Page 39 of Of Rime and Ruin (Sirens of Adria #2)

Chapter thirty-six

Nahla

I burrow my face deeper into the snowbear’s fur, press my frigid feet and fingers into her blubbery skin. She growls and squirms, wrenching from my grasp. I pursue her relentlessly, searching with my toes for her warmth.

“Dammit, Nahla,” a deep voice rumbles in my ear. “Be still.”

I open my eyes to a smooth male chest. My fingertips scour the surface of him, tracing the rough topography of his scars—not a snowbear then. A Frost King. I tilt my face and meet his darkened grimace.

We’re lying in a nest of furs, in the dead of night. Our legs tangled together. I press my toes into his leather-clad calf, spreading them to take full advantage of his warmth.

He hisses through his teeth.

“Did we make camp?” I ask.

“Yes. Hours ago. You slept most of the day, after you got settled.” Then he drops his voice low and adds, “Don’t know how.”

The wind howls outside, shrieking against a hollow bowl of ice.

I lift my head and survey the cramped shelter.

A snow-packed ceiling forms a dome overhead, curving into walls that meet the ground.

The bed is in the center of a small round room.

Moonlight streams through the tunnel that branches off the sleeping area, just large enough to crawl through. The cold does not reach us here.

The king must have summoned this shelter, thank the gods. That wind is fucking brutal. If not for the chill it brings, I could have made it on my own. I was prepared. I had a cloak, pants, and a thick wool sweater.

But it wasn’t enough. And he needed to save my sorry ass.

My ears burn with embarrassment as I recall our little ride in his saddle today. I press my hands to my breasts. They’re still bare. His pupils widen with hunger, watching me. Warmth floods my center. This whole body-heat-keeps-you-warmer thing is messing with my head.

“Am I still hypothermic?”

His brows knit, and his arms tighten around my waist. “You’re not chattering like a rattlefish, so that’s a good sign.”

“So we can give up this charade?”

He chuckles, the sound reverberating through me. “I’m afraid not,” he says.

“Why not?” I press. If I’m better, then I no longer need his chivalry. I pat the furs, swinging my arm wide to locate my sweater in the dark. He catches my wrist and folds me against his chest, where his chin nuzzles the top of my head as he holds me.

“Nahla,” he cautions.

I shiver at my name dropping from his lips like a forbidden sweet. The scales rise along the base of my spine.

“Be still ,” he says through clenched teeth. I wiggle one more time, for spite, and oh .

His erection presses through his tight leather pants. Yesterday’s words float from my foggy hypothermic memory: When I fuck you, and I will fuck you, Nahla. I’ll fuck you the way you deserve.

I can’t help the mewl that escapes my mouth. That wasn’t a dream. And now the Frost King holds me half-naked in his arms, all evidence of his arousal prodding me.

His hand slides up my spine, brushes my neck, and tightens around my hair. “Make that sound again,” he growls.

“Is that an order?” Desire builds deep in my gut, twisting around the base of my spine. Drawn by the magnetism of his presence, I arch my back, and my nipples brush his chest. A ripple of excitement flutters in the pit of my stomach.

“I want you, Sunfish. To bend you over till you’re soft and crooning and begging for more.” His breath spills over my face, tinged with the sweet peppermint smell I’ve come to crave. “No more defiance. No more trouble. Mine .”

My body responds to his claim with a shiver of delight. Wetness slicks my thighs, and I clench them together. My breath comes in a harsh, uneven rhythm. Desperate for him to make good on all his promises. A hot ache burns in my throat as I stare into his eyes, seeing him with full certainty.

The curve of his lips, the quirk of his irritated mouth, it’s all the same. The Beast’s scales, the king’s temper, his fear of the water. That fucking nickname. Sunfish. There can be no other explanation.

The king and the Beast, they’re the same.

I don’t know how or why, but it’s him. The kind, generous, cocky fool of a Beast—it’s him . He’s in there somewhere. And I’ll make it my life’s new mission to drag him out of his self-made cage.

He tightens his fingers in my hair, yanking my attention. “Tell me no,” he demands. There, swimming in his hardened expression, is a splash of careful uncertainty, that wild hope—a glimpse of the soul I’ve waded deep within.

“Do your worst,” I whisper.

With the brute force of the Beast, he rolls me.

My back presses into the furs. He yanks my hands above my head, holding my wrists together.

His muscular frame looms over me in the darkness, a shadow hovering out of reach.

A familiar shiver of awareness traces the length of my body as I lie before him, on display.

