Page 24

I looked up in search of Xaniban’s gaze. I wanted to let him know exactly how he made me feel. How I wanted to celebrate his return to me, alive and victorious.

I found him already looking down at me, grown oblivious to the cheering around us just like I had. The hunger in his eyes matched my own. And mine was all-consuming.

Then we were airborne, me nestled in Xaniban’s arms. I rested my head on his shoulder, face nuzzled into his neck.

I took in his scent: he smelled of male and something I could only describe as gargoyle.

Warm, musky, spicy. I wanted to rub myself against him like a cat, to get his scent on me and mine, on him.

That was how possessive he made me feel.

He flew us over the palace before descending to a small balcony. He didn’t say anything during our short flight except, “I passed through a raincloud. No need to bathe.”

Thank God–and the Gargoyles’ gods–for that. I was burning so hot that I would have had Xaniban even with the signs of battle still on him.

Relief flooded me when the balcony we landed on turned out to be that of his bedchamber. It was ironic how a day ago, I had wanted so desperately to get to this same balcony and escape. And now Xaniban couldn’t bring me inside the bedchamber fast enough.

The second we were in the room, my legs went around his waist and my arms around his neck. His mouth met mine in a fiery dance of passion that had me dizzy with want. He was drinking me in, consuming me, tracing the curve of my neck with lips and tongue… I loved it, but I needed something else.

“No foreplay,” I managed to say in between my gasps and moans. When he stopped sucking the skin over my pulse and pulled back enough to look into my eyes, I added, “You. Inside me. Now.”

His lips stretched into that sexy lopsided smile of his, and he kissed me, long and hard.

“I need that as much as you do, anima ,” he whispered over my lips, “but you are not ready to take me yet. I will not hurt you, ever.”

I rubbed myself against his impressive bulge, our loincloths the only obstacle between us.

He groaned at the tease, his grip on my ass growing firmer.

Holding his gaze, I told him, “I’m ready. I got wet the moment I saw you land in the courtyard.”

A low rumble sounded from deep inside of him. “I will taste your honey after. I will not be denied then.”

“Not ever.”

His tail patted my thigh. “Turn around for me.”

I slid down his irresistible body to the ground and did as asked. One of his arms immediately pulled me against him, my back to his chest and abs. His tail made sure my lower body remained flush against his, while his hand slipped under the fishnet to cup a breast.

My breath hitched. I had not realized the top provided such easy access from below. Now Gargoylish fashion made more sense.

Xaniban’s fingers played with the tight bud while his mouth nibbled on my ear and his other hand loosened the laces keeping my loincloth in place. Integrated panties included. He had agreed to skip the foreplay, but what he was doing now was getting me just as soaked.

With me naked from the waist down, Xaniban proceeded to free himself from his sword and the offensive clothing separating us.

He didn’t leave my side, though. His tail slid sensually slowly along my left hip, across my belly and up between my breasts all the way to my right shoulder, thus keeping our heated skin in constant contact.

I had a thing for that strong, naughty tail.

When it went around my waist and Xaniban’s hands gripped my hips, I knew it was time. Finally! I pressed my palms against the cool balcony door to steady myself, arched my back and–“Wait.” The inspiration hit me so fast my mouth spoke before my mind could discard the bold idea. “Take us up, Xan.”

I looked over my shoulder, blushing furiously. His eyes were wide in surprise. Then he grinned.

“My mate has done some reading,” he said, sounding pleased. He brought my back against his chest again and took my mouth in a backward kiss that had me melting in his embrace. “Are you sure?”

“Don’t keep me empty and incomplete any longer.” No more fear from my own desires. I was ready to be claimed by my gargoyle in the most primal of his kind’s ways.

“Yes, my Queen.” His fangs graced my neck. “I want to be whole again, too.”

I gave out an unsexy yelp when my feet suddenly left the ground, but there was nothing to worry about. Xaniban was holding me securely against him as he flew up. He stopped halfway to the ceiling, ensuring there was enough space above us for his wings to keep us airborne.

“Hands on the door, anima .”

Biting my lip, I obeyed.

He maneuvered me expertly with hands and tail until I was straddling him in reverse. With my palms on the balcony door and his grip on my thighs, I was perfectly stable for what came next.

Was I flexible enough for what came next? Anticipation surged through me. Only one way to find out.

I groaned as he entered me but not in pain. Xaniban took his time, making sure not to hurt me. How he had the self-control to go slow, after our separation had made us so starved for each other, I had no clue. He was the king of patient foreplay. My king.

“Yes!” I could feel every single detail in this position.

Every ridge, every vein, every pulsation of his cock on his way to my core.

The brush of air against my skin as he flapped his wings was indescribably arousing.

The dim-lit room amplified each sensation, sight having given precedence to my other senses.

His tail’s tip began working my clit, and I cried out. When he finally bottomed out, I unraveled.

“Gods!” He growled as my walls contracted around him with the aftershocks of my unexpected orgasm. “You keep trying to rob me of my control.”

“Mmm…” I managed as my body quivered, every nerve alight with pleasure. Flying Doggy was officially my new favorite position.

Then Xaniban began moving again, hips snapping forward at a pace set by the flaps of his wings, and I could only make noises too primitive for words.

I felt dominated, I felt possessed, and I didn’t mind one bit.

I could finally let myself go completely, trusting my partner to take both of us toward nirvana.

He surrendered, too, his growls as he claimed me turning feral.

Knowing I could drive a male so controlled to the edge was the greatest aphrodisiac.

The pressure inside me started building again, and I could feel Xaniban’s cock growing bigger as his own release loomed. This time, we would come together–

He stopped. I growled in protest but there was no need. One second we were landing and the next, I was turned to face him and lifted up with a tail around my waist. Then he was inside me again, hot and hard and throbbing. The king was back in his palace, where he absolutely belonged.

Fingers digging in his shoulders, I threw my head back, a sigh on my lips. The feel of him inside me, stretching me to my limits, making it impossible to tell where he ended and I began… Perfection . I was finally free of the emptiness and loneliness that had plagued me in our time apart.

“Eyes on me, anima. ”

Our gazes met and held. There was raw passion in his eyes but also devotion that made my heart skip a beat.

“Always, Xan.”

And then he was moving inside me again, his tail bouncing me on his cock as one hand kept me flush against his chest and the other slid under my top to tease a nipple. I caught him glancing at the net of golden threads and diamonds before meeting my gaze once more.

“My color…” His words were a half-growl against my lips. “My mate… Mine!”

“Yours! And you… are mine. ” I pulled up and bit the tip of his ear. A gargoyle’s erogenous zone.

His wings unfolded as he exploded with a roar, pulsing deep inside me. That pushed me right over the edge, and I unraveled. At that exact moment, Xaniban’s fangs sank into the crook of my neck.

A second climax hit me that went on and on, all the while he kept filling me up.

He sank to his knees, me still in his arms and tail. I didn’t know how long we stayed entwined like that, breathless and spent. What I did know was that I was unimaginably happy. I didn’t want this moment to end.

Several slow and tender kisses later, Xaniban whispered over my lips, “Let us go bathe, little blessing.”

“Yes,” I said through a playful smile. “Then we’ll do this all over again.”