Page 42 of Hunger in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr #3)

CHAPTER 42

ERINA

T he beginnings of dawn light were filtering in through the window when I opened my eyes. At first, I couldn’t place where I was, groggy with bleary eyes.

Kaldur.

There were arms wrapped around me, his familiar scent on my skin, his heat along my back, his palm cupping my swollen belly.

Last night returned like a lightning bolt, striking straight into me. For a long moment, I sank into those memories, of the strong surge of him inside me, the ferocity and passion which he’d taken me with, the relief that had bloomed with his feeding. The panic. The panic at knowing that if he continued to hammer at my defenses like he’d done last night, I was as good as doomed.

My body felt like a stranger’s, I realized as I shifted slightly in his arms to peer over at him. There was a heavy soreness between my thighs—not unpleasant, but it still grabbed my attention. I thought maybe I would discover a few bruises too. Though he had been careful, especially because of the baby, there had been moments last night where we’d seemed to both abandon reason, to give in to the startling sensations of the pleasure. There had been a wild little animal in me last night, one that had demanded him, one that had been selfish in her need and desire. And I liked that. It didn’t feel like me, and yet it had felt right. Like unlocking a new adventure, a new part of me that I would like to explore.

The small movement woke Kaldur. But unlike me, he knew exactly where he was, and his eyes, already alert, fastened on mine. He tugged me more firmly against him, as if we weren’t completely pressed against each other.

I realized another thing. We were clean. And so was the bed. I didn’t remember anything after…after his knot .

“What a beautiful dawn,” he murmured, voice gravelly from sleep, as his hand came to thread through my hair. He only looked at me, and a pleased smile threatened to steal over my face, a part of me preening at his compliment.

“What happened last night?” I whispered.

His brow rose. Mock hurt crossed his face. “You mean to tell me you don’t remember? Maybe I’m losing my touch.”

A huff of a laugh escaped me. “I meant…did we bathe?”

“I brought us to the bath,” he said. “You were dead to the world, enough that I began to worry. But you woke briefly, gave me a kiss, told me I’m the best lover in the universe, and that you love me.”

For a brief moment, I feared I might’ve. But then I noticed the gleam in his gaze as he watched a brief flit of panic across my face.

“I did not,” I protested, struggling to sit up in indignation.

He smirked, effortlessly keeping me against his side with a small flex of his arm underneath my shoulders. “No, but I can dream.”

“That’s what you dream about?” I asked, huffing, trying to calm my thundering heart.

“Yes,” he said. “That’s what I dream about, dallia .”

I swallowed hard, which he heard. And I knew he wasn’t referring to the “best lover” nonsense—since he knew I had nothing to compare him to anyway.

He was talking about that last bit. The last bit that made my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.

But Kaldur was at ease with the confession, and then, true to form, he put me at ease when he changed the subject back to my original question. “I bathed us until the knot released.”

Just thinking about that wonderfully burning sense of fullness made a fresh pulse of desire throb between my legs.

“Did it hurt you?” he wanted to know.

“No,” I said. It had been uncomfortable at first, but then it had tingled into something else entirely. A pricking kind of pleasure that had immediately set off bombs through my nerve endings. “I…I liked it.”

A low, sinful little rumble vibrated through him. His other hand skimmed up the naked roundness of my hip, before dipping into the growing curve of my waist.

He liked that I liked it. Obviously.

“Gods, I want you again,” came his gruff words of, almost, disbelief. “I woke up in the middle of the night hard as fucking drava steel. You know what I was dreaming of? You. Not even dreams—memories.”

Oh.

He pressed the tip of his sharp nose into my hair, just above my ear, as tingles made me shiver. “Mmm, and then I woke up and your scent was all around me. I was so close to waking you. Remembering all your sounds, the way you sighed when I was teasing your sweet little clit, the way your neck flushes as you come.”

My breathing went a little ragged, lulled by the erotic memories he was conjuring with his words, his perfect voice in my ear.

“Why didn’t you?” I found the courage to ask.

He huffed, a small sensual laugh following. This was still so new between us. This aspect of our strange relationship .

“You needed the rest,” he said. “I was greedy last night. With your blood and your body.”

“I liked it,” I admitted, feeling that flush he was talking about wind its way around my neck like a collar. “Very much.”

That pleased him. His hand squeezed at my hip but then grew gentle. His fingers traced over the curve of my buttocks, back and forth, an intimate caress that only he had the liberty to do.

“It might be the pregnancy,” I began, “but I have been feeling more…um…”

“Lustful?” he purred into my ear, a deep smooth rumble.

“Y-Yes.”

