The sun’s nearly reached the horizon when I catch the first hints of her presence. Something within me calms, a flutter that started when Sifa left me finally finding rest.
My senses, which have spent hours searching for her, find other sounds and smells and sights to enjoy. The gurgle of a nearby creek, waves and splashes rising and falling as the water whispers past. The pine that tickles at my nose as I ride deeper into the trees, dredging up memories of winter nights as a child, playing in front of the fire. The shadows that reach all around me, hiding leaves and needles that cushion the ground.
Leaving the trees, I enter a clearing, dark granite mountains reaching into the sky ahead of me, and relax even more when I see her walking next to Astarot. He’s come so far in just a few days. He’ll be able to extend his wings and fly soon. He can take Sifa someplace safe. They’ll figure out the rest later.
“I know you’re there, Fhord,” she says after a moment, spinning around to glare at me. “You were supposed to go away. And stay away. What if you’ve led the guards back to us?”
I tug on Sigurd’s reins, keeping my distance as I drink in the view of her. Her hands rest on her hips, emphasizing their perfect shape, leading to long legs and a foot tapping her displeasure. I can’t hold back my smile as my gaze follows her curves back up and finds her nipples stretching through the thin blouse she’s wearing. With her head cocked to one side—her neck in exactly the right position to be nuzzled and teased—she’s the sexiest female I’ve ever seen. I’m fucking hard just thinking about tasting her again.
And she’s pissed. I’m gonna need to grovel. A lot.
“I got sloppy. I can’t get you the fuck out of my mind. I wasn’t paying attention because I see you everywhere I look. All the time. I fucked up.”
Her foot stops tapping, but she’s still clinging to her hips like she has to stop herself from stalking over and punching me. Or kissing me. I hope to fuck it’s the latter.
“I was careful this time. I ordered them back to the Nest and followed to make sure they went. But I couldn’t leave you like this. You need to know I’d never betray you. I would never hurt you.”
My breath catches in my throat, a gods-damned vise holding it there as I wait for her response. Ineedher to forgive me. To trust me.
Finally, her arms drop to her sides. We exhale, a slow release, at the same time.
“We can’t do this, Fhord. We have to stay away from each other. You’re just making it harder.”
I glance down at my raging erection and then lift my eyes again, my lips curling a bit. “You make everything harder, too,” I rumble. My gaze drops to linger on her chest, those beautiful nipples punching through her thin shirt, and then drags up to watch her, making sure she sees my grin. “You missed me. You’re glad I’m here.”
Even from this distance, I can tell she’s fighting her own smile. She wants this as much as me. But she can’t give in yet.
“Arrogant as ever, I see.”
“Confident.” I nudge Sigurd into a slow walk toward her. “About you.”
“What am I going to do with you?” She tries to inject frustration into her tone, but I can tell it’s an act. She’s struggling to keep the corners of her lips from tipping up even farther.
“What do you want to do with me, little rabbit? Or maybe the question is what am I going to do with you? I have my own ideas but I’m always open to suggestions. Or requests.”
“Maybe Astarot should teach you a lesson,” she suggests as I pull myself even with her dragon. He lets out a noncommittal grunt, probably unwilling to anger his draikana this early in their bond.
I drop from Sigurd, halving the distance between Sifa and me. “I’d suggest that Tindera teach you a lesson, but I want that honor for myself. Should I spank you first?”
“Only if you want to be gutted.” Sifa’s whisper winds its way inside me, sparking flares everywhere it touches. My cock responds like it always does, twitching as it tries to draw her attention. I have to stop myself from reaching for it.
Sifa roves her gaze down my chest, slowly, as she confirms how much control she wields over my body.
“Okay. No spanking … yet,” I rasp. “But you haven’t told me what you want to do to me. Or, better yet, what you want me to do to you.” One more step and I’ve closed the distance between us. My hand is on her cheek as she lifts her eyes to mine. Dropping my lips to her ear, I whisper, “What should I do to you, little rabbit?”
“Do you need instructions in every part of your life?” Sifa’s husky chuckle sends another jolt of lust through me. “Or just the bedroom?”
“We’ll experiment?” I muse. One of my thumbs drops to tug on her bottom lip as I savor the feel of her skin. “I can’t wait to discover all the ways I can make you scream. And beg.”
Sifa’s fingers reach up to dig into my hair, pulling me down to her. And our lips meet. This kiss is hungry, desperate, searching for the connection we’ve denied ourselves too long. Her tongue sweeps in, tasting me as mine dances with hers. There is only us. The rest of the world stops as I let myself get lost in my mate.
Her hands drop to yank up my shirt, lifting it over my head. I suck in a breath as her lips find my chest, fluttering over my tattoos as she explores me for the first time. Inhaling her lavender and rosemary scent, my lips trail down her neck as my hands reach under her blouse to unhook the band around her breasts, dropping it to the ground. Her nipples press against my chest through her blouse and it takes all my restraint to stop myself from stripping her bare and sinking into her.
And then she’s wrapping her arms around me to pull me close. My engorged cock literally trembles—the first time the bastard has done anything like that—as her hip grinds into it. Heat flows through me in waves, every part of my body hyper-sensitive. I reach for her breasts, rolling the nipples between my thumbs and fingers as she melts against me and sighs.
I’ve never heard a more beautiful sound in my life.
Astarot’s roar rips through us, anger and pain and frustration echoing all around.
