My breath catches as he steps over the fire pit with impossible grace for his size. The air shifts with him, and then he’s kneeling in front of me, filling my vision. Shadows cling to him like worship, but his hands—his hands tremble as they hover near my face.
“Say no,” he whispers, voice dangerous and raw, thick with restraint.
I don’t.
Instead, I lean forward, closing the distance myself.
The kiss is fire. Not warmth. Not comfort. Fire. It eats through every wall I’ve built, licking into the cracks until there’s nothing left but him and me and the raw ache in my chest. His lips are firm, searching, desperate in their patience. My hands clutch at his shoulders, rough muscle shifting under my grip, and I sigh into him like I’ve been starving for this. His palms finally touch me—one cupping my cheek, the other sliding down to claim my waist—and my pulse explodes.
I break the kiss just long enough to whisper against his mouth, “You sure?”
His only answer is to lift me. Effortless. Like I weigh nothing at all. My legs wrap around his waist before I think, and I gasp when my back presses to cold stone. He pins me there, suspended between the earth and the sky, kissing me like he’s waited centuries.
“River,” he breathes against my jaw, his lips trailing fire down my neck. “You don’t know what you do to me.”
I fist my fingers in his mane, tugging his golden curls hard enough to make him groan. “I think I do.”
Ifeelhim—heat, stone, hunger coiled and straining against the hold he keeps on himself. He could break me in half without trying, and yet every move is careful. Measured. Patient. That patience undoes me more than brute force ever could.
“I want all of you,” I whisper fiercely, voice trembling. “No more holding back.”
He freezes, forehead pressed to mine, breath shuddering. “I’ll break you.”
“Try,” I growl.
Clothes vanish between us—mine tugged, torn, cast aside like they never mattered. His leathers fall heavy, ancient armor finally abandoned. My eyes drink him in even as my chest heaves—broad shoulders carved of stone, skin the hue of dark steel, golden veins pulsing faint beneath the surface like fire caught under rock. His cock is thick, heavy, proud, curved with veins that burn faintly with heat.
I lick my lips.. “Gods.”
He chuckles, the sound low and wicked. “Too much?”
“Not enough. You’re still not inside me.”
He lowers me gently onto the furs, my body sinking into their softness as his weight blankets me. His hands roam—large, reverent, claiming every inch. Palms span my stomach, my breasts, my thighs, as if he needs to map me with touch, brand me with memory. Every brush of his calloused fingers is a vow.
His mouth follows, trailing heat down my throat, across my chest, pausing to savor my hip before moving lower. When his lips finally press to my center, I cry out, a sharp, unguarded sound that fills the ruin. My hand flies to his horns, gripping the curling gold as his tongue works me with torturous care.
“Kragna—” My voice cracks.
He groans against me, and the vibration sends me arching off the furs, gasping. My thighs quake around his broad shoulders, my body unraveling as pleasure shreds through me, raw andsharp and blinding. I break apart on his mouth, clutching him like I’ll drown if I let go.
When he pulls back, lips wet, he crawls up my body, kissing me hard, letting me taste myself on his tongue. His eyes burn hot when he rasps, “Ready?”
“Yes,” I whisper, and it’s both permission and plea.
The first push of him makes me gasp, nails digging into his back. He stretches me inch by inch, overwhelming in his size, filling me until I can’t breathe. It hurts in the best way, fire and friction and something holy.
“Tell me if it’s too much,” he murmurs, voice shredded with control.
I shake my head violently, words gone. My body is nothing but fire, nerve endings singing.
He moves—slow, steady thrusts that build and build, a tide threatening to swallow me whole. His grip on my hips is relentless, his mouth everywhere—my lips, my throat, my collarbone. He whispers my name like it’s a prayer, like he’s afraid if he stops saying it I’ll vanish.
The pressure snaps, and I cry out, body locking around him, shuddering through the quake of release. He groans low, rhythm faltering, before driving deep, roaring into my skin as he comes undone inside me.
We collapse in a tangle, sweat slick, trembling, breath mingling in gasps. The fire beside us crackles soft, furs tangled beneath.
I turn my head, lips brushing his jaw, and whisper, “You didn’t break me.”
