Page 128 of The Hunter

Her eyes flared, and her lips parted with a sharp inhalation as his claw trailed down her throat.

His gaze followed the path of his finger as it moved over the fabric of her dress between her breasts. He needed her, desperately, but he was determined to take his time with his mate and not let the instinctual frenzy seize control of him. He would savor this. He wanted to learn Lacey’s body, wanted to explore her, to understand what brought her pleasure.

Grasping the blanket covering her lower half, he drew it back. Her skirt had bunched up around her waist. Hunger blazed through him as he stared at her slit. Her thighs were slightly parted, revealing the slick petals between them. His cock throbbed as it extruded fully, the empty air around it only deepening the ache. He shuddered.

Telok took in another breath that was laden with her scent. Her desire was far more potent now.

Hints of a red haze encroached upon his vision. The need to rut, to plant his seed deep inside her, sank its claws into his mind. But he fought it.

No. I will have this.

Meeting her eyes, Telok flicked his claw against the dress over her stomach. “Remove this.”

He would see more of her. All of her.

She smirked and toyed with the loose strap on her shoulder. “You want me to take this off?”

Growling, Telok stretched his legs, planted them on the other side of Lacey, and lifted his body over hers, coming to rest on the joints of his forelegs. With his arms and legs caging her in, he lowered his face toward hers and fisted the silk at her belly. “If you do not, I will gladly tear it from your body, vi’jatai.”

“Wait!” Her hands caught his wrist. “Tempting as that is, I’m going to run out of clothes at this rate, and I don’t want to ruin all the ones Sophia gave me.”

His fingers squeezed the fabric. “Then take. It. Off.”

“Okay,” she breathed, pale skin flushing.

Releasing his hold, Telok pushed his torso upright, easing back onto his hindquarters to stare down at his mate. He dropped his hands onto his forelegs, and his fingers curled, digging his claws into his hide. That silk was from another vrix, and it was shielding her body from his sight. Despite her protest, he wanted to shred it and cast its tatters into the jungle.

Lacey sat up. She grasped the hem of her dress and slowly drew it up. Telok envied the glide of that fabric over her skin. As she peeled the garment off over her head, her hair fell, settling around her shoulders. She tossed the dress aside.

Smiling, she lay down, resting her hands atop the bedding to either side of her head. “Do you like me like this, my luveen? Naked and at your mercy?” She raised her foot and lightly pressed it against his belly, slowly trailing her toes down. “So you can have your wicked way with me.”

Telok grasped her ankle with a lower hand before her foot could reach his cock. His hide tingled in the wake of her touch.

“So eager…” He tugged Lacey closer, making her squeak. “But a huntress must know patience.”

“You pick the worst time for lessons.”

“You will learn, vi’jatai.” Gripping her knees, he spread her thighs wide. His stem twitched with yearning as his eyes dropped to her pussy. “And I will have my pretty mate in all ways.”

That delicate pink flesh glistened with dew beneath its crest of red curls, already anticipating him. Again, the red mist at the edges of his vision pulsed, pushing in farther, but he clenched his jaw and willed it back. He would return to her slit soon enough, and then he would take much more than a look.

Telok forced his gaze to move, slowly dragging it over her shapely thighs to her flaring hips, across her soft belly and up to her large breasts and the enticing pink buds at their peaks. He followed the lengths of her arms to her hands and their dainty, clever fingers, then back to her shoulders and along her graceful neck to her beautiful face and wild hair.

His eyes lingered on every detail during their journey. He memorized the long, uneven scars she had carried into this world from her past life, recalled the events that had led to the new ones she’d earned in the Tangle. He studied every mark—every freckle, every stretch mark, every bruise and scratch, including those he’d left upon her during their mating.

“You look upon yourself and see scarred skin,” he rasped, meeting her gaze. “I look upon you and see radiance and life. Life despite sorrow and pain. Life despite a world that seeks death for all things. Nothing is more beautiful than you, Lacey.”

Her eyes gentled and shimmered with gathering tears as she pressed her lips together, the bottom one faintly quivering. She wiped away a falling tear. “Not supposed to make me cry during sexy times.”

Telok leaned over her, bracing his arms on the bedding to either side of her, and lowered his head. “I will make you cry.”

He brushed his mouth over hers, and she returned the kiss, her lips yielding to his hard hide.

“Cry out for more,” he said before nuzzling her cheek, running his mouth along her jaw to her neck. “Cry out my name…”

His mouth trekked down, whispering along her throat, until he found the bitemark he’d left on her shoulder. He purred and languorously traced it with the tip of his tongue, making her shiver as her breath caught. “Cry out because you are coming undone in my arms.”

“Telok,” she whispered, tilting her head to grant him more access.