Page 122 of Heart of the Desert

I turned to look up at him, finding a hint of mischief in the quirk of his lips. The familiarity of the expression caused a pang in my chest—almost identical to the one Kelvar wore on his statue in the courtyard. With the burden of the desert’s fate lifted, Erix looked more like him than ever.

The thought was instantly burned away by a wave of fire washing over my skin as Erix’s fingers traced a light path over my spine, in the gap between my loose pants and belted vest.

I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “Maybe you should demonstrate to me what could possibly be so much better than dancing.”

His fingers curled around my hip pulling me back into the shadows of the tent, but my eyes fixed on the dancers, wondering if anybody would notice us slip away. Everybody seemed too busy with their own revelry, though, throwing their hands in the air and swaying their hips with abandon.

By the heat in several sets of gazes, we weren’t the only ones who would be slipping away for more private celebrations in the near future. So, I let Erix lead me into the shadows. I turned toward the small tent we had erected for ourselves, but he shook his head.

“I don’t want anybody but the desert to hear your screams. Tonight, they’re just for me.”

A shiver ran up my spine at his words, even as fire filled my veins. But mischief seemed to be contagious. I pulled out of his grasp and grinned at him. “If you are going to make me scream, then you’ll have to catch me first.”

I turned and bolted, weaving through the tents. He swore behind me, but I just laughed as I maneuvered through the tight quarters of the encampment more easily, ducking around canvas corners and even hopping over a fence to cut through a horse enclosure. Then, I was hurtling past the outer ring of storage tents and into the velvety darkness of the desert at night.

My feet churned up powdery sand as I ran, and another laugh tore from me as I heard Erix break free of the encampment behind me. I knew that he could catch me now that we were in the open with his longer legs, but I didn’t care. It reminded me of the night I had first escaped Clan Katal’s encampment on Daiti’s back, letting out a broken laugh of freedom for the first time in a decade.

Just like then, the wind tugged at my hair and the stars sparkled in a sky so dark, it looked like you could reach out and touch it. Before, Erix had stood and watched me escape, but to be chased by him—to know he would catch me—was so much better.

As I crested the top of a dune, my fingers reaching out to dig into the sand and help me climb its steep side, Erix’s weight crashed into me from behind. I yelped as his arms wrapped around my waist, bowling me over so we rolled down the far side of the slope. I squirmed and wriggled, trying to end up on top, but it was no use.

As we skidded to a halt in the valley between two dunes, Erix’s weight landed on top of me, his thighs on either side of my hips and his hands pinning my wrists to the ground. He stared down at me with silver eyes bright enough to make the moon jealous.

I wriggled against him, but I didn’t really want to get away. I wanted more.

A growl echoed in the back of Erix’s throat as he granted my silent request and crashed his lips against mine. I kissed him with all the ferocity with which I had fought for him and nipped at his bottom lip hard enough to taste blood—the tangy, copper proof that we were both alive.

Erix released his grip on my wrists in favor of reaching for my clothes, blindly pulling at the sash around my waist until my vest fell open. I gasped as my breasts were exposed to the cool night air, but Erix wasted no time enveloping a peak in the heat of his mouth. With my hands free to roam, I plunged them into his hair and tugged on his curls hard enough to make him moan.

In a matter of moments I was gasping for breath, trying to grind my hips against Erix’s in search of friction—or perhaps to goad him into doing what I truly wanted. Erix’s mouth began traveling lower, and I whined in satisfaction—but then he slowed.

I raised my head from where it had been thrown back to see him contemplating my chest—and the large silvery scar right under my breastbone. It looked as if it were years old, but I knew it had only been a week.

I cupped Erix’s cheek, bringing his gaze to mine. I didn’t speak—I didn’t need to. Not as the bond between us sang, telling him that I was here and I was safe. We were whole, and so was the desert.

Without breaking eye contact, Erix bent and pressed his lips to the scar. My heart fluttered beneath his kiss, as if telling him it was his in every sense of the word. I sat up. Pushing Erix back onto his heels as I did so.

He went willingly, letting me pull his pants down his hips and wriggle my own off as he lifted his tunic over his head. Then I crawled into his lap, placing my thighs on either side of his. His breath hitched as my slick center rubbed over his hard length, and my own stomach clenched with desire.

But for a moment, I just laid my hand on his chest, right over the hammering of his own heart. His hand drifted up to cup the side of my throat, where his fingers traced over the pulse fluttering there. We were full of life, even in that brief moment of stillness.

Then, I sank down onto his length, nearly blinded by the exquisite stretch of him—of being one in every way. Erix’s strangled expletive nearly drowned out my own whimper as I rolled my hips.

His fingers tightened at my neck, his other hand landing at my hip as I found a steady rhythm. Muscular thighs flexed beneath me as he matched me, thrusting up until the stars in the sky were nothing compared to the lights bursting behind my eyes.

As our pace picked up, and I began grinding against him more insistently, my whimpers turned to broken moans. Erix leaned in and his teeth found my earlobe and tugged before he rasped, “I believe I promised screaming.”

Taking my hips in both hands, he pulled me down onto his length as he thrust up brutally. Sure enough, a cry of pleasure escaped me, but Erix did not relent. He drove into me harder and deeper until the lines between his body and mine disappeared, and I found myself falling into a bottomless well of our shared power.

It had always been beautiful, but now it was otherworldly—as if I could now see the whole picture when before I had only been able to admire a small piece. As the swell of magic built around us, my legs began to shake, and every breath was punched out of me by Erix’s hips slamming into mine.

My fingers tightened on his shoulders, my nails gouging deep enough to draw blood. I felt the heady pinpricks of pain in my own mind as Erix and my consciousness melded together. Feeling so close—knowing he would be a part of me until the end of my life and beyond—tipped me over the edge.

I came with a wordless scream, Erix’s release melding with mine as he spilled himself inside me and buried his face in my neck. We floated there for long minutes, lost in each other’s magic and the aftershocks of pleasure rolling through our bodies like the rumble of thunder in a retreating storm.

Finally, I pressed a kiss to Erix’s shoulder and raised my eyes to his. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. I felt it in the quiet hum all around us—in that moment, there was balance.

Chapter forty-five