Forbidden by Fate

by Kristin Miller

  Sasha reached up on tiptoe and kissed him, barely brushing his bottom lip. She hooked it with her teeth and suckled it into her mouth, sending hard coils of tension racing to Damon’s lap.

  “Let tonight be tonight,” she breathed when she pulled away. “And let tomorrow worry about itself.”

  “You’re playing with fire, woman,” he said, and in a moment of white-hot impulse, Damon caught her mouth with his.

  Chapter Three

  Sasha’s world spun, wobbling on its axis as she steadied herself on weak knees.

  It was Damon. Everything about him sucked her into a vortex, where the only things that existed were the intensity of his touch, the wild scent of the Feralon wind flowing off him in waves and the sharp whip of his tongue against hers.

  Things should’ve been different between them—strained and uncomfortable, as things often are between long-lost friends after time apart. There should’ve been gaps of awkward silence. Instead, it felt as if the magnetism between them was stronger than before, if that were possible.

  She couldn’t take her hands off the wide span of Damon’s shoulders if she’d wanted to…which she didn’t. She couldn’t stop staring at the cool silver Draco specks glimmering across the severe cut of his cheekbones. Couldn’t pull her lips from his if the Isle of Feralon were sinking into the sea beneath their feet. And for one dizzying second, she could’ve sworn it was.

  From the instant Sasha spotted Damon at the hot springs, she knew there was no turning back. They were on a collision course—two stars pulled together by a gravity neither of them understood.

  Damon’s hands were desperate and seeking, skimming to her breasts and hips. He gripped her there and bent her closer, pressing her hips possessively against him. Sasha arched back, succumbing to the strength of his embrace and the heat of their chemistry.

  He may’ve said resisting her was easy, but the rock-hard shaft pressing against her stomach screamed otherwise.

  Excitement bubbled through Sasha’s veins—something she hadn’t felt in years. Since the last time they were together, maybe. Her father had tried to mate her with other members of the pack—robust males who cared more about taking over as Alpha when her father died rather than loving her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had this kind of exhilaration soaring through her.

  Possessing her mouth, Damon wrapped his strong arms around Sasha’s waist and lifted her off her feet. Anticipation spiked in her core and flashes of molten lava rushed between her legs. Her legs grew heavy as she was dragged down into Damon’s kiss and the promise of what was to come.

  Sasha closed her eyes tight and gave in to the seduction of his mouth. Despite the roughness of his hands, Damon’s kiss was tender and soft. His tongue caressed hers lightly, exploring every last corner of her mouth with a sensuality that weakened her knees. He was treating her like she was both something he wanted to ravage and something he wanted to savor. Sasha gasped for air, wishing he would never stop.

  When their kiss deepened, advancing from stirring passion to unbridled lust, Damon set her back on her feet. Sasha gripped his biceps tight to steady her legs.

  Damn it. She couldn’t lie. Not even to herself.

  She was afraid. If she let go, let her fingers drift from the heat of Damon’s body, this moment—their connection—could end.

  She couldn’t let that happen. She’d waited too long for him to return.

  “I’m not letting go,” he said, as if he’d read her mind.

  Sasha immediately eased, her arms and legs going limp like jelly beneath the weight of his stare.

  Then Damon went and did it, tensed every muscle in her body, by stripping off his jacket and shirt and flinging them to the ground.

  “I’m just getting started,” he said, his voice huskier than she’d ever heard it.

  Sasha’s mouth dried at the sight of his marbled torso gleaming in pale streams of moonlight. He was built like a tank, solid and formidable, yet beyond the aura of power circling him, there was a hint of grace. He was a Draco warrior. One goliath of a dragon who could drop an entire shifting army to its knees…or a Were female, as it were.

  Bronze skin was pulled tight over a heavy armor of pectoral muscle. His abs, glistening and twitching in the twilight, were chiseled to perfection. And those two tantalizing ridges of muscle on either side of his hips! Good Lord, they disappeared down his leather pants, leading the way to ecstasy.

