Page 131 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

Rabin moved, crushing his body against hers. He folded himself so that he was covering every inch of her skin before his nose buried into the curve of her throat, and he took a long, shuddering breath.

“Rabin?” she whispered. “Are you there?”

She kept trying to reach him. Kept trying to call to him in her mind.

He flipped her around so she faced him again.

She couldn’t help the way her thighs flexed as he licked his lips, his fiery gaze hungry with desire. He lifted a hand as smoke swirled around his fingers, weaving back and forth. A moment later, they transformed into a set of sharp dragon claws.

His gaze met hers, and she exhaled a short gasp. What was happening?

Slowly, he reached out, the tip of a claw touching her cheek and then carefully dragging lower. Her breath pushed out in tight gulps as he trailed his nail over her throat and collarbone and down one breast.

She whimpered as he scraped over a nipple, his talons coming together to gently pinch it with just enough sharpness to send a straight shot of heat between her thighs.

He drifted lower over her stomach and stopped right below her navel. She looked down, her gaze snagging on his bobbing cock covered in veins—the tip swollen and purple, begging for release.

“Rabin,” she said again, her voice barely a whisper as he dragged his hand lower. He knocked her ankle with his foot, forcing her to spread her legs. His burning red gaze found hers again, but she wasn’t afraid. He was there, buried somewhere inside the enchantment.

She let out a sharp breath as his hand moved lower, the pointed tip of his nail grazing her clit. She gasped and her stomach clenched when he did it again. The touch was featherlight, yet it felt like she was being turned inside out.

Slowly, he continued exploring her body, using his sharp talons as he scraped her breasts and stomach, leaving red streaks that didn’t break the skin. She pressed against the tree, no longer in pain—all she could feel was the hollow ache between her legs.

He snarled, his lip curling up as he gripped the tree behind her head. Then, without warning, he wrapped his other hand around her leg and hoisted her up. He thrust against her, his hard cock rubbing her clit to the point of bruising. She clung to his shoulders as he rutted against her, and then, without warning, he slammed in.

Her back arched as she cried out, waves of pleasure rolling through her limbs. He fucked her with abandon, their flesh slapping and their moans and growls tangling in the clearing.

He filled her up, stretching her, hitting so deep that she whimpered with every thrust.

“Rabin,” she practically sobbed. “I feel you. I see you.”

She clung to him as he continued pounding into her. His dragon claws melted away as he grabbed her breast, pinching her nipple, and then dipped his head and sunk his teeth into her throat. She cried out as the magic of his bite filtered into her blood, her release tightening in her stomach.

He churned his hips over and over as sweat coated their bodies, and her cries grew more frantic. He squeezed her ass as he thrust again, then they both came together in a flash of bright blinding light and sparks.

Her nails dug into his shoulders as her release crashed over her, twisting her from the inside, sending waves of tingling sensation straight to the tips of her fingers and toes.

He continued pumping, wringing out his release as she felt his warmth spill between them. With a growling shudder, he pulled up to meet her gaze.

She recognized him buried in the depths of his glowing red eyes.

“Come back to me,” she whispered.

Zarya’s eyes opened a moment later, and she found herself lying on her stomach in the chalky white cavern. She shivered from the cold air and wondered if it had all been a vivid dream.

She rolled over to notice a throbbing ache between her legs along with the faint red marks Rabin had left on her skin.

Not a dream.

She’d nearly reached him there. She’d nearly found him.

That had been real, and maybe that meant something.

Yasen and Row entered Taaranas to an eerie silence. They shared a worried look. A chill skated down Yasen’s back as he took in the strange white buildings and the complete stillness.

“Is this it?” he asked as he turned around slowly, searching for threats or clues.

“It looks like the city I’ve seen in drawings,” Row answered. “But this…”