by Kira Nyte
“Well, love, it looks stunning on you. Makes me want to ravage you in the best possible way.”
Thank God for the shadows that hid the hot flush on her face.
“What are you ladies planning over the next few days?”
“Briella’s mom was going to help me sew some curtains for the windows with the fabrics you provided. But between the wall decorations, the pillows for the sofas and the beds, and the trinkets for the bathrooms, I’m not sure what else I can do without going to the stores and browsing.”
“Maybe we can make a trip, but it won’t be to New Orleans. It’ll be somewhere close to the portal.”
“And it’ll be safe?”
Taryn sighed. “Nothing’s safe, angel. Nothing in life is safe. Not home, not love, nothing. But you can’t live unless you take some risks. Never know what you’ll discover along the way.”
“Ahh, my philosopher.”
Taryn chuckled. “Every once in a while, he comes out to play.”
When they reached the passageway to the yard, Gabby lingered behind a step. Taryn walked out first, paused, and glanced back. He raised a brow.
“Saralyn, Briella, and Amelia have taught you the secrets of gardening, have they?”
Gabby stepped into the sunlight, folded her hands at her waist and took in the breathtaking sight. “I’m thankful your landing shelf is on the opposite side of the mountain. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise. And yes. When I saw Saralyn’s gardens, I was blown away. The colors and the scents.” She sighed with a smile.
Saralyn had been beyond excited to help her build a garden. Although it was far from complete, the speed with which the flowers grew and blossomed was impossible. Except they were in The Hollow, not on Earth. The back section of the yard was filled with a palette of colorful blooms, most fragrant, some not, that formed a sweet, serene getaway. “I thought this would be the ideal spot to have something like that.” She looked up at Taryn. “I hope it’s okay.”
“Okay? Angel, it’s perfect!” He balanced the platter on one hand and weaved his fingers between hers. “And you even managed one of those fancy canopy things.”
“I remember seeing them over the playgrounds back home and thought it would be a nice little addition. Zareh and Alazar helped with carving out places in the rock to attach the ropes.”
She’d only met Zareh twice since her arrival. According to Ariah, he was dedicated to Kaylae’s adjustment to motherhood and the care of their new son.
“Come on,” Gabby urged, taking the lead with a gentle tug on his hand. “Before the other dishes grow cold.”
She brought him to a blanket spread out beneath the triangular canopy that rippled in the breeze, and took the platter from his hand. She placed it in the center of the other dishes—roasted vegetables, salad, some fancy take on au gratin potatoes, sliced fruits and white chocolate mousse—and motioned for him to sit.
“Well, well. You weren’t kidding about Ariah teaching you some recipes.” Taryn lowered himself to the blanket and hooked an arm around his bent knee. “I don’t think there’s anything simple about these, though.”
Gabby knelt down and pulled a bottle of fresh-brewed iced tea from a bucket of ice. “Amelia provided the beverage. I can always grab a beer or wine for you, if you prefer.”
Taryn waved her offer away and winked. “I’d like for her to hex us both, not just you.”
“You’d better be careful of what you say. One day she’s going to really hex you.” Gabby laughed as she poured two glasses of tea and handed one to Taryn, who thanked her. She raised her glass to his. “A toast, maybe? To you, for showing me what life can be if surrounded by the right people.”
Taryn’s eyes smoldered. “I have one better. To you, Gabriella, for living. And for letting me love you.”
Gabby stared at him as he sipped his tea, making sure she’d heard him correctly. His gaze never flinched, never deviated, never broke away from hers as he drank and lowered the glass to the blanket.
“I’ve dropped subtle hints all along, love. And I don’t regret one moment of loving you.” He drew his fingertips down the side of her face in a touch that sparked joy through her body. “Not a single one.”
His magic didn’t disperse when his fingers left her face. Nor did it subside as he filled two plates with different items, handing one to her. She found herself enthralled, watching his every move, his every expression. She’d done it several times before, but there was something different about today. About now. Something that pulled at her. Tugged until she put her plate on the blanket next to the glass of tea and crawled over to him.
