Page 159 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

I gasp suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” Tyree watches me warily.

“Nothing. It’s just … I have not been with anyone when I did not feed from them. What if it isn’t the same?”

His deep chuckle stirs my stomach. “That is what you are worried about? That the fucking won’t be as good?”

“Well …” I bite my bottom lip to try to hide my smile. “Yes.”

His eyes light up with mischief. “There is only one way to know, isn’t there?”

A suggestion thrown out.

A proposition made.

The air between us electrifies as I search for the right answer. I could reject him, I could treat it as another of his flippant jokes. But the warmth blooming through my body holds my tongue.

I’m not the only one affected. I can feel his heartbeat pound through his chest, and the suddenly hard press against my thigh is not his dagger.

“Since we will probably die tomorrow, anyway …” I let the insinuation linger.

“Not if I can help it.”

“You’re not aiding your cause, Ty,” I purr, trying out the moniker for the first time.

He leans in, dragging his tongue along my jawline where he smeared honey earlier.

I close my eyes and revel in the feel of his mouth. “You’re getting more on me.”

“Like I started to say, by the time I’m done, there won’t be an inch of you not coated in something.” He shifts, his face dipping down to my neck, leaving a trail of honey as he tugs on the clasp of my cloak. The ends fall back. His fingers work over the buttons at the top of my nightgown. I smile. Tyree wears no hesitation and excessive amounts of confidence, but I’m beginning to admire that about him.

“I’m glad you kept this on,” he says, splaying the material apart. Cool air caresses my bare chest, peaking my nipples.

“Why is that?”

His eyes light up as they rake over my breasts. “Because I had to undress a corpse for those other clothes. It might have ruined the mood for me.”

“If you continue to talk, you will ruin the mood for me.” I grasp the back of his head and pull his face down to mine. Our mouths collide in a tangle as he fits his body squarely between my thighs and I weave my fingers through his silky hair.

“How about this? Does this help your mood?” He rolls his hips against the apex of my thighs, the hard press of his length straining within its confines.

I gasp and he deepens the kiss, his tongue stroking against mine, letting me taste the mead and honey he ingested.

His fingertips toy with my braid, slide along my jawline, over my neck, cupping it gently as he kisses me with abandon, as if he could get lost in my lips alone.

But imagining his hands and mouth elsewhere on my body stirs a throbbing pulse between my legs that I can’t ignore. Using strength I always hide around mortal males so as not to bruise their frail egos, I flip Tyree over onto his back, climbing on to straddle him.

A sly grin curls his lips as he sits up and tugs his tunic over his head, revealing the honed body I caught a glimpse of earlier, his shoulders cut and shapely, his arms carved with muscle. “I am not one of your mortal conquests you can command.”

I lift an eyebrow in challenge. “Are you saying you will not give me what I want?”

“I will give you everything you want, Annika. You simply must let me.” Heat flares in his eyes as he tugs the hem of my nightgown up until it pools at my waist. Strong hands slide around my back, pulling my hips against his, earning both our moans as the thin barrier left between us proves nearly nonexistent.

On impulse, I grip his jaw to angle his face away, giving me access to his columnar neck. My thumb sinks into the smear of honey I gifted him earlier.

“Do you miss it?” He pants, his throat bobbing with his hard swallow.

“I don’t know.” I lean in, dragging my tongue back and forth over the spot where I would have sunk my teeth in, inhaling the delicious spicy orange blossom scent of his blood. I could never have kissed him here without drawing my fangs before.

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