Page 30 of Bound in Flames (The Savage Hearts #1)

Chapter 30

Cleo

T he first light of dawn seeped through the furs, casting a soft glow over the room. I lay still, cocooned in the warmth of the bed with Dex. The quiet rhythm of his breathing beside me was a comforting presence. I turned my head to take in the sight of him—his strong chest rising and falling with each breath, his dark hair mussed from sleep.

In moments like this, when the world was still, the weight of everything fell away. There was only him and me, tangled together in the warmth of the bed, a haven against the world outside. I hadn’t planned on growing this close to him. Our connection had started as something practical, born out of survival and necessity. But it quickly deepened into something more—trust, respect, and love.

I carefully slipped out of bed, wrapping a blanket around my body to ward off the morning chill. I didn’t want to wake him. I needed a moment alone to gather my thoughts. I padded across the room to the basin in the corner and splashed water on my face, catching a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. I hardly recognized the girl staring back. There was a hardness in my eyes now, a weight in my features that hadn’t been there before.

I wasn’t sure what I was searching for in the mirror—perhaps some sign of the woman the orcs believed me to be, the shaman they placed their hopes in. But all I saw was myself, vulnerable and afraid, wrapped in a mantle I wasn’t certain I deserved.

The prophecy loomed over me with each passing day. I could feel its pressure, growing heavier, more suffocating. The clan looked to me as the one destined to save them, but I wasn’t sure I could live up to their expectations. I wasn’t sure if I could harness the power inside me without it tearing me apart.

Behind me I heard the soft rustle of blankets and the low, familiar rumble of Dex’s voice. “You’re up early.” His tone was rough with sleep.

I shifted my gaze from the mirror to the figure in the bed. Dex lay on his back, the blankets draped loosely over his waist, leaving his massive green chest exposed. His dark eyes, still heavy with sleep, watched me with a warmth that sent a shiver through my body. There was something about the way he looked at me that always stole my breath.

Dex’s gaze darkened as he watched me discard the blanket and climb onto the bed to straddle his waist. The cool morning air brushed against my bare skin, but it was quickly replaced by the heat of his body below me.

I leaned forward and splayed my hands over his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing, the warmth of his skin. His hands slid up my thighs, rough and calloused from years of battle, but gentle in their touch. His fingers gripped my hips, pulling me closer.

We were both still, the air between us thick with anticipation, the bond between us humming with energy. I felt my breath hitch as I felt the tension in his body, the way he responded to my closeness, the way his hands tightened on my hips, pulling me even closer.

“My beautiful mate.”

My lips brushed against his in a slow, lingering kiss. His hand slid up my back, and I melted into him, my body pressing against his as the heat between us grew.

He traced the curves of my waist, the line of my spine, before lifting me to move the furs draped across his waist. His large hands finally settled at the small of my back, pulling me down to grind against him, coating him quickly in my juices. I gasped when his lips moved to my neck, his kisses leaving a trail of prickling heat in their wake.

I tangled my fingers in his hair and rolled my hips greedily against his eager cock, feeling the growing tension in his body as he responded to my touch. His breath stuttered as he watched me ride him, hands tightening on my waist to help guide my movements, his control slipping. I continued to grind against his hard length until the sparks of a climax began to build, ghosting the edge of my vision. My hands turned from adoring to desperate as I shifted further back, trying to slide him inside my aching core.

Dex growled and claimed my mouth with an aggressive nip to my bottom lip before thrusting his tongue against my own. His passion told me he was burning to take control, to roll me over and lay claim to my body over and over until sleep took us in exhaustion. I felt his fist clench against the furs in restraint, submitting to my desire for dominance.

I shifted up on my knees and slipped my small hand between my thighs, grasping his thick cock and slotting him at my entrance. I bit my lip as I rolled my hips, moaning as he slowly sunk into me. The burn of his enormous cock stretching my cunt to its limits slowed my decent as I ease him further in, inch by inch. The taste of copper flooded my mouth, and I realized he had broken the sensitive flesh of my lip.

