Page 35

Aurora’s nose twitched, and she swiped at it. Something tickled it again, and she rubbed the back of her hand across her nose. Was it a bug or a feather from her down pillow?

She cracked her eyes open, which was difficult, as they felt like she’d used sandpaper contacts. A smell, sweet and spicy and oh so comforting, greeted her, sending a full-body shiver of satisfaction racing through her bones.

Something tickled her nose again, and she sucked in a breath, about to sneeze, but it died in her throat when her vision finally cleared. Her face was burrowed into a mass of dark downy chest hair.

Rhaego .

The name echoed through her mind like a prayer, and she snuggled further into the dip between his pecs, rubbing her cheek into his chest hair and wrapping an arm around his waist to pull him closer. He groaned, and she popped up, releasing him immediately.

His lids were parted, but he looked as worn down as a man could look.

“I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” She took stock of their positioning and warmed all over to find he’d curled onto his side sometime in the night and pulled her into the shelter of his body.

“No, little doe. You did not cause this hurt.” Face twisting in a wince, he tried to lift into a sitting position.

She hopped up, suddenly full of energy and pushed him back down. “No, no. You need to rest. I’m gonna go get you some food and some tea. What else do you need? What will help?”

A sad tightness invaded his small smile, and Aurora held up a hand before he could speak. “I am so, so, so”—on the third so , she carefully made her way to a sitting position beside him—“impressed with you.”

“Aurora,” he groaned, not believing a word she said.

“Listen to me,” she argued, pivoting forward until she was nearly lying on his chest, pressing kisses across his handsome face. A small purr rumbled in his throat. “No matter what you’ve been telling yourself, this wasn’t because of you.” She met his gaze, turning her expression serious. “Somebody else, not you, made a terrible mistake. You salvaged everything by coming back. I can’t even imagine how you were able to do that. Because of you, we can try again.”

Rhaego’s warm gaze roamed over her face, and he brushed a hand across her rat’s nest of a hairdo. She had the distinct impression he loved hearing what she had to say but didn’t trust a word of it.

“I wish there was less forgiveness in your heart,” he rasped through a tense jaw.

Aurora swallowed the clog in her throat and placed a hand on his chest. “I wish there were more in yours.”

Before he could argue with her anymore, Aurora scooted off the bed. “Now, I’m going to feed you and see you well. I still expect you to rescue us all, so don’t think you’ve gotten out of it.” She grinned, hoping the joke would ease some of his tension. It didn’t.

It took three trips to the kitchen to keep up with Rhaego’s voracious appetite. Between fist-sized bites of food, he relayed his trip to Tuva.

He’d been attacked twice by a territorial school of spiny alugpia who’d built a nest in a narrow portion of the fjord he’d had no choice but to swim through. He’d been thrown against the rocks while trying to swim to a small bank to sleep for the day but behaved as though the black bruise covering his ribs she’d healed the night before hadn’t affected him while swimming. The alugpia had also stolen his food bag and small communicator on the second night, so he’d fueled himself by catching and eating fish and shore-dwelling plants raw.

Despite all he’d been through, his words were melancholy. Did he always debrief in this way? Skimming over feats of heroism and fortitude as though unaware of his bravery? And all the while defeat lingered behind his eyes, making them cold.

Rhaego managed to walk her through sending an encoded message to his team using his spare communicator before his words started slurring, lids drooping lower and lower. By the time she returned from cleaning up his gargantuan meal, he’d fallen into another deep sleep and didn’t wake again until the late afternoon.

Though Aurora was exhausted too, she set her energy on preparing for tomorrow’s luncheon. Mind too clouded with worry to do much more than lie around and wait the past three days, she now took stock of all that needed to be done before tomorrow.

Since there was a good chance Phirdo would be entering their home again the next day, Aurora went to work unpacking all their bags and restoring the house to a pristine condition. She checked every room twice, then finally dragged her bags back to her room and unpacked her closet as silently as she could before bathing and redressing in a sleeping gown.

She was halfway out the door of her bedroom, intent on collecting more food for Rhaego to eat in case he awoke with a renewed appetite, but jumped when his deep voice called out to her. “What time is it?”

The hint of panic in his voice sent her jogging back to his side. “The afternoon. Don’t worry—you still have plenty of time to sleep before tomorrow.”

Though he wasn’t back to full strength, Rhaego appeared remarkably better than he had a few hours ago. A healthy red glow had returned to his skin, his features were no longer drawn in constant pain, and his eyes…

The hints of fever glowed in his eyes as he took in the sight of her loose yet clingy nightgown. Fluttering started in her belly. The heat was only three nights away, and it seemed his body was finally recovered enough to notice. Good, she thought. She preferred the sight of his eyes warmed with fever rather than the icy sadness they’d been holding since he’d returned.

