Page 60 of A Moth to the Flame (Utopia #1)

Chapter

Forty-One

CORDELIA

We did it.

I want to laugh, but I don’t dare.

We can’t afford to tempt fate now, not when there’s a new scent of magic in the air.

I appreciate it in ways I never could have before.

I glide my hands up Duke’s chest, feeling the hard muscle and the counterpoint of soft hair beneath my own fingertips.

I release a rush of air from my own lungs as my body responds to his.

A familiar drumbeat of want settles between my thighs.

I reach higher, higher, higher, until I can’t quite wrap my hands around his thick neck.

I squeeze anyway.

He grins.

It’s brighter than the full moon, all wide, firm lips and perfect, straight white teeth that appear as dangerously sharp as they do sharply alluring.

My mind paints a detailed image of him sinking his teeth into my neck.

Of him finally bleeding me dry after so many years of failing to destroy me completely. I’d rather it be him than anyone else.

I blink out of the dark fantasy when Duke crushes my body against his. He cuts off the stuttering breath that travels from his chest to mine by sealing our mouths together.

I lick across those dangerous teeth, drawing first blood by biting down on his lower lip.

He consumes my mouth fully, so that his guttural moan has nowhere to go but down my throat.

I swallow the sound, and then dig my nails into the bunching, shifting muscles of his shoulders.

I’m going to mark this man as deeply as he’s marked me all these years.

He doesn’t fight against the press of my body that guides him backward then down onto the nearest flat surface—a slab of sandstone that’s been smoothed by time and wear.

He doesn’t resist when I straddle his strong thighs.

He throws his head back, exposing his vulnerable throat to me as I rub against his thick length like a goddamn bitch in heat.

And why not?

We’re alive. We’re back in our bodies.

I’m his mate, and he’s my monster, and I’m a witch, and this victory is ours to share.

I hesitate anyway. Old habits and all that.

Duke seems to recognize that I’m seconds from retreating. He wraps his big hands around my cheeks and whispers, Take anything you want from me.

Before I can talk myself out of running wild in ways I’ve never given into before, I impale myself on his length.

A soundless cry gets caught in my throat.

Duke tugs sharply on a fistful of my hair to align our gazes.

Slow , he warns. Don’t hurt yourself.

I snarl quietly, imperceptibly.

Then, I surge forward and clamp my teeth down on his earlobe.

That was a warning shot. If he tries to stop me again, I’ll draw real blood.

His chest shakes with silent laughter, but he doesn’t release his grip on my hair .

With his other hand, he digs his callused fingers into my hip.

A silent challenge.

His deep voice whispers into my mind, Ride me, Gingersnap. I’m all yours.

I’ve waited my whole life to have free rein.

I’m not going to waste it.

I refuse to close my eyes. I want to see every second of the agonized ecstasy on his face, in his eyes.

Watching him as I lift only to slam back down heightens the sensation of fullness that I’ve never experienced before.

I’ve never had a body like his at my command.

Never felt like I was more than a toy to be used and then discarded.

This power is heady stuff.

My heart thrums a staccato rhythm as I give myself over to the pull. The anticipation of having my wildest fantasies granted coils low in my belly. Faster and faster, I chase that higher high. I ride him like a woman possessed. I squeeze my pussy around his thick cock.

His nostrils flare with a sharp inhale. His expression grows tighter and tighter with every pass of my sex-slick cunt over his swollen dick.

His throat works on near constant swallows as we both struggle to remain silent except for the slapping of skin against skin and the sounds of water splashing around our bodies in perpetual motion.

I reward his effort by guiding his head to my aching breast. If his mouth needs something better to do, then I have plenty of good things for his tongue to enjoy.

He thanks me for my generosity by thoroughly laving one nipple then the other.

He scrapes his teeth over the sensitive nub of flesh.

I gasp and arch my back, suddenly thrust back into the role of beggar.

I dig my nails into his scalp, urging him for more, more, more.

My clit throbs painfully, so I grind myself against him, abandoning my unconscious plan to make him lose his mind in favor of losing mine.

God, it’s never been this good. My body is a quivering bundle of need.

Electricity crackles over my sweaty skin.

Release is so close, but still just out of reach.

As if Duke senses my waning confidence, he grips my ass in his capable hands, his fingers breaching a space that’s never been touched before .

