He ran her lower lip between his teeth as he lifted his head to meet her gaze. “If I do something you dislike,” he instructed, palming her breasts, grazing her nipples, “you will tell me. Agree, Elia.” Kneading her slowly. Gently...at first. Beneath her gown, those stiffened peaks teased him.
“Agreed.” Moaning, she clutched at his shoulders. “I like, I like, I like!”
Craving skin-to-skin contact, he shredded the gossamer material of her dress. Mmm. Yes. Much better. Halo disposed of her weapons, sheaths and undergarments, baring her body to his reverent gaze. All that soft, flawless flesh. Those lush mounds and amber crests.
His hands returned to her breasts of their own volition. As he teased and played, she tore at his leathers. Button, gone for good. The zipper, in shambles. She wrapped her fingers around the base of his erection and stroked up, and they both hissed.
The most exquisite female in all the worlds gripped his throbbing shaft.
“I really like,” she purred in that way of hers, gliding her thumb over the slick tip, wringing a hoarse groan from him.
Pleasure stole his thoughts. “You’ve missed my hands, haven’t you, nymph?”
“Only because you do such wonderful things with them.”
The first flames of satisfaction flickered on the horizon. “You’re starved for me.”
“Every panty-melting inch.”
He needed...so much. Immediately. More! The tiny tuft of sable curls between her legs drew his hand like a magnet. He ran two fingers over her soaked core and massaged her swollen little clit.
Back arching, she cried out with bliss. “Yes! It’s good, Halo. So, so good. Don’t stop doing that.”
No sexier female. “Will any male suffice, or do you crave my touch alone, nymph?”
“Only yours,” she said, leisurely stroking him while rolling her hips, chasing her climax. The first of many for her today; he was decided.
Thunder boomed, heralding an incoming storm. A crack of lightning split the sky. Streaks of otherworldly gold painted Ophelia as he thrust a finger deep inside her. Another feminine cry pierced the air.
She pumped his erection with greater force. He fed her a second finger. Her slick inner walls gloved the digits. A tight fit. Incredibly tight.
Once, twice, a dozen times, Halo nearly pleaded for more. He throbbed in her grip. His muscles were knotted. Sweat dripped from his brow.
Make her desperate. No mercy. The stakes were too high.
She bends to me. Not the other way around.
He scissored his fingers, stretching her. In, out. Faster. Harder. Even lost in the throes, she matched his pace.
He set his mouth at her ear, whispering, “Your sweet little body is mine, isn’t it, Elia? Mine to pleasure. Mine to treasure however I see fit.”
Her body jerked. “Treasure?” She threw back her head and screamed, drowning out the moaning rocks as her inner sheath contracted on his fingers.
As she came down from the high, her features soft with rapture, his control threatened to fray. With every inhalation, her sweet perfume breeched his every defense. The inferno in his bones blazed anew, his civility burning fast. He was a madman teetering on the brink of a fall.
When her tremors faded, he set in again, bringing her to another climax. And another and another, each one stretching longer than the last. He wavered between agony and ecstasy, nothing and everything in between.
She squeezed his length as he slid his fingers free of her. “No, not done.” Her eyelids popped open, revealing glazed irises. “More, Astra.”
“Much more.” He sucked her sublime taste from his skin. His need...oh, his need. Too much? He didn’t care.
Will have all of her.
“But first.” He flattened each palm against the rock and dug his claws deep, caging her in. Anchored like this, he was an unmovable tower. “I’m ready to reopen our discussion.”
“Ohhhh. Are you now?” Holding his gaze, grazing his slit, she nipped his lower lip. “Is my Astra ready for his reciprocation?”
He gave her the truth. “I’m dying for it, nymph.”
* * *
With her free hand, Ophelia glided her nails along Halo’s washboard abs and glorious happy trail. As his lips parted, she grew as vulnerable as she was aroused. This male was destroying her defenses with only his fingers and a claim of ownership.
He can satisfy me. I know he can. But would he claim her?
“I’ve thought it over,” she said, releasing his length to run her fingers up his arms. “I’ve decided to hire you as my concubine. On a trial basis, of course.”
He arched a brow, seemingly fighting a groan or a smile or both. “Oh, you wish to command me, do you?”
Yes. No. Yes? Mostly, she wanted a reason to never stop touching him. “You’ll be highly interested in my benefits package, I promise you. Talk about mind-blowing.”
“Will I find it satisfactory then?”
“Again and again and again.”
He pressed a soft kiss into her lips. “Do you want to know what I’ll give you for this?”