Shaye, too, assumed a battle stance. If he wasn’t worried about the wound, she wouldn’t be, either. “We were never in danger. And for your information, I got out with a little thing called ingenuity.”
He ran his tongue over his teeth. “How long have you been free?”
Chin up. “Long enough to go through the portal.”
He sucked in a breath. Then, bit by bit, his expression relaxed. “You could have gone through...but you didn’t. You stayed. Why?”
Because...she wanted to pick up where they’d left off. She wanted his tongue on her and in her. Wanted, finally, to know the most erotic place on her body. Wanted him to bring her to a shuddering climax. Twice.
She wanted to drip orange juice on his skin and lap up every drop.
He must have read the desire in her eyes. His long legs ate up the distance between them as he backed her against the wall. Cold rock behind her, hot man in front of her. Goose bumps broke out.
Dylan and Terran entered the enclosure, ushering the rest of the women from the cell.
“Take this one, as well,” Valerian said, motioning to Brenna without removing his gaze from Shaye.
“No,” Brenna said, shaking her head. “No touching.”
“Take her, but do not touch her,” he corrected.
Brenna squeezed Shaye’s hand before joining the group.
Ameena spotted Shaye and frowned. “Why are you still here?”
“Changed my mind,” she said—to Valerian.
He flattened his palms at her temples, caging her in, becoming all she saw...all she wanted to see.
Business before pleasure! “Listen. I was chatting with the captured dragons and—” She pressed her lips together.
His nostrils flared. “You chatted with dragons?”
Uh, maybe now wasn’t the best time for this conversation.
“I put you in that cell to protect you, Shaye. Not only did you escape, you visited with dangerous dragons.”
She drew herself to her full height. “That’s right. I did. So? I won’t tolerate being locked away. I told you that. Where’s my thanks for staying true to my word? Where’s my thanks for staying down here when I could have gone back to the surface?”
“Your thanks? Your thanks?” He pounded a fist into the wall, cracking the rock. “The dragons could have spewed fire at you.”
The heat drained from her cheeks. Well, crap! She’d never considered that.
“Did they touch you in any way?” he demanded.
“No. I’m fine,” she said, using his own words against him. “And since we’re on the subject, I think you should let them go. They’re just boys, Valerian.”
He straightened, backed away from her—as if he feared what he would do to her—and smoothed a hand down his face. “They are dragons, Shaye. You shouldn’t go near them.”
“So give them back to their king. Problem solved.”
“That’s my plan,” he said, throwing his arms in the air. “I’m going to trade them for the nymph females Darius captured.”
Oh. Maybe I should have had faith in my man? “Good.”
“Good,” he mocked. Then he sighed. “I like that you are stepping into your role of queen, and I even like that you are advising me and issuing orders. But you are in dire need of a tongue-lashing, woman.”
Erotic shivers danced through her. Her eyes lowered. “Tongue-lash me, then. Go ahead. Do it. You know how much I hate it.”
Any lingering hint of his anger evaporated in an instant, leaving only white-hot lust in his gaze. “You hate it? Truly?”
“So much,” she whispered. Her stomach clenched.
This man...despite their separation, he’d never stopped making love to her, had he?
Her desires had simmered, waiting for the perfect moment to rise up and consume her...
Every moment with Valerian was perfect.
She, the woman who’d so often prided herself on remaining distant from everyone and everything, could no longer fight the nymph king’s...what had the dragon boy called it? Allure.
Once she’d found comfort in a frosty attitude. Now she quaked with potent vulnerability, desperate and needy, raw and emotionally exposed.
She had no defenses with this man. With Valerian, she didn’t need defenses. The girl who’d once felt as if she were standing on top of a mountain, screaming and begging for love and affection she’d never received, was now cherished.
Slowly, never breaking eye contact, she closed the small gap between them. This was the first time she’d ever willingly gone to him without being asked, and the closer she came, the hotter the air became, chasing away the chill. Her nipples beaded, as if reaching for him, definitely yearning for contact.
“You want me?” he asked, his voice as rough as sandpaper.
“I do.”
His pupils flared, like ink spilling over an ocean. “I won’t stop this time.” A warning. “Not for war. Not even if the fortress burns down.”
“Good. We agree about something else.” Touch me. She didn’t care that people were just beyond the rock. She only cared about Valerian. Finally they would assuage the ache they’d ignited in each other.
“Run,” he said softly.
She blinked, certain she’d misheard him. “What?” Was he sending her away? Without—
“Run. Run to my room. Right now. Do not stop.”
“Wh-why?” The breath in her throat snagged. She backed away from him, her heart skipping a beat. His expression was intense, savage and utterly wild.
“Run,” he repeated. “Now.”
Clutching the orange, she sprang forward, racing around him, careful not to touch him. Her arms pumped at her sides as she pounded up the stairs. She remembered the path to the room and whipped around the proper corners.
Soon, footsteps began to echo behind her.
