Page 6

How Zeno managed not to lose control of himself at the park while they waited for Roland to retrieve them was beyond him. His own adrenaline had been up even without Harmony’s suggestive request. The idea that she was going to let him touch her, to be her first? It made him want to roar with pride.

They talked quietly in the car, mostly about how her return home had gone worse than expected. He kissed her hand when the salty scent of her unshed tears hit the air. There wasn’t much he could do to reverse the wounds her mother’s words and choices had inflicted. He had to hope he could find ways to help those wounds heal.

Zeno bade Roland good night once they reached the parking garage, helped Harmony from the car, and ushered her again into the metal box that would take them up to his penthouse. As soon as the elevator doors closed and the machine began to rise, Zeno pulled Harmony up to him with an arm low around her waist.

She smiled, her cheeks a bright pink. “Do you mind that I’m still…?”

He smirked. “A virgin?”

Harmony nodded.

Zeno brushed his fingers through her dusty blonde hair, letting them trail down the back of her neck where the dress left her exposed, and rumbled, “No, Little Dove.” He dropped both hands down low, hooked her thighs, and hauled her up as he backed her into the wall until her legs were positioned around his hips. A soft gasp left her, but he didn’t wait for her to speak. “To be chosen as the man who helps you through your first experience is an honor.” He slid his hands up beneath her skirt, until his fingers sank into the flesh of her ass.

Harmony latched onto his shoulders.

He leaned closer, torturing himself with the building scent of her arousal, and moved his lips to her ear. “Are you certain this is what you want? To give your body to me tonight?”

“Yes,” Harmony breathed as the elevator came to a stop. The faint jostling caused their bodies to rock together, grinding his unavoidable erection against her center, which in turn drew a sharp, delicious gasp from her lips.

Zeno stepped from the wall, snapping a hand back to her knee to encourage her not to release him, and strode to his main door. He held her to him with the hand still on her ass, her arms having curled around his neck, and got them inside the penthouse in seconds. Then, for just a singular moment, he hesitated.

He wanted her scent everywhere. He wanted to show her every pleasure. But it was her first time, it had to be right. Threading the hand not holding her up into her soft hair, Zeno tilted her head back and slanted his lips over hers. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, pulled her hair tighter, and let a low growl of approval vibrate through him when she shoved her fingers into his own hair. Her nails scraped over the back of his neck and his scalp teasingly.

He sucked her tongue into his mouth and ground against her once more before forcing himself to break the kiss. The scent of her arousal had intensified, overwhelming anything else and nearly driving him mad. He could easily have pushed her against the nearest wall and shredded both their clothes, but that wasn’t the experience he wanted to give her. So he held himself together long enough to carry Harmony up the stairs, into the main bedroom, where he tipped them both forward onto the large mattress.

She gasped his name at the impact but did not let go, instead pulling him closer for another kiss. “More, please,” she said against his lips.

He chuckled, adjusting enough not to crush her with his weight, and indulged her in a long, wet kiss that had their bodies rolling together until he was dangerously close to embarrassing himself. He wasn’t even sure he’d mind, if it was what she wanted. But he needed a more thorough taste of her, so he broke from her sweet, swollen lips and licked his way down her flushed and too-tempting throat. He kept his fangs to himself, but he made sure to leave other marks that would linger on her beautiful, pale skin.

Harmony was tugging awkwardly at his shirt by the time he was low enough to sweep his tongue over the top swell of her breasts.

He lifted his head only enough to find her glazed-over eyes. “Did you need something, Little Dove?”

“Too many clothes,” she said with surprising urgency. “We’re wearing too many clothes.”

He smiled. It would mean retreating from her delicious body for a minute, but he couldn’t deny her when the end goal was so mutually satisfying. “So we are.” He angled his head to lick a stripe up her neck, nibbled at her chin, and murmured, “Do not get up from this bed. I’ll strip you myself.”

Her flush intensified and her chest heaved, and she unlatched her ankles from the small of his back. “Okay.”

