Page 120 of The Road to Hell

She arched into me.

“Rathiel,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, but I heard it as clear as a battle cry.

I trailed kisses down her jaw, her throat, tasting the salt of sweat and the lingering ash of this cursed land. She tilted her head to give me more access, her pulse fluttering beneath my lips, fast and frantic.

Hunger spiked within me—not for sustenance, but for something far more primal. The craving to taste her—to sink my teeth into her throat, to claim her in every way possible—surged through me. It wasn’t just bloodlust. It washerI wanted. The heat of her pulse beneath my lips, her intoxicating scent, the way she surrendered to me without fear.

I dragged my mouth lower, my fangs aching with the need to pierce, totake. But I hesitated, a part of me knowing if I indulged now, I wouldn’t stop. And I had far more important things to enjoy right now.

I skimmed my hands up her bare sides and brushed the underside of her breasts. Lily’s fingers threaded through my hair, tugging just hard enough for it to sting.

I responded with a low growl, answering her call with one of my own. I pushed her sports bra up and palmed her breasts, running my thumbs over her nipples. She moaned and arched her body into my touch.

Every sound she made sent molten heat straight to my core.

It had been so long.

Too long.

My restraint, already frayed, snapped entirely when she hooked a leg around my hip and pulled me tighter against her. She was warm and wanting, her body pressed flush against mine, and every inch of me burned with the need to claim her. To remind her—remind both of us—what we meant to each other.

I grasped the back of her thighs and lifted her, encouraging her to wrap her legs around me completely. She clung to me as though afraid to let go, her mouth finding mine, devouring me the same way I did her.

She showed no hesitation. No second-guessing.

And thank all the world for that, because I needed her.

Her arms slipped around my neck, and I turned, carrying her across the platform. I lowered her onto what remained of the stone floor, barely registering the uneven surface beneath us. Her hands roamed everywhere—sliding over my chest, my back, my arms—seeking. They dipped lower and she fumbled with the clasp of my cargo pants, her frustration clear as she practically ripped at the seams.

I grinned against her lips. “Impatient?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Shut up and help me.”

I did—without question.

We stripped out of our clothes and tossed them aside in a messy heap, uncaring where they landed. Her skin was fever-hot beneath my touch, her body so familiar yet so new all at once.

I took a moment to drink her in.

To memorize the way she looked at me, flushed and breathing hard, her pupils wide with need. The scars that lined her body, marking every battle she’d survived. The strength in her limbs, the stubborn set of her jaw, the way she trembled not from fear, but with anticipation.

She was quite truly the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

And she was all mine.

Her hands locked around my neck and she pulled me down to her. Her hands mapped me just as eagerly as I had her, tracing the muscles in my back like she was relearning the topography all over again. And in a way, she was. We weren’t the same as we were ten years ago. We’d lost too much, suffered too much. But right now, none of that mattered. Because we were together.

I slid my fingers between her thighs, and she gasped, her body tightening beneath me. I stroked her slowly, teasingly, relishing every shiver, every intake of breath, especially when I slid my middle finger inside her.

“Rathiel,” she whispered again, pleading now, her fingers digging into my shoulders.

I moved within her, slowly, carefully, giving her time to adjust, all while teasing her clit with my thumb. It didn’t matter how much time had passed, I remembered exactly how to bring her pleasure.

Her eyes closed and her back arched when I pressed a little harder, quickening my stroke a bit more. She bit her bottom lip, and a flush rose to her cheeks. Her hands swept down my back, cupping my rear, gripping my ass with her nails.

I slowed my touch and kissed her again, needing the feel of her mouth on mine. I resumed my efforts between her legs, my fingers and tongue working in tandem.

Her inner walls tightened around my finger a heartbeat before she climaxed. She tore her mouth from mine just as she gave a small cry. Her breath shuddered past her plump lips, and her fingers clutched me hard.

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