Excitement bubbled in her veins. He was chasing her.
Warriors roamed the halls, collecting their bed partners. Panting, she barreled past them. Thankfully no one tried to stop her. Valerian’s intensity had been frightening. And arousing. And startling. And arousing.
There! The door to his suite. She made it inside but didn’t stop. She passed the outer bathing pool. What was he going to do to her when he caught her?
The door slammed closed.
Valerian!
She squealed as she darted into the bedroom—a hard weight slammed into her from behind. She soared through the air, dropping the orange as Valerian wrapped his arms of steel around her. Just before they hit the bed, he twisted, absorbing the bulk of impact.
In one second, only one, he flipped her over, so that she lay on top of him, and stripped her of everything but her panties.
“Why did you chase me?” she asked between panting breaths.
“Fastest way to get you in bed.” With his hands under her arms, he lifted her, placing her breasts directly above his mouth. He sucked a nipple into his mouth.
Pure heat engulfed her, her gasp of surprise turning into a moan of pleasure.
Somewhere along the way, he had abandoned his armor. She scraped her nails over his chest, mindful of his injuries. His silver nipple ring proved cool to the touch yet somehow burned her in the most delicious way.
Tingling all over, nearly drunk from the avalanche of sensations he roused, she straddled his waist and anchored her weight on her knees. As her hair cascaded down to create a curtain around them, pulses of electricity arced across her skin.
“I’m going to kiss you here.” His fingertip grazed a fiery path along the center of her panties. “Then I’m going to pleasure you the way I’ve wanted to from the first moment I saw you.”
“Yes.” She rubbed against the hard, hot length of his shaft. “Pleasure me. Do it.” Please!<
br />
“Nothing will stop me.”
“Except this conversation? Because I’m hearing a lot of talk but not seeing enough action.”
He pressed his thumb in the new center of her world, and she cried out with bliss.
He rolled her over, ripping her panties from her body and discarding the tattered remains. Cool air kissed her where she burned.
Completely naked and unabashed, she reached between them and did her best to unfasten his pants. But her motions were clipped, eager, even more desperate, and she made no progress.
“I can’t get them off,” she said, beating at his chest. “Help me!”
Within seconds he had the material peeled away, and she was peering at paradise made flesh. Mmm. He was magnificent. Bronzed perfection. Strength personified. And big. Really, really big.
“You’re so soft,” he praised. He traced a path along her collarbone, then nipped at her neck, grazing her overly sensitive flesh with his teeth.
Every point of contact, every move he made, proved masterful. Exactly what her body needed. He lit her up from the inside out.
He readied her.
And oh, she could feel the girth of his massive arousal on her belly, a white-hot band of steel. Staying still wasn’t an option. She arched against it, already needing it inside her.
“Now,” she said. “Before I change my mind.”
A mock growl. “You won’t change your mind, Moon.”
No. No, she wouldn’t. “More! Gimme! Obey your queen.”
His shaft jerked against her, and his teeth bit more sharply. “Kiss first,” he said hoarsely. He licked down her body, exploring her breasts again, lingering at her stomach before flicking his tongue in her belly button.
His mouth worshipped her until she thrashed against the pillows.
“Grip the top of the bed,” he demanded.
She’d been reaching down, intent on threading her fingers through his hair. “But—”
“Do it. Grip the bed.”
She obeyed. In this, she trusted him completely.
The moment her fingers curled around the ivory base, his tongue glided over her molten core. An avalanche of pleasure rolled through her. She screamed. Her hips shot up, and she gasped his name.
With one hand, he opened her fully. With the other, he glided a finger into her, probing her, stretching her. But his tongue never stopped working her, and the combination of sensations shattered her.
Another coast of his tongue. A pump of his fingers.
This man knew what he was doing.
He sucked at her and increased the tempo. She cried out. She sobbed for more...less...more, please more. Oh, the bliss! Her legs locked around his shoulders. Her hands clutched the headboard so tightly her knuckles could have snapped into pieces.
Her eyelids squeezed shut. In her mind she saw him between her legs, his tawny hair falling onto her thighs. The muscles in his back knotted as he reined in his own need.
“Valerian! I can’t take any more. It’s torment.”
“By the end of the night, you’ll have taken everything I have to give.”
“Give me...let me come. Mercy, just this once.”
She writhed. On the verge. So close, yet not close enough. He slid another finger into her, and it was a tight fit, stretching her further. Filling her up. And it was so much better...and so much worse.
He flicked his tongue over her aching bundle of nerves, showing absolutely zero mercy. Not that she wanted any, no matter how much she’d begged for it. This was everything she’d ever dreamed, everything she’d needed without knowing she did.
“I’m going to sink into you, Shaye. You’re going to spread your legs and welcome me, take every inch.”
“Yes.” Oh, yes. The thought of this man inside her hurled her over the sweet edge. Pleasure exploded inside her, and her inner walls spasmed around his fingers, clenching them tight. A scream, a sob as flashing white lights blinked behind her eyes.
