Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I lie down next to her and take her mouth in more soft, slow kisses. I caress her body, and now that the madness has edged away to nothing more than a distant hum, I concentrate on her, on what touches make her quiver, which caresses wring little sounds out of her. I learn my mate with one leisurely caress after another, my hands on her breasts, her stomach, her thighs, and eventually her cunt. She’s hot and wet by the time I stroke her folds, and when her body begins to quiver uncontrollably, her muscles tensing, I send her a mental image of her on all fours.
With a little moan, she does as I ask, leaning forward on her elbows. I claim her from behind, pushing into her, and nothing has ever felt so good, so right, as the clasp of my mate’s body. Rachel is perfection, and her body my home. I thrust slowly and evenly, taking my time to work her until she’s clawing at the blankets and panting. When she comes, it’s with a low cry and a hot clench of her cunt around my cock that sends me over the edge. I thrust into her, filling her with my seed, and when I catch my breath, I am pleased to see that my mate is still sprawled beneath me, a hint of a smile on her face, my hands on her hips.
You aren’t passing out this time? she asks me drowsily, her words floating through her mind instead of making noises in her mouth.
No. Last time that happened because I shared my fires with you. I lie down on the bed and pull her down against me, wrapping my arms around her and holding her tight. Now you cannot run away from me.
I don’t want to run. I just want to be safe.
I bury my face against her hair, breathing in her scent as I stroke her skin. I cannot stop touching her; each caress leaves me hungry for more. And do you feel safe?
Right now I do. She tucks herself down against my arms, and I can feel just how much she enjoys being held. I vow to myself that I will hold her every day from now on, just to give her pleasure. Just to share this moment with her.
With my body wrapped around my mate’s, it feels like I have found peace for the first time in years. I close my eyes, drinking in her scent, the softness of her skin against mine, the—
HUNGRY. Luminoura’s thoughts jab into mine.
Then eat, I tell her. Wake your sire.
Rachel stirs against me. She strokes the hand I have cupped over her breast. “Do you need to eat something? I can share what I have left.”
I focus on my mate, brushing my lips against her neck. I am not hungry. That was Luminoura.
That rouses her. She turns her head, looking over at me. “The baby?”
Yes. Her light—hers and Sallavatri—are the only thing that has pulled me back from the madness. I nuzzle at her throat. Before you.
It was worse before? She remembers Sasha telling her this, but cannot picture it. She thinks of the way I acted yesterday, when my mind went as black as my eyes and my head was nothing but rage.
I was like that always, I admit. I have lost a great deal of time since coming through the Rift. It is all time lost to the madness. I share with her a glimpse of the madness, the swirl of color and overwhelming sound that creeps at the edges of my mind. I show her how Luminoura’s thoughts keep them at bay, and how with our bond, I feel…whole.
My memories are blurred, but I am myself again.
It is a good feeling. It will get stronger with every day that passes, I tell her. Your scent will continue to change, to become a blend of my scent and yours. And I will wear your scent, too. Others will be envious that I have such a fine mate, and no drakoni will approach you, because you are claimed.
Safe, she thinks, and it is a feeling she is not used to.
Safe, I agree. Safe and cherished. Mine. My thoughts grow possessive and I slide my hand between her thighs, wanting to produce more of her arousal scent. I want my skin coated in it. I want it so thick in the air that every breath that goes into my lungs is full of her perfume.
Rachel gasps as I find her clit and begin to stroke it, her cunt clenching tight around my hardening length still seated inside her. “Before we go on…we need to talk about tomorrow.” Her thoughts drift back to her human hive, and the friends she worries about.
Sadness makes me ache. Even after all this, you would abandon me?