His Voice rumbles deep in his chest, and his eyes glow. A thin tendril of ice slips through his lips, threading through the air to wrap around my wrists. He freezes them to the ground. I tug against the cuffs, thrashing with theatrics. In the dim light, his white teeth glint as he grins.

“You’re trouble, aren’t you, Princess?” His knees settle on either side of my hips, caging me in as his erection presses against my heat, and I feel him lengthen within the leather.

Oh gods. His cool hands slide over my belly, leaving a wake of rising scales.

I shudder as his thumbs stroke the undersides of my breasts.

“I’ve wanted to do this since I saw you in that night-robe. ”

He takes one breast in each large hand, and moans as he tucks his face between them.

My nipples tingle against the pads of his palms. He nips at my skin, sealing the pain with a swipe of his tongue.

With soft passes of his lips, he makes his way to my left nipple.

He traces the circumference twice before finally sucking the sensitive bud into his mouth.

The caress is a command. I arch into him and moan, unable to keep quiet. Pleasure blossoms, and I ball my fits, pulling tight against my icy cuffs above my head. His tongue swirls with sickening speed. “Gods above,” I gasp.

He withdraws sharply. I cry out at the loss of attention. His hand finds my chin, gripping me as he tilts my face to look deep into my eyes. “No, Nahla,” he growls. “Say my name. I am your god tonight.”

A quiver surges through my center. “Aethan,” I whisper. I tug out of his grip, craning my neck to reach for him. For his mouth. Does he taste the way he smells? I can’t stand one more minute without knowing. “Aethan, kiss me.”

Triumph flashes in his eyes. “That’s a good girl,” he says, moments before our lips meet. He kisses me like he’s chasing his final breath. Soft at first, then urgent. Ravenous. His hands slip out of my hair to clasp my face, pulling me in to deepen the kiss.

I hitch my legs on his hips and draw him closer. More. I need more.

His tongue twines with mine, stroking deep, consuming me, and scattering my thoughts until there’s nothing left but the feeling of him.

He’s everywhere all at once. Heavy pressure along my body.

Greedy hands brush my face, my wrists, my neck, my breasts.

He passes over my stomach in a worshipful caress, then wraps his hand around the crest of my thigh.

With efficient fingers, he unties the lacing of my pants and rolls them over my hips, placing a path of kisses as the leathers slip off.

“Fuck,” he whispers, staring at my bare pussy with hungry admiration. Then he hitches my legs higher, lifting my ass. I grind into him, sliding my wetness. Pleasure flitters through my core, and I gasp for air.

“Tell me what you want inside you, Nahla,” he growls. “My fingers or my cock?” His thumb dips into my heat, not waiting for my reply. He swirls and finds my clit with ease. I arch into the pressure.

More. More. I pull against the restraints and moan as a wild swirl batters my stomach.

“I see the answer there in your eyes. Say it, Nahla. Out loud.” His fingers tease me incessantly, right where I need him. Pleasure builds within me, and I spiral down the path to bliss. But it’s not enough.

I want to feel full. I want him inside me, stretching me. The hot slap of our bodies, animal instinct driving us into oblivion.

He dips down for a kiss, pulling the answer out of me with his cool tongue.

“Cock,” I gasp into his mouth. His lips ripple as he growls, and then the pressure dissipates.

He pushes from the floor, standing to his full height. With quick fingers, he loosens the leather lacing and slips out of his trousers. His cock springs free.

His large fucking cock.

My heart stutters. He’s going to put that inside me? Is there room?

In the darkness, I make out the sleek curves of his muscled body, his defined abdomen sloping in a sharp V.

Thick thighs that could snap my neck if I’m not careful.

I swallow my rising panic. He’s the spitting image of the Beast’s physique, captured in a soft siren skin. No tail, no horns. But it’ s him.

A wave of arousal surges through me, and I clench my thighs. Panic, arousal—I can’t tell them apart. The longer I stare, the more my hunger for him builds. “Fuck me ,” I gasp. As in fuck me, this can’t be happening . I’m not ready for this. And yet…

I’ve been ready for him since he grabbed me in the Rime.

His forearm flexes as he discards the clothing. He drinks in the sight of me, his gaze traveling from my bound wrists to the tips of my toes. “Gladly, Sunfish,” he whispers. “Whatever you need.”

His voice breaks on the final word. He nudges my knees apart, slips his hands beneath my ass, and lifts.

Then he feasts. His mouth nuzzles my heat, searching out my sensitive bud. When he finds it, I hiss at the rush of pleasure. His tongue laps in rapid torture, coaxing a wave of bliss.

Shit, he’s good at that.

With each stroke, my need winds tighter.

