Page 43 of Forged By Heart and Claws
I trembled, staring at him through half-lidded eyes. He was my mate. He was mine.
His thumb brushed my cheek. Then he caught my chin and tipped my face up, his gaze burning through me. “I love you more than life itself,” he rasped. “My magic, my kingdom, none of it matters next to you.”
Then his lips crashed over mine again. He tasted of smoke and salt. Like everything I shouldn’t want, and everything I could never live without.
My wolf surged forward, needing the connection just as much as I did. The pulse in his neck called to me, and I didn’t hold back.
I bit him hard, right above the collarbone.
He shuddered as blood welled under my tongue, hot and metallic. I licked it slowly, relishing the way his body responded to me.
His growl vibrated deep in his chest. Then his hand shot up to the nape of my neck. His claws grazed my skin as he tugged firmly to remind me who he was.
That I belonged to him.
“My…wolf,” he said, the word unnatural on his tongue and yet so beautiful. “My claws and fangs don’t scare you?” His thumb brushed my cheek.
My breath caught, and heat coiled in my core. I tilted my head and grinned. “Your claws are magnificent, but your fangs? Are they really big enough to be called fangs?”
His eyes darkened, and a low growl rumbled. “Everypart of me is more than big enough to satisfy you, and I know how to use all of it.”
His fangs nipped at the base of my shoulder, and my wolf whimpered. Even though our connection was complete, the act of sharing blood was so personal. His teeth sank into the soft place where neck met shoulder, and I gasped. His palm slid over my mouth, muffling the needy sound.
His tongue swept over the bite, and pleasure spiked through me like lightning. My legs locked around his hips, and he tugged the bodice of my gown down to my waist in one sharp jerk, baring my breasts.
The silk pooled at my ribs, but I barely noticed. All I could feel washim.
His mouth trailed down my chest, lips parting over the swell of my breast. He sucked a bruise into the flesh, bit down hard enough to sting, then soft enough to make me moan. My hands fumbled at his shirt, desperate for skin to skin. “Fuck!”
He chuckled. “Feck.”
I grinned, even as my breath caught. “That’s such a stupid word.”
With a wicked glint in his eyes, his tongue swept into my mouth just as his fingers slid inside me.
I jolted as pleasure crashed through me.
Hold still, he commanded. Curling his hand in just the right way, he made mefeelthe careful caress of his claws with every movement. His mouth pressed to the hollow of my throat, his tongue licking a line to my jaw as his hands devastated me.
He leaned back just enough to look down at me. His eyes blazed molten silver, pupils blown wide. “Perfection. You are pure perfection.”
My pulse pounded, and I gave him a hungry little smile and hooked my fingers into his belt. His hard length pressed against my core, and I groaned.
“This is so unfair.” I cupped his hardness. “I’m practically naked, and you’re still dressed.”
He arched a brow. “Not for long.”
Stripping the gown the rest of the way off my body, he flung it aside.
I growled and struck his shoulder lightly. “Get your clothes off before Itakewhat’s mine.”
His grin turned feral. “Come claim me,my beloved.”
His shirt vanished, tossed somewhere behind us, and I took in his blood-smeared skin and bandaged wounds. I reached for the edge of the wrapping, intending to smooth it down, but he caught my wrist and pressed a kiss to the inside. “Later. I need you.”
And his mouth was back on me, licking one of my nipples. He alternated between sucking, licking, and biting, every stroke more possessive. I whimpered as his hand slid up my thigh again, driving me to the edge.
He plunged his fingers inside me, slow and sure, and my body clenched around them. I couldn’t get enough of him. His claws scraped gently, drawing out another whimper.
