Page 24 of Wild Bond (Wild Bond #1)

R ake and I both turned just in time to see Skye scuttling across the floor with a shiny silver goblet clutched in her mouth. Naasir was hot on her heals and looking murderous. Just as the black dragon was about to pounce on her, Skye shoved one of the balcony doors ajar, leapt onto the balcony rail and took off out into the stormy night.

In seconds, Naasir had followed after her. His angry snarl morphed into a bellow of rage as he grew to his natural size.

Rake and I both rushed to the open door, staring out into the driving rain.

“Skye, give that back!” I called into the night while at the same time scolding her in the bond. The only response I got in return were the words shiny and mine accompanied with an overwhelming feeling of possessiveness and glee. I shook my head at my dragon’s antics and looked to Rake. “I don’t think Naasir’s going to get that back,” I laughed.

Rake was grinning. “That’s alright. Let Skye ruffle his feathers a little. It’s good for him.” Rake winced then, and I guessed he was getting the equivalent of a tongue lashing from his dragon.

A large gust of wind blew in from the outside, and I shivered in my wet clothes.

Rake noticed my discomfort and immediately shut the door, blocking the icy wind. He glanced down at his own wet things and grimaced. Without seeming to think about it, Rake unlaced the stays of his tunic and pulled it over his head, revealing his huge golden body.

My heart lodged in my throat at the sight of his very male beauty. The light from the fire made it seem like his tattoos were writhing over the muscles of his skin in a dark, erotic dance.

My eyes finally made it up to his face in time to realize that he had caught me ogling him.

Again .

This time I didn’t feel quite so self-conscious about it, though.

“Are you just going to stand there shivering, or come over here and let me help you out of those wet things?”

His words made a shiver of a different kind race through me.

I stood there awkwardly for a moment trying to decide if I should flee or if I should answer the invitation in his eyes. A complicated mix of emotions battled it out inside me for a few moments as we continued to stare at one another. I was eager for this, but also nervous.

Then I thought of how he had made me feel that night in the bathhouse, how he made me feel whenever he was near me. I thought of our conversation that night and what we had been through together since. I took in the heated look in his eyes as he regarded me now . . . and I realized that the answer wasn’t complicated at all.

Without hesitating or second guessing myself, I decided to let myself have what I wanted.

Him.

I moved slowly forward until I stood mere inches from him, the heat of his body radiating out and warming mine. I swallowed hard, then reached up to lightly touch my fingers to his cheek. Then I rose up on my tip toes and kissed him.

For a moment he didn’t respond and simply let my lips press against his. His big chest expanded with a sharp breath, then his hands were in my wet hair, and he was kissing me back with a ferocity that stole any remaining breath I had.

I was swept away in the heat of it, my mind only conscious of wherever he touched me. His tongue invaded my mouth in a claiming, possessive exchange that had my heart pounding and every nerve ending in my body perking up in awareness.

Then his mouth slid down, and he was sucking and licking and tasting the raindrops from my neck and throat, my exposed collarbone. I let out a harsh, rasping breath, and he chuckled against my skin. His warm hands bunched my wet leather top in his fist and undid the buckles at the sides. He pealed it off me and it landed on the floor with a wet slap .

I gasped as he gripped me just under the thighs and lifted me with such effortless strength it made me dizzy, pulling me up against him, my legs dangling on either side of his hips.

“I want to taste you,” he murmured between hot, licking kisses.

“Taste me?” I asked, my mind feeling sluggish from the demanding way his mouth and tongue owned mine and the way my chest rubbed against his.

He pulled back, his eyes full of something more than lust, more than need. “Taste you,” he repeated.

Anticipation gripped me, along with a sizzle of uncertainty. During my only other sexual experience, I had never done what he was implying. Though the idea made me pulse with excitement.

“Only if I can taste you too,” I countered. Suddenly desperate to give him pleasure, too. I wanted to explore his big body just as badly as I wanted him to fulfill all those wicked promises I saw in his eyes.

His eyes flared at my words, and a very masculine smile curved his lips. “All in good time, little thief,” he murmured as he turned and strode over to his large bed and laid me down, kissing me hard as his weight pressed me into the mattress. My nipples tingled and tightened with need as they rubbed against his warm, naked chest.

