across her skin setting off another round of trembling muscles. Damn him for taking his sweet time. Damn him for his control. Damn him for knowing just how to play her body in ways she herself didn’t know.

  As he nuzzled her other breast, he drew a hand down her body, the careful scrape of his talons wrenching whimpers of raw delight from her throat. She wanted more, wanted less. The sensation overload was about to deliver her to the sweetest death, if his lazy foreplay didn’t first.

  “What happened to the desperate man from a few moments ago?” Right now, she wanted that man, that beast, to claim her. The slow, tender, lovemaking part could come later.

  Syn chuckled, the deep, gravelly sound resonating down to her bones. His teeth scraped back and forth along her breast.

  “Oh, he’s still here. Trust me.”

  “Well, I want him. Now.”

  Syn lifted his head and caught her eyes. The dragon never subsided, and his eyes glowed like fire. The glint of scales appeared in patches along his shoulders, neck and chest, and a few smaller ones over his face.

  Never in her life would she have expected to find scales on a man beautiful. On Syn, she didn’t want anything less.

  “No, you don’t.”

  Briella dropped her arm, reached between them, and barely brushed her fingers over his cock before he shackled her wrist in his hand and pinned it over her head. He caught her other wrist in his iron fingers as his nostrils flared.

  “Yes.” She ran her foot along his thigh, higher and higher, until she locked her leg around his waist. “I do.”

  “You’ve no idea what you’re asking.”

  Briella tipped her hips. The wide head of his cock settled exactly where she wanted it. Exactly where she needed him to be.

  “I bet you’ll show me.”

  Hooking her other leg around his waist, she lifted herself enough to draw his tip into her body. They both gasped.

  Damn. The dark shadows that crested over his expression and the carnal desire that lit his eyes plucked more than her satisfaction.

  “Briella…”

  She barely recognized his voice.

  He gave her no time to ponder. He released her wrists. His fingers dove into her hair, fisted against her scalp until she whimpered, and his mouth possessed her with more than a desperate kiss.

  Syn poured his soul into her with that kiss.

  And thrust deep inside her body.

  Briella cried out into his mouth, her back bowing off the mattress as he stripped her mind of grounding and unleashed that precariously stacked explosive pleasure. She writhed from the intense splitting of her body as her climax consumed her. With each thrust, he delivered her to a higher level of sensation. Sensation that consumed more than her nerves and her body. It strummed the cords of her soul and made her hum with overwhelming delight. She was light. She was sound. She was the essence of all.

  Pleasure rocked this new level of being. Waves of relentless delight crested and crashed. All she saw was the bursting brilliance of white light as her body shattered and shimmered and throbbed in the best possible way.

  And as she began to return to reality, as her mind slowly sank back into the physical form of her being, she tightened her legs around Syn’s waist as he claimed her as his.

  He reared up, grabbing hold of her hips.

  Fire burst from the fireplaces, mirroring the ferocity of his climax as a roar tore from his chest.

  Briella fisted the blanket at her head as he pulled another low-frequency dose of pleasure from her recovering self with the power of his own release. He filled her with heat as his talons sank into her skin with only an intense jolt of bliss accompanying the marks.

  Somewhere in the span of time between Syn’s climax and her own spent return to reality, Syn sank down beside her and drew her into his embrace. They both struggled for breath, hearts racing, skin sheened with sweat that made his remaining patches of scales slick. She clung to him, never wanting to let him go. Never wanting to separate.

  His lips brushed over her forehead. He sucked in a controlled breath and let it out slowly. “You’re bleeding.”

  Briella somehow managed to tip her leaden head down to the talon marks on her hip. Two spots had thin trails of red from the marks where the others merely glistened with single drops welling up from the small punctures.

  “I barely felt a thing. Besides, I don’t mind that you’ve left your mark on me.”

  Syn chuckled. “My sweet Briella. I’ve left more than a mark on you, and I think we both know it.”

  She met his eyes, which were now the beautiful brown she knew so well. The scales had disappeared. When she traced his brow, she was surprised by how much her hand shook. He’d stolen the energy and strength from her, and she would change nothing.

  “That was a claiming,” she whispered. Oh, the warmth that curled through her chest at those very words. Her lips tilted up of their own accord. “You’ve claimed me.”

  “And I plan on claiming you over and over all night long.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  There would never be a better way to spend his time than holding the woman who claimed his heart tucked like a precious package in his arms.

  Syn hadn’t slept, his mind too engulfed in wonder and his heart swollen with love. He lay silent for hours, listening to the soft, even breaths of his sleeping lifemate, occasionally disrupted by a short bout of snoring. Her hair fanned wildly around her head, hiding most of her face. Her body draped over his, all silky smooth and pliant. She might be small, but she had curves he had thoroughly enjoyed with both his hands and his mouth.

  There was nothing more perfect than that first time he claimed her, every inch of her. His dragon had roared with delight as his body raged with storm.