Dex’s fingers entwined mine, and he brought my hand to his lips in a soft caress. “Fuck, look at you. Always so wet for me.” He groaned, fighting his need to thrust up and fully sink into my body.

I pulled our hands up to my chest, encouraging Dex to palm my sensitive breast, throwing my head back in a sigh when he pinched my nipple. I ground the rest of the way onto his cock, burying him completely within my body, ripping a feral growl from his chest. The vibrations traveled to my clit and made me throb harder around him. A desperation to pull more of those sounds from him dominated my focus. I did this to him…

I felt tiny sitting on my massive mate, but every bit as powerful as he had told me as he took me apart in the library. My thighs burned from the stretch to reach either side of his hips and I dragged my hand to his lower stomach for support, using the leverage to roll my hips more aggressively as I claimed him. The raw intensity in his gaze sent a wicked heat curling through me, the weight of it pressing against my chest like an unspoken command. Having him beneath me like this, letting me take control, felt like both a challenge and a gift, and I intended to savor every second of it.

He was holding himself back, I could see it in the way his fingers dug into my flesh, the fine tremor running through his arms as he resisted the instinct to take over, to flip me onto my back and ravage me like the beast he was. His restraint made me ache and made the bond between us thrum with an intoxicating heat that threatened to consume me. I rolled my hips, feeling the stretch of him, the way he filled me perfectly, igniting every nerve as he groaned beneath me.

The thrust of his hips shattered my rhythm, a desperate bid to reclaim control, and I gasped at the sudden intensity. Dex froze beneath me, his muscles tensing as his lips parted in a dark, possessive snarl. I saw the flicker of frustration in his eyes, the battle within him raging between submission and dominance. The power I wielded in this moment was intoxicating.

Leaning into the darker side of our connection, the side he had so willingly introduced me to, I trailed my fingers up his abdomen, feeling the taut muscles jump beneath my touch. My nails grazed his skin, leaving faint scratches along his heaving chest, and I felt his grip on my hips tighten, his breath catching in his throat. The confident smirk playing at his lips told me he expected me to surrender, to give in to his dominance, but this time, I wanted to push him, to claim him as fiercely as he had claimed me.

My teeth sunk into my raw bottom lip as I let my hand slide higher, wrapping my fingers around his thick throat, pressing lightly at first, feeling the rapid pulse beneath my palm. A shocked breath stuttered out of him, a breathy, broken curse slipping past his lips. His gaze burned into mine, a flash of something raw and vulnerable crossing his features, and I reveled in it. Rolling my hips harder, I sank back down onto him again, the delicious drag of his cock against my clenching walls sent pleasure racing through my veins.

“Well, this is a surprise…” he rasped.

I smirked as my fingers tightened around his throat, feeling the power coil in my veins. “Do you want me to stop?” I teased, my voice dripping with challenge.

Dex's eyes flared with a dark heat, his chest rose and fell in ragged breaths. “Gods no, little mate,” he groaned, his voice desperate. “ Fuck me. Claim me .”

The weight of his surrender sent a wicked thrill that emboldened me. I flexed my fingers experimentally, feeling the way his pulse quickened under my grip. My lips curled into a filthy smile at the tortured whine that escaped his chest. Satisfaction curled dark and heady knowing I could unravel him like this, make him lose himself completely at my touch.

A deep flush crept up his neck, his cheeks tinged with embarrassment, but his breathless chuckle turned into a shuddering groan as my nails raked over his chest, leaving thin red trails across the hard ridges of muscle. I claimed him with every deliberate mark, every clench of my inner muscles around his cock. His hands fisted at my waist, his grip desperate, and he thrust up into me with a devastating force that sent scorching heat spiraling through my core. I flexed my fingers tighter around his throat, cutting off his air just enough to watch his control unravel, thread by thread.

“Cleo,” he choked—his primal need to reclaim dominance clashing against his yearning to surrender. His eyes were wild and dark with frustration and longing. Submission had never looked so utterly delicious.

