Page 29 of The Serpent and the Silver Wolf

Kazuma stilled beneath her.

“My dreams were, perhaps, more pleasant than yours.” His hands slid down from her face, fingers skimming her neck, tracing along her arms until both hands settled at her hips.

Bowing her head, blonde hair slipped across her cheek, curtaining her view as her hands moved lower, trailing over his bare stomach to the waistband of hissleeping pants.

“These dreams.” She toyed with the fabric, tugging the edge back and forth, watching the muscles beneath his skin flex and flutter in response to her touch. “Were they of me, Kazuma?”

The words came rough, nearly a growl. “Since the first night I found you.”

His mouth opened like he meant to say more, but nothing followed, at least, not right away.

“Aimee…” Eyes flashing violet in the dark, he steadied himself. “If you don’t want this…”

It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff, wind screaming around her, threatening to push her over.

But what if she wanted the fall?

“Will you chase away the nightmares, Kaz?” Her voice was barely a whisper as her fingers dipped beneath the waistband and his grip flexed on her hips—possessive, thumbs pressing into her skin.

“Will you do that for me?” Her gaze held his. “Can you?”

Kazuma’s mouth shut.

Then he moved.

A sudden flex from his hips bucked her upward just as his arms encircled her, drawing her flush to his body. Heat surged between them as he rolled and lowered her back to the floor, palm sliding behind her head to break the fall.

Hovering above her, he bracketed her body with his own, arms planted on either side of her shoulders. His chest rose and fell with the steady force of a wave straining to break.

“I…” The rough stubble on his cheek grazed hers as he pressed in close.

Then—

Two points of contact, impossibly precise, glided in tandem over her neck. Too fluid to be a fingertip. Too agile for a normal tongue. Itslithered over her skin, tasting her—sliding from the hollow beneath her ear up to its edge.

Fuck….Her hips jerked up against him.

It moved again, one tip flicking lightly over the sensitive skin just behind her earlobe, while the other lingered at the curve of her jaw. Her body arched, the sensation alien, intimate, and electric all at once.

That fucking tongue.

Gods, it made her burn.

A slow swallow followed, his throat bobbing just above hers.

“Aimee.” The sound rumbled out, a promise uncoiling. “I will devour any thought, each dream, and every nightmare you’ve ever had.” His lashes fluttered against her skin. “If you but let me.”

He was giving her an out.

She could end this now, before she crossed a line she couldn't uncross. Before she lost herself in everything he was offering.

She should stop. She should think. The Mission—

She already cared for him, despite her every effort not to. If she let this happen…

“Please.” The word barely passed her lips as her eyes squeezed shut.

“Please, what?” His voice was velvet.