Page 52 of By the Horns (Royal Artifactual Guild #2)

Raptor’s nose brushes over my sleeve, and I dimly realize that I’m still dressed from the waist up.

“Because…a knot isn’t…it’s not something every Taurian has all the time.

Most Taurians only get their knot when the Conquest Moon is upon us.

Every five years, Old Garesh rises again and makes his sons fertile. They rut until their knot is spent.”

“But…you’re different?”

“Aye. Some Taurians are born with the god’s hand upon them.

It means we have a knot always. It means we’re always fertile.

We don’t go into a crazed rut like most do during the Conquest Moon.

We’re always in rut. Always ready. Always…

hungry.” He runs his mouth along the shell of my ear, making me shiver.

“Some would say we’re cursed. Some would say we’re blessed. ”

“Definitely blessed,” I blurt out.

He lifts his head and stares down at me in surprise. “You think so?”

“I mean, from what I’ve seen, it’s not something to be ashamed of.

You’re gorgeous. It’s just another part of you.

” I give him a small smile to make him comfortable.

I know all about feeling like you’re not enough.

All the time I spent as an invisible servant has made me feel as if I’m not worthwhile.

That I’m not worthy enough to be an artificer.

Raptor presses a kiss to the side of my neck.

He groans against my skin, his breath warm and delightful along my collar.

“I’ve struggled with control, especially around you.

I dream of knotting you. Sinking deep into your pretty cunt and locking your body to mine.

Filling you up and then just spilling my seed in you, endlessly. ”

Oh. He dreams of knotting me ? I love that. I love that he always makes me feel seen even when I feel invisible. “Is that what your knot is for? Filling your partner?”

Tension returns to his body, and I can feel him stiffening against me.

“Some women don’t like it. Most of the sex workers I’ve hired won’t touch my knot.

They’re worried it’s too much, that I’ll hurt them.

Worse, they don’t want to be tied to me.

Not like that. A Taurian who knots his mate has to hold them close until the knot goes down. ”

“How long does that take?”

“Sometimes a half hour. Sometimes less. Sometimes more.”

And no one wants to cuddle with him, and it’s clear from the bleak look on his face that he wants it desperately. But sex workers aren’t paid to cuddle. I can see how they’d find it uncomfortable. Fucking a stranger is one thing. Being pinned to a stranger for a half hour is another.

I understand it…and yet I’m angry at them.

I’m furious at these strangers for not giving him what he needs.

It’s my impression that a sex worker will do just about anything if they’re asked—and paid—properly.

But maybe he can’t ask. Maybe he’s got a hang-up about his knot and doesn’t want attention brought to the fact that he’s different. “I’ll let you knot me…if you want to.”

He stares down at me. “You’re asking for my knot?”

“Absolutely. If it feels good for you, I want to do it.” Then I hesitate. “Does this mean you’re going to get me pregnant? Because I want to be with you, but not if it costs me my chance to be in the guild.”

He touches his neck, where a tiny bead is on a chain. “I’m wearing the male version of a Prellian pause bead. It stops me from getting you pregnant.”

One less thing to worry about. “Then I absolutely want to be knotted.”

Raptor watches me with an unreadable expression, and then he buries his face against my neck again, one of his horns swiping dangerously close to my face. “If you’re manipulating me, Gwenna…you’re going to break me. You know that, right?”

I trail my hand along his strange cheek, then up to his horns and along one fuzzy, floppy ear. “All I want is to pleasure you the way you deserve to be pleasured.”

He groans again, and then tugs at my tunic. “Take this off. I want to see your gorgeous tits out. I want to see them bouncing when I’m fucking you.”

I sit up as he leans back, pulling his clothing off with self-assured movements.

I want to watch him…but I want to be naked before he changes his mind.

Off goes my tunic, followed by the old, tattered corset that I’ve been wearing under my uniform to keep my breasts in place.

It digs into my skin, but there are always other priorities when it comes to spending money, like sending it home to my mother, who never has enough to make ends meet.

Raptor’s gaze feasts on my naked body as I sit on the bed, waiting.

He pulls off his pants, and then his big, deep pink cock is revealed to my hungry gaze.

