Page 70 of Poisoned Kingdom (Secrets of Dagome #1)

Roksana

D espite the gentle smile playing on his lips, Rey’s intense gaze lingered on my face. Golden light swirled in his eye like molten sunfire, and beneath it simmered something far more primal: hunger.

‘Are you sure?’ I asked, but he didn’t move. Still lying in the same pose, his chest rose and fell in shallow, rapid breaths, hands clenched above his head as if I’d tied him to the bed.

You make loving you easy, Rey, I thought.

How could I not, when this man would face mages for me—when he would give himself so completely, so unflinchingly, to whatever I needed? To be taken as I wanted.

A shiver of anticipation ran down my spine.

This was my choice, my decision on how far I would take this, and gods, I wanted it all. The darkness that had sat heavily in my chest since the ceremony melted, dissolving in the heat of his gaze. My sins and pain may have been stripped bare, but so too had my feelings for this giant of a man.

It was Reynard I thought of when everything else fell apart. He was my shelter, a safe port in the storm, and I wanted him to unravel under my touch.

Tension filled the air, fuelled by the heat building in my body, an unfulfilled desire driving me onwards.

‘I won’t be gentle,’ I said, pulling off his shirt. ‘Or shy,’ I added when he moved, letting me drag the fabric away.

He held back, a soft growl escaping his lips as I lay my hands on his chest. They looked small and pale, contrasting sharply with his tanned skin. The hard muscle flexed beneath my touch, and I spread my fingers, diving into soft, dark hair, the alluring pattern that begged to be caressed.

‘I can take it,’ he said, his gaze trailing after my hands as they slid down to his stomach.

‘Can you?’ I chuckled, accepting the challenge, loving Rey’s groan as his hips bucked before he forced himself to still. His muscles tensed as I traced the hairline that narrowed the lower I went until it disappeared into the waistband of his trousers.

‘May I, my king?’ I bit my lower lip in a coy smile.

The swift lift of his hips made me laugh again. Reynard was as keen as I for this exploration to continue, his gaze begging me to pull down his trousers.

‘I’ll take that as a yes, a very enthusiastic yes,’ I said, already working the loosened belt. My hands moved fast, tugging at the waistband, eager to see what waited for me.

His cock sprung out, making me gasp before a nervous chuckle escaped me. I wrapped my fingers around him, feeling him pulse and swell with the first gentle stroke.

‘You have a lot to give, Your Majesty,’ I said, shifting closer to him, adjusting my grip. Like everything else about him, he was large. But with a bit of effort, I could accommodate him.

‘I’m sure my Viper won’t shy away from the challenge,’ he breathed, his eye squeezed shut, moaning quietly when I stroked him again.

Watching this powerful man come undone at my touch was intoxicating. I couldn’t help but smile.

‘I think I like you,’ I said, my finger trailing over the thick vein on his shaft. ‘I think I like you a lot . And I bet you taste divine.’

‘Perun, give me strength . . . Sana, please . . .’

His voice cracked on my name, breath trembling, body tense.

His breathy moan when I wrapped my fingers around him tighter and slid my hand down only encouraged me.

The bed creaked ominously, and when I looked up, I saw Rey grasping the headboard like his life depended on it, the wood bowing in his grasp.

How much control does he have? I wondered, my gaze not leaving those luscious bow-shaped lips. Will he snap if I take him in my mouth?

I bit my lip, heart racing, sending gentle tremors through my body. But the last of my fear melted like the first snow as I watched him. It vanished under the weight of his restraint—this man moaning softly with every stroke, every scrape of my nails, fighting his own instincts for my sake.

‘Roksana . . .’ he groaned, his hips rocking as he fucked my hand, ‘you’re testing my sanity.’

I didn’t know what aroused me more: that I was in control or that my touch unravelled him.

‘You call this testing?’ I purred, mischief mixing with the desire. ‘Grab that headboard a little tighter, Your Majesty. The real test is just beginning.’

Before he could answer, I bent down, taking the head of his cock in my mouth and swirling my tongue around the flared edge. His body shuddered, muscles spasming when, with deliberate slowness, I took him deeper, inch by inch, until the tip hit the back of my throat.

I liked the way he tasted, but more than that, I loved the sounds he made. Those deep, guttural moans were their own kind of music, and I wanted to get drunk on every note. My hand drifted between my legs, finding the sweet, aching place already pulsing with need.

At this rate, I was going to climax from the sheer pleasure of sucking him dry.

His shaft twitched in my mouth as the headboard creaked. My head moved with a slow, teasing rhythm while I moaned softly, using the vibration to heighten his pleasure. He was close—I could feel it in every tense muscle, every sharp breath.

