much chaos and death, having the time to indulge in a sensual interlude felt like a luxury. Desire suffused my blood and I throbbed with the urgency of it, but I didn’t want to rush. Naked, I descended the half-flight of stairs to where the tub waited, already roiling merrily. My hips swayed as I walked, and above the churning of the water jets I heard Valentine sigh in appreciation.
When I reached the edge, I turned to face her, then lowered myself to the tile and immersed my feet. The water was very hot and I eased myself into it by inches, watching Val’s hungry gaze roam across my misted skin.
“You’re killing me.” The softly groaned words would have been inaudible to a human.
“I’m not. I’m going to heal you.” With a slow exhale, I slid all the way into the tub until only my head remained above the water line. “Now, come here.”
She vaulted down the stairs and was at my side in the space of a blink. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she disrobed, and when she finally stood nude before me my mouth went dry. Valentine often passed for a man, but her naked body was the paragon of feminine strength. Her long, runner’s legs gave way to a lightly rippled abdomen and full breasts, framed by chiseled arms strong enough to hold me tightly when I needed comfort and hold me down when I needed to be dominated. Right now, I wanted to bury my face in the flaxen hair between her thighs, and I gripped the edge of the tub to stop myself from moving. We were going to take this slowly, even if it killed us both.
Her sigh of pleasure at the water’s heat became a hiss of pain when she submerged her injured arm. I pressed myself against her side and rubbed the back of her neck until she relaxed.
“I love your hands on me,” she murmured.
In response, I kissed first her shoulder, then her neck. When I trailed my lips along her jaw line to flick my tongue against her earlobe, her self-restraint finally shattered. In an instant, she was looming above me, my legs trapped between her knees, her fingers curled in my hair.
“Enough!”
Despite the heat of the water, my skin pebbled at her assertive tone. When I tried to speak and failed, triumph flared across the stark planes of her face. The tide had turned, and I waited with open arms for it to engulf me.
“I need to be inside you,” Val rasped. Darkness eclipsed her brilliant blue irises as her thirst magnified her desire. “Every way, all the way. No more waiting.”
Finally, I found my voice. “I’m yours. Take me.”
I expected her to strike quickly, anticipating a swift surge of pain followed by the slow bloom of ecstasy. Instead, she covered my neck and collarbone with searing kisses until I was begging for her teeth. Only then did she claim me fully, sliding her canines into my jugular.
She cradled my head as she drank, her gentle touch playing counterpoint to the necessary violence of our joining. I thrilled to the sensation of her lips hollowing around my skin; of my blood being drawn deeply into her body. My inner beast was alert and on-guard, but she recognized the touch of her mate. And when Valentine slowly began to ease her free hand along the taut muscles of my inner thigh, the panther’s contentment radiated from the depths of my brain, as though she was purring.
“Yes,” I gasped as Val drew closer to the center of my need. “Please touch me.”
Her mouth at my neck became less insistent as she slipped inside. When she filled me up, I cried out her name. When she twisted her fingers, I screamed. When she finally tore her lips from my skin, I cupped the nape of her neck with one hand and pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss.
Her thumb moved over me, her fingers inside me, but I couldn’t let go until I knew that she too was on the edge. With my free hand, I found her wet and swollen. As she moved in me I moved in her, and when she broke the kiss to breathe I held her close, our foreheads pressed together, each reading the
When I reached the edge, I turned to face her, then lowered myself to the tile and immersed my feet. The water was very hot and I eased myself into it by inches, watching Val’s hungry gaze roam across my misted skin.
“You’re killing me.” The softly groaned words would have been inaudible to a human.
“I’m not. I’m going to heal you.” With a slow exhale, I slid all the way into the tub until only my head remained above the water line. “Now, come here.”
She vaulted down the stairs and was at my side in the space of a blink. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she disrobed, and when she finally stood nude before me my mouth went dry. Valentine often passed for a man, but her naked body was the paragon of feminine strength. Her long, runner’s legs gave way to a lightly rippled abdomen and full breasts, framed by chiseled arms strong enough to hold me tightly when I needed comfort and hold me down when I needed to be dominated. Right now, I wanted to bury my face in the flaxen hair between her thighs, and I gripped the edge of the tub to stop myself from moving. We were going to take this slowly, even if it killed us both.
Her sigh of pleasure at the water’s heat became a hiss of pain when she submerged her injured arm. I pressed myself against her side and rubbed the back of her neck until she relaxed.
“I love your hands on me,” she murmured.
In response, I kissed first her shoulder, then her neck. When I trailed my lips along her jaw line to flick my tongue against her earlobe, her self-restraint finally shattered. In an instant, she was looming above me, my legs trapped between her knees, her fingers curled in my hair.
“Enough!”
Despite the heat of the water, my skin pebbled at her assertive tone. When I tried to speak and failed, triumph flared across the stark planes of her face. The tide had turned, and I waited with open arms for it to engulf me.
“I need to be inside you,” Val rasped. Darkness eclipsed her brilliant blue irises as her thirst magnified her desire. “Every way, all the way. No more waiting.”
Finally, I found my voice. “I’m yours. Take me.”
I expected her to strike quickly, anticipating a swift surge of pain followed by the slow bloom of ecstasy. Instead, she covered my neck and collarbone with searing kisses until I was begging for her teeth. Only then did she claim me fully, sliding her canines into my jugular.
She cradled my head as she drank, her gentle touch playing counterpoint to the necessary violence of our joining. I thrilled to the sensation of her lips hollowing around my skin; of my blood being drawn deeply into her body. My inner beast was alert and on-guard, but she recognized the touch of her mate. And when Valentine slowly began to ease her free hand along the taut muscles of my inner thigh, the panther’s contentment radiated from the depths of my brain, as though she was purring.
“Yes,” I gasped as Val drew closer to the center of my need. “Please touch me.”
Her mouth at my neck became less insistent as she slipped inside. When she filled me up, I cried out her name. When she twisted her fingers, I screamed. When she finally tore her lips from my skin, I cupped the nape of her neck with one hand and pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss.
Her thumb moved over me, her fingers inside me, but I couldn’t let go until I knew that she too was on the edge. With my free hand, I found her wet and swollen. As she moved in me I moved in her, and when she broke the kiss to breathe I held her close, our foreheads pressed together, each reading the
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