“Has this ever happened?” My hope is rising too fast, too hard.
Talon shakes his head slowly. “No. It shouldn’t be possible.”
He looks at me, then down at his own chest, flexing his fingers like he’s trying to summon something long-familiar. “I’ve had power surges before. Flared too hot. But I’ve never gone full Dragon. That form…Dragons aren’t meant to shift that far anymore.”
My breath catches. “But you did.”
His eyes lift, locking on mine. “And I think I burned out all my fire doing it.”
Talon presses my palm to his chest. “Once in a tavern, I heard an old Dragon tale. About burning so hot, so fast, you exhaust your flame forever. Most don’t survive it. Those who do...they never burn again.”
My heart lurches with equal measures of guilt and hope. “You think it’s permanent?”
He swallows hard. “It feels different this time. Like I didn’t justusemy fire…I emptied it. I don’t know if it can come back.”
He grips my wrist with iron strength, an urgency flashing in his eyes. He’s holding onto me for dear life. I can tell reality is slow and hard to hit.
“Aura.” The way he breathes my name breaks me into a million pieces, but I don’t mind because he can scoop up all the little pieces in his hands now.
“Talon.”
Our mouths collide.
Chapter 25
A Surprise Set of Wings
TALON
Aura’s lips. Soft, pliant, cold, and utter fucking heaven. How does she taste even better than she smells? The sweet candy notes intensify and darken the more I plunder her mouth.
I want everything, all at once. My hands are in her hair, sweeping over her neck, gripping her face like it’s my last lifeline as everything in me comes alive in an explosion of fireworks.
Perhaps I should be worried I’ve burned out. About what it means. We should be worried about Mal’s horde of vampires, but I can’t give a single flying fuck about any of that.
I’m finally touching, holding, kissing the woman of my every desire, and there is no space for anything else.
Needing more, I force myself to sit up. Hot raking pain stabs through my ribs, but I ignore it. I can’t help the groan of pain, but I gather Aura closer to me.
She puts her hands, her gloriously perfect fucking hands, on my chest and pushes me slightly.
“You’re hurt.”
I recapture her lips, pulling her to me, unable to give her an inch of space or a moment to speak. “I told you, it’s a flesh wound,” I say against her lips.
I coax her open, and my tongue meets hers. My groan this time is entirely different. She’s utterly edible. I’m going to eat her up. There will be nothing left of her when I’m done.
The silky wet welcome of her mouth triples my desperation for more.
Aurora whimpers as I grip the hair at the base of her skull, angling her so I can kiss her deeper.
I’m going to do so much more to her. A bottleneck of ideas, fantasies, needs, and wants drill into my brain with unrestrained, wild pressure.
In a moment, she is half on my lap where I’m hardening so fast, the rush makes the world sway and my vision blurs.
Or maybe that’s the blood loss...
She clutches me close, nails digging in as she meets my frenetic onslaught of kisses with equal passion.