  Feeling timid and shaky, though not really knowing the reason why, Sasha whispered, “Undress me…” and slowly spun around, dragging her hair over one shoulder.

  Damon groaned. “With pleasure.”

  He pressed his lips to her bare back as his hands went to work untying her corset. Each lace he removed and let fall released a shudder that danced up Sasha’s spine. Each little tug heightened the intensity of the moment. The moment when she’d be stripped down, standing before him, waiting for his naked body to cover hers.

  Her back still to him, Sasha fought the urge to lay her head on his chest and brush her hips against his arousal. Instead, she waited for him to untie her dress, hyperaware that her heart was racing and her breaths were coming out in rough pants.

  “Hurry,” she said, feeling an unsettling ache hollow her middle. She’d waited for this moment. Dreamt of it. Something inside her—a knowing buzz—warned that what was about to happen between them would be more magical than any daydream she’d ever had.

  “If I only have one night with you,” Damon said, guiding her gown to the ground. “The last thing I want to do is hurry.”

  * * *

  When Sasha stepped out of her dress and spun around, Damon bit back a moan.

  She was mouth-wateringly gorgeous. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And not just because she was standing before him naked and confident, with her shoulders pulled back and a playful smile curling the corners of her mouth.

  But because she was staring at him the way she used to. With big, soft puppy-dog eyes that reached across the space between them and rattled something in his ribcage.

  Refusing to acknowledge the onslaught of emotion surging through him, Damon fought back a smile. Beneath her hardened exterior, she was the same Sasha he’d fallen in love with years ago—kindhearted and pure. A woman who yearned to be treasured and protected no matter how she played up the independent persona.

  Did she have someone in her life who would treat her the way she needed? A Were who’d put her on a pedestal during the day and rock her world at night?

  Damon shook himself out of the train of thought. It didn’t matter. One night was all they had. All that mattered…it had to be.

  Her skin was pale and smooth, like the liquid glass top of the spring beside them. Her breasts were full and lush with perfectly pink nipples that had tightened to buds from the cold. And that smoke-black ribbon, curling and twisting its way across her chest and neck, signifying she was a member of the Were race, made Damon want to trace its every inch.

  Damon didn’t know whether he wanted to spend the night brushing his fingers over the lush canvas of her body or push her against a tree and drive into her until raw need clawed its way out of him.

  If he were lucky, he’d get to do both.

  He heeled off his boots and shoved off his pants and then dragged Sasha into his arms. But once he touched her skin to skin, he stilled. He felt as if he were standing on a precipice, about to charge into a battle he couldn’t win.

  Her lips were red and puffy from his kissing assault. They twisted into a smile. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Her eyes were more vibrantly purple than he’d ever realized.

  “You’re more beautiful than I remember.”

  She lifted her chin at the night sky. “It’s the moonlight. It casts a favorable glow over everything.”

  “You don’t have to play the humble act,” Damon said, knowing how her father had driven the concept into his heir. “Not with me.”

  Her smile faltered as if he’d gott
en through to her. Or perhaps she remembered how easy it was for them to be together. Just the two of them. No pretenses. No formalities.

  “It’s not the light of the moon that makes you beautiful.” Damon brushed his hands over her silky mane of midnight-black hair and tried not to focus on the way the full mounds of her breasts pushed against his chest, though other parts of his body swelled at the contact. “That’s like saying the flowers around this hot spring are only fragrant because we’re here to smell them.”

  Sasha’s gaze flitted to the drooping purple flowers hovering over the spring and then back up to Damon. The light in her eyes sparked as if an idea had struck.

  And when she pulled Damon by the hand, guiding him down a series of rocks and into the bubbling water, a memory trickled into Damon’s head—one steamy memory of their first time together…in the same hot spring, on a crisp moonlit night exactly like this one.

  Tension coiled in the pit of his stomach. If this time was anything like the last, he was about to glimpse heaven.