The new sensation ignites a firestorm of pleasure as he thrusts into me in a steady, deep rhythm.

He lifts his head to give my mouth something to pant into without letting any sound escape.

Our tongues tangle frantically as our bodies relinquish the earlier finesse to something messier, rawer.

My hands claw at his back for purchase that I can’t quite find against his hot, slick skin.

I dig my nails in, desperate for a tether.

My pussy throbs with the constant retreat then invasion of his body into mine.

I pull him in deeper with each thrust, swiveling my hips to ensure he hits that spot that makes my eyes roll into my skull from the sheer pleasure.

He flattens a palm against my back to hold me to him.

Closer, closer, closer, my nipples delighting in the friction of his harder chest that soothes the nearly insatiable ache in my heavy breasts.

On his next upward thrust, Duke slides a finger into the crack of my ass and presses against my sensitive hole. He pushes his tongue deeper into my mouth.

That’s the end of me.

His silent promise of filling me completely sends me soaring over the edge.

I shudder and gasp through waves of ecstasy like I’ve never felt before.

On and on, the most intense pleasure rolls through me, leaving me boneless and mindless in Duke’s arms. I collapse against him, burrowing my face into his neck just in time to feel him pulsing inside me.

“Fuck,” he barely breathes, before lifting me off him without any warning.

I watch in morbid fascination as he fists his cock and releases thick ropes of milky white cum into the swirling water around us.

His semen combines with the slightest tinge of my blood that floats on the surface.

The cocktail shimmers there, then produces a puff of glittering smoke, and my eyes widen.

In the next instant another, stronger shockwave knocks us back.

Before I crash against the boulders below, I’m flying.

No. I’m not .

Duke is.

Downy, muscular limbs cradle my body. His velvety brow flickers low over his red eyes as his wings beat in a steady rhythm behind him.

“Oh, God,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have. I?—”

If you tell me you regret what we just did, I’m really going to lose it , he snarls. Fuck, this is harder than it looks. He touches down in the middle of the stream, still holding me in his arms. Are you hurt? Did I catch you in time?

I close my eyes. Feel his pounding heartbeat beneath my cheek. Listen to his panting breaths. Bask in his warm, masculine scent that’s not quite dampened by the water. That’s still the same. It hasn’t changed. I take stock of all my senses, then sink deeper into my own bones and skin.

I don’t think so , I finally respond. I know you’re afraid of this form, but that was impressive as hell.

We should go, he whispers, nuzzling his soft chin against my temple.

He lowers me, so I can extricate myself from his arms without falling too far. I stumble like a newborn calf when I’m on my own feet for the first time in a month. My body feels like a memory that doesn’t quite fit into my present reality.

I suppose it’ll take some time to reacquaint myself with it.

Do you think you can shift back ? I ask him.

It’s the oddest thing to see such a seemingly terrifying creature smirk.

Sure. If you jerk me off this time.

I shouldn’t laugh. I really shouldn’t. How many rounds can you go in this form?

You know, that’s a test that I might not actually hate taking.

I can’t not laugh at that.

His vampiric teeth shimmer in the moonlight when he grins at me. The sight isn’t as frightening as it should be.

We slowly retrace our steps the way we came without holding hands. His claws are too dangerous for that. It’s a miracle he didn’t slice me when he saved me from hitting the rocks. This time, he pauses our forward progress whenever the moonlight disappears.

“I’m fine,” I insist .

I’m not , he whispers back.

Oh, shit. I almost forgot. Does the water feel like it’s burning you?

He nods. Is that how it felt to you? I thought you kept stopping because you couldn’t see.

I could see. Every time the moon disappeared, the water felt too painful to stand , I explain.

The moon breaks through the clouds just in time for me to catch Duke obviously panting in pain. I pick my way over the rocks until I’m standing directly in front of him, then crook my finger for him to bend down. There’s no way I can reach him when he’s this tall.

He follows my lead, his red eyes bouncing between mine. What is it?

I know how to fix it, I say, stretching onto my toes and grasping his jaw with both my hands.

He breaks my hold when he straightens, shaking his head back and forth. No. No way. Look at me. I’m a fucking monster. You can’t kiss me when I’m like this. My teeth will slice your lips open.

I roll my eyes. So, keep your mouth closed. Trust me, it helped before.

He narrows his red eyes at me. Is this part of that fantasy of yours?