Or it might just be you and not the pregnancy, I thought, but I kept that to myself.

“You can use me whenever you want, kyrana ,” Kaldur said. A jolt came at the sound of that word again. I realized it was almost like a title.

“‘Use’ sounds so crass,” I commented.

“I’m serious,” Kaldur said, pressing his lips against the shell of my ear. He nipped at it. “I’m more than happy to assuage any needs you might have.”

“Even when you’re working in your study?” I asked, the question meant to be a tease.

“Especially then,” he rumbled. “Mmm, I’ll take you over the desk. Or have you lie back on it so I can feast on your pussy. Make sure you wear a dress when you come to me.”

A strangled sound tore from me at the images he’d conjured.

“Sensitive, curious little thing,” he noted. “I’ll show you everything—I promise.”

If I’d ever had any doubts about Kaldur’s opinions about sex with me…I found them completely assuaged in that moment. Of course, I had believed him that night in the kitchens. That he’d lied to Lydrasa when he’d said our lovemaking had been “fine.” But even so, perhaps my ego had still been a little bruised, uncertainty over our sexual relationship still not feeling quite settled .

Until last night. And now, hearing the intense desire burning in Kaldur’s voice, the way he couldn’t stop touching me, his praise making me bloom like Gaara’s spring.

“We need to stop,” he murmured. He took my hand and dragged it to his cock. “You feel what you do to me?”

The shocking heat and hardness made me curl my fingers around him. He was throbbing in my hand. When I ran my thumb over the head, just as I’d done last night, I discovered slickness there already. He groaned and then gave a desperate laugh, snatching my hand away. There was a startling intimacy to this moment, as if I’d been given permission to touch his body whenever I wanted. As if it were mine, as mine was his.

“No, my love,” he murmured. “I told you—I was too greedy with you last night. So as much as I want to, no fucking today. If you need a little relief, I’ll make you come without my cock. I’ll make sure you’re satisfied, dallia .”

A zipping erotic thrill went through me. He’d really meant it when he’d said I could use him if the urge ever hit.

“Maybe later,” I whispered, then bit my lip so I couldn’t take it back. I knew he was right—we should take it easy today. I still had less than two months left of the pregnancy. I wasn’t far enough along for sex to be a concern yet, as Ekor had quietly informed me upon his last visit—which had made me squeak out a reply as Kaldur had smirked from his corner. But I still thought we should be cautious.

So much for caution last night, I couldn’t help but think, remembering that I’d pleaded for more at several instances.

“Was…was Maudoric here?” I asked, not changing the subject as expertly as Kaldur.

“Last night,” he said. “To bring the baanye , but I also had her change the bedding while we washed.”

Ah. It would be hard to look her in the eye today.

“And how’s your wound?” I asked next. I knew it had begun healing the moment my blood had hit him last night .

“My wound?” Kaldur asked. Even he’d forgotten. “Oh.”

He peeled back the bedding to expose our bodies. I hitched in a sharp breath, unable to keep my eyes from roaming across the planes of his muscles. He looked healthier already, his skin smooth, his face not so shadowed in hunger. His body was beautiful, perfect. His cock was still hard, a small pool of pre-come in the dip of his abdomen, and that distracted me longer than it should’ve as I bit my lip.

Focus, I chided myself.

Along his side, I saw only a faint pinkness of a scar, one that resembled a slash of a claw.

We hadn’t talked about it last night. There had been no time. When I looked up into Kaldur’s eyes, I saw he wasn’t even inspecting the scar, however…his attention was on my body.

His silver eyes were practically mercurial as they slid over my breasts.

Then a growl left him and he was dipping his head, sliding up onto one forearm to lean over me. His lips latched on to my nipple, and a desperate, surprised moan left me. The startling sensation of his kiss, of the teasing suckle on the sensitive tip left me squirming.

“I’ll behave,” he said, but it sounded like he said it more to himself. Like an order. He groaned, raising his head, his lips damp. Cool air drifted over where his tongue had been, puckering the flesh even tighter. “Mmm, one more.”

The sound that left me was a mixture of a laugh and a gasp. His fingers reached for my other nipple, teasing it back and forth, as he laved the other gently.

“ Vaan ,” he cursed, pulling back against with a sigh. His cock pulsed forward, bobbing, and he wrapped a hand around it to keep it still. “I’ll be good.”

What if I don’t want you to be good? I wondered.

That fire was burning in me again. I’d never considered myself a gluttonous person when it came to my own wants, but part of me wanted to throw caution to the wind.

My mouth was watering as I gazed down at his cock. I wanted to taste him.