  As he sank into the water, the breath in his lungs came out as a hiss, but it wasn’t because the water burned his skin. Sasha had lowered herself into the water in front of him, just enough so that her hair cascaded down the front of her chest, covering her breasts like a coy mermaid. With two handfuls of water, she slowly rubbed her face, her neck, her shoulders.

  Seeing Sasha’s skin wet and glistening while a thick layer of steam hovered over the water around her sapped what was left of Damon’s strength. It might’ve been the most erotic moment of his life.

  Until her violet eyes, blazing with ravenous heat, set upon him.

  Chills gathered at the base of his spine and his stomach clenched.

  If he didn’t touch her now, he’d burst.

  Sliding through the water, Damon captured Sasha around the waist. Pulled her tightly against him and plunged his tongue past her wet lips. She kissed him back with a ferocity he didn’t expect, yet he welcomed it eagerly. Her mouth slid along his, hungry and hot, opening wide, taking him in. While one hand held her firmly against his chest, Damon used the other to rope the smooth length of her legs around his waist.

  She coiled both arms around his neck as Damon gripped handfuls of her backside and crushed her body against his. Kneaded her rear with greedy hands. Dragged his mouth feverishly down her long, glorious neck.

  Fully aware the tip of his straining erection was poised at Sasha’s center, Damon fought off the urge to drive into her. He wanted this moment to last, at least longer than he was afraid it would if he sank into her now.

  He needed to make sure she climaxed first.

  And he needed to draw it out to make everything that had happened in the past between them seem like child’s play.

  She whimpered into his mouth, and that little, sweet sound seemed to dance past his lips and into his chest, filling the holes she’d left behind. She let herself go languid in his arms. He held her tight and pushed through the water to where a stone ledge jutted out from the mountain on the far side of the spring. It was like a natural spa seat, low enough to sit and still be partially submerged.

  He only hoped his memory served him right. That it was still there.

  It was.

  Hands occupied and mouth working overtime, Damon kicked the ledge with his foot, measuring the distance to set Sasha down, then lowered her onto the stone seat. He pressed a firm hand against the small of her back, bringing her chest arching out of the water.

  Damon’s jaw clenched so hard he thought he cracked his back teeth. Sasha’s breasts were soaked and steaming—hotter than the water itself. How drenched would he find the heavenly juncture between her legs? As he suckled her nipple into his mouth, and trailed his hand down to her sweet spot to find out, Sasha moaned in delight and arched back further, using her arms to prop herself on the edge of the spring.

  He nipped at her pink peaks of tender flesh, first one and then the other, while beneath the surface his fingers teased her wet, sensitive folds. Each hitch of her breath had Damon hardening to the point of pain. He throbbed for release, ached to drown in her slick heat.

  From the way Sasha’s hips were writhing against his fingers, twisting and rearing up, Damon guessed she craved the coming rapture as much as he did.

  And when she curled forward, scraping her nails down his back, Damon rode the fine line between pleasure and pain. His cock jumped at the rough contact, thirsting for a chance to stretch her core to the fullest and return the favor.

  He plunged two fingers inside her, massaging her from the inside out.

  Timing flicks of his tongue against her nipples with manipulating strokes of his fingers, Damon stole a glance up her body. He had to see what he was doing to her.

  Her hair was a wild, tangled mess, spilling over the stone behind her like a plume of rich oil. That moonlight glow shimmering across her cheekbones, her lips falling open, her violet eyes aflame with ecstasy—it nearly made Damon lose control.

  He worked her core harder, faster. Caught one of her nipples and gently ground it between his teeth.

  She arched up, beginning to clench around his fingers with increasingly deep pulses. And with a throaty moan, Sasha shattered, her hips pumping up and down, creating a tidal wave of steaming water that breached the edge of the springs.

  But Damon was too close to his own climax to give Sasha a second helping now. It’d been too long. And she was driving him to the edge of madness.

