But what I could do was what I most needed to do: rid myself of all the jittery energy in my system.
So I flew at him. I didn’t hold back, knowing there was no danger of me landing a hit. I struck out again and again, swinging the scythe this way and that.
Our blades loudly clashed as he parried every blow. At times, he’d go on the attack, forcing me to defend myself rather than simply lash out—he wanted me to have tothink, I sensed; wanted tomentally drain me, knowing the restlessness would be assaulting both my body and mind.
I wouldn’t say he took it easy on me—not even close. That wasn’t Talon’s style. But he didn’t move at superfast speed; didn’t use his immense strength against me.
Even so, he was stillfartoo quick and powerful for me to take on. I didn’t care. At no point did I feel any need to hurt, win, or overpower him. I just wanted to feelnormalagain. So I kept swinging and striking, calling on everything I’d been taught.
He struck, ducked, swerved, blocked, grunted.
He also occasionally tapped my ass with his blade—his punishing version of aThat was an unwise move.Then he’d go at me harder, forcing me to up my game, but never so hard that I was overwhelmed and needed to stop—allowing me to use up the energy raging through my body.
I swung. Blocked. Swung. Blocked. Swung. Blocked. I did it until my muscles burned, my hands were hot, and my shoulders ached from the weight of the scythe.
It was arushto be able to let all the unnatural energy go. A rush to release it in such a way. It—
I stumbled, losing my footing.
He acted quickly, looping an arm around me and hauling me upright. No, not just upright. He hauled meagainsthim.
We both froze—our fronts pressed together, our faces inches apart, our breaths clashing.
His eyelids drooped as his gaze locked on mine with a deadly intensity. My pulse skittered as need pooled in his night-sky eyes, making them go impossibly darker; turning the gold swishes brighter and more vivid.
I licked my lips, overwhelmingly conscious of his heat, his scent, the press of his solid chest against my breasts, the iron-strength in the arm curled around me, the hardness of his muscular thighs.
The atmosphere tautened, thickened, and purred with the promise that pulsed between us. A promise of how good it would be to give in, to take, to gorge.
But he didn’t.
He also didn’t release me. He held me tight, his body stiff. Every soft pulse of his breath lightly fanned my mouth, waking up all the nerve-endings there.
I felt his tension. Felt his hunger. Felt his hesitance.
And then I felt him harden against me.
I sucked in a breath. The dig of his cock against my abdomen made my stomach tighten with an almost painful excitement. Some interesting places began to warm and tingle as need became an official drumbeat in my veins—as raw and feral as the man in front of me.
A growing frustration bloomed in his expression. I could see a battle playing out behind his eyes; could sense him wrestling with himself. All the while, I stared at him, my mouth going dry, caught in the grip of a basic, elemental hunger that refused to let go.
Though I knew how good it would feel to act on this unrelenting attraction, I didn’t want anything to happen between us if he’d begrudge that he’d given in. “You should let me go if you’ll only later resent that you didn’t.” I lightly pushed on his chest.
A low growl grated the back of his throat, making my body go still. His jaw tightened, his eyes went slitted, his lips set into a pitiless slash … and then he brought his mouth down on mine.
He kissed me hard and deep. No hesitance. No caution. No reserve.
Our blades hit the floor as we went at each other like savages. There was nothing civil or sensual about it.
Hands roughly fisted my hair as he herded me backwards and caged me against the wall, his mouth never releasing mine. I arched into him, grinding against his cock. I was woundso tightfrom anticipation that I thought I might explode.
The molten brand in his kiss, the scald of his demanding mouth, the hungry strokes of his tongue, the sharp nips of his teeth … It was almost too much.
Almost.
Talon pumped his hips once, letting me know he wantedin. Oh, fine by me.
He pulled back just enough to roughly peel off my tunic. My breast band went with a sharp yank that nearly tore it. I’d barely tackled the laces of his breeches before strong hands caught the underside of my thighs and lifted me like I weighed nothing. He pressed my back firmly against the wall and plunged two fingers inside me.