Kaldur blew out a deep breath, and then he shot out of bed, his cock swinging. “I can smell your need. So if we don’t get out of bed right now, I’ll have you bent over it.”

He was right. I wanted to sigh in frustration.

Kaldur crossed to his wardrobe and pulled out fresh trews, cursing as he tried to get his cock wrestled into them as I watched him from the bed. Finally, when he got his laces done up, he saw me staring. He raised his brow. His trews were tight on him, and now, I realized, it was because I was his kyrana . Stupidly, I hadn’t realized it before. But feeding from a kyrana made a Kylorr stronger, made them physically grow larger—a trait of their berserker nature. In ancient times, Kylorr would take their mates into battle. Wars had been won because of kyranas .

I’d noticed Kaldur’s increase of strength before, but I’d always written it off as a natural reaction to the feeding. Then again, he’d taken to wearing larger clothes, hadn’t he? To make it less noticeable.

I’d been so blind.

Kaldur approached me. Leaning over the bed, he surprised me with a gentle kiss, the light brush of his lips making my head swirl.

I closed my eyes tight, thinking that he wasn’t being fair. The goal was not to fall hopelessly in love with him again. Already he wasn’t making it easy.

“Come with me,” he said against my lips. “I want to show you something.”

“Now?” I asked. “I don’t have any clothes.”

“Ah, never doubt Maudoric,” Kaldur said. He retreated back to the wardrobe and then brought over a stunning dress, one I didn’t recognize.

“That’s not mine,” I murmured, blinking as I frowned.

“It is,” Kaldur said. “I had it made for you.”

I struggled to sit up again, pressing the top blanket to my breasts as I regarded him. He helped me, his warm hand on the middle of my back as I righted myself.

“There are others. They were delivered a couple days ago, and Maudoric has been unpacking them and getting them ready for you.”

My fingers reached out to touch the dress. It was white with embroidered flowers, sewn with dozens of different-colored threads. Hundreds of tiny blooms were scattered across the soft material. The bodice would be fitted, but it was cinched just above the waist, though the bottom of the dress was loose, perfect for my body considering the baby. It wasn’t practical in the slightest, but it was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen, my heart squeezing with want.

“Do you like it?” he asked, suddenly frowning with my silence. “There are dozens more you can choose from if?—”

“I love it,” I breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

It must have cost him a small fortune. And there were dozens of others?

I didn’t know how to feel about that, but it seemed to please him, the praise. His shoulders loosened and he gave me a beautiful smile.

“Are we going outside?” I asked, rising from the bed when he gestured me out of it.

“No,” he replied, unclasping the dress backing before handing it to me. I slipped it over my head, my hands trembling from not wanting to damage it. I’d never worn anything with clasps in the back, something only nobles would need because they had keepers to help them do them up.

But I supposed I had a Kyzaire to do that for me, I realized. Because after I smoothed out the material, finding that it settled around me perfectly, he did up the fastenings, brushing my hair out of the way to finish the top.

Then he pressed a kiss to the back of my neck. “Beautiful,” he murmured.

“You haven’t even seen it yet,” I couldn’t help but point out with a nervous laugh.

“I have excellent taste,” he replied simply.

The sleeves on the dress were long, which would keep me warm enough if we weren’t venturing outside.

I turned in his arms, and his gaze trailed down and up. His lips curled, and he tugged me over to the mirror by the dresser.

In it, I saw us both. And for a moment, I was stunned because it looked like we were happy together, like we belonged. I didn’t even focus on the dress, only on Kaldur. And he was only focused on me.

My heart gave a warning throb, but I sighed, choosing to ignore it this time.

“See?” he murmured, wrapping his arms around me in the mirror. “Beautiful.”

And I felt like it. The dress was flattering on my growing body. It was like I was wearing a garden of tiny flowers. I felt like a heroine in one of my own stories.

As I stared into the mirror, a sudden whispering of inspiration came. Of Kavelyn, walking through a field of wildflowers under the light of two full moons. She was looking for someone, her heart yearning. I saw the scene so clearly, the want on her face. She’d be looking for Jeb, naturally. The only person she’d ever loved. The one she’d given her heart to, even knowing that they could never be together. He’d told her to meet him there, that maybe they could have the one night where their rivalries, their worlds could fall away.

It was my first flash of inspiration in long weeks, and suddenly I was hanging on to it with every piece of me, worried it might float away.

“I need my notebook,” I breathed.

Kaldur’s smile was soft—knowing, perhaps.

“I’ll show you where you can find it,” he told me, his words cryptic. And as he led me from the room, only stopping to tug on a black tunic, I couldn’t help but feel relief so bright it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

I had dreamed of something again.

And that was a beautiful thing.