I lifted myself off him, my body teasing the loss before I leaned forward, ghosting my breath over his parted lips. His chest heaved beneath me as his eyes pleaded for more, but I held him there, hovering just out of reach. "You're not in control here, Chieftain," I whispered, my voice laced with silk and steel. "Be a good boy and hold still." The command rolled off my tongue like a spell, and the way his pupils dilated had me panting.

A strangled whimper tore from him as I slid back down, my hips rolling to take him deep in one fluid motion, enveloping him in a heat that left us both feral. His entire body shuddered beneath me, and I loosened my grip just enough for him to drag in a ragged breath, the sound desperate and raw. His eyes locked onto mine, burning with restraint, but he stayed still, every muscle in his massive frame trembling with the sheer effort of obedience.

“Fuck.” he rasped, his voice strained. His desperation was electrifying.

A triumphant smirk curled my lips as I rolled my hips in slow, deliberate circles, feeling him throb in response. My own pleasure coiled tighter with each motion, surging with the intoxicating power I wielded over him. "That's it, Dex," I cooed, "Stay still for me. Let me take what I want."

My movements became more urgent as I let myself get lost in the overwhelming sensation. Heat flushed through my body, a delicious burn that spread from my core outward, the intoxicating stretch of taking him filling every inch of me. Dex’s thick cock dragged against my inner walls with every deliberate roll of my hips, igniting sparks of pleasure that left me gasping and desperate for more. The sheer eroticism of dominating such a massive orc, having him beneath me like this, sent a delicious shive of power through me, and I couldn’t a breathy moan slipping from my lips.

Dex’s fingers dug into my thighs with a bruising pressure as he fought against his own instincts, shivering beneath me as I took what I wanted from him. He was a warrior, a Chieftain, a leader—yet here, now, he was mine . My hips moved faster, harder, slamming down onto him as I chased my high, the friction sending white-hot pleasure coursing through me.

"Hands on the bed," I moaned, my voice commanding. "You cum when I tell you to, do you understand?"

Dex’s breath hitched, a raw, desperate whimper escaping him as his palms slammed against the furs, gripping them tightly until his knuckles turned white.

"Such a good fucking boy for me, Dex." the praise rolled off my tongue with ease.

A final, devastating roll of my hips had me shattering, pleasure crashing over me in blinding waves. I ground down on him as I rode out my orgasm, my slick coating his cock as my walls clenched impossibly tight around him. A guttural growl ripped from Dex’s chest as he fought to stave off his own release. His claws tore through the furs in frustration, but I didn’t stop. I kept moving, teasing, torturing, determined to break him completely.

"Give me your hand," I demanded, rolling my hips with sinful precision. I pulled my hand from his throat, taking his much larger one in mine and bringing it to my lips for a soft kiss. The sight of his rough, battle-worn fingers trembling fed this dark possessive part of me.

I pulled his fingers into my mouth, my tongue tracing along the tips, nipping and sucking with s deliberate slowness, never once breaking eye contact. His hungry eyes devoured me as I spasmed around him. I guided his hand down my jaw, dragging it over my throat, my collarbone, before pressing it firmly to my breast. He groaned as his fingers grasped my flesh on reflex, his grip tightening when I pressed his palm harder against me.

A wicked smile curled my lips as I circled his wrist, tugging him lower, dragging his touch down my soft stomach. His breath shuddered out as his fingers brushed over my tight curls. The heat that pooled between my thighs made me arch into him with a needy sigh.

"Touch me, Dex. Make me cum again while I fuck you."

His eyes flashed, his grip tightening possessively as his fingers found my aching clit, circling it with a desperation that made my legs shake. I shifted my weight, bringing my hands behind me to brace against his thighs. I used my knees to rise and drop down onto his cock, pushing him deeper. Sparks of pleasure exploded behind my eyes as he slammed into that devastatingly perfect spot with every thrust.

Dex's chest heaved as his thumb rubbed tight circles against my clit. His eyes were pleading, begging for mercy. I wanted to hear him say it, to break him down completely. I rode him faster my back arching, my head falling back as I lost myself in the feeling of him.