“How do you feel?” she asked, perching next to him on the bed.

“Strange,” he admitted after a moment. “Very sore and very tired. But I think it’s for the best.”

Aurora’s head pulled back a fraction in surprise. “For the best?”

He hummed out a rumbling sound of agreement. “The heat is too near. I’d hoped to have sequestered myself from you by now.” Fever built in his eyes as he glanced down her body, then forced his gaze away. “I think it best if I return to my room.”

He made to rise, and Aurora threw her hands out to stop him. “Is that really necessary? You can barely move.”

“Female.” Rhaego focused on her, gaze stern and glowing red. “I’m naked in your bed, and you are perched before me in fabric that does little to hide the feast beneath. This fatigue is keeping my fever at bay—an unexpected blessing—but I don’t know how long it’ll prevent me flipping you to your back.”

Aurora tried not to pout as Rhaego sat up again. He winced, making it to his elbows before taking a break. He kept his knee bent between them like a barrier. Was he hiding a…

“I don’t think you’re capable of much right now, even fever-stricken.”

The corners of his eyes wrinkled more. Her words might’ve hurt his pride a little, but she didn’t care. If she had it her way, he’d forget all about that in just a few minutes.

“I think,” Aurora nearly purred, “you’re just tired enough and weak enough that you couldn’t do much even if you did lose control.” She hooked two fingers over the rim of his blankets and began to drag them down.

Rhaego stilled her movements. “I wouldn’t go that far, little doe.”

Aurora lifted to a knee so she could slide his blanket lower, which he allowed despite his loose hold on her wrist. Heat built in her belly, emboldening her. She removed his hand from her arm, lifting it to her mouth. “You’ve had an awful week.” She kissed one knuckle, earning a purr. “And I know you’re in pain.” Another knuckle, another kiss. “I’ll make you feel better.” Kiss. “I promise.” By the time she’d reached his last knuckle, he was purring so hard it tickled her fingertips.

Crimson pulsed more brightly in his eyes. He tried once again to rise to a sitting position and made it to a slight recline. Aurora grinned. His muscles, as impressive as they were, were shot from overuse. He knew it too. The smell of his musk deepened.

Aurora let her hand dip beneath his covers, and blessedly he allowed it, wide chest taking in a deep shaky breath.

She brushed her hand over the muscles of his stomach, then lower, until the hot velvety skin of his stiff shaft brushed the back of her hand.

“Aurora, I—” He sucked in a breath when she wrapped a palm as far as it could go around the base of his cock. She gulped. Her fingers didn’t touch.

His purr rumbled through his body, including his dick, and she shivered, imagining what it might feel like inside her. Moisture pooled in her core though she hadn’t even pulled the covers back yet and laid eyes on him.

“You don’t need to offer this. I failed you. Your heart is too good to see that,” he rasped, eyes fiery. His expression was so drawn it teetered on the line of misery, like he would break if she kept going and break if she stopped.

A fire of her own flared in Aurora at his words, but she wasn’t in the mood to try to convince him of the truth right now. This man deserved far more than a blow job. Especially considering she didn’t think she’d be able to get much of him inside her mouth. But though she lacked an unhinging jaw, she hoped she could make up for it with enthusiasm, a can-do attitude, and a deep, abiding desperation to make this god of a man see stars.

In a quick move, she flung the blankets off his lower body and bounced between his knees. Stillness settled in the room, the only sound their heavy breathing. Aurora stared, dumbstruck at the sight of Rhaego in all his unclothed glory.

He was devastating. And terrifying. And wildly erotic. She wrapped one hand, then the other around his cock. He sat up, intent on pulling her away, but she pumped her fists up and down in a soft, slow stroke, and his big body shuddered.

Aiming a hard, uncompromising stare at him, she bent her head to the wide mushroom tip of his cock and said, “You will let me tend to you, husband.”

The flash of a smile at hearing his own demands repeated back at him was all the motivation she needed. Aurora swirled her tongue over the head of his dick, then licked a long, solid line of moisture down the base of his shaft, all the way to his sack.

The throaty blissful moan that rumbled out of Rhaego as he fell back against his pillows was enough to make her mind go fuzzy and her pussy clench. She repeated the move again and again, making him shudder and shiver. She swept her fingers across a glossy area at the base of his cock where his magic musk was, and spread the delicious liquid until her palms slipped up and down his length in slick strokes.

A bead of precum formed on his head, and she licked it off, sighing at his delicious flavor. He tasted like he smelled—sweet and warm. The added spice, something akin to cinnamon, had her eyes rolling. “You taste like dessert,” she moaned, taking as much of him into her mouth as she could.

