Page 103 of The Storm of the Empire

“Don’t be coy.” I tossed his bar cloth at his face. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m not being coy. I just didn’t really do anything special. It was clearly too busy in here for one fae to manage, and we needed something she could provide. It was a fair trade, and we all gained something. That’s just good sense if you ask me.”

“I’m just saying I wouldn’t have thought of it, and I’d be sleeping on rock tonight if you hadn’t, so thank you.” I rubbed my eyes, tiredness taking hold of me.

“You look like you’re half asleep already,” he said, stroking a lock of hair out of my face.

“I think I might be.” I’d used a lot of magic today and then flown far.

“Why don’t I get our key and you can settle in while I finish up here?”

“I don’t want to leave you here working. I can wait,” I insisted. A yawn seized me before I could stop it, though.

“This is not a negotiation, Goddess.” He touched the tip of my nose. “You need the rest if you are going to fly us home tomorrow, and I made a deal with the barmaid for our lodgings. So you are going to go to bed, you can make it nice and warm for me, and then I will come and cuddle you when I’m done.”

Too tired to carry on a back and forth, I relented and soon found myself floating upstairs behind the maid to a bed chamber with a very comfy looking bed. Thanking her, I closed the door and dragged my feet over to the bed. I wanted so badly to wait up for Luka, but I couldn’t resist the call of the blankets.

Light movement stirredme from my sleep, and I felt the blankets move. I turned towards Luka as he slid in beside me, and he reached for me in the darkness.

“Go back to sleep. I didn’t mean to disturb you,” he whispered, slipping an arm around my waist and pulling me to him, and then he froze. “Ignore that—are you naked?”

“Hmm?” I mumbled sleepily.

“Hazel, wake up. You’re naked.”

“You told me to sleep.” I tried to snuggle down and wriggle out of his hold playfully, but he pulled me closer.

“I know, but I didn’t know you’d be naked. That changes things.”

“You’re insatiable,” I grumbled, but it was all talk, my body was already wide awake. Our bond was still new and, more than just a flying partnership, the instinct to claim would be unusually strong for both of us for a while. I was as ready for him as he seemed for me.

“Ugh, sorry.” He withdrew. “You’re right. I wanted you to get a good night’s sleep. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, it’s just that you naked is hard to resist.”

I draped my arm over his stomach and sleepily laughed, gliding my fingers down over the hard length tenting his undergarments.

“Goddess,” he hissed. “Hazel, we don’t have to do this. Go back to sleep. Really”

He wasn’t fooling anybody. His desire was a tangible thing between us. “Shut up and kiss me.” I gripped him to make my point.

“Anything you say,” he said, rolling us so he was over me and settling his length between my thighs.

He pressed his lips to mine, and I instantly melted into him. The mate bond was hard to ignore, especially when new, and I’d known that in theory, but feeling it was something else. I needed to tell him why he felt so insatiable, but I was afraid it would be too much for him to accept all in one go. Right now, we needed each other, and I wouldn’t let conversation stand in our way.

I parted my thighs, inviting him in. He tugged down his undergarments so that we were skin to skin.

I reached for him again, but he slowed my hand. “Just relax,” he whispered. “Let me take care of you.”

I sunk back into the pillows and sighed, accepting his kisses and opening myself for more. I could get used to this treatment and the feel of him exploring my body with his fingertips and tongue. It made me feel vulnerable and powerful all at once to give over control of what pleasure was given yet be the one he took his pleasure from.

His hand worked its way down until he stroked my clit, and I arched into his touch for more. He didn’t give it, and I chased his touch until I was pleading with my body.

He kissed me, and as his tongue tangled with mine, his fingers teased their way inside me. He knew all the ways to touch me to bring the ultimate pleasure, and I luxuriated under him. He watched me build beneath him and worked me until I was begging him for more.

“I need you inside me,” I pleaded. It wasn’t desire it was need.

He was my mate. My dragon knew it and demanded the connection. I had to have him claim me and I wouldn’t survive if it wasn’t now.

Answering my plea, Luka took his cock in hand, guiding it to my entrance. Then he took me in one thrust, claiming me as his body and soul. He rocked into me, marking me as his with his lips and teeth, punctuating each stroke with further evidence of his claim on me.

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