Page 106 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

“I need to come inside you,” he said, and, without warning, pulled her up and flipped her onto her back. He moved on top of her, crushing her with his weight.

“I need to fuck you, Spitfire. It’s consumed my thoughts since the day I met you.”

Then, he positioned himself at her entrance, and she felt the probing heat of his tip as it spread her apart, dipping slowly into her body. She gasped, clutching at the bedsheets, at his arms, at anything that would stop this freefall before he held still, waiting for her to adjust to his presence.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he backed up onto his knees and then thumbed her clit, sending shocks across her skin. She nodded as he kissed her again, slowly teasing her as he slid in inch by glorious inch, touching every dark corner and shadowed recess. Not just of her physical body but of every lonely night she’d spent by the sea. Of every moment, she’d wished for something more.

“So fucking hot and tight,” he murmured into her skin. “Fuck—you were made for me.”

He pushed in further, stretching her with small, careful thrusts until he was fully seated. Zarya’s shaky breath tore through her lungs, snagging on the corners of her ribs.

“Good?” he asked, and she nodded as he slowly drew out and then pushed back in. She could already feel her stomach tightening, that burning sensation waiting to break free. He churned his hips, thrusting in and out as he placed wet, open-mouthed kisses along her neck.

The edge of his knife-sharp canine grazed the delicate pulse of her throat. His tongue slipped out, licking the spot.

“Ready?” he asked as he closed his mouth over her skin and sucked.

“Yes, show me everything you promised,” she gasped.

He drove into her with force, his teeth sinking into her flesh, sending a bolt of exquisite pain straight to her clit. She clung to him, the pain dissolving into melted sunshine mixing with her blood. It carried through her limbs, making her fingertips grow warm and her heart squeeze in her chest. He sucked on her neck while he fucked her harder and harder, pressing her into the mattress.

She’d never felt so many different things all at once.

Like she’d been doused in flames, burning her from within, gilding her organs and her bones, turning them into burnished gold. Her thighs quivered, and an ache twisted in her core, and then she fell apart, curving off the bed as her release spread through every cell, cleaving them into scattered pieces.

Rabin pulled his teeth away and then leaned up, hooking a hand under her leg as he pounded into her, losing control. Together, they stared down at the spot where he moved in and out. He let out a guttural moan and then a growl as she felt him thicken and then release. His gaze never wavered from hers as the tendons in his neck pulled tight until he had emptied every last drop.

Then, he collapsed on top of her, kissing her fiercely before he found her neck and swirled his tongue over the marks left by his teeth.

“That was…” Zarya said. “I… think I’ve forgotten how to speak.”

He chuckled low and softly as he pressed a kiss to her lips.

“That was fucking incredible,” he said.

“It was okay?” she asked, still feeling somewhat self-conscious about her lack of real-world experience.

He growled and pulled her in close. “Zarya, there is nothing you could have done that wouldn’t have made that the most mind-blowing moment of my life.” He hooked up an eyebrow and gave her a mischievous smile. “But where did you learn how to suck on a man’s cock like that?”

Zarya blushed, overwhelmed by his declaration and slightly embarrassed by the question. She cleared her throat.

“You read those lines from my favorite book,” she said. “Row never paid much attention to what he brought me. Anything I learned, I learned from them.”

Rabin smirked. “I should have known. Remind me to thank him next time I see him.”

Her eyes widened. “Don’t you dare.”

Rabin chuckled softly, and then he kissed her again.

THIRTY

When Zarya awoke the next morning, Rabin lay asleep on his stomach with his arms under his head. She nestled against his side, staring at his face in a way that might have been a little invasive if he were awake. Maybe it still was, but he was so… beautiful. She couldn’t help herself.

With the usual hard lines and planes softened, he appeared gentle and so much more vulnerable, traces of the fearsome warrior wiped away. She loved how he commanded a presence in every room, but something about this version of Rabin felt like a secret only for her. She sensed he didn’t reveal the man she’d seen last night to many people.

Rabin had “apologized” three more times until Zarya had to beg him to stop. He’d taken her from behind with her lying on her stomach and with her riding him as he let her take control, seeking her pleasure how she wanted it.

He’d only relented when she’d sworn she’d finally forgiven him.