***

Aurora laved his cock with her pretty mouth, blurring all thoughts and reason. He knew this was a dangerous game she played. His body may be weak, but this close to the heat, his fever may override his pain receptors.

But she pumped his cock so sweetly, so greedily. When she swallowed him as deep as she could and hollowed her cheeks, stars danced in Rhaego’s eyes. He’d never experienced a pleasure like this. Though he knew her cunt would feel even better than her tongue, even his fever took pause. Half of him wanted to roll her over and bury himself inside her, the other half wanted nothing more than to soak up every instant of this unfamiliar pleasure.

His low belly tightened, cock growing thick with blood every time her pink tongue drank up his seed. Aurora moaned like she’d craved this, and it only made his fever burn hotter. She was nursing his shaft like she’d nursed the rest of him. With every bit of effort she had.

Her jaw was spread wide, his head running along the soft roof of her mouth as she struggled to suck more of him down. Saliva gathered around the base of her swollen lips and dripped down to mix with his oily musk. Her firm pumping hands used this concoction to lubricate the swelling veins of his length.

This was a selfless act, a service she was gracing him with that could not be comfortable. But the building scent of sweet arousal in the air told him she was enjoying it immensely. His fever reached his blood, lacing his veins with fire, and his mind began to steam over, hips rocking in time with her hot mouth.

Despite himself, he reached down to grab her, one hand wrapping around the juncture of her neck and shoulder and the other digging into her hair. His knee lifted, and he tried desperately to clear his mind, to not use his heel on the bed to pump himself further into her throat. Her hands twisted, sliding along his length while wringing his cock like she meant to milk him dry.

His body quaked with the effort to keep still so he could receive the hungry, wet pleasure she was so willing to give.

A fevered whisper stole through his mind, reminding him that the perfect beauty before him should be bred. His seed was meant to be buried deep in her cunt. Not swallowed.

Visions of Aurora bent before him, face pushed into the pillows and ass high in the air, tilting her channel to the perfect angle to hold his cum, invaded his mind.

He’d spill himself in her one day soon. Too soon if she didn’t keep that wicked tongue to herself, but for now he’d oblige her and empty his cock into her slobbering, greedy mouth. He’d coat her throat with the scent of him until every breath, every bead of sweat reeked of him.

His fist squeezed her hair, a compromise to keep himself from using his hold to guide her head down to take him further. Rather than swat him away, she released a little squeal of pleasure. Why couldn’t the claws gripping her elicit a spike of acrid fear? Why did she have to be so Goddess-damned willing? A bit of shame would help chasten the dark thoughts kindling his fever.

He tightened his grip in her hair again, and the moan she released swept through the head of his cock like an electric wire. His stomach and hips rolled in waves to meet her swirling tongue, growls and purrs battling with pained moans he’d never heard himself make before.

“My cock has never been so lavished, little doe,” he breathed in a groan. She whimpered around him, sending a sharp throbbing down his length to his balls.

Releasing her shoulder, Rhaego gathered musk from just above his shaft. He spread his mark across the hollow of her cheek with his thumb, then returned his hand to the curve of her shoulder, rubbing the scent into her delicate skin. “Shall I come into your perfect throat now?” Her head bobbed a little more quickly, her hands squeezing with what he could only define as eagerness.

It made him fever-stricken.

Rhaego was only vaguely aware he was moving. When he blinked, he peered down and found himself looming above Aurora, knees bracketing her heaving chest. He’d flipped her.

The logic lingered for only a moment before his fever took hold again. She gazed up at him, sky-blue eyes wide, swollen lips and chin glistening. Hand returning to her scalp, he guided her up to his cock and fed it slowly between her lips. “Easier to swallow all of me this way, love.”

His female took to the task fervently, pumping her fist along his cock with one hand and gripping his ass for stability with the other. The muscles of Rhaego’s thighs trembled, pleasure nearly blotting out his vision. He extended his free hand toward the wall above the headboard and angled his body forward, rocking into her mouth while keeping a firm hand fisted in her hair. His head drooped, heat waves rising to blur his vision as he watched her eyes water, mouth and hand working furiously.

Rhaego’s undoing came when her little nails vanished from his ass and rubbed across his gland, collecting musk. Her fingers dipped below her skirt, and he saw red.

He held her head still with a firm hand and spilled into her mouth, growling and panting as he watched her throat bob in an effort to drink him in. The muscles of her arm bounced, making her tits jiggle as she continued to pleasure herself.

His mind swam, fangs pulsing and mouth watering as he emptied into his bride.

He took a step off the bed, leaving her delightfully rumpled. Well, he was greedy too. “Come here, witch,” he commanded. Her pink tongue flicked out to lick her lips as she rushed to comply.

