Riley’s heart pounded as Dax lifted his head to lock his gaze with hers. She could see the smoldering heat there, the stark hunger. He lifted one hand to his own chest. Her stomach clenched. Her mouth watered. Holding her gaze, he drew a line over his chest with one diamond nail. His hand went to the nape of her neck while the flames in his eyes leapt and burned. He put steady pressure on her until she bent her head to tentatively flick her tongue over the ruby beads seeping from that thin line over his heart.
The moment she tasted him, she knew she was lost. There would never be enough time to spend with him. He made her feel alive. Her body sang when she was with him. Her sense of smell, her vision, everything was so different—so more. She craved him. Was addicted to the taste of him. The world around her faded away, leaving only Dax and his hard body and exquisite taste.
She slid her palm down his chest to his flat, washboard stomach. She absorbed each defined muscle with her fingertips. Women dreamed of a man built like him—and he was hers. He’d given himself into her keeping. Her hand moved lower to find that impressive bulge. Boldly she rubbed gently, reveling in the ability to touch him.
His mind poured into hers, sharing the pleasure her hands and mouth gave him, sharing erotic images in his head. She gasped at what she saw there, at how it made her burn even more for him.
Enough,
sivamet
. You do not want to be sick. You have to come into my world slowly. I do not want there to be complications.
To ensure her obedience he slipped his hand between her mouth and his chest.
How could she slow down when she was already on the wild ride? She didn’t want to slow down at all, she wanted to burn for him. Go with him wherever he went. Horrified at her obsessive thoughts, Riley stepped back—or tried to. Dax simply glided, his movement fluid.
He caught her chin, forcing her head up.
I woke to your doubts beating at me. You are no more obsessed with me than I am with you. I cannot ever betray you, Riley. You are mine in this life and in all the lives given to us. It will still not be long enough for me.
His confidence was a turn-on to her. She’d never met a man who could be so completely in charge without being overbearing.
I know this is right,
Riley assured.
I know you’re what I want.
She had to look away from those burning eyes to admit her failings. She looked down at her boots.
It’s hard to believe that I’m the one you really want out of all the women in the world. You haven’t really seen any other woman besides me. Wait until you go into a city. Your world was different than it is now. There are so many beautiful women in the world for you to choose.
Dax smiled down at her, once more forcing her chin up so that her eyes met his. Her heart nearly jumped from her chest there was such tenderness there.
There is only one Riley and she is mine.
He bent his head slowly to hers.
Riley watched him come to her, his eyes blazing into hers, his perfect, chiseled lips slightly parted, his warm breath and then his mouth on hers. She gave herself up to his kiss, letting the world tumble away. He kissed her again and again and she found herself melting into him, her body going soft and pliant. His hands skimmed down her spine to the curve of her buttocks to lift and press her tight against his erection. Her breath caught in her lungs, still slightly shocked that he would want her so much he would take her right there out in the open.
Did you doubt I could go long without having you again?
Again there was an edge to his tone, as if her uncertainty on awakening reflected on his integrity in some way.
I hoped you couldn’t. Although …
She looked back toward camp. The others were finishing their evening meal and packing to travel.
Dax leaned forward and took her right breast into the heat of his mouth. His fingers tugged and rolled the nipple of her left breast. Her body arched, pushing deeper into the scalding heat. Temptation beat at her. Moisture gathered between her thighs. Clearly, her body was his. There was no resisting that hot mouth and wicked hands.
He lifted his head, and the dark desire burning in his eyes was exhilarating.
Step out of your jeans.
His fingers continued to roll and tug at her nipples.
I have my boots on.
She dropped her hands to the waistband of her pants, prepared to at least get them off of her enough to assuage the burning ache between her legs. In any case, she wasn’t certain she wanted to be stark naked out in the open even when he assured her she couldn’t be seen. It seemed so indecent.
And sexy. You’re so sexy.
