Page 49 of Aria's Ascension

With a snarl, he dipped down and pushed his cock between her legs then straightened and bent over her, bowing her body forward. Thrusting himself back and forth over her pussy, he slicked himself with her juices.

Aria threw her head back, her fingers clenched on the stone, her teeth sunk into her lip to hold in a cry. Each stroke grazed her clit, sending shocks of pleasure through every nerve ending.

Her knees almost gave out, but he caught her with an arm around her waist, holding her up while he continued hammering his thickness between her thighs.

She was going to come if she didn’t stop him. She was so close, and she wanted, so badly, to arch her back, just enough that the next thrust would be inside her.

That other part of her was pushing, demanding, driving her to claim him, to let him claim her. That part didn’t care about talking or remembering. Sheknewthis man was hers.

But, Aria couldn’t do it.

Her men might’ve come there knowing that, lost memories or not, she and the dragon were mates and what that entailed. This moment between them might feel achingly right in so many ways, but having sex with him would be crossing a line for herself.

It left a sharp ache in her chest, but she forced herself to move.

Aria twisted around suddenly, ignoring the twinge when the rocks scraped her bare skin, until she and the dragon were chest to chest. Leaning her head against the wall at her back, she stared up at him miserably and whispered one word.

“Stop.”

His white eyes were aimed at a spot just to the left of her face instead of at her. His lips were parted slightly with his deep, feverish breaths, showing off very sharp white teeth, and his nostrils flared as he continued to breathe in her scent.

Despite how feral he looked, he’d stopped as soon as she turned. He was shaking with the effort, but he held himself still, waiting to see what she did.

Slowly, cautiously, she raised her hand and laid her palm on his chest. He jerked back and growled. Even expecting it, his reaction sent a pang through her.

“It’s okay. I wouldn’t hurt you.”

He stayed stiff but didn’t pull back again when she slid her hand up his chest to his shoulder. Keeping her movements slow, she brushed her fingertips over his jawline, up to his lips.

His breathing picked up speed and his cock throbbed against her stomach, but she could feel his muscles twitching. She could feel how much he wanted her, how badly he craved her touch, and, yet, he was preparing to retreat, to defend himself, thinking she was going to hurt him. Sex he obviously understood, but affection was foreign.

He wanted her, but he didn’t trust her, and that hurt.

“It’s okay,” she breathed.

As badly as she wanted his hands back on her, and despite knowing it would’ve meant more to both of them than just a quick, animalistic fuck in a cave, she couldn’t do it. She needed something… more from him. More than just his body.

She neededhim. All of him.

As much as she ached for his touch, she couldn’t let anything happen between them until she knew his mind was leading his body instead of instinct, until she knew he trusted her and, at that moment, he didn’t.

He tensed and started to lunge at her when she lifted her hand away from his lips, only to freeze when she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his upper stomach.

Like a switch had been flipped, he went completely rigid, not breathing or moving so much as a fingertip. All the passion she’d felt from him moments ago was gone. He was as still and unyielding as stone. If she couldn’t still feel the ghost of his hardness between her legs she would almost think she’d imagined the fervor of his desire.

The only part he couldn’t stop was his heart, and it was thundering under her ear.

How long? How long had it been since anyone had touched him with kindness? Her heart felt like it was shattering in her chest at his reaction to a simple hug.

“It’s okay, baby. I won’t hurt you,” she rasped.

It took a long while, but with jerky movements, he hesitantly coiled his arms around her. When she didn’t pull away, he tightened them, pulling her closer. Excruciatingly slowly, his muscles relaxed, one by one, until he was bowed over her, enfolding her small body in his much bigger one. The breath rushed out of him on a gravelly moan, and his pounding heart finally slowed.

“Mate. Mine.A roínseah,” he breathed, his voice achingly tender.

Before his translator could reveal the meaning of the beautifully lyrical word, a scuff sounded from the entrance of the cave, shattering the fragile moment like a gunshot.

Between one heartbeat and the next, every shred of gentleness disappeared, and he was once again the snarling beast.

---