Zeno released her properly and pushed to his feet, took an extra second to extract and silence his cell phone, and proceeded to shed his clothing. The shirt was tossed toward the garbage bin, already ruined from having shifted enough to release his wings, but the rest was kicked aside. He assumed from her lack of experience that he was the first naked man Harmony was seeing, at least in person, and he interpreted the way her blue eyes widened and raked over his body as confirmation.

If he had any luck at all, he would remain the only man she ever saw naked.

Harmony pushed up to her elbows as he stepped toward her. “Um. Wow…”

Zeno lowered to a crouch and set to work removing her new boots and socks, chuckling as he did. “You aren’t going to ask if it’ll fit, are you?”

“Would that really be an unreasonable question?” The words came so quickly he guessed he’d hit the proverbial nail on the head. She let out a self-conscious laugh. “I know it’s cliché. It’s just … you’re … and it’s not like I’ve ever, you know, had anything up there before.”

Zeno set her footwear off to the side and stood swiftly, keeping himself between her legs and letting his hands sweep again under the skirt of her fitted dress. A dress he now understood she hadn’t chosen for herself and was less than comfortable in. “We are fated, Harmony. There’s nothing to fear. I will take care of you.”

She was having trouble meeting his eyes—which his ego didn’t mind in the least—and she pulled her lip between her teeth. A flicker of nerves edged into her scent.

Zeno moved a hand to cup her cheek, guiding her gaze up to his and holding it there. “We can stop at any time. Just say the word.”

Harmony released her lip and offered him a smile. “I don’t want to stop.”

He sensed only confidence and certainty from her, so he nodded, brushed a kiss over her lips, and dropped his hand. Without asking her permission or offering warning, Zeno gathered up two fistfuls of the dress and ripped it off her body. He wasn’t in the least surprised at her startled half-shriek, though he was a bit impressed that she didn’t reflexively pull away.

“Zeno! That was my only outfit!”

He swept away the last threads and let his eyes rove over her nearly revealed form. The black panty and bra set wasn’t fancy, but it was slim and intentionally low-profile, all of which meant her breasts were barely held in place and there was hardly enough fabric between her thighs to cover what mattered. The best kind of torture, until he considered that these, too, she had been forced to wear before being handed off to another shifter. He’d just have to buy her replacements.

Aloud, he said, “You hated it.”

“Yes,” she said carefully, “but it was my only outfit. I definitely can’t go out like this!”

A low growl built up in his chest and Zeno reached out, running his palms over her smooth, bare skin. “No, you cannot.” He saw her eyes widen, so he went ahead and finished the thought. “I would have to massacre any man who saw you so exposed.” To emphasize his point, he ran his thumbs over the waistband of her panties.

She shivered, a soft gasp escaping her. “That—that’s not the point.”

“You’ll wear something of mine until more clothes arrive for you,” he said. His hands continued up, over her abdomen, palming her soft belly and perfect skin. “I have more than enough, it’s fine.”

“I-I can’t just—” Harmony groaned when he peeled her bra away and caught her breasts in his palms. Her breathing faltered.

He squeezed and molded the plump flesh, watching her luscious, pale tits spill out of his hands as his mouth salivated for a taste. The woman had more curves than was healthy for a man’s sanity. And her nipples were such a beautiful dusty rose, so perfectly centered and already hardened with desire.

“Z-Zeno,” she said, all but whimpering, as he dragged his thumbs over her nipples.

He grunted low and divested her of her bra, then guided her back down onto the bed. “I’m going to taste every perfect inch of you, Little Dove.” He didn’t give her more warning before letting his mouth descend on one of her breasts, licking and sucking his way around the skin while he kept the other occupied with one hand. He blazed a trail to her nipple and pulled the entire areola into his mouth, teasing her rosy bud with both teeth and tongue.

Harmony began to squirm and moan, her hands lifting to claw at his arms.

Eventually, he switched his attentions to her other boob and gave it the same thorough treatment before finally lowering his kisses to her torso. It seemed the blush disappeared at her bosom, he noted, and the feral side of him loved having discovered the answer to that curiosity. He kissed, licked, sucked, and massaged his way down her body, letting his mouth and hands roam, and groaned as the aroma of her arousal only grew. He was painfully hard, but he willed himself to ignore that for the time being. For as much as he wanted to bury himself inside her and feel her come apart around him, he needed to give her a taste of that pleasure first.