Just as I remember, his knot is a violently purple shade, so taut it looks painful, and there’s a thick vein traversing the underside of his shaft that just begs to be licked.

The head of him is slick with seed, and it’s clear I’m not the only one who’s ridiculously turned on.

“You’re small and I’m large, so we’re going to have to do a bit of maneuvering to make this work, little bantam.

” He stands at the edge of the bed and then pulls me down toward him.

He’s tall, however, and the bed is made for humans, and we still don’t line up properly.

He growls with frustration. “When we graduate, we’re getting a Taurian-sized bed. ”

I bite my lip to keep from laughing at his annoyed expression. “Or we start sneaking off to Taurian inns instead.”

“Good idea for the interim,” he agrees, and then twirls a finger. “On your hands and knees, please, my sweet bird.”

“Ugh, I don’t know if I like that nickname,” I tell him, but I do as he asks, getting on hands and knees. I present my arse to him, giving it a wiggle. “This better?”

“Mmm, the view is lovely,” he agrees, his hand skimming over my backside and then teasing between my thighs again. “I don’t get to watch your pretty tits, but I’ll just have to play with them instead.”

He leans forward, pressing his cock against my slick cunt, and drags it through my folds.

I moan, remembering how good he’d felt before.

How has it been so long since we’ve had sex?

Obviously, we need to remedy this, and fast. His other hand goes to my breast, and he teases its heavy weight, finding the tip and toying with it.

“They’re not sensitive,” I tell him. “You can be a little rougher.”

He immediately pinches the tip, and it sends a lightning bolt of heat straight through my body. I bite back another squeal, holding still as he drags his cock against my pussy again.

“Like that?”

“Gods, yes .”

“I love how you know just what you like.” He slides his cock along my pussy again, then teases the head at my entrance.

I whimper and back up against him, hungry for more. “Please.”

“I should be testing you right now,” he says, voice hoarse. Slowly, he breaches my body with his thick cock. “But I’m trusting you, Gwenna.”

I know he is. I can’t say that he’s right to do so, because I don’t know how he’ll feel about the truth. I just moan and push back against him, trying to take him deeper. “I’m yours.”

He pushes in, and it’s the most overwhelming, most glorious sensation in the world. There’s no feeling quite like being breached by a thick cock, and Raptor’s is thicker than most. It takes my breath away in the best sense and sends tingles of pleasure all through my body.

“I’m going to go slow,” he reassures me in a low voice, one hand on the small of my back. His hand is so big that he makes me feel dainty just with that small touch. “Got to stretch you. By the gods, you feel mucking delicious, though.”

I moan, curling my fingers against the blankets. It takes everything I have to keep myself still, to remain in place like an obedient woman while he pushes into me with a downright slothful speed. “Just…tell me when I can move.”

His big hand moves to my arse, and he gives it a chastising tap. “You move when I say you can move.”

Oooh, he’s bossy in bed. That makes me ridiculously hot. “Don’t be mean or I’ll come too soon.”

Raptor groans, his hips jerking, and I’m rewarded with even more of his cock. “You tease. How I love that about you.”

I tense as he speaks, and it takes a moment for me to realize he’s not confessing love. Oh. It doesn’t matter…does it? I tell myself that it doesn’t, just as I tell myself I wasn’t eager to hear the words. I can’t afford to fall in love anyhow. This is just sex.

He flexes his hand on my buttock, then sinks a little deeper into me. “How’s that feel, little bantam?”

“Feels like you should come up with a new nickname,” I joke.

He spanks me again, and then reaches forward to play with one of my hanging breasts. “You’re a naughty sort when you get cock into you.”

“You like it when I tell it like it is,” I tease back, and rock against him, testing the waters.

There’s a lot of him in me—gods, so much—but he’s prepared me well, and while I feel split all the way to my core, it doesn’t hurt.

It feels shockingly good. I move again and love the sound of his breath escaping him.

Good. I’m not the type to sit passively while he fucks me.

I want to be an active participant. I move my hips in slow, steady motions, enjoying his surprised grunt as he’s forced to follow my lead.