Page 126 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
I groaned when he grabbed my hair. The pain heightened my pleasure. The element of uncertainty… My core slickened, and I squeezed around him. My nipples hardened, and every press of them against the cool stone wall sent another jolt of pleasure through me. Kieran took and took andtook.The fuzziness in my brain fully enveloped me, like a warm caress. Heat kindled my core. “Keep… going.”
“Next time I should gag you. Or lay you on your back so I can see your pleasure overwhelm you. Maybe try this.” A shadow curled around my throat, squeezing ever so slightly. But it was gone before it came. “I can have my shadows play with you for hours. Oh, fuck the gods. You’re squeezing me so tight.”
I flushed, but there was no embarrassment. Here I was, blindfolded and being fucked from behind in the shower. We were past the point of embarrassment and straight in the den of depravity. And I was so fucking glad to be here with him.
“Maybe even this.” A shadow prodded at my mouth, forcing my jaw open. But that too vanished as soon as my lips parted. “Gods, Selena, the way you look…”
I couldn’t respond to Kieran’s filthy whispers, could only cry and whimper and mindlessly beg as pleasure coursed through my veins. The fog had claimed me too deeply, and Kieran had fucked me too good. But gods, the things he said… I couldn’t wait to try them.
Over and over again, Kieran roughly pounded into me. His shadows kept my hands bound, leaving me helpless and rocking against the wall with the force of his thrusts. Pleasure coiled in my belly, tightening with every thrust.
His hand reached forward to squeeze my clit, working it with every powerful jerk of his hips. I screamed, stars shining behind my eyelids. There was nothing gentle about it as my second orgasm crashed over me. Not even a thrust later, Kieran slammed deepwithin me and came as well.
I panted against the wall, fighting to regain my breath.Holy fuck.That was the most intense thing I’d ever done. The shadows around my arms released as well as the ones covering my vision. Kieran flipped me so that I rested against his chest. And then he sunk down so that I sat sprawled in his lap.
The fog was still in the corners of my mind, but with Kieran holding me as if I was precious… I knew I’d be able to come down. Emotions crashed over me, and if I wasn’t with him, I might’ve succumbed to them. “Are you alright?” he murmured in the shell of my ear, stroking my hair.
I swallowed before giving him a light nod. I felt impossibly delicate. Fragile like glass. A part of me wondered why he asked. Another part of me was thankful he was doing this. That we hadn’t gone right back to showering. Because now I existed on another plane, and I needed him to guide me back to reality.
For a handful of minutes, we just existed. The two of us, our legs intertwined and me cradled in his arms. Kieran showed no impatience, and my heart was full of affection that I couldn’t voice. “That was… incredible.”
“Do you need me to do anything? I can wash you. No funny business. I promise.”
Gods, it was hard to take in that gentle earnestness. “That’s okay. Just… hold me a bit longer.” I hadn’t known the fog would leave me like this. But strangely, I liked it. Maybe not all the time, but it was thrilling to know Kieran could bring me to this place, and I could trust him to take care of me.
“You’re sleeping in my room tonight,” he murmured.
I closed my eyes. “Fine by me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
My heartburned.I awoke with a gasp, clutching at my chest. When I yanked my shirt back, I saw it. A black tattoo right over my heart. “What. The. Fuck?” I looked up at Kieran, who was already in the process of sitting up from where we lay on Kieran’s bed. “What is this?”
It wasn’t the mark of my Gift that was for damn sure. From what Nimue said, when those manifested, youknewwhat it was. There was no doubt about it, like a piece of you had been returned. This wasn’t that. Besides the red hot pain it sent through my body, there was no magical alignment or realization. I had to fight the urge to scratch my skin. Another change I didn’t approve of forced on me anyways.
“What else could it be?” There it was again. That infuriating airy tone as if I was stupid. “Looks like your Gift finally manifested.”
I shook my head. “It’s not.” I poked the tattoo and shuddered at the jolt of power that rushed through my body. “Come on. You must have an idea.”
Kieran pulled on his shirt. “There’s a lot we don’t know about a bond between dragons and riders. Obviously, it’s magic, but I’m not one hundred percentsure about anything. When it comes to you, logic goes out the windows. Case and point—the gryphons.”
“But you have an idea.” I jumped out of bed and grabbed my clothes that were carelessly tossed onto the ground. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Kieran exhaled. “I’ve read some journals where they talk about a mark manifesting. It mentioned some sort of connection, but so much of it was redacted that I couldn’t make sense of anything.”
I slipped on my pants. “Find out for me. Please.”
He paused to look me in the eyes. “Of course.”
I expelled a breath and adjusted my breast band. “My sister will be here within the week. I need to make sure everything’s ready for her. Last night was… nice. We should do that again.” My cheeks heated. I’d never been so vulnerable like that, and it was… mind blowing.
The corners of his mouth rose. “I agree.”
I smiled. “I’m really glad we’re doing this.” I stroked his jaw and pressed a soft kiss against his lips. “I…”I think I love you.But the words refused to leave my lips. Not yet. But soon they would. I just knew it.
After hightailing it out of there and having breakfast, I grabbed Nimue, and we flew our dragons to the lake. Nimue shot me a knowing look. “You going to tell me what’s going on between you and our fearless captain?”
I flushed. “I planned on telling you, but there was alot going on yesterday.”