She had to admit, it was sexy. He made her feel that way, as if he couldn’t wait to have her, as if he had to have her or he wouldn’t make it through the next moment. Still, being out in the open with people so close, shielded only by a few trees and a swirling fog … so wrong. The cool air hit her body, raising goose bumps. She looked down and her boots and jeans were gone. A slow smile curved her mouth.
You’re the sexy one. In my world, the women would say you are
hot
.
He was. She’d never been around any other man who could drive out all sane thought until she was only pure feeling.
She was naked standing in just a little grove of trees. She should have been covering up, but instead, her nipples grew harder than ever as she thrust them into his palms, evidence of her desire pulsed between her thighs and arousal teased her thighs and breasts. If Dax could remove clothes so easily, she had no more doubts that he could hide them from the others. She wanted him any way she could have him.
Dax made a sound, a rough and intoxicating growl that sent a spiral of lust teasing her stomach. He bent his head once more to her breasts, cupping the weight of them in his hands, and lifting them to his mouth.
She cradled his head to her, eyes wide open just because she had to see him—she loved watching him. Everything about Dax was sensual, his heavily lidded eyes, the heat glowing beneath his skin, the hot pull of his mouth on her breast. She stood naked, the wind on her body, her skin singing, her blood surging hotly, and a burning ache between her legs. She should have felt exposed and vulnerable in front of him. She didn’t have a stitch on, her body open to his, but he made her feel beautiful and his. She loved feeling as if she belonged to him.
Of course you belong to me. Your soul is the other half of mine. You were born for me, as I was born for you.
His hands were everywhere, sliding over every inch of her skin, his mouth devouring her until she couldn’t think straight. Long, drugging kisses had her body weeping with need. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tightening her hold on him, feeling possessive, feeling enraptured.
Dax lifted her, until her body slid sensually against his. “Wrap your legs around my waist,” he whispered into her mouth.
I’m too heavy.
She was tall and very curvy, not at all the average cover model, and she didn’t want him to hurt his back.
His laughter vibrated through her like a hot mineral spring. The bubbles found their way inside her bloodstream, bursting and sizzling as she complied with his order.
Now you’re just being silly.
There was tender amusement in his voice.
His mouth was on hers again, demanding now, the kisses growing wild and possessive, sending flames rolling through her. He kissed her as if he was a starving man, as if she ensured his survival—and maybe she did. His tongue stroked along her lips, pushed into her mouth to tangle with hers. Electricity sizzled through her veins, little shocking waves that left her breathless and needy.
Deliberately he allowed her to feel the edge of his strength, as he held her easily against his chest.
Wrap your legs around me. Hook your ankles.
His fingers found her entrance slick with moist heat.
You’re so ready for me.
How could she not be ready for him?
I’ll always be ready for you
, she whispered into his mind, allowing him to see him as she did, so perfect, so sexy she could never resist him.
I love how wet you get for me, but then I want to taste you. Devour you. Lick every inch of you until you’re giving everything up to me.
His voice was low and dark, a blend of rough and dangerous that sent another wave of heat curling through her. She laced her fingers together at the nape of his neck and leaned into him, biting at his shoulder because everything he said just made her more impatient for his possession. When he groaned, she turned her face into his neck and bit at him gently. His body shuddered.
Hold on.
Now his voice was hoarse with need. She held on tightly as he lowered her body oh, so slowly. She felt the velvet head, hot and thick pressing tight against her entrance. She tried to press down hard, but his hands refused to allow it. He entered her slowly, inch by deliberate slow inch, holding her absolutely still, while he pushed deeper through her resistant muscles.
Dax groaned as pleasure burst through him. He’d known heat and fire for centuries, but the scorching burn of her fiery, tight sheath was nearly his undoing. He lowered her slowly, savoring the resistance, the way her body gave way to his invasion. Her soft little broken, gasping cries nearly drove him insane.
I want a long slow ride,
sivamet
.
He could feel every tight muscle gripping, as he stretched her. The head of his cock was so sensitive, the feeling as close to ecstasy as he figured he was ever going to get. He pushed deeper, giving himself up to the building explosion.
