Page 25 of Wild Bond (Wild Bond #1)

I woke to rays of morning light covering the bed. The storm had passed, and almost before I was fully conscious, my mind was searching for Skye. I found her out hunting her breakfast, smug in the knowledge that she had gotten to keep her stolen prize from the night before. She sent me a cursory greeting before focusing back on her hunt. I left her to it.

It felt like the exhaustion that had been weighing me down for days had finally abated. Of course, that might have something to do with the beautiful man whose chest I was currently sprawled over and what he had done to me last night. My toes curled and my chest warmed just at the thought.

My cheeks heated with embarrassment as I remembered that I had fallen asleep and hadn’t returned the favor. Even though I had wanted to. Badly.

I also felt something in my chest soften at the fact that Rake hadn’t roused me or expected anything at all from me. After giving me so much pleasure, he had simply let me sleep. I may not have much experience in this area, but I knew it was a rare lover that gave pleasure simply because they enjoyed doing so and expected nothing in return.

Then I had a wicked thought. Well . . . no time like the present, right?

I lifted my head. Rake was still asleep. His face was turned away from me. One muscular arm flung above his head while the other loosely held me to his chest. He looked so peaceful and almost boyish in sleep with his slightly mused hair and relaxed expression.

Very gently I slid out from under his arm, careful not to wake him. I began to slide down his body, taking the sheet with me. I realized very quickly that I was not the only one completely naked anymore. That hot anticipation that was coming to be familiar when it came to Rake zinged through me.

He was so beautiful, and I never got to just take in my fill of him without feeling self-conscious that he was watching me. I wanted to take my time and enjoy exploring him. But that glorious chest and those sinful tattoos distracted me from my goal. Hoping I didn’t wake him, I couldn’t help but lean down, inhaling his citrus and sage scent.

My eyes devoured the black lines marking all that golden skin. My tongue flicked out, tasting him and trailing down his chest to the boxed ridges above his navel. Then lower . . . lower . . .

Big hands grasped my upper arms and pulled me up until I was face to face with Rake. So close our noses were almost touching, and my legs fell to either side of his waist. “What are you doing, little thief?” His voice was lazy and thick with sleep. There was mock censure on his face, but I saw the smile he was trying to suppress and the light in his eyes as he spoke.

I grinned down at him. “Ah . . . exploring?”

He did smile then, and it was like the sun parting the clouds.

I yelped in surprise when he lowered me down and kissed me hard.

I was breathless and achy by the time he pulled back and murmured against my lips, “Explore away.”

He released me, and I sat up so I was supporting my weight with both hands on his chest. With a cocky smirk he raised both arms above his head and gripped the edge of the mattress. He cocked an eyebrow and stared up at me expectantly.

Instinctively knowing that Rake was not the type to give up control often, I knew I had to take advantage of this moment. I fought hard to suppress my glee and excitement.

Without hesitating another moment, and giving him what I hoped was a seductive or at least a sassy smirk, I leaned over and began kissing my way down his throat. I lazily made my way down the crease between his muscular pecs and began slowly using my tongue to trace the lines of his tattoo, like I had wanted to do since the first time I had seen it. I nipped and sucked at his skin, then found his flat nipple and sucked harder.

He let loose a harsh male groan that had my insides twisting with want. His breathing changed and roughened, and I felt him grow hard against my belly.

Pushing up a little, I reached down and grasped him in my hand. He was big, thick, and velvet soft, yet hard as granite.

He let out a harsh, rumbling sound, and his whole body tensed as my hand began to move up and down.

“I’ve never done this before,” I admitted, looking up at him. Fire blazed in his eyes at my words, and I could tell he liked knowing that.

Without a word, he reached down and, placing his hand over mine, began guiding me in my movements. Before long he was panting and releasing a husky groan. His hand dropped away, no longer needing to guide me, and my mind went foggy with desire as I watched him.

Sliding further down his body as I continued to work him, I kissed my way across the sexy lines that led down from his hips and created a cut V. His body was so beautiful, I knew I could do this all day and be perfectly content. A kind of ravenous heat had overtaken me, and I was hardly aware of it as my mouth moved to his shaft and began licking it.

“Rin,” he rasped.

“Shh,” I murmured. “I’m still exploring.” Then I let my curiosity get the best of me and my lips closed over him.