And a taste was precisely what was on the menu.

Her panties went flying over his shoulder when he finally reached her hips and Zeno stroked his hands down her thighs. He swept his gaze back up her body from where he knelt on the floor at the edge of the bed, barely able to see her face from the way her chest heaved. “I’m going to taste you, Harmony. I’m going to do exactly as I said earlier and feast on your sopping wet pussy until you scream my name. When it comes, don’t fight it. Let yourself feel it.”

She rolled her head to the side in an attempt to see him without otherwise moving. “You’re really going to—”

In answer to her question, Zeno bowed his head and swept his tongue between her folds. Her natural musk exploded on his taste buds and he groaned deep in his throat, his hands digging into her hips as he lost himself in his mission. He licked everywhere his tongue could reach, swirled it around her opening, and retraced his path back up to her clit.

Harmony thrashed below him, moaning and gasping intermittently.

He sucked her clit into his mouth and pushed a single finger into her channel. Her body went stiff for a moment before her breathing changed, telling him she was close. So he eased off her clit and pumped with the finger a couple of times before inserting a second, and when she still seemed primed to shatter, he squeezed in a third. One suck at her clit with the three-finger pumping had Harmony’s back coming off the bed and a choked-off cry of release dragging from her throat.

Zeno eased his ministrations slowly, his balls throbbing as if her orgasm had nearly triggered his own.

Harmony was splayed on the bed, her hair already a mess and her chest heaving, as he pushed up from his knees. “H-holy … that was…”

Zeno crawled over her, trailing one sticky finger up her chest as he moved, and met her hooded gaze. He lifted his two other fingers. “Taste yourself on me.”

She blinked at him, her focus sliding to his fingers, and stared for another second before opening her mouth in invitation. So he stuck his fingers inside, pushing all the way to the knuckles. Her lips closed and her tongue slid over his skin and they both groaned.

He pulled his fingers free before his impulse could backfire. “Do you need to stop?”

“What?” She frowned faintly. “Stop? Why?”

Zeno shifted his weight and dragged her up the mattress, landing himself between her thighs once more, and reached down to curl one hand around his aching dick. “Because next is the main event, Little Dove. So if you need to stop, now’s the time.”

Her eyes tracked his movement as he rolled his thumb across his tip and she licked her lips. “No,” she whispered. “No stopping.” Her gaze snapped up to his. “I’m still sure.”

He growled and slammed his lips to hers, crushing her to the bed and rocking his hips against her pelvis. Her arms curled around his back, fingers pressing into his skin, as she kissed him with equal fervor. He was going to lose his mind, but if it was like this, that was fine. Better than fine.

Zeno broke from the kiss enough to reach between them and line himself up at her entrance, her pussy spread open and soaked just for him. It was a fucking glorious sight. He needed to remember to be gentle and not plow into her.

“Zeno, please,” Harmony begged, squirming as much as his renewed hold on her hip allowed.

He met her eyes again and pressed the tip into her opening. “No stopping.” He pushed forward, moving slow, gritting his teeth against the instinct to rut into her sweet body like an animal. When she gasped from the sting of inevitable pain, he lowered his lips to her skin and kissed her everywhere, from her abdomen all the way up to her panting lips.

By the time their tongues slid together, he was fully seated inside her tight, never-before-fucked pussy.

Mine.

Not necessarily yet. She hadn’t agreed to that. But he would be damned if he’d ever let another man touch her, let alone set her free.

Harmony broke the kiss on a ragged gasp as he dragged his cock out to the tip, her arms curling around his shoulders. She startled babbling his name like a mantra and he took that as a good sign.

Zeno reached down, hooked her legs by the knees, and bent them up over his arms. The angle enabled him to sink deeper and he growled against her skin, fighting the urge to let his fangs sharpen. He pulled his own lips over his teeth to keep himself in check and picked up the pace, knowing there was no way he’d last as long as he would like the first time they were together. Probably that was also for the best.