Taryn paused with a fork in a slice of meat, and observed her in silence. His pupils elongated into slits as the first signs of fire licked at the smoldering russet. He shifted enough to set his plate on the blanket beside him and stretch his leg out.
Gabby straddled his lap, cupped his face between her hands, and pressed a kiss to his mouth. He met each sweep of her tongue with his own, letting her taste the fire, the heat he always reined in when they kissed. She sensed the tension in his body, his muscles, as his hands came to rest on her hips.
She leaned back, nipping his lower lip. His nostrils flared. Sweet heaven, the way his attention made her melt and her nerves zing.
With a slow rock of her hips against the hard mound in his jeans, she whispered, “Giddy-up.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Safe.
Loved.
Empowered.
Gabby reached behind her neck and unhooked the halter straps, letting them slide down her shoulders. Taryn caught her hands when she went for the zipper at her back. Without a word, he eased the zipper down, the tips of his fingers teasing her spine. Goose bumps spread down her arms. Arousal pulsed through her lower belly and pooled in her clit.
The dress loosened around her midsection, slipping low on her breasts. Nerves nearly caused her to pull the dress up. Taryn must have sensed it because his eyes narrowed.
“Don’t do this if you’re not ready.” The tips of his talons trailed up her spine. She arched her back and moaned as a shiver of pleasure swirled to life.
The dress fell to her waist.
She felt the growl that left Taryn’s chest in every cell of her body. Confirmation that she was where she belonged. Confirmation that she was safe in his arms.
As she met his gaze, she reached down and bunched his shirt. “I’m ready.” She worked his shirt up until she pulled it over his head and from his arms. “I have to judge the type of beast you truly are because I’m beginning to believe you are no beast at all.”
She dropped the shirt on the blanket and raked her nails down his chest, watching as scales rose to meet her fingers. Hard. Muscled. Cuts and curves and pure perfection.
The hiss that escaped through his teeth was fierce and erotic.
She knew his body, learned it well over the last couple of weeks, familiarized herself with every ripple, every nuance. Each reaction and response and what it meant. His scales, she learned, were as sensitive to her touch as his skin, despite their strength. A direct connection to pleasure when he was in that frame of mind. He enjoyed the scrape of her nails over his skin and the tug of his hair.
He preferred her to let go, never to hold back.
She learned there was no reason to fear him in bed.
“You know the type of beast I am, love.” Taryn caught the back of her neck and pulled her close. He pinched her nipple between a thumb and forefinger, rolling it until she whimpered. “A beast that will take care of you like no one else can.”
He snagged her bottom lip between his teeth and nipped.
Gabby grabbed his shoulders as her world rocked.
“I’d just as soon shred this dress, but I like it on you.” He released her neck and her nipple and slid those skillful hands along her thighs, catching the skirt on his wrists. As his hands crested her hips, he worked the dress up. “However”—he pulled it over her head, a dark grin taunting his lips—�
��I do like it off of you, too.”
Gabby had no time to respond before his mouth clamped over her nipple and his tongue played with the sensitive flesh. Her head dropped back and she arched into his mouth. His hand squeezed her ass when she rocked against him again, his fingers both firm and gentle, if that was possible.
With Taryn, everything was possible.
Taryn’s mouth and hands whisked her into a different dimension, a place where only he existed beyond her mind. He consumed her soul, his touches and caresses possessive and tender. Gabby slipped her hands down between them to unfasten his belt, the button on his jeans, and his zipper before he twisted, rolling her onto her back. He came up over her. The cool breeze touched her skin until he dipped his head and feathered kisses along her neck.
“I love the way you kiss me,” Gabby breathed, tipping her head to the side as his tongue swirled along her pulse. She drew her knees up alongside his hips and her nails down his back. Hot breath rushed against her neck, followed by the scrape of teeth. She shivered. “The way you touch me.”