He loomed above her, spreading her legs to open her fully. To expose her completely.
He poised himself on the brink of penetration.
“Wait! What about children?”
“I took a potion. I can’t get anyone pregnant until it wears off.”
Good, that was good. She wasn’t ready for a family.
“Once I’m inside you,” he said, “you will be mine. Say it.”
“I’ll be yours.” There was no denying it. She was his. Now, this moment...forever?
Like an animal, he growled his approval. His wild eyes glittered with heat and possession.
She reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair...draw him closer. Will never push him away again. His chest pressed against hers, and she could feel the fine-grained sand that still clung to him from the fight, adding friction, another depth of pleasure.
“Kiss,” she beseeched.
His head swooped down, and he claimed her mouth. The moment their tongues touched, he slammed inside her. No waiting. No gradually letting her become accustomed. He was simply in her fully, as if he couldn’t go another minute without being one with her.
She cried out in his mouth, still so aroused, so slick with desire. She’d been prepared for him, but a slight sting remained.
He stretched her erotically, filled her inexorably, but didn’t move. Now he allowed her to become accustomed to him.
On and on the kiss continued. She tasted herself on his lips. Tasted him, the heat of him, and the passion. In and out his tongue probed...eventually, his body began to move in sync. In and out. Slowly, then quickly, hurtling them both toward the stars.
“Can’t...slow...down,” he panted. “Need...”
“More.”
Tension coiled in her stomach, in her blood. He twisted his hips, hitting her in a new spot, and she screamed, exploding for the second time.
“Shaye!” he roared. He pumped into her. “Mine.”
Mine, she silently repeated.
The climax gripped her, more intense than the first, making her shudder against him. Her knees clenched on him, and to the heavens she soared. High, so high.
He joined her there as he gave a final, pounding thrust, his eyes squeezed tight. Bliss consumed his features.
“Now. Time for round two,” he growled.
* * *
VALERIAN HAD NEVER felt more powerful. Strength radiated from him, filled him, pulsed and sizzled inside him. He always felt invigorated after sex, but this... No, never like this.
And with Shaye it hadn’t been sex, he thought. It had been lovemaking. A union. Total and complete. Especially the second when they’d licked her favorite fruit off each other.
Mine.
The word refused to leave him. He’d never felt so possessive of another person. Actually, he’d never felt so possessive of anything, including his cherished sword. Including the palace. She’d tasted like no other woman. Erupted like no other woman. Pleased him like no other woman. Strengthened him like no other woman. All of his injuries were healed.
He was the nymph, and yet it was she who wrapped him in her sensual spell. She who enslaved him.
She snuggled into his side, nestling her curves against him. He could feel the soft exhalations of her breath and thought he would die without this woman. He would simply perish. Cease to exist.
He wanted to give her the world, wanted to offer her everything her heart desired.
Keeping the palace had been the right decision. He would not have his woman homeless, staying in whatever shack he could find for them.
I will cherish her always.
When he’d returned to the dungeon, and she had not been inside the cell, his heart had stopped beating. Panic, dread and fury had consumed him. He’d nearly hacked Dylan and Terran to piece
s. Then, when he’d seen Shaye as relaxed and at ease as if she hadn’t a care in the world—while standing next to the portal—he’d panicked again.
How close he’d come to losing her.
Then she’d begun issuing orders with bravery and wisdom, acting every bit the queen she was meant to be, and he’d been struck by love for her.
Love. The all-consuming kind. It gave rather than took. It protected.
Somehow, some way, he would gain her oath to stay forever. Because, he could never let her go.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
AFTER HE’D SATED himself on another round of scrumptious female and listened to their tales about the surface world, Poseidon had whisked himself to the nearest river, a crystal stream of tranquillity. Lilies floated on the surface. He blended into the water itself, flowing with it, absorbing its coolness.
The nymphs had indeed broken the law. He needed to punish them quickly, before others thought to do the same. And he knew just what to do.
When he reached a fork in the river, he stopped. The water stilled, as well. No waves, no ripples. Wind whistled, and the patter of nearby animals echoed.
The bank to his left suddenly flooded with enraged dragon warriors, their wings flapping as they landed. Still, the water did not ripple.
Poseidon watched as their dragon forms faded, leaving a human facade. Skin instead of scales. Silky hair. Teeth instead of fangs, their tail vanishing. Of course, they were now naked, wearing only dragon medallions and holding swords.
As the warriors drank from the stream, angry chatter bounced between the trees. Poseidon scanned the masses until he came to Darius. The leader of the dragons barked orders to several of his men, his expression fierce.
He hadn’t liked abandoning the palace. His instincts demanded he stay and fight the nymphs—Valerian in particular. But Darius was a warrior who weighed the odds, studied the situation and calculated the percentages. He’d been severely outnumbered, and he hadn’t wanted his men injured when a sneak attack could work in their favor and even the odds.
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