  Damon crawled up the length of her, then settled between her legs, watching Sasha’s expression melt from bliss to rising expectation. Biting her lip in the most erotic way, Sasha reached down and took the hard length of him in her hand. She stroked him roughly once. And again. Then gave Damon a teasing squeeze of his shaft that paled in comparison to the sensations that a single clench of her core would provide.

  Restraint flew out the fucking window.

  With a force that widened Sasha’s hazy violet eyes, Damon lunged forward through the water and snaked his arm around her waist. Sasha rocked her hips up—the perfect angle to drive them both wild—and he slammed into her, filling her completely.

  Sasha gasped and dug in her nails deeper into his back, dragging him closer, pulling him down. As their rhythm sped and he wrenched her body tighter against him, Damon realized Sasha was everything. The heat of the spring settling on his skin, drenching him in desire. The sultry mist clinging to his lungs, warming away the chill in his bones. The beat of his heart, and hers, pumping through his ears. Without Sasha, the heat, the mist, the beating of his heart would be unexceptional. Now…his world was on fire, charged with lust—and some other emotion that squeezed his chest.

  How could he have thought one night would be enough?

  Sasha nipped at his ear and breathed, “Yes,” but Damon was plunging too deeply and breathing too heavily to register the word. As Sasha braced herself on the ledge, Damon felt her thighs tremble around him. Her core began to seize.

  She was close, each whimper a plea to hammer into her harder. Damon shifted to the side and slid two fingers to the pleasure spot between her legs. She reared up, jerking him closer, as spasms of pleasure rocked through her, pitching Damon to the very edge of his own ecstasy.

  He drove into her one last time and held on tight as he filled her with everything he had.

  When their bodies stopped shuddering and their breathing slowed, Damon realized what they shared was more intense than before, and he wasn’t quite sure why. They’d always had soul-shattering sex that left him feeling both more drained and more alive. But this was more than sex. He knew it. He could still feel their connection sizzling through his veins.

  Why was this time more important than all the others?

  He removed his hand from her heat and his cock from her core and settled beside her on the ledge.

  She sighed and eased down into the water, as if all the stress of the world was leaving her body. “Well that was fun.”

  “Fun?” He shot her a side
ways glance.

  Sasha’s fun meter was seriously out of whack. Fun was diving down Timeless Gorge and not flattening out his wings until the last second. This—what just happened between them—was not fun. This was…he swallowed down the word magical and let the thought fester like a blister he knew would become infected.

  “Yeah. Fun,” she said and scooted away. Whether it was to give him breathing room or widen the chasm already separating them, Damon didn’t know. And he didn’t know which he’d prefer, under the circumstances.

  No matter how he hated to downplay the power of what happened between them—the sparks, the chemistry behind her kiss, the explosion when she came against his fingers—Sasha was right. Fun was what their encounter had to be.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” he said quietly, crossing his arms behind his head and looking up to the stars. He paused, thinking of how to say goodbye. To say that even though his loyalties lied with the Dracos, a part of him would always be with her. “Hey, Sash, can I ask you something?”

  Sasha must’ve been surprised he used her old nickname, the one he used to call her even though she hated it, because she whipped her neck around, setting her gaze upon him with painful familiarity.

  “Shoot.”

  “What was the real reason you came to the springs tonight? I know you didn’t come down here just to stare at the moon.”

  She spun her fingers around a fizzing bubble of water. “I came to tell you goodbye.”

  Goodbye. The word burned his throat as though he’d swallowed it with a gallon of talon powder.

  “Well that was some farewell.” He flattened his tone. “One for the books.”

  “Yeah. That definitely can’t happen again.” She cleared her throat. “Not with the fight for this land coming tomorrow night.”

  He caught something in her voice. It was hesitation. A slight wavering.

  “No, this has to be goodbye,” he said, leaning forward, catching her gaze in the moonlight. “Seeing each other again would be too risky.”