Taryn placed his palms on either side of her head and leaned over her. She traced the narrow line of scales over his brows. His upper lip pulled back slightly. God, she loved how fierce and sexy he looked.
“And you enjoy pushing boundaries when it comes to touching me.” His feral scowl melted into a hungry smile. One that could, and would, devour her. “But you’ve stripped me of my boundaries.”
Gabby pushed off the blanket and tried to kiss him, but he lifted his chin, moving his lips out of reach. That smile darkened more, and his fire consumed his eyes. Balancing on one arm, he teased her skin with his talons as he scraped them down her side, stopping only when he hooked one on her panties.
A sharp twist, and the fabric split.
He performed the same ruthless action on the other side, not a spark of regret in his expression for ruining the lace and satin piece.
Heat spread over her chest and up her neck until her cheeks warmed beneath his piqued gaze. She could practically feel the fire as he sat back on his heels and admired every inch of her naked self, displayed like one of the lunch platters. Only his appetite was no longer for food, but for what he saw, what he touched.
His hands splayed over her, the rough, calloused palms expertly tracing her curves and infusing raw pleasure into each nerve ending until her entire being hummed. She became lost in sensation, in his touch, his gaze, the hunger that consumed his expression and her soul.
She could never explain it, the feeling of melting into his spirit, twining together beyond fingers and lips and legs and arms. It went far beyond anything physical, hitting much deeper than the surface of herself, but enhanced his seduction.
“Sweet Goddess, those sounds you make are sexy as hell,” Taryn said, his voice deep. His hands caught her breasts and tenderly squeezed. He leaned over and sucked one tip deep into the burning cavern of his mouth, his tongue and teeth driving her into a writhing mess. “Your body knows its mate.”
“Yes!” she hissed through clenched teeth as he sucked hard, only to soothe the ache with gentle strokes of his tongue. She barely realized how tightly she clenched his shoulders until he arched into her fingers, forcing her nails into his skin. He growled, his mouth taking her other nipple with the same starved motions, sucking, licking, soothing until her body trembled. “Taryn.”
Her beast rose once more, his mouth trailing wicked kisses along her chest, her neck, and up to her ear. He played with her earlobe, nibbling the flesh, leaving her gasping and grasping and damn near ready to burst with pleasure.
Only Taryn heightened her body with his delicious torture.
Only Taryn could make her crave more of this sexual foreplay.
Only Taryn could twist all the pain and horrors of her past into something so wonderful and blissful.
“Ahh, Gabriella.”
She shivered at the erotic whisper of her name on that breath. She whimpered with desperate need when he rubbed his cock, still trapped in his jeans, against her throbbing clit.
“I plan on shattering you.” He traced the shell of her ear with the tip of his tongue. “In the best possible way, love.”
Gabby gasped for breath, her mind spinning beneath the delightful assault of his promise.
She missed the split second when he lowered his shoulders between her legs. She barely got an elbow under her before his tongue slid through her seam and rubbed over her clit. The wave of heat that crashed through her was merciless. As merciless as his mouth as he teased her, called to every pleasure molecule in her makeup.
Gabby clenched her teeth.
Clenched her fists in the blanket.
Clenched her knees on him as the burn erupted beneath Taryn’s mouth.
He grabbed her legs and pushed them apart. “Open, Gabriella. Ride the waves.”
“You’re going to kill me!”
“Such a lovely death.”
The intense burn exploded, ripping up her body. She cried out before she stifled the sound behind her fist. Her back bowed, her legs shook, and her mind broke.
Fractured.
Webbed.
Shattered.
Somehow, she grappled for strength, just enough to push up on her elbows. Her action brought Taryn’s head up, his eyes narrowed.
“Beast.” She grabbed his shoulders, tremors still wracking her muscles, and twisted until he fell onto his back. She climbed over him, clasping his face between her hands. God, the primitive, unfettered desire in his face coiled in her belly and left her lightheaded. “I won’t go alone.”