Bending, he gripped her by her lush hips and hoisted her high into the air until her cunt was in line with his mouth and her legs straddled his shoulders beneath his horns. Aurora squealed in surprise and gripped his horns to stabilize herself. Hand splayed at her spine, he walked toward the far wall while dragging her gown up from where it swirled around her thighs. He rubbed his mark into her soft belly, just barely keeping himself from biting her lush flesh.

Pressing her against the wall, he supported her weight by cradling her thighs in his upturned palms and lifted her until her sex was where it needed to be. “Hold your dress,” he growled when it fell again. She did.

Wasting no more time, Rhaego tore through her underwear with his teeth and speared his tongue into her core, swirling inside to lap up every drop of arousal she’d produced.

The muscles of her thighs constricted, pulling her legs together as she moaned and shuddered with pleasure. The hand not gripping her dress to her chest clamped around his right horn, flooding his cock with blood once more.

Rhaego devoured her the way she had him, using his proportionally large and long tongue to reach inside all the way to the end of her channel. Her hips rocked, and her hand clenching his horn guided his tongue to slip in and out of her. He kept her thighs spread wide with his grip, but a blazing voice inside reminded him that while she might enjoy fucking his mouth, his cock would still tear her apart.

Shifting his hold, he dragged his tongue out of her, using the muscle to lick a firm path from inside until he reached the little bundle at the apex of her sex. He guided her heel to rest on his shoulder so she could lift away from him if it became too much, then he buried two fingers inside her, not allowing her to get used to a thick single digit first.

Aurora’s cunt quivered and clenched around his fingers, but she didn’t pull away. Keeping his hand still, it wasn’t long before she was using her heel on his shoulder to fuck his fingers. The high-pitched breaths and moans coming out of her spurred his tongue back into action. He licked and sucked her clit until her cries told him the movement she liked. He homed in on the motion, repeating it again and again in a steady, firm rhythm. Unrelenting.

He waited until his hand was coated and her movements grew tight and controlled, then he removed his tongue from the swollen little ball, licked her arousal off his palm and the blonde curls around her cunt, then added another finger, spreading the digits wide until she tried to lift off from them.

Rhaego held her fast with his other hand clutching her thigh and set back in on lavishing her clit. “You taste like divinity,” he groaned as a wave of arousal coated his fingers and her hips began to rock again.

He added his thumb to her core, grouping his fingers to emulate the shape and size of his cock. He could so easily slide her down the wall and push inside, but luckily his fevered mind was more interested in tasting her cum at the moment.

Her dress dropped again as she gripped his horns with both hands, directing his mouth to move in just the way she wanted it.

With a snarl, Rhaego collected the offending fabric and lifted it to her mouth, pressing it between her teeth to keep it out of the way.

His fingers returned to her sex, his tongue never having left. He moved his hand swiftly, pumping in and out of her with the ferocity he intended to show her when he finally took her. She seemed paralyzed by the sensation, holding perfectly still and allowing the onslaught while crying out muffled sounds into the fabric clogging her mouth. They’d be screams of pleasure otherwise, and he couldn’t wait for the day he’d hear them fully.

Her hips curled toward his mouth, her knee bent above his shoulder wobbling with the effort to remain still.

Rhaego purred for her, having held in the sound all this time, hoping to unleash it when it would send her plummeting over the edge. It did just that.

She screamed into the fabric in her mouth. Her core convulsed and quivered around his fingers. He kept his mouth latched in place, his purr strong and heavy, wringing every bit of pleasure from her until her thighs clenched around his horns.

Finally, when the knee that had been supporting her collapsed, he released her swollen clit. He took his time cleaning her, licking her arousal and sweat off her thighs with long strokes of his tongue. The animal inside him was still starved for this female. She shivered, sighs and whimpers spilling from her lips as the wet fabric of her dress fell from her mouth.

Rhaego lowered her into his arms, just starting to feel the stiffness and pain in his limbs return as his fever began to subside. He carried his treasure to the bed, covered them both in a blanket and tucked her against his chest, nestling his nose into her hair. She grinned at him, lids heavy and breaths still coming quickly.

How his horrific and heartrending mission had ended in such bliss? He couldn’t understand. But for once, he allowed his happiness to prevail. He marveled at his beautiful, kind human who met his sexual wildness with a ferocity of her own.

His purr rumbled gently in his chest, and her lids fluttered. Recalling the strain she’d put her pretty mouth through, he cupped her delicate jaw and massaged the muscles. A moan of appreciation leaked out of her. She tipped her face more deeply into his touch.

They drifted to sleep at some point. When he woke, the sky was black and Aurora’s limbs were so entwined with his that it appeared she’d tried to crawl inside his skin sometime in the night.

Rhaego grinned, reinvigorated. He felt as though he could swim the channel again right now if that’s what it took. He would get this female out of his city and keep her for himself if it was the last thing he did.