Page 34 of Primal Vow

Rhys held his breath, acutely aware of every point where his body met Taryn's. The firm muscles beneath sleek golden skin. The scorching heat radiating from the Borraq. The heady, earthy scent that seemed to envelop Rhys completely.

He swallowed hard, trying to steady his racing pulse. But it was no use. With each second that he drank in Taryn's embrace, it stoked an undeniable want. It simmered low in his belly, undeniable.

Rhys shifted, embarrassment and longing warring within him as his body reacted shamelessly to their intimate proximity. Damn. He knew his clothes must still be wet from his dunk in the river, but at times like this, a guy wanted some cover.

He tried to subtly put some space between them, rolling over to hide his arousal — but it was too late. Taryn tightened his embrace, letting out a deep, rumbling chuckle.

"Indestructible, aren't you?" Taryn's words were a low purr against Rhys's ear. He held Rhys against him, pressing Rhys's back against his chest. "Plunged into a ravine one moment, and in the next..." He trailed off meaningfully.

Heat flooded Rhys's cheeks. He was rock hard, and Taryn knew. He couldn't meet Taryn's gaze, didn't dare witness the knowing glint that he was sure burned there. "I-it's not like that," he stammered unconvincingly.

Taryn made a skeptical noise. "Oh? My mistake." His tone betrayed open amusement. "I suppose you humans must require far more than a leisurely swan dive into a ravine to work up an appetite."

The teasing lilt in Taryn's voice sent a shiver racing down Rhys's spine. He bit back a whimper, pulse thundering in his ears.

"You're one to talk," he said, aiming for nonchalance but landing closer to breathlessness. Summing up his courage, he turned his head, eyeing Taryn's body.

All of it. Rhys wasn't the only one who had got wet, after all.

Rhys's gaze raked over the sculptured planes and hard lines of Taryn's form. His chest, his stomach, the proud muscles of his hips, where he was pressed against Rhys's ass…

He swallowed. "You're the one that's acting like a strumpet," he insisted, trying to act haughty and above it all. He looked back at Taryn. "Jumping into bed with someone you hardly know? Wow, Taryn."

His attempt at a joke hung heavily between them, the air crackling with unspoken promise. Rhys's heart hammered against his ribs as he watched Taryn's pupils dilate, felt the sharp intake of breath against his own skin.

"Strumpet?" Taryn asked, incredulous.

"Yeah," Rhys said. His tongue darted out to wet his lip, a nervous tic he'd never been able to fight. "Utterly shameless."

In that suspended moment, the cosmos seemed to hold its breath, awaiting their next move.

Taryn wrapped his arms around Rhys again.

But this time, it wasn't to fight off hypothermia.

Rhys didn't dare breathe as Taryn's hands roamed his bare skin with agonizing slowness. The heat of the Borraq's touch scorched a blazing trail down Rhys's chest, his stomach, until Rhys was trembling with unbridled need.

"You are infuriating," Taryn growled, but there was no heat to his words.

No heat there. Everywhere else, though…

Taryn's muscular frame molded perfectly against Rhys's, the solid wall of his body against Rhys's back radiating a delicious warmth that seeped into his very bones. Each brush of Taryn's calloused fingertips sent sparks dancing across Rhys's sensitized nerves.

Rhys arched into the caresses, a strangled whimper escaping his parted lips. He could feel the rumbling purr vibrating through Taryn's chest, the sound utterly primal and intoxicating.

Rhys's breath caught as Taryn's hands roamed lower, fingertips blazing a scorching trail down his abdomen. His pulse thundered in his ears, every nerve ending alive and tingling with anticipation.

When Taryn's questing touch dipped beneath Rhys's navel, a tremor of mingled trepidation and desire rippled through him. He couldn't suppress the instinctive arch of his back.

Taryn let out a deep, rumbling purr of approval at Rhys's responsiveness. The sound, so utterly primal and intoxicating, sent a fresh wave of heat pooling in Rhys's belly.

Rhys shivered under Taryn's touch, his body responding to the Borraq's teasing with an intensity he'd never felt before. He could feel Taryn's own arousal pressing against his ass—

Wait. He rolled his hips back, pressing back for more sensation, and found a little more than he was expecting.

Human soldiers loved to pass around rumors about Borraq, the worse the better. Right then, Rhys rifled through his memories of those drunken stories, desperate to answer a very specific question about Borraq anatomy. "Taryn…?" he murmured.

Taryn's lips brushed against Rhys's ear, sending a shiver down his spine. "Shh. I'm exploring, little human. Learning what makes you tick."

---