Page 108 of Beneath the Desert Bloom
Resting thick against the curve of his thigh, flushed and ridged and twitching with each pulse of his breath. It was nearly too much, too big, too impossible, and somehow, it made perfect sense. Like the land had built it for her. Like everything about him had been waiting for this moment, this silence, this still-unfinished vow.
The land had stopped testing them. But it hadn’t turned away.
It was watching.
Nora moved slowly, the motion of someone bone-tired but clear-minded. Her thighs ached. Her skin buzzed. Her cunt throbbed, low and hot and steady, as if the desert itself had rewired her from the inside out. She was wet with need, glowing around the edges, and no longer interested in restraint.
She reached out, fingertips brushing Asher’s jaw.
His head dipped into the touch. Eyes half-closed. A low sound rumbled in his throat, not a growl, not a purr. Something else. Something sacred. A sound that belonged to no language.
She moved to her knees and straddled his thighs.
Not rushing. Not teasing. Just… claiming the space.
Her body slotted into his like it remembered him. Like the time apart had only carved a space deeper.
Their faces were inches apart. He was trembling now, just slightly, just beneath the surface. A creature built to restrain himself, and almost out of time.
She cupped the side of his neck.
“I know what this is now,” she whispered.
He didn’t speak. Just looked at her. Waiting.
“It’s not sex,” she said. “It’s not a ritual. It’s not even love.”
His breath hitched.
“It’s surrender,” she finished.
And then she kissed him.
It wasn’t a soft kiss. It wasn’t slow or exploratory.
It was hungry.
She bit his lip, gently, then harder. He opened for her, mouth hot and wet and so much larger than hers. His tongue met hers, textured and inhuman, and she groaned, hips rocking forward as the length of him pressed hard against her.
He growled, finally, deep and possessive, hands gripping her waist. Not pulling—just holding. Like he didn’t trust himself to move yet.
Her fingers threaded into his hair and tugged just enough to make him feel it.
She pulled back.
He was panting.
So was she.
Her chest was damp with sweat, her breasts heaving as her glow flared at the collarbones.
Asher groaned.
He looked up at her bare breasts like he’d been starving for the sight. His hands twitched where they held her. But he didn’t move. He let her lead.
She reached for his wrap, torn already from battle, and pulled the last of it away. His cock sprang free, dark-veined and glistening at the tip, huge and heavy between them.
Nora let out a breath.