"Please, Cleo! Please, please, please —" His body shook with the effort of holding himself still beneath me.

I rolled my head forward and drank in the sight of him. His cheeks flushed a deep crimson, sweat glistening on his brow, his eyes swimming with complete submission. The vision of my powerful mate unraveling beneath me sent a fresh surge of arousal crashing through me. Oh, we finally had found the edge.

"Doing such a good job for me," I moaned. My voice trembled with my own impending release, each word punctuated by the lewd slap of our bodies meeting. "Do you think you deserve it?"

His broken whine was my undoing. My fingers curled into his thighs as my core fluttered.

"Please—"

"Cum with me!"

My cry tore from my throat as he finally broke, thrusting up into me with a desperate, punishing rhythm. His cock pulsing as my orgasm ripped through me and I felt myself quiver and tighten around him, the wetness between us flooding out, coating his thighs in a slick sheen of my arousal.

He rolled forward to sit, burying his face in my chest, panting heavily as I collapsed bonelessly against him, my fingers carding through his sweat-damp hair.

I pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead, feeling his ragged breath against my skin. "Mine," I whispered. Satisfaction curled through me as I ran my fingers down his trembling back, "Always mine. My perfect mate."

For a long moment, we stayed like that, our bodies still entwined, our breathing slowing as the intensity of the moment ebbed, showering his face with soft kisses, my body still humming with aftershocks.

Dex’s hand slid up, tangling in my hair, his claws scratching against my scalp just the way I liked it. Our bond went beyond anything I’d imagined, woven into the essence of who we were becoming together. This wasn’t like our previous moments together. I felt him through the bond deep in my chest, in my very being. It was as if he had become part of me.

After a while, I shifted away from his body with soft groan of discomfort, our fluids sticky between my thighs as I collapsed beside him on the bed, spent. Dex turned onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow, his fingers tracing idle patterns on my shoulder.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” I said, uncertainty taking over as I took in all the feral scratches I had left on his body. His chest bore the worst of them, blood pebbling in the deeper gouges, where I had dug in my nails.

“No. That was like an out of body experience. I didn’t know I would be into that, it was incredible. You’re incredible.” He murmured shyly, continuing to trace patterns up onto my collarbone.

My cheeks pulled up into a shy smile as I held his gaze, and I ran my hands lazily through his hair, gently scraping my nails against his scalp. Dex was preening under my attention, the rumble of his voice reminding me of a very large cat purring in satisfaction.

“We are destined for great things together. I can feel it. We’ll lead the clan into a new age.”

I smiled at him, but doubt coiled like a shadow in the corner of my mind as he spoke. I closed my eyes, letting his words wash over me. I wanted to believe him, to believe in myself, the uncertainty gnawed at me, eating away my confidence.

I let out a shaky breath and looked away. “I hope so… but I can’t help but worry. If I pull on our bond, I might open you up to my power. I’m afraid to pull you into this darkness with me.”

Dex’s hand settled gently on my arm, his touch a quiet reassurance against the swirling storm of doubts. “You won’t hurt me. You’ve already done more for this clan than anyone ever imagined possible. You healed our warriors. You’ve protected us in ways no one else could. The prophecy may say you’re the shaman who will lead us back to the valley, but this isn’t just about the prophecy. Who you are is rooted in our destiny as much as in me, and our bond.” His voice was a soft whisper.

“I’ve only ever been able to control my healing magic. The rest is like trying to hold water in my hands. I can feel it, but the moment I try to grasp it, it flares and slips away.”

His hands cradled my face, his thumb brushing my cheek in a soft, steady rhythm. I leaned into his touch, allowing the warmth to send a wave of reassurance through my frayed nerves. “You’re doing the best you can. That’s all anyone can ask. I believe in you, Cleo. And so does the clan.”

I closed my eyes, letting his words wrap around me like a shield, anchoring me in the safety of his presence. I breathed him in, the scent of leather, earth, and something uniquely Dex filling my senses. Here, in the quiet moments between battles and burdens, I allowed myself to believe. Even if only for tonight.