Distantly I was aware of Skye retreating in the bond. Giving me privacy.

Then knuckles skimmed the undersides of my breasts as he slid his hands down my body and undid my pants, and my dragon was forgotten. His touch was hot and slightly rough from his calloused hands, setting every nerve in my body aflame.

We both laughed as he attempted to pull the leather pants from my legs several times before finally succeeding with a sharp tug that yanked me closer to him. He smiled faintly when he noted the polished fae crystal I wore around my wrist. The stone prevented pregnancy, and I had been wearing it since the night in the bathhouse. I knew he must have noticed it before now, but I still blushed fiercely.

The humor left his expression when I finally lay before him completely nude a few seconds later. I would have felt self-conscious were it not for the fact that he had already seen me mostly naked, and for the way he was looking at me.

His eyes gleamed and my breath skittered in response as his gaze traveled over my body with a ravenous, hungry light.

Reaching down, he grasped my hips and pulled me to the edge of the bed. His mouth trailed down my left calf to the inside of my thigh as he spread my legs apart and sank to his knees before me.

Before I knew what was happening, he licked between my thighs, his stubble rubbing against sensitive spots that made my entire body clench with need. He gave another taunting, teasing lick, and I whimpered.

“Has anyone ever done this for you before?” he asked.

“No,” I breathed, shaking my head. I felt like I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs. Like there wasn’t enough air left in the entire world.

“Good,” was all he said.

Then his mouth closed over me. The searing slide of his tongue and the hard clasp of his lips had me writhing beneath him. I speared my hands in his dark hair. The intoxicating heat of his mouth and tongue and the satisfied sounds he made as he feasted on me were wild and carnal and perfect.

I thought what he had done to me with his fingers had felt good, but this was even better. I hadn’t known my body was capable of such sensations.

“You taste like molten honey.” He spoke in that dark, hypnotic voice. I glanced down to see he was watching me, an inferno in his eyes.

Heat pooled in my belly at that look, and his mouth descended once more. My hips shifted and a soundless gasp left my lips. I fisted the bedsheet in both hands. Feeling the sensation of my body coiling tight and the very blood in my veins seeming to sing with suppressed energy.

I felt out of control. My legs and body shook, and I raised my hands to cover my eyes. It was all too much. I was suddenly overwhelmed . . . embarrassed at how my body was reacting. At how I was feeling so much, how he was making me feel so much.

I felt him move before large hands covered mine and gently removed them from my face.

“Rin,” his voice was soft, “look at me.”

I forced myself to meet his eyes.

His were filled with velvet heat and dark promise, but there was a softness and understanding there as well.

“Don’t take your eyes off me. I want to see your reactions. I want to see everything I make you feel.” He leaned down farther and whispered against my lips, “Don’t hold back. I’ve got you.”

Something in me calmed and settled at his words. The feelings he created inside me were still vast and unfamiliar, but I suddenly didn’t feel anxious or self-conscious anymore as slowly, excitement filled me again.

He was watching me closely and saw the change. The acceptance.

His eyes turned feral as he loomed over me. Tracing every naked curve as he pulled back. My nipples were achingly sharp points from the cold air on my still slightly damp skin. He leaned down to capture one in his hot mouth and I shouted in surprise, the cry echoing in the quiet room. The only other sounds were the pounding rain, occasional rumbling thunder, and the crackling flames of the small hearth fire.

I luxuriated in the feel of him as I watched what he was doing. The light scraping of his teeth and the subtle sting it left behind. The raw masculinity in every line of his muscular body. His hard lips, his wet tongue.

He moved lower once more.

Before I knew it that coiling sensation tight in my belly had returned. His mouth and hands working me into a frenzy.

“Rake!” I cried.

“Let go, Rin,” he encouraged. “Come for me.” His arms were wrapped around my thighs, and they clenched harder as he continued to suck.

The pleasure was so complete I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, didn’t want to. Then I crested the hill and fell off the other side into oblivion.

I wasn’t sure how long I lay there limp and shaking, until I came back to reality utterly exhausted. I was only distantly aware of him pulling the covers up around us and pulling me close to his body. His chest at my back and his huge arm encasing me in warmth.

My eyes began to droop as he kissed the side of my head, and I heard him murmur into my hair, “Sleep, little thief.”

So, I did.