Page 20 of His Fiery Mate

"We can't stay here," Tanner whispered. “We’ll be safe at my place."

Melisandre nodded, her eyes scanning the dimly lit interior. Tanner led her through what seemed to be a maze of pathways, their footsteps echoing in the hollow space of the In-Between. The reaper's hiss grew louder, closer, the sound reverberating off the walls as it closed the distance between them, as if it could sense their fear.

Tanner could sense the exit through which he could pull Melisandre to safety. He could feel it, a glimmer of hope in the dead darkness of the world in between that of the living and that of the dead. They pushed themselves to the limit, their muscles screaming in protest. The reaper's hissing filled the air, a haunting symphony of death.

They burst into Tanner’s studio, landing on the floor, the warm air a stark contrast to the oppressive cold of the In-Between. Tanner glanced back, relief flooding through him as he saw the reaper falter, unable to cross the threshold into the land of the living.

CHAPTER 8

MELISANDRE

The door, or the exit, or whatever it was evaporated as the reaper wailed, either in frustration or death. Melisandre didn’t care which.

“That thing wanted us dead,” she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

“You more than me,” Tanner said, a little too matter-of-factly for her.

Tanner stood, extending his hand to her. Melisandre took the offered help and got to her feet. Before she could dust herself off or do much else, Tanner had swept her up in his arms and carried her to the large bed on the window/harbor side of his studio apartment. He had her stripped of her clothes and tossed into the middle of the bed before she could gather her wits. His clothes followed hers onto the floor before he crawled up on the bed beside her.

He said nothing, but his eyes gleamed with an ethereal glow. Taking her silence for acquiescence, he stretched out and gathered her in his arms, his lips trailing down her neck, nuzzling the hollow of her throat. She couldn’t speak—either because her tongue was glued down in her mouth or because she didn’t want him to stop. Hadn’t they both known it was always going to come to this?

He rumbled deep in his throat—a melodic sound that seemed to steal over her, seeping through her skin into the marrow of her bones. Her unwillingness or inability to say anything must have told him she wasn’t going to stop him. Somewhere within the core of her being, Melisandre knew she wanted what only Tanner could give to her. He would make her want him in a way she had never experienced before. He would force her not to surrender, but to want him until she would do whatever it took to stay by his side.

The way her nipples went hard and her pussy flooded with silky, hot liquid couldn’t be denied. She made a decision she hoped she wouldn’t regret later. Trying to hedge her bets, she whispered “Only this once.”

Tanner chuckled. “Only once is all I’ll need.”

He pushed her chin up with his index finger to bring her mouth to his. She wanted to push him away, wanted to say no, but her body refused to obey her brain. It, and her entire erotic system, was focused only on him and what he would demand of her. Tanner slid his hand behind her head, tilting her mouth to the exact angle he wanted it as his tongue slid between her lips. Her brain said to bite him, but instead, her lips sucked at his tongue.

She moaned at his touch, heat and arousal spreading through her like wildfire. As Tanner deepened the kiss, she reached down to feel the warmth and life of his hard cock nestled between their bodies.

Tanner broke away from the kiss, pulling away, his breath ragged.

“You can tell me no,” he said, his eyes hooded and filled with a hunger she knew all too well.

“Would you stop?” she said, breathlessly.

“Probably not. Are you telling me no?”

She shook her head, unable to push the words past the throbbing need coursing through her. She had to admit, even if only to herself, that she wanted him, needed him. Perhaps since the first time she had felt the disoriented feeling of the presence of her fated mate. This might be their only chance, and she refused to let it slip away.

He grinned, a predator’s smile that only fueled the fire within her. Without another word, he pushed her onto her back, pressing her into the soft mattress. Her body arched beneath him as he settled between her thighs, leaving their bodies naked and clasped together. Tanner hovered over her, kissing his way down her neck and down her chest to the aching points of her nipples. Melisandre couldn’t deny she wanted his mouth and fingers there, and then she wanted both everywhere.

As he sucked her nipples, Melisandre moaned his name, her body trembling with desire. His hands moved to her hips, pulling her closer to him, his erection pressing against the entrance to her core. She felt the same feelings of power and freedom that she felt when she took to the sky. There was an electricity between them that she’d always been seeking and had only come to know in his presence. This wasn’t at all what she had expected; the circumstances were drastically different than she’d ever imagined, but she didn’t care.

His fingers traced down her sides, teasing and taunting, building a slow heat that spread from deep in her belly where the fire burned to cover every inch of her skin. She arched her back, offering herself to him. His lips met hers, kissing her as if she was the last thing he’d ever taste.

He broke away from her nipple, trailing kisses down her abdomen, his tongue dipping into her belly button. She arched her back, moving her hips in time with the pulsing of her heart. She could feel the desperation, the need, the longing within her that had never been there before, even though she had never guessed that her destiny, her fate, lay with the hellhound above her.

“Tanner,” she whispered, her voice hoarse with desire. She needed him, wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. And he knew it. He knew the power he wielded over her, the way her body responded to his.

His hand slipped between them, fingers thrusting into her, sliding within her wet silk, and she cried out in pleasure. When his lips closed over her clit, Melisandre knew she was lost. There was no going back now.

Tanner’s fingers delved deeper into her, and she moaned his name again, arching her back in response to his touch. He knew what he was doing to her, knew by the sound of her voice and the way her body reacted to him.

As he sucked her clit deeper into his mouth, giving it the barest hint of his teeth, she felt a surge of pure pleasure that threatened to obliterate everything else. Melisandre knew they were now playing a deadly game with the arsonist, but she didn’t care. She needed Tanner, wanted him and nothing else mattered. His expert touch brought her body to the brink. She heard him groan and felt the vibrations against her swollen, sensitized nub as her inner walls clamped down and he sent her flying in a way that didn’t involve shifting.

Tanner didn’t let up. He continued to torture her clit with his tongue, even when she pushed against his head, groaning at how uncomfortably intense the sensation felt.

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