She kissed the smug smile right off his mouth. She kissed him hard, desperately, feeding off the carnal hunger flooding him in body and dragon. Scales rose to meet her palms and fingers.
Curling her fingers, she dragged her nails down the scales, kissing through the bone-resonating rumble from his chest. Her forehead pinched and he swallowed down the meek sound that fled her lips when he grabbed her hips, talons pressing into her skin, and slid her lower until she sat on his cock.
“There,” he whispered against her mouth.
“No,” she murmured, bracing herself with her hands against his chest. She pushed down, away from his lips as he tried to resume their kiss and against the hold of his hands on her hips.
Reluctantly, he released her as she eased lower and lower, those cruelly delightful tips of his talons drawing up her back. Gabby inhaled the scent of his skin, fire, smoke, spice, and an earthy aroma that made her jaw tighten. A combination of their arousals.
“Gabriella.”
Taryn’s voice was almost unrecognizable, a heady mixture of dragon and man in the throes of passion.
She flicked her tongue out, tracing the defined line between the ripples of his abs until she reached his belly button.
His fingers curled under her chin, his talons gone. He lifted her head until their eyes met. Behind the storm, she caught the poignant concern. Ever thinking of her. Ever selfless.
She offered him a small grin, lifted her chin from his hand, and sat back.
Taryn’s nostrils flared, smoke escaping from nose and mouth. His chest rose and fell with another deep breath and rumbling exhale as the slits of his pupils swallowed most of the fire in his eyes.
“You, Gabriella, are the greatest gift ever bestowed upon me,” he said, his gaze keen as she moved to his feet and began to untie the laces of one boot. “My world. My universe. My everything.”
The sincerity in his words drew her attention from her task long enough to say softly, “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, Taryn. I was too far lost. You saved me.” She lowered her head, ignoring the sting in her eyes as she fumbled with the laces. “My personal knight in scaled armor.”
“I’ll be anything and everything you need. Just say what it is.”
Gabby tugged off his boot, his sock, and made much quicker work of the second. She grabbed his jeans above the knees and raised a brow. “I need you.”
She gave a
sharp tug, yanking the denim down until she freed his legs. She hadn’t looked below his waist until now. She faltered when she caught her first glimpse of his cock, and swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. Short-circuited flashes of the times her mother forced her to go down on different men threatened to choke her as she fought the images. The pain of men forcing themselves so deep in her throat she would vomit. The hair that was torn from her scalp as they pulled and tugged and fisted…
She never saw Taryn move as the memories threatened to ruin their passion, stealing the garden, the picnic, the man from her vision. His arms cocooned her. His lips spread kisses along her cheek and temple. His fingers caressed her as he cradled her close.
“Sweet angel of mine,” he cooed. “Don’t rush anything.”
Gabby squeezed her eyes shut, banishing the memories. When she opened her eyes at last, she was surrounded by everything she craved. Everything she found happiness in and took comfort from.
Tipping her head up, she caught Taryn’s eyes. Eyes that were back to russet, etched with more concern and love than she believed possible.
“I’m not rushing anything.” She took a few calming breaths, filling her lungs with Taryn’s scent. “I know you won’t hurt me.”
She shifted her weight, swinging a leg over his lap.
“I could never.” One hand slipped to her lower back, one up to the nape of her neck. Always so tender. So careful. So aware of her needs. “But—”
She cut him off with a slow, gentle kiss. Reassuring him, and herself. She wanted him so damn much it hurt. Her past had no place in her life now. None. She’d fight the memories as they came. She had her rock in Taryn.
She wanted more.
Gabby sank her fingers into his hair as she positioned herself on the tip of his cock. His breath ceased. Her heartbeat sped up.
“I’m yours, Taryn. I’ve given myself to you.” She traced his bottom lip with her tongue. “Will you make me yours?”
Her answer came on his sharp breath as he thrust into her. The ripple of pleasure that consumed her was not expected, not when his size and her own experience promised nothing but pain.
