Page 148 of The Dryad Storm

Her pulse thudding, Tierney looks toward the ground, toward the wilds, anywhere but at Fyordin and the Vo, suddenly hyperaware of the Sanjire plants growing everywhere, as common in the East as dandelion weeds are in the West...

She dares a glance at Fyordin, swept up in the seductive urge to let him draw her to the bottom of the Vo and feel his Asrai form against hers as they dissolve into each other...

“I... I need to be alone,” she stammers, pulling away from Fyordin’s loose grip.

Not daring to stay near any of them for one second longer, Tierney strides away at a fast clip, the caressing stream of Fyordin’s power only heightening her wanton draw to give in to this bond-pull.

She can feel the three males’ attention fixed on her through the bond, even after she rounds a rocky bend and all three of them are cut from sight.

Tierney finds a small, isolated inlet by the water’s edge, sits down on an outcropping of stone and remains still for a long time, a small beaver briefly joining her, her lower legs dangling in her Vo’s night-dark waters. The River’s swirl of love whirlpools through her as she lets her complicated emotions settle.

Eventually, she slumps, unable to fight the pull of sleep any longer. Pushing herself off the stone, Tierney drops into the Vo’s waters until she’s fully submerged, then swims down into its deep center, fish circling her. Curling up against the silty bed, exhaustion gripping a firmer hold, Tierney melts toward sleep.

She’s drifting aimlessly when a misty swirl of Viger’s Darkness ripples through her subconscious like a distant caress, triggering a dream. Slipping into her dream like warm honey sliding from a spoon, she finds herself caught up in the seductive sensation of Viger’s long form wrapped around hers, his teeth pressing lightly against the base of her neck.

Heat shivers over her dream-form’s skin, the cadence of Viger’s breathing tighter than it was when they kissed in the Northern Forest, the hungry nature of his embrace prompting an enticing shiver through her. Silvery-black ribbons of Viger’s thrall swirl around them, beautifully surreal, as if painted there by an invisible brush. The ribbons still, along with Viger’s breathing.

You’re here, he shudders through her.

“I am,” Tierney responds, heart fluttering, as she reaches up and runs her fingertips over Viger’s hard cheekbone, then back through his silky midnight hair, tracing her thumb along the edge of his pointed ear. She leans in and brushes her lips against his, waiting for his dream-kiss. Suddenlyhungryfor it.

Tierney... there’s danger in this.Viger’s thought ripples over her skin.

“Maybe in real life,” Tierney whispers against his lips, feeling giddy with desire, “but this is only a dream. Do you want to give in to this draw?”

His thrall stills, his power shivering over her, trailing ardent heat.

Yes, Asrai,comes Viger’s low, almost tortured answer.

“Then give in,” she urges, a rush of heart-quickening anticipation sizzling through her.

The energy coursing through Viger’s thrall takes a turn for the feral, and he leans down and brings his lips to the base of her neck, every one of Tierney’s nerves tingling to life as his tongue flickers against it. He slides his mouth toward her shoulder, his teeth touching down once more as he stills, his heart thudding against hers.

“Are you going to bite me?” Tierney throatily teases, every inch of her caught up in pulse-quickening excitement.

She can feel Viger’s ripple of amusement. His teeth touch down a fraction more, the pressure dancing on the edge of a sting.Say the word and I’ll consume you, Asrai’ir, he murmurs, his deep voice vibrating through her power, his lips now tracing a line along the base of her neck, his serpentine tongue flicking against her skin in an enthralling motion.

She presses her body seductively against his, and Viger breathes out a sound somewhere between a wicked laugh and low groan, her desire ramping up, hot and hungry... before she stills, a small sliver of her lust-addled mind triggering a pause.

Remembering that he’s a primordial Death Fae.

“What do you mean by ‘consume’?” she asks. She meets Viger’s stare, his pale skin surprisingly flushed. He smiles, giving her a look full of the forbidden edges of midnight. And then, he opens his midnight lips, and his forked, purple tongue flickers out.

A ragged breath shivers through Tierney as she’s overtaken by the startlingly pleasurable phantom sensation of Viger’s tongue flickering all over her body—all except for the place she’s the most lit up for him.

A hot flush suffusing her face, Tierney holds his hypnotic stare. “Since this is just a dream...” she suggests, her thoughts scattering as she grows quiet, both fear of the unknown and a brazen lust for it mounting.

Viger’s smile gains a sultry edge.What does your dream-self want, Asrai?

“What doyouwant?” she hedges, nerves frayed, her desire struggling to break through her nervous trepidation. “Show me,” she more firmly insists. “I want to know.”

Viger blinks, and her clothing and his tunic disappear.

Tierney is unable to stifle her shocked laugh, amusement bubbling up through her fugue of nerves. “Shy one, aren’t you,” she teases.

Viger lets out a low laugh, his Dark eyes sharpening on hers.Are dreams a place to be shy?

“No,” she admits, heatedly aware of his gaze flicking over her form, lighting her every nerve. Her pulse deepens with a stronger want as her gaze wanders over Viger’s naked chest, black snake tattoos marking its muscular expanse, their serpentine forms rising from his pants, which only stokes her nervous amusement higher.

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