Page 33

Chapter 33

Cyrus

R emaining inside her soft, tight heat, I rise and tug her legs more tightly around my hips. Leaning over, I cover her hands with mine on the headboard, and I grip her fingers roughly. She’s so stunningly gorgeous, her hair coming down around her face, caramel wisps sticking to her forehead. That look in her whiskey eyes nearly undoes me. She’s a dream come true. I can’t get enough of her sweet scent, the tip of her chin as she moans, and the way she bites her lip and begs for more.

The layers of her dress and the presence of her dainty shorts just makes her all the more alluring. I am the one who gets to see her like this. Only me.

My mate mark sears my chest and fire magic flares hot in my blood. I will claim her.

“Mine,” I growl and I jerk forward, plunging deep.

The slit in her little shorts is ripping and I love it.

“All mine.”

I slam into her. Her breasts come free from her neckline. My cock strains for release. She is just so damned perfect. I bend to suck her nipple and she arches against me. I ram forward again, nearly coming, but holding back and gritting my teeth. I bite her nipple, just hard enough for a bit of pain and she cries out in pleasure. I can’t stop looking at her. My body shakes, and my fire magic screams for me to claim her, to finish this. I roar and smash into her to the hilt once, twice, and then I am coming apart in a chaos of sensation.

The ecstasy morphs into a glowing feeling of powerful, but calm and pure love, and I ease to my side. I take her in my arms and wings and roll her on top of me. She rests her damp cheek against my chest, her fluttering heart matching the rapid pounding of my pulse.

“If I were Sio, I’d be purring,” she whispers as she toys with the scales that run over the top of my chest.

“I’m very glad you aren’t, if I’m honest.”

Her laugh makes her bounce and I lick my lips, already prepped for round two.

“I feel so silly for wasting so much time,” she says.

“I do as well.” I smooth her hair and let satisfaction simmer through my veins. “It’s wild that we were meant to be true mates and didn’t know for years.”

“Maybe that’s how our story had to go. We needed to be friends first, to grow as people side-by-side until we were ready.”

“I’m so glad you didn’t choose Delixian. He’s great, but I would have died.”

She sits up and folds her arms on my chest, resting her chin on top. Her eyes are so big and lovely.

“Tell me more about the mark and why you were so ill,” she says.

“All right. It started a few hours into my flight back.”

I get up and find a cloth at her washstand. I dip it in water and return to clean her up while I explain what Joaquin told me about dragon shifters and how different we are with regard to mating and claiming. She has a shy look as I remove her dress and underthings, then tidy her. I keep my gaze diverted to give her space to adjust to this new level of intimacy.

When I finish my tale, she blows out a breath and shakes her head. “We are so lucky. I need to write a thank you note to Joaquin.”

I chuckle and rest a hand on her lower back where her arse begins to rise into that lovely slope.

“A very long thank you note, yes. Eh,” I say, pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I wasn’t over the top with anything?”

“Not at all.” She looks down and bites her pink bottom lip. I want to eat it like candy. “It was wonderful. I can’t wait to do it again.”

“Well, now that you mention it.”

I turn so she is on her back again and then I’m climbing slowly down her completely naked body. I drop kisses as I go, enjoying the slide of her stomach, the angle of her hip, the fluffiness of her thigh.

“You are stunning, Kaya. Like the best pastry, the most decadent cake, the sweetest treat.”

She makes mewing sounds and squirms as I lick and kiss my way to her center.

“You’re in charge, remember?” she says raspily. The sharp look she gives me is hungry and I’m more than happy to satiate that need.

“Lie back and put your hands on my horns. Lightly. I am in control here.”

“Okay.”

I dip my head down. Her fingers find my horns and I am momentarily dizzy. Normally, it’s nice to have a lover touch them, but it isn’t this nice. Another benefit of the mating, I suppose.

I close my hands around her ankles to keep her in place, and taking my time, I lazily lick the layers of her innermost warmth. She grips my horns, but I keep my movements easy and steady. I move her legs so they drape over my shoulders. From the trembling of her legs, I’m guessing she is about to come so I take my time.