Page 14 of Victoria's Embrace

Finally, she toed off her shoes and approached, moving cautiously, her fists raised.

A flicker of dark amusement shot through him. If she only knew how tenuously he was holding himself in check, she’d be running as fast as she could in the opposite direction instead of getting closer.

It said something about him that, instead of gently, or even sharply, warning her away, he toed off his boots and dropped into a fighting stance. What it said exactly, he didn’t have the capacity to guess, but he was sure it was nothing good.

They circled each other silently. When he saw an opening, Vi’kail darted forward, intending to land the barest of taps on her chin. To his utter surprise, and no small amount of pride, she blocked him.

Crik, but that shouldn’t turn him on as much as it did.

For the next while, he and Vee sparred, her blocking more of his strikes than he anticipated and even landing a blow or two. As sweet and kind as she was, his little flower had a natural affinity for fighting. It was her self-doubt and her reluctance to hurt anyone that held her back, not a lack of ability.

Realizing that, Vi’kail settled into training her in truth, showing her offensive and defensive moves that used her small stature to her advantage, teaching her how to take down a much larger opponent as well as how to handle fighting more than one opponent at a time.

She was a quick study, picking up on a move and executing it almost flawlessly after doing it only once or twice. And when he picked up dull lengths of metal to use as practice blades, he was impressed all over again. She was even better with a knife than she was in hand-to-hand.

Shocking the absolute crik out of him, she managed to take him down by kicking the back of his knee then using a grip on hisbatalha locksto send him thudding to the ground.

Eyes wide, breathing heavily, and grinning like a madman, he lay still as she leapt on him, pinning his arms to the floor with her knees and pressing her ‘blade’ to his throat.

“Yield?” she panted, her beautiful blue eyes bright with adrenaline and victory.

He couldn’t answer, lust all but choking him. Almost as if she could feel the need burning through him, her gaze fell to his mouth and her pupils dilated. When her tongue darted out to wet her pink lips, Vi’kail couldn’t stop a groan.

The length of metal clattered to the floor and then her mouth was on his, her little tongue slicking past his lips to stroke his.

The snap of his control was almost audible. Growling low, he fisted one hand in her hair and clutched her ass with the other, pulling her down onto the hard bar of his cock as he devoured her mouth.

Victoria gaspedwhen Vi’kail flipped them over with no warning, but it quickly changed to a needy moan when he settled between her thighs.

His hands were everywhere at once, fisting her curls, roughly squeezing her breast, his thumb teasing her hard nipple then down her ribs to shove her shirt up. Tearing his mouth from hers with a growl, he jerked her sports bra down then dove at her, sucking her nipple into his mouth, flicking it ruthlessly with his tongue while he palmed the other.

Victoria grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and yanked upward, needing to feel his skin against hers. At her insistent tugging, he released her nipple with a groan and reached back to fist his shirt, pulling it over his head.

There was a brief pause when he pushed up to take his shirt off. Victoria bit her lip as she gazed up at him, taking in the rippling muscles, the breadth of his chest and shoulders, then farther up to his face, taut with need, his purple eyes dark and hungry.

She had long enough to think, ‘Damn, he’s beautiful,’ and ‘I think I’m in love with him,’ and then he dove at her.

They tore at each other’s clothes, their hands frantic, their mouths rough and hungry, but when they were both bare, Vi’kail froze. Chest rising and falling with his rapid breaths, he went perfectly still where he was kneeling between her spread thighs, his gaze taking in every inch of her.

When he reached her pussy, he made a sound halfway between a low, animalistic growl and garbled, inarticulate words.

Meeting her eyes again, he breathed, “You’re perfect.”

A denial sprang to her lips, but she bit it back. It was a leftover impulse from the person she used to be. She wouldn’t have meant it, because the way he looked at her made her feel perfect.

His gaze moved up to stare at her hair, something she caught him doing often, before a frown flickered across his brow. He seemed to recall where they were and scanned the room, she thought to look for some place slightly softer than the kinitecrete floor. He looked back down at her with a grimace.

“If I thought I could carry you somewhere soft without losing control halfway there and taking you against a crikking wall, I would,” he muttered as he quickly scooped their scattered clothes into a pile then lifted her over on top of them.

Victoria was way past caring, entirely too greedy and impatient to be willing to stop long enough to go anywhere else. Besides, this was Vi’kail. Who was to say he wouldn’t suddenly clam up and go back to his noble but maddening ‘I’m not good enough’ bullshit. No. This was happening, damnit.

Grabbing his arm, she pulled him back over her, spreading her thighs so he could settle between them then coiling her legs around him, trapping him against her.

He propped himself up on an elbow and tenderly brushed her hair back from her face.

“Crik, woman. You destroy me.”

Dipping down, he bit her bottom lip, grazing it with his fangs, then licked and kissed his way down her body, briefly sucking on each nipple before settling on his stomach and lifting her legs over his shoulders.

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