Page 17 of Mated

“You’re trembling,” he observed, his voice dangerously soft.

“I’m… ready for you,” I admitted. I was burning up—from his nearness, from his gaze that stripped me bare, from the way he always watched me.

His stare was possessive. Primal.

He moved his hand down to my neck, his thumb pressing gently against my pulse.

“Your heart is racing, sweet girl,” he growled.

I swallowed hard, my heart hammering. “Take me to bed, my king,” I whispered, submitting fully.

His mouth curled into a smirk, revealing his sharp, gleaming teeth. “I’m going to devour you, sweetness.” He leaned in and inhaled at the crown of my head. “You were magnificent tonight. Every eye was on you. Every beast in that hall saw the power that simmers beneath your skin. They know you’ll soon feel how strong you are. And once you do... they’ll heed you in all ways.” His thumb pressed harder against my throat, and a thrill of dark electricity shot through me.

I couldn’t speak until my body leaned into him on instinct. “I’m yours, Draxus. Always. Take me to bed, please,” I pleaded.

His thick, barbed tail thumped behind him like an anvil. My gaze dropped to it. I’d never touched it before—but tonight, I needed to.

He lifted me into his arms before I could gasp, carried me into our room, and shut the door behind us. Still cradled in his arms, I reached around, my fingers brushing the smooth, thick plates of his shell, his scutes hard, but smooth in the same breath. heat under my touch made my arousal spike.

Draxus stiffened, a growl slipping from his throat.

“What are you doing?” he asked, voice gruff with barely restrained desire.

“I love touching you,” I whispered, then wiggled until he put me down. Moving the elegant cloth that separated me from my destination, I got on my knees between his giant spread legs and reached through them for his tail, letting my fingers slide down the underside of its spiked length. It was warm, like the rest of him, like lava simmered beneath the surface. I wrapped my hands around what I could of it—thick, muscled. The way his body tensed told me everything I needed to know.

So I kept going.

I pulled the heavy appendage closer, and he gave me what I wanted, wrapping it in a way I could rub the spikes at the bulbous end of his tail until he snarled, the sound sharp and raw.

“Elowen,” he warned, voice ragged with lust. But he didn’t stop me.

Instead, he bent forward, legs still wide, so he could cage my much smaller body in with his huge frame, the heat of him burning through my gown.

“Draxus,” I whispered, looking up until I found his reptilian eyes, my thighs slick with need.

Still holding his gaze, I ran my fingers along the ridges of his tail again, feeling the way it pulsed beneath my hand. He gripped the back of my head possessively then, his tail curling around me but somehow feeling comforting, even with its armor and barbs. It’s like my body was perfectly made to fit right in between the rough edges of him and nestle into the soft parts.

And then I saw it—his cock, extending and hardening above my head.

More wetness bloomed beneath my gown. I leaned back, breath caught, as I saw the bulge pressing against the ruby-studded sarong he wore.

“Draxus,” I gasped.

He could see it. Smell it. The evidence of how badly I needed him.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?” he snarled, voice rough with need. His hand slid down my back, the heat of his touch searing.

With a sharp tug, he ripped my gown from my body, the sound echoing through the room, and before I comprehended he was moving me, I was suddenly on my feet. I stood bare before him—flushed, trembling, my thighs slick, my pussy dripping. His gaze raked over me like a starving beast.

“Draxus, please,” I whimpered, aching for him.

He didn’t need more begging. His hands were everywhere—his tongue hot on my skin—his tail slamming the floor before curling around my waist and hoisting me up.

He pinned me against the black stone wall, lava veins glowing all around. His heat, his need—it devoured me.

His tail moved to wrap tightly around my thigh, jerking it up so my knee was bent and bound to the wall, and I gasped as the tip of his massive cock pressed at my entrance. My fingers dug into his scaled shoulders as my pussy trembled with anticipation.

“Draxus, I?—”

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