Page 114 of Wild Bond
I let my hand trail down until it was resting on his chest, over that black armor I loved so much. Then lower . . . and lower still. “I seem to recall you saying you wanted to be able to respond properly when I told you,” I reminded him.
“So I did,” he said, his voice going slightly raspy as my hands began to explore. He groaned as my hand found a particularly sensitive spot. “Never say I’m not a man of my word.”
His hands came up to fist my hair, his mouth devouring me to the point I forgot about teasing him, or even where I was. He began to slowly unravel my hair from its braid and work his fingers along my scalp until I felt like putty in his hands. Every nerve ending in my body tuned to his touch. Then he slowly began removing my armor, piece by piece. When his hands found the holster at my waist, I was finally able to draw back from his addictive mouth.
“I never got to thank you for those,” I said, as he removed the jade daggers from where they rested at my lower back, unclipped the holster, and set them aside. After everything that happened, I had been relieved to find the weapons still sitting on my bed when we returned from the trials.
His grin grew positively sinful. “So, thank me now.” His words had my pulse thundering and my stomach fluttering.
I answered his challenge with a grin of my own that had all that banked sensuality tensing under my touch before I stepped back from him.
The dark depths of his eyes smoldered as I began to remove the rest of my armor and the clothing I wore underneath. His gaze was a shocking, exhilarating caress against my skin.
When I was completely naked, he reached for me, but I stepped back further and gestured toward the deep pool spread out around the base of the waterfall a few feet away. “Come on then, Commander,” I taunted before turning and diving in.
The shock of the cold water felt good against my heated skin. I broke the surface with a gasp, treading water as I turned to face him.
Heady warmth filled me as he began removing his own armor, slowly revealing that powerful physique, every hard rippling muscle contracting as he moved.
I wanted to pinch myself at the thought that this man—this gorgeous, brutal, brave, intoxicating man—was all mine.
And he loved me.
The thought thrilled me to my core, and I knew it always would.
If someone had told me when I was sitting in that prison cell that in less than a year, this would be my life—that I would be a dragon rider, and in a relationship with Kyan Rakim—I would have laughed in their face and told them they were dreaming.
The thought had me shooting a burst of gratitude and love down the bond to Skye, and she immediately responded in kind. I also sent a tiny prayer of thanks to the Nine, and my thief god in particular.
Rake finally dove in and surfaced only a few feet away from me, pulling me into his much bigger body. “What’s that look for?” he asked, his brow furrowing slightly.
I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. “Nothing,” I said, nipping at his bottom lip playfully as I fought to get my tumble of emotions under control. He growled, pulling me flush against him. I grinned at him. “Now, about that thank you . . .”