Her eyes stared into his. Glittering. Wild. So much intensity. So much emotion—all for him. He was in awe of her. There was no way to conceal who he was from her, his mistakes. His guilt. His failure. He was a hunter of one of the most lethal monsters on earth and yet she had such faith in him she had bound herself to him. It was humbling and at the same time exhilarating.
She could make him lose control with just those small movements of her body. Those little panting cries. Her mouth curved, a sensual siren, tossing her head, lifting her hips at the guidance of his hands, her sheath suckling at him, wrapping his shaft in white-hot flames.
Riley rose slowly, her hands on his shoulders for leverage, the friction causing him to shudder, fight for his own control. She threw her head back and lowered her body with equal slowness, impaling herself on him, gripping and teasing as if her muscles were fingers fisting his shaft tightly. She threw her head back as she rose again, dragging over him, deliberately making small circles as she lifted herself, driving him wild.
“Is this what you wanted?” she asked, teasing innocence in her voice. She found the rhythm, that perfect, excruciatingly slow rhythm that made her body tighten in anticipation.
His growl sounded more animal than human.
She took her time, finding that if she squeezed her muscles and did slow circles as she rose and fell, his pleasure, along with hers heightened more. Electric sensations sizzled up her belly to her breasts and down to her thighs. Tension vibrated through her body, coiling tighter and tighter, her womb shuddering with her imminent orgasm. Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, that the friction was going to drive her insane, Dax made a rough sound in the back of his throat and flexed his fingers on her hips before gripping her hard.
Dax took control, slamming her body down on him hard and fast, lifting her and dropping her again and again, his velvet spike a piston, tearing through her with a fiery, driven purpose. Her body trembled, and she thrust back, impaling herself as the mind-numbing sensations ripped through her. Her body grasped his, gripped tightly, dragging over him, sending the fiery fingers squeezing in a brutal, erotic grip.
His entire body shuddered, his shaft erupting in a fiery release flooding her sheath so that a series of intense explosions rocked her. Riley held Dax tight for an anchor as her body continued to pulse and throb while she tried desperately to calm her heart and still her gasping breath. She had no idea sex could be so all encompassing.
I’m crazy about you.
She made the admission in her mind, feeling shy and exposed.
I’m so in love with you there isn’t any way to express it adequately
, he returned with his absolute confidence.
Personally, I think you did quite well.
Riley buried her face in Dax’s neck, her hands stroking his back possessively. Her body was damp with sweat and she knew she smelled like sin and sex, but it didn’t matter. She clung to him, reluctant to let him go, her heart beating with the same rhythm as his. She knew she should put her legs down, but she wanted to hold him as long as she could, be connected physically as long as possible.
“I can’t believe you were able to do that and have the strength to hold me up,” she whispered. She didn’t have the strength to speak in a normal tone.
“There are advantages to being Carpathian,” he said smugly. Dax turned his head to brush kisses in her hair. “Your friend is coming this way.”
“Can you keep us from his view forever? Maybe we should just stay this way, locked together for eternity,” she murmured.
Dax laughed softly, the sound in her mind rather than heard. “Insatiable woman.”
“I am.” She pressed kisses over his pounding pulse, unrepentant, playfully nipping with her teeth. “I’m trying to distract you.”
“You don’t find hunting vampires exhilarating?”
She lifted her head to stare into his laughing eyes. He looked so much younger and carefree when he laughed, yet it was so rare for him to do so. Very slowly she dropped her legs until she was standing. The movement shifted him inside of her, sending another ripple of pleasure through both of them.
“Fine, we’ll go hunting. But this was much more fun. I don’t think the two things are comparable.” She gave him a little pout as he slipped out of her.
His mind stroked hers with caresses as with a wave of his hand she was fully clothed, clean and fresh. He was reaching for her pack as if they’d just finished gathering her things when Gary walked up. Dax shifted slightly, positioning his body just a little in front of her to give her time to recover.