Page 126 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

After some time, Riordan began to descend, and I saw that we were dropping toward a glade in the middle of the dark forest. The moonlight danced across the blades of long grass as they swayed, and the night was filled with the vibrant and familiar sounds of nature.

Riordan landed, light and agile, shifting my weight so I was not jarred before setting me back on my feet. A pulse of magic erupted between us and expanded over the glade into the forest. I thought it felt like another ward.

“No one, fey or griffin, will come near,” he confirmed. “Now close your eyes.”

I did as he asked without question, and I felt his magic blooming in the air around me again like the sky was being lit up with lightning.

After a moment, he leaned near, slowly so he did not startle me, and swept me back into his arms. I meant to keep my eyes closed, since he had not asked me to open them yet, but then I felt him crawling onto something that seemed soft and pliant.

My eyes popped open in surprise, and I saw that he’d transformed the dark forest glade into a scene similar to the dance floor under the open night sky. There was an enormous mattress under his knees that was on top of a marble dais with stairs to elevate us above the tall grass. The cream-coloured sheets were embroidered with gold and looked so soft and pristine. I saw four marble pillars, like bed posts at each corner of the mattress, which were wreathed in vines and roses. Hovering above us was what looked like a canopy of fireflies drifting listlessly as they gave off a soft and romantic light.

I looked up at Riordan who was eagerly watching my expression, and he smiled when he saw my reaction.

“This is… It’s perfect,” I whispered, suddenly rather grateful that I had never done this first with anyone else. Nothing, and no one, could have compared to this.

Riordan set me on the mattress, and he seemed so massive when he lingered over me with broad shoulders and wings that stretched wider than the mattress. But the way he kissed my neck and chest while slowly pulling my legs down so I laid beneath him made me feel safe. Delicate and precious. He was twice my size, even more than that with those wings, but the only worry in my mind as he drew close was whether… I’d be any good at this. I’d always thought I would be afraid during this moment because of what happened to my mother, but I was not.

Riordan lowered himself onto the mattress next to me, and I looped my arms around his neck as he put a hand under my thigh to angle me a little more toward him.

“Tell me you want this. That you wantme,” he begged, and a strangled groan escaped me as I nodded vigorously.

“I want you,” I assured him roughly before leaning up to kiss him hard and ravenously.

And it felt like magic unfurled between us. White-hot lust stormed through my veins, consuming any lingering doubts or fears, and burned me all up until I was nothing but flame for him. My hands began to move of their own volition to unbelt his tunic so I could get them underneath and against all that warm, muscled skin. And I could not help the visceral groan of appreciation that tore out of me when I finally ran my fingers over the powerful body that I’d been craving for weeks. Gods, I could spend forever just touching and exploring all of him.

Riordan could feel my frustration with being restricted by his clothing. He leaned back, hovering over me on one arm to jerkthe tie loose at his side which held the tunic closed under his wings, and then stripped it off.

Leaving him immediately naked.

I sucked in a sharp breath when I got a brief glimpse of that godlike body, but I didn’t have time to appreciate him more fully before he was kissing me again.

I was immediately lost in the storm of voracious need that ensued, yielding body and soul to the rhythm of our pounding hearts, our gasping breaths, and needy groans. He supported much of his immense weight, but the feel of him moving against me, often pinning me to the mattress, with only my dress between us was electrifying. It was not long before our tentative touches had become surer, and our clumsy fondling grew confident and familiar.

But I wanted more.

I felt that magnetic pull, more powerful than ever as it urged me to join him somewhere outside my mind.

Riordan uttered a grunt that sounded pained and lusty at the same time.

“Not yet,” he hissed against my mouth before he began kissing a searing path down my throat and chest as low as my dress would allow him. My fingers drove through his hair with breathy encouragement, and my back arched. Almost as if it were instinct to urge him to my breasts that felt like they tingled in want of his attention.

Riordan gripped either side of my plunging neckline, and before I had quite realized what he was about to do, he ripped it. He tore the flimsy dress in half and removed it and my dressing gown from me completely.

I was momentarily in shock. I hadn’t believed Sofia when she said he was going to wreck whatever I wore.

The surprise was instantly forgotten when his mouth fastened around my nipple, sucking greedily as he palmed the rest of mybreast. The sensation of his hot mouth shot through my body and seemed to pulse in my clit with every beat of my heart. He had sharp canines that nicked me, but it only seemed to heighten the pure ecstasy of the heat and eagerness of his mouth.

Riordan gave both of my breasts their fair share of his attention before shifting suddenly further down my body. My knees were forced wide to accommodate the breadth of him as he trailed his lips across my stomach just above my pubic mound.

I sucked in a breath of pleasant surprise, and his eyes flickered up to mine cautiously.

“Don’t stop,” I assured him quickly, even though I was nervous to have his face so close to my exposed sex.

Riordan was eager, but he took his time to savour my body and did not venture further than my lower stomach. Which was surprisingly sensitive as he kissed, nipped, and licked my skin. In fact, much of my body seemed unexpectedly erogenous with some stimulation. And now that there was more distance between us, I realized he was watching every reaction carefully. When he noticed me groan and writhe from the sensation of his teeth, he began to use them more. He was paying close attention to every hiss and sigh and every time I arched my spine for him.

“Riordan, I want… I want to touch you,” I protested, breathless with desperation, and he pulled himself away from me, his muscles tensing as if it were a struggle.

I sat up and pushed him backward without hesitation. Luckily, he had quick reflexes, and his wings dispersed into wavering, smoky appendages that disappeared when I pressed him down and climbed over him. Riordan was too captivated by my nudity to protest my rough handling. But sitting astride his larger, muscular frame, dusted with dark hair, made me aware of just how soft and delicate I was compared to him.

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