Page 51 of Shielded Heart 1
Arcanthus grinned and brushed the backs of his metal fingers down the side of her face. “I’d prefer to think of it as devoted.”
He dipped his head lower and slanted his mouth over hers.
Samantha’s eyes flared briefly before she gave in to him and, eyelids drifting shut, returned the kiss in full. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and she parted them to allow him entry. He groaned; the sound vibrated from his chest into her palms. Tentatively, she slid her hands up until they curled around his shoulders, one settled over flesh and the other over metal. His tongue coaxed hers into a sensual dance. She joined hesitantly, licking his fangs.
His kiss was scintillating, demanding, and seductive. Pulses of pleasure spread outward from her belly, leaving her breathless and wanting.
Wantinghim.
She must have made a sound—a soft moan, or perhaps a whimper—because Arcanthus broke the kiss and pushed himself up on his hands.
Samantha looked up at him through half-lidded eyes.
He stared down at her. His slitted pupils were dilated, his yellow irises bright, and lust burned in his intense gaze. His glowingqalheavily contrasted his dark gray skin.
“I will never tire of your taste, my flower.” His center eye remained locked with her gaze as the other two dipped, and he slowly licked his lower lip. “And I yearn to taste ever more.”
Those words sparked a surge of arousal in Samantha. She pressed her thighs together, desperate to alleviate the ache blooming between them. James had never donethatto her. He’d said it was disgusting, always in a tone that impliedshewas disgusting, and it had become just another degradation she’d begun to believe. But the way Arcanthus was looking at her now…
She didn’t feel disgusting at all. She felt wanted.
Desired.
He leaned closer again, and anticipation fluttered in her belly. His lips stopped a hair’s breadth away from hers.
“But I fear if I continue, I’ll be unable to stop myself. You’ve had enough excitement already, I’m sure.” Arcanthus unraveled his tail from her leg, pushed himself away, and slid off the bed, leaving the air above her suddenly cold and empty.
Wait…what?
He waved toward a door across from the foot of the bed. “There’s a bathroom in there. Feel free to bathe. I’ve set clean clothes on the counter for you. They should fit.” Arcanthus walked toward another door, this one to the left of the bed, with his tail swaying behind him. He slowed to glance at her over hisshoulder, eyes gleaming ravenously. “Let me know if you requireanything.”
Samantha watched in stunned silence as he exited the room and the door slid closed behind him.
The breath whooshed out of her in a bewildered laugh, and she covered her face with her hands.
“What just happened?” she asked.
Her cheeks were warm, her lips kiss-swollen, her skin overly sensitive. Her body felt bereft.
She was…horny.
Her pussy pulsed so badly that she was tempted to slip her hand between her thighs and touch herself. She hadn’t experienced that impulse in years—not since she was a teenager exploring her body as she imagined her crush from school. Whatever sexual fantasies she’d once held had burned to ash while she was with James. He’d been her first, her only, and God had ithurt. He’d never been gentle with Sam, even before he started deliberately hurting her.
He’d never caressed her, had barely kissed her, and she couldn’t recall a single time when he’d spoken in such a manner that his words alone were enough to arouse her. What she’d just experienced with Arcanthus…it was new, and it left her all kinds of confused.
Samantha lifted her hands from her face and paused when she saw her sleeves; they were coated in dust. She sat up. The sudden change in position blasted her with a wave of dizziness. Squeezing her eyes shut and pressing a hand to her forehead, she rode out the wave, forcing herself to breathe slowly until it passed. Once her head stopped spinning, she opened her eyes and looked down at herself.
She was a mess.
Understatement of the year.
Her clothes were filthy, covered in pale dustand sporting a few new tears and scorch marks. She couldn’t help but wonder what her face looked like.
“Well, it’s no wonder why he left,” Samantha muttered, pinching the fabric of her shirt and stretching it out to stare at it in disgust.
Scooting to the edge of the bed, she swung her feet to the floor and rose slowly. There was no dizziness, no pain, not even any discomfort. The aches she’d collected over the last few days were just…gone.
She made her way to the door across from the foot of the bed and pressed the button. The door opened silently. Samantha’s eyes widened, and her jaw fell as she beheld the chamber beyond.