  And now?

  Contentedness filled him to the brim. Wholeness and rightness. He had satiated the beast, if only temporarily.

  He let another hour drift by before he eased himself from beneath Briella. She barely stirred through the shift in position, the shower he stole, and the time he spent in the kitchen preparing her a meal and tea.

  That meal sat on a tray at the edge of the bed, growing cold for over thirty minutes before he nuzzled her neck, placing airy kisses along her tender skin until she moaned into wakefulness. She stretched her arms over her head, arching her lithe body, then settling back against the mattress with a sleepy grin.

  Syn nibbled her earlobe. “Afternoon, sweetness.”

  “Mmm.” She sank her fingers into his hair, her nails scraping his scalp. “Lay back down.”

  Oh, the temptation. “After you eat.”

  Briella rolled onto her back and looked up at him through sleep-hazed eyes. Her face glowed and her lips were still swollen. He hadn’t been entirely gentle with her, but neither had she been with him. The furs and pi
llows scattered over his floor was proof of how untamed their mating had turned.

  “And get out of this bed?” The woman couldn’t sound any sexier if she tried. Syn brushed a thick chunk of hair from her face. “Hello, my dragon.”

  “Hello, my precious.” He sat back and motioned to the tray. “And no. I brought you brunch in bed.”

  “Really?” She pressed up on her elbows. Her smile grew. “Thank you.”

  Syn arranged the pillows against the headboard and waited for Briella to get comfortable before he set the tray over her legs. When he looked up, he caught her staring at his hips. Or, rather, his cock. He hadn’t bothered to put clothes on.

  “I’m absolutely in awe of you,” Briella murmured. She let her fingers stroll down his stomach. Such a simple touch to fill him with so much desire. He caught her hand before it reached any lower and raised her fingertips to his mouth. “From man to dragon to something in between.”

  “You seem fascinated with the ‘in between.’” He chuckled at her blush and nipped her fingertips. She gasped. “Eat, love. Gain your strength. I took much from you.”

  “I still have some left, you know.”

  “Your invitation is most welcome. But if we return to your parents and you’re sporting more scrapes, bruises, and exhaustion than you had when we left, I don’t want to be on the receiving end of their disappointment.”

  “I thought your scales were thicker than that.” She snorted, picking up a chunk of cooked meat from the plate. “Scared? Of my parents? Ha!”

  “Respectful.” He set her hand down only after he looked over the stitched areas on her arm. Most were almost completely healed, with the sutures either dissolved or close to. He stood up. “We’ll take a trip to the springs so you can get another good soak before we meet up with everyone. Looks like your bath last night did a wonderful job.”

  “You know, you really need to either sit down or put some clothes on. How the heck is a woman to eat without choking when you’re all gloriously naked so close by?”

  Syn laughed as he went to an alcove with his clothes and pulled out jeans and a T-shirt. “Now you know what I’ve been going through with you so close. And to think, you’ve always had your clothes on, until last night.”

  “Oh, the torture.”

  “Sweet, you can’t even begin to imagine.”

  * * *

  Briella wore her jeans from the previous day and a T-shirt of Syn’s that sagged hideously over her shoulders. He promised to stop at her parents’ place and pick up a change of clothes for her after they returned to his home from the spring. He was subtly amused by the sight of her swimming in his shirt, as proven by the hint of a grin and the sparkle in his eyes. The rugged beauty of his face seemed softer today, a characteristic she duly noted and tucked away. All these little nuances that comprised Syn were fascinating and captivating at the same time. She wanted to explore each one, and when he wasn’t around pull them out of her memories and ponder them some more.

  “Will you be okay to walk? The springs are underground, and the closest one in about two miles away.”

  The gallant Syn had returned, but the beast remained loosely restrained below the surface. She caught the flare of hunger in his eyes and the shadow in his face more than once since they started out.

  “If you’re implying that I might be sore from last night…” Briella snickered. Her legs ached, as did other parts of her anatomy she had no clue existed. The memory of what they had shared made every aching inch well worth it, and more. “I’m ready to walk.”

  “Pity.” Syn’s fingers tightened between hers. “Guess I’ll have to try harder tonight.”

  As if she wasn’t treading a tightrope of control with thunderous plumes of lava beneath her. He gave her a proverbial shove, but somehow she managed to keep on the straight and narrow.

  “You’ll have your work cut out for you.” She giggled and leaned her head against his arm.

  “Sweet, I love a challenge.”

  And so the battle to douse the flames of this insatiable hunger began on this new day.

  They walked hand-in-hand, their strides slow and leisurely up the hillsides, down into ravines, through forests thick with foliage and plants that were nonexistent back home. The air was light and fragrant. Flowering plants and vines created extravagantly picturesque views. Leaves were all shades of green and silver and gray, the latter two glittering like precious metals in the stunning sunlight.