Her hands tangled in his hair, scraping at the back of his neck, as he started really thrusting into her. Her pussy was already convulsing around him, so Zeno rolled his hips and let himself nuzzle into the side of her neck for a lingering second. She smelled so fucking good. She was so small. She was so goddamn perfect. Her smooth, soft, mostly unblemished skin was heaven against his rougher flesh.

She shouted his name as her orgasm neared again.

He lifted his head enough to growl in her ear, “Fly with me, Little Dove.” He needed to feel it. Had to hold out at least that long.

Her whole body spasmed a second before she let loose a scream of pure, undeniable ecstasy, her back arching beneath him and her pussy clamping down on his cock.

Zeno tipped his head back and roared, letting her pleasure pull him over the edge. He held himself above her for several long seconds even after his dick had poured out everything it could. He was still half-hard, still sitting inside her, but she would be sensitive and exhausted after her first time.

He gently lowered her legs back to a natural position and eased himself out of her, unable to fully contain the scowl at the sight of his seed spilling from her immediately after.

Harmony made a tired humming noise and rolled her head. “Zeno? Something wrong?”

Smoothing his expression, Zeno stretched out for a moment to lay beside her and brush some wild whisps of hair from her face. “No, Little Dove. Nothing at all.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Are you all right? I need you to tell me if I pushed too much.”

Her lips lifted in a smile. “I’m exhausted,” she said, “but in the best way. I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to feel that good the first time.”

He chuckled and tipped her chin up to catch her lips for a short, not-so-chaste kiss. “Clearly it can , if your partner does his job right.” He kissed her one more time. “Let me get a towel and clean you up before we sleep.” He should insist on feeding her, but if she was tired, he wouldn’t make her get out of bed.

Harmony caught his arm in a loose grip. “Exactly how familiar are you with popping cherries?”

Zeno stared at her. “With what?”

She pursed her lips, another blush staining her cheeks. “I’m not dumb enough to think you’ve lived hundreds of years and never had sex, but … you’re not actually just a virgin collector or something, are you? You promised you’re single…”

Zeno frowned and settled at her side, his hand automatically finding her skin and gliding across it. “Harmony. I am not nearly so devious. Yes, I’ve had sex in the past. Though not in many years. It’s not quite the most driving urge when you’ve lived for a long time and you know the one you seek is not available.” He let that linger for a moment. “It’s been much longer since the last time I bedded a virgin. Probably not since I was a wild youth who didn’t care so much about settling down.”

She twisted a little, putting herself half on her side, and laid a palm on his jaw. “Promise?”

He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. “I swear. Though I am interested in where this concern stems from.”

Harmony let out a sigh and dropped onto her back once more. “I guess there’s a part of me that still can’t figure out why a crazy sexy guy like you would look twice at a girl like me. Especially if you’ve lived for hundreds of years. I’m like a baby in comparison. A fat, ugly baby.”

Zeno growled, scooped her up, and rolled them over until she was sprawled atop his chest and his hands were half-fisted in her hair. Her eyes were wide again and blinking rapidly at him. “You are fucking perfect, Harmony Lace. But it would never matter to me what you looked like. I’m the lucky one. You’re human, you don’t have the ingrained instinct to find a specific mate. You could have dismissed me as a match as easily as your mother did—as being too old or otherwise unqualified.” The words stuck in his throat, because she still could. She hadn’t accepted him yet.

Harmony scoffed. “You do own a mirror, right? You really don’t look ‘old’ by the standard definition.” She stretched out a hand and trailed her fingers through his hair, near where he knew the silver was the thickest. “It’s distinguished.” Despite her words, her brow furrowed almost immediately and something like hurt washed over her scent.

Zeno opened his mouth to ask about it, but she didn’t let him.

Harmony pulled her hand away and pushed at his chest until he eased his grip, letting her up, letting her slide to his side. Her brow was still pinched and her shoulders tightened, like she wanted to curl in on herself. “You … you didn’t claim me.”