“Aethan,” I moan. “Your cock, dammit.”

He nips my skin. “Come on my tongue first. I’ve been dreaming of your pussy on my tongue since…”

I thrash against my restraints, groaning as he tucks his thumb inside me. “You said”—I pant, vision sparkling at the edges—“whatever I need!”

“I know what you need,” he says. He rotates my hips, laying me on my side before his hand leaves my ass.

It slaps with a sting. I gasp, and he smooths the spot.

“And you’re going to fight me for it. Isn’t that right, Trouble?

You get off on fighting me tooth and claw. Go ahead then. I won’t stop you.”

His Voice morphs into a spell, continuing in a low note while his vibrating tongue swirls through my wetness. Above my head, the ring of ice tightens ever so slightly. Asshole. How am I supposed to fight him when he’s trapped my ammunition?

Aethan lifts his head, smirking, as evidence of my arousal dribbles from his chin. His tongue darts out, scooping it into his mouth. His eyes dance with mischief, watching me over my belly.

Beasty wants to play.

I match his smirk and cock an eyebrow.

Then I buck my hips, knocking him playfully with my knee. His jaw flexes, and a slow smile stretches wide, teeth glinting in the darkness. He dips his head, spreads my legs apart, and plants a smacking kiss on my heat.

“That’s it, Sunfish,” he growls, and the sound rumbles through my core. “Now be good and come on my tongue.” With a swift scoop of my ass, he hooks my knees over his shoulders.

I whimper as he renews his efforts. Swirling in a torturous rhythm, the Frost King unravels me. With every pass of his tongue, my inhibition dissolves. I lift my hips and mount his face with desperate vigor.

My orgasm builds deep in my stomach, swelling and rising like a thunderstorm tide.

He works me relentlessly, sucking my pleasure to the surface.

His hands grip my ass as he moans. I clench and buck, giving myself over to the strength of ecstasy.

With a twist of his knuckle, he brings me to the edge.

I burst. Stars explode in a glittering shower of light as I come undone on his tongue.

He drags through my heat, lapping every drop.

“Good,” he rumbles.

His voice sends tingles through my body, and my scales lift to greet his praise. This male—he’s ruined me for anyone else.

But he’s not done with me yet. His hands slide over my hips, gripping my waist. He positions himself at my entrance and drags the velvety tip of his cock through my heat. I wrap my legs around him, pulling him closer.

“Are you ready for me, Nahla?”

I whimper, like a pathetic, needy hatchling, but I don’t care. I’ve gone soft for him. The infuriating, obtuse Frost King has tamed me with the flick of his tongue. I’d do anything for the thick glide of his cock inside of me.

So I beg. “Please.” My heat flares, ready for him.

Aethan leans over me, holding himself right at my entrance. He presses in half an inch, parting me slowly. His eyes find mine, and I stare him down.

“Do it!” I gasp. “ Aethan .”

With a grunt, he buries himself inside me. “Fuck,” he groans. He slides easily, sheathing deep.

I moan his name as his cock stretches me and fills me to the brim. Aethan. Aethan. Aethan.

“I thought you were my personal hell,” he grunts. “But now I see. You’re my paradise, Sunfish. And I’m going to explore every inch of you. Fuuuck .” He withdraws with a shudder of his hips, then thrusts.

Again. Then again. Faster. Harder. I tilt my hips. Grind. I ride his cock hard, working into a fury. But I can’t stop. Another orgasm builds, just out of reach. Over and over, we mold our bodies together.

My eyes roll as my walls flex and stretch, fitting snugly around him. A perfect fit. Like a fucking puzzle. He hitches my legs higher on his waist and deepens his thrust to hit—

Oh . His cock presses the spot deep inside me, and pleasure spasms. I scream. I grasp the furs beneath my bound hands, clenching them as I spiral faster, faster. The edge of ecstasy rushes to meet me.

One more thrust, and I come undone around him.

He watches my face with fierce possessiveness, his eyes darkening as I come.

“That’s my girl,” he growls. “Fuck!” He thrusts again, harder. Stars skitter across my vision as another wave of bliss rolls through me.

And then he’s coming, too. He grabs my hips and plunges deep. I feel him shudder and quake as we climax together, gasping for air.

With a grunt, he collapses next to me. We stare at each other, our chests heaving as the reality of what we’ve done creeps in. He reaches for me, his fingers trailing across my cheek, brushing loose hair from my face as he smiles, lopsided and beautiful.

My heart squeezes painfully tight as I look into his eyes, bright as starlight. My soul shifts. Reorients. Every nerve in my body points to him.

And I know I’ll never be the same.