Then a sharp crack split the air.

I startled, pulling back instinctively as Rey’s cock slipped from my lips. The headboard had shattered—solid oak, split clean in his grip. His eyes flicked from the ruined wood to me in disbelief, wild and blazing.

He’d broken the bed trying to hold himself back.

And suddenly, I didn’t care who was in control anymore. I just needed him inside me.

The man I loved. The berserker king .

‘Touch me, Rey,’ I whispered, swallowing hard.

He froze. A low, feral rumble rose in his chest—the sound of a sleeping beast awakening. Then, with one swift motion, he tossed the broken wood aside and reached for me, yanking me into his arms as his mouth crashed onto mine.

‘Say it again,’ he demanded, gripping my braid, pulling just enough to force my eyes up to his.

‘Touch me, Rey,’ I whispered. ‘I want you. All of you.’

‘Fuck, Sanika . . .’ he growled, his chest heaving, the pulse in his neck thundering. ‘It’s too strong. I want to devour you—I need to—but I’m afraid I’ll hurt you if I touch you now.’

Yet even as he said it, his mouth was already on mine again, locking us together in a kiss so searing it set my body ablaze and wiped my mind of any doubts.

He tasted like winter apples, sweet and tangy and so intoxicating that my lips parted, letting him in. My body and mind yielded, giving in to the desire I’d so long resisted.

‘I can’t live without you, my light,’ he said, his lips landing on my collarbone, teeth scraping oversensitive skin, leaving a mark.

‘I’ve never wanted someone so much, so desperately.

Until I saw you in that forest, I thought that women like you only existed in dreams. My forest goddess, my vila, give yourself to me. ’

‘I’m real,’ I breathed, arching into his touch.

He smiled—a savage, reverent thing—and kissed me again.

‘Then let me taste you, let me fuck you so hard that reality becomes a distant memory. Then, when I’m deep inside you, maybe you’ll understand how much I need you.

’ His hands grasped the collar of my nightgown and tore it open in a single movement, the fabric falling away in scraps.

‘I claim you, Sanika,’ he groaned, inhaling deeply. ‘You are mine and always will be.’

The sudden exposure sent a chill across my skin, my nipples tightening—but I didn’t care. Not about the cold. Not about the possessiveness in his voice. Not even about the claim he’d just made.

Because when Rey looked at me like that, like I was sacred and sinful all at once, I didn’t want to run.

I wanted to stay .

It had been too long since I’d lain with a man, and Reynard’s unbridled desire, wrapped up with his brutal strength, was exactly what I needed.

Make me forget the world outside your arms, I thought as his teeth bit sharp enough to leave a mark. I arched into him anyway, offering my breasts to his mouth, because every whispered word, every worshipful murmur of praise, sent sparks down my spine and a pulse of heat between my legs.

‘Yours . . .?’ I teased, nails dragging over the muscle of his arms. ‘But will I be able to tame this ravenous beast?’

His growl was low and dark, curling heat in my belly. ‘Tell me you’re mine and you can put the fucking collar around my neck yourself.’ His fingers tightened on my hips. ‘Tame the beast. Play with fire. Let it burn your name into my skin.’

That was the essence of his claim, not to own but to cherish. The simple beauty of it tightened my throat with a swell of emotion.

Reynard hissed when my nails raked down his torso. I gripped his shaft, circling the slick head with one finger, teasing him, claiming him in my own way.

‘I like the fire,’ I said, voice husky. ‘I’m not afraid of you. Do your worst, my Wolf.’

He groaned, hips jerking at my touch. ‘My worst? The things I want to do to you . . . no honest man should want them.’

‘But you’ll do them the moment I say I’m yours?’ I asked sweetly, tightening my grip and stroking him until he moaned, his self-control unravelling in my hand.

‘Say it,’ he panted, golden eye blazing as something shifted in him—his restraint cracking, the berserker rising. ‘Say it and find out.’

‘I’m yours,’ I whispered, catching his groan with my lips, swallowing it down. My breath hitched as his hands slid around me, and with a strength that took my breath away, he flipped me onto my back. ‘I want to be yours.’

‘My Viper,’ he rasped, kissing my neck, his voice and plea and a promise, ‘my sweet, forbidden poison. I’ll destroy your enemies, I’ll wage war for you, I’ll defy the fucking gods—but please, please , my wild desire, open your legs for me. I cannot take it any longer.’

His mouth trailed heat down past my collarbone, and when my fingers tangled in the thick waves of his hair, I parted my thighs for his questing mouth.

‘Like that?’ I breathed, lifting my hips towards him.