He cursed. His head slammed back on the pillow, and his hips bucked involuntarily.

I didn’t mind. He tasted salty on my tongue, and I loved it. I redoubled my efforts, using my mouth and my hand, wanting to make him feel as good as he had made me feel.

“Rin,” he warned, his hand sliding into my hair trying to pull me off. “You need to—"

I shook my head, humming against him. I wasn’t going to pull away. I knew what was going to happen, and I wasn’t missing a second of this.

Rake’s whole body clenched, and he gave a shout. Warmth spurted in my mouth, and I drank him down as he pulsed against my tongue and palm.

When I finally pulled away, I sat up with what I knew had to be a self-satisfied look on my face. Rake was staring up at me, chest working, like he had never seen me before but also like he never wanted to look away.

Curling up to a sitting position, his lips met mine in a searing kiss. The kiss quickly turned ravenous, and before long he had me on my back. His mouth was on me again, and he was coaxing me to a shouting release of my own.

Afterward, I lay sprawled on the bed, the blankets in a tangle around me. Rake was leaning on his side staring down at me, one arm beneath him while the other reached to grasp my left hand. He began playing with the ring on my finger, twisting it back and forth as he smiled faintly. “You kept it.”

I smiled lightly. “Of course, I kept it.”

Then his fingers ran higher over my scar, trailing from just above my wrist and over the length of my forearm. The slightly raised skin appeared waxy in the morning light. I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious and found myself wanting to pull away, but I resisted the urge.

“Every time I see this, I think of that night,” he said.

I stiffened slightly at the confession but then forced myself to relax, continuing to stare at the scar.

“When we spoke in your room that day after you bonded Skye . . . you looked so beautiful and vulnerable sitting there, then I saw this on your arm . . . Realms, how you must have hated me!”

“You and he were only doing your duty,” I said, reiterating what I had said to him before. “It’s not your fault you caught me stealing.”

He rubbed a hand through his hair. “But now, knowing what I know, what I learned last night . . .” He shook his head and sighed. “I wish things had gone down differently.”

“I don’t,” I said, surprising myself and at the same time knowing I meant it.

He stared down at me. “You don’t?”

“No, because then I would never have been thrown in prison. Well, that part I could have skipped, but then I would have never been at Petitioner’s Square that day, never would have bonded Skye and become a dragon rider . . . and I never would have met you.” His eyes warmed. “In a way, Safan was right. Not about him taking the credit for all this, but in the fact that if I hadn’t been captured that day . . . none of this might have happened.”

“Your gods at work again?” Rake teased.

I shrugged. “Maybe . . . maybe they had to ensure I met Skye, and that I met you or maybe they just observe and let us make our own decisions most of the time, only interfering when it’s necessary. Who knows?”

He leaned down, his nose brushing mine. “I like the thought of our meeting being important enough for the Nine to get off their golden thrones and interfere.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in the gods.”

He smiled. “I don’t, but perhaps I could be persuaded.” His breath tickled over my lips. “There’s this silver-haired temptress I know that seems quite convinced of the matter.”

“She sounds very smart. You should listen to her.”

“Hmm,” he purred, tracing his lips down my neck and across my exposed skin, making goosebumps pebble wherever he touched. His mouth found a particularly sensitive spot and one of his big hands had just begun to explore lower on my body, stirring the smoldering coals of my sated desire, when Rake’s chamber door burst open.

“Rake!” Zade cried as he entered. “You need to—” The rider’s eyes went wide, and he halted mid-step when he realized what he had just burst in on.

“What are you doing? Get out!” Rake snarled, hastily covering us both with the sheet.

My cheeks flamed as I sank down under the covers even further so only my head was visible.

“My apologies,” Zade said, averting his eyes and trying and failing to keep a smirk from his lips. “I wasn’t aware you had . . . company. Hello Rin.”

Embarrassment flooded me. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t what it looked like, but then realized that it was exactly what it looked like—well . . . almost.

“Then why are you still here?” Rake demanded.

The question seemed to remind Zade of why he had come here in the first place, and his expression sobered immediately. “It’s your prisoner,” he explained, “the one you had Naasir drop off.”

My blood ran cold at the mention of Safan.

“What about him?” I questioned, sitting up.

Zade looked between Rake and me, his expression bleak. “He was found dead in his cell this morning. Someone killed him.”