Page 76 of Phoenix Falling
“I want to see you,” he said, his voice guttural as he let my legs down, let me slide the length of his body until my feet touched the floor. The lace of my gown caught between us, igniting sensation even while it kept us apart. My fingers itched. I desperately wanted to feel his skin; I wanted him to feel mine.
“It’s dark.”
“Not for us.” Gold striations in his eyes lit up. His voice went deep, the dual tone of his dragon joining in. “We want to see you.”
I shivered. “I want to see you too.”
Stepping back, Demetri reached for something on his bedside table. A rasp sounded, then a flame sparked in the darkened room, lighting the candle I finally saw there. The golden glow was a weaker form of Demetri’s eyes, but it provided enough light for me to see his body.
And for him to see mine.
He positioned me to one side, allowing the light to caress every part of me. When he knelt, his broad shoulders and blond head came to my ribs. My nipples ached, reaching for him, throbbing with the need to feel him, but he gave me no more than the touch of his gaze for the longest moment. That look of awe that I’d seen on his face earlier now glowed in his eyes.
“You amaze me, Imogen. The thought that I’ve been gifted with this”—one fingertip came up to trace the edges of the lace—“with you…”
I couldn’t stop the instinct to arch my back. “Demetri.”
His name was a groan on my lips. Gold flashed even brighter in his eyes. “Your mate.” His fingernail extended, a sharp claw that gently raked across skin and fabric alike. “Say it.”
That claw scraped my nipple, choking off my breath. The sting mixed with my pleasure, doing things to me I didn’t quite understand.
“Say it, Imogen.”
The words shuddered out of me. “My mate.”
A growl of pleasure rumbled through him. He opened his hand and cupped my breast, golden eyes burning like flames. Nothing was hidden from that light.
My hand rose on instinct, pressing his fingers harder against me even as I pressed my thighs together. “Please.” For so long now, my life had been bleak, my family lost to me, my home, my everything. But Demetri had replaced all that. He was a powerful being, sometimes too powerful, I feared, but with me, there was just love. Just giving. And I was hungry to feel everything he could offer me.
“My mate,” he breathed against my skin. Fingers stroked and circled, gripped and tugged, driving me insane. The lace over my breasts stretched, caught at my nipples, until finally I could stand it no longer and reached up to yank the straps off my shoulders.
Demetri froze. Inch by inch, my skin was revealed, seeming stark white beneath the fire of his gaze—and my mate ate up every inch.
When the fabric reached my nipples, I stopped. It was Demetri who nudged it aside and took one aching nub between his lips.
The first suck nearly brought me to my knees.
If I’d thought his eyes were hot, his mouth felt even hotter. Firm lips, sharp teeth, rough tongue, as if he were a cat instead of a man—and maybe, with his dragon so close, he was more animal in that moment. I could sense his other half moving beneath his skin, the darkness of both their desires burning beneath my hands as I caressed him. That harsh rasping along my nipple should have hurt, like sandpaper, but instead it pulled my pleasure out of me with every stroke, arching my back, tightening my grip on Demetri’s head, my fingers twisting in his hair. My breath sped up until I felt as if I’d been running a marathon, desperately trying to reach the end but never quite getting there.
When he switched sides, I could only moan. Demetri’s eyes met mine, and the depth of desire there, the hunger, the sheer possession… My eyes slipped closed. The way he looked at me, the way he touched me, as if I was the most precious thing he’d ever seen, ever touched. No one had ever loved me like that. No one had ever held me as if they never wanted to let me go. But Demetri—
Tears welled behind my eyelids. As much as I missed my family, I never wanted to let go of him either.
His guttural groan pulled my eyes back open. He eased back, his sharp fang caressing the side of my nipple. “Imogen.”
He sounded almost tortured. I knew the feeling. Restless hands roamed my body, molding the lace to my skin, sensitizing every inch without actually touching where I needed it most. Bracing myself, I stepped back from him.
His rough growl sent a shiver through me. Ducking my chin to hide my blush, I grasped the fabric falling from my shoulders and tugged it down my arms. Slid the nightgown to my waist, my hips, my thighs. Let it fall softly to the ground.
Demetri stared at my naked body. “I lost hope that I’d ever find you,” he whispered, wonder touching his voice.
“I’m right here.”
“You are.” Standing, he grasped the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head one-handed. My heart stuttered at the sight of the heavy muscles banding his stomach and chest and shoulders. God, no one should be that powerful. His body tapered down to a vee that pointed the way to paradise—though paradise couldn’t get much better than what I could already see. But then he unzipped his fatigues, slid them down, and proved me wrong.
“Demetri.” Yes, that was silly feminine anxiety trembling in my voice. No matter what people might say, therewassuch a thing as too big—and if I had to guess, I’d say my mate was right on the cusp.
As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, he approached slowly, arousal leading the way. When his skin finally brushed mine, he nestled into my belly, ducked his head, and whispered in my ear, “I’ll fit.”