  Streams cut through the geography as they moved along the rough mountainsides. Syn pointed out other dragon lairs until the distant haze swallowed them up.

  Briella paused as they crested a rocky hill, drawing Syn’s acute attention.

  “Do you need to rest?”

  Briella shook her head. “No, but the view…”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, picturing the view in her mind. God, she wished she had her paints and a blank canvas right now. She’d set up shop and paint the beauty of Syn’s world. Paint something she didn’t pull from an impression, but that she actually saw with her eyes.

  Movement off to her left caught her attention. She stepped closer to Syn, waiting with bated breath until a glint manifested from behind a thick patch of brush. Her lips parted in awe as she stared at a creature she couldn’t name. Stag-like, but far bigger. The glint came from the shimmering silver of its thick coat. A huge rack of antlers protruded from its wide head, snowy white in color. Silvery mist danced between those antlers and was mirrored in the beast’s large black eyes.

  The creature was majestic, if not a little frightening.

  “What is that?” Briella whispered.

  “That, my precious, is a cervus. He is a guardian of the forest.” Syn pointed in the general direction of the creature. “He moves on the clouds between his antlers once he becomes mist. He is a kind creature, and one you will not see often. He remains hidden, his purpose beyond the trees.” Pride resounded in his voice. “He is like us. Rare. We don’t hunt the cervus.”

  “There must be an untold number of creatures here that aren’t in my world.”

  “There are.”

  As they continued on, Briella received a front-row seat to The Hollow’s exotic species, from luminescent winged insects to creatures that appeared to embody Nature’s experiments in mixing breeds of animals. Long-haired beasts with horns and three-fingered claws for feet. Others that resembled wild cats, but with longer and often hooked snouts. Birds that sported fur instead of feathers.

  “Spectacular,” she breathed. So many fascinating creatures came and went, Syn naming each one.

  “We hunt higher up. Predators reside away from the mountain peaks, which keeps our Keepers safe.”

  “Predators are aware of predators. I’m sure those predators know they don’t stand a chance against you dragons.” Briella looked up at Syn, whose gaze was locked on a cavernous arc about a quarter mile away. “Is that the spring?”

  “Yes.”

  Briella resorted to holding Syn’s arm with hers snaked around his biceps as they entered the dark cave. A few steps later, Syn shifted beside her. She shrieked, her voice echoing through the cavern, when he scooped her off her feet and cradled her in his arms. She smiled, tucking her head against his shoulder. She didn’t think it possible to shake Syn from her system. Ever.

  I don’t want to shake him. I want to keep him.

  A brilliant blue light reflected against the rocky tunnel walls as they drew closer to the spring, the gently rippling water creating a mosaic of movement against the dark brown. Syn set her on her feet when the tunnel opened into a cavern. A pool of silver-blue water glowed with an inner light, brightening the cavern with a sensual and relaxing ambiance. The temperature of the air between the tunnel and the cavern was markedly different, the warm humidity in the cavern fed by licks of steam that floated up from the water’s surface. The walls shimmered with gems and stones that added a soothing and colorful design.

  “Wow,” she breathed. “Are all of the spr
ings like this?”

  “They differ depending on where they’re located in the mountains. This one is a favorite.”

  Syn followed as she moved closer to the edge of the water. It didn’t drop into a hole, like she half expected. Instead, water lapped up along grainy obsidian stone before it dipped to deeper waters. Although small, it was still the size of a big swimming pool. There was no obvious source of illumination as she listened to the sound of water trickling along rock somewhere within the cavern.

  Briella sighed in delight when Syn’s hands slipped under the ridiculous shirt and his palms slid over her belly. He nuzzled his mouth against the side of her neck, his scruff tickling her skin while his airy kisses tantalized her hormones.

  “You’re coming in with me, right?” she asked, leaning back into him.

  Syn teased that sensitive area below her ear with a lazy swirl of his tongue. “That wouldn’t be a good idea.”

  She wiggled her hips into the curve of his, smiling at the carnal growl her movements drew from him. “I think it’s a perfect idea.”

  His hands slipped lower, thumbs hooking in the waist of her jeans. “What are your intentions, sweet?” His head dipped. He nipped along the curve of her shoulder, each delectable pinch unleashing a spear of pleasure straight to her core. “Because mine wouldn’t be to soak.”

  He emphasized his meaning by plucking open the button on her jeans. His fingers traced the top of her panties before moving lower. Her breath hitched and her head dropped back.

  “I think I like your intentions.”

  “I think I do, too.”

  Syn made quick work of stripping them of their clothes before carrying Briella into the pool. She lost sight of herself, where she ended and where Syn began. When they were together, they were one, and for her, that’s all that mattered. She couldn’t determine when he had become the entity that stole into her soul, held her heart, and made her life worth every breath she took. She couldn’t determine when her dreams of hitting it big with her paintings took a backseat to the dreams of building something with Syn.