Page 42 of Forged By Heart and Claws
I snorted, even as my pulse kicked. “We were a little busy.”
His grip on my waist was anything but playful. “I think it’s time we caught up.”
My fingers traced the hard planes of his chest, his heart thundering beneath my right palm. “You sure you want to rush into sex right now? Maybe we should wait and make sure we’re really ready for it.”
He growled, the sound vibrating straight through me, then kissed the tip of my nose. “Yes. I want to have sex now. If you’ll have me.”
I stood on my toes and pressed my lips to his. The kiss was soft at first, but then it wasn’t.
His arms crushed me to him, one hand tangled in my hair, the other gripping my waist like he couldn’t bear to let go. The world fell away—nothing existed except his scent, his heat, and the bond tightening between us, until I couldn’t tell where his need ended and mine began.
He swept an arm around my back and started to lift me, then winced.
I broke the kiss and studied the bloodied bandages on his side and shoulder. “Vad…” The wounds in the fleshy membranes of his wings had mostly healed, though they still had dark scabbed edges.
“I’m fine.” His voice was rough, wounded, wanting. “Not injured enough to stop.”
He pulled me in again, kissing me like a man possessed.
Without breaking away, he guided me backward down the hall. My shoulder brushed the cold stone wall, and then he pressed open a narrow wooden door I hadn’t noticed before. I glimpsed dust and old wood as he tugged me inside and kicked the door shut behind us.
The room was barely wider than his wingspan and lined with crates and barrels. Lips never leaving mine, Vad set me on a crate and stepped between my legs with his hands braced around my hips.
I fisted the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. His body pressed firm and hot between my thighs. He pressed his forehead to mine.
“Does it hurt?” I murmured, brushing his shoulder.
He caught my lower lip between his teeth, then answered against my mouth. “Only when I’m not touching you.”
My breath hitched, and I grew dizzy. “Do whatever you wish, my beloved. Take what you need. I’m yours.”
His fingers dug harder into my skin, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, careful of his injuries, and pulled him to me. The silk of my wedding gown bunched between us, lifting as he slid his hands beneath it, over my hips and between my thighs.
Our tongues danced together hard and hungry. The claws of one hand found the edge of my panties while the other hand went to my breast.
He kissed me, hard, hungry, desperate. As if I were the only thing left in his world that mattered.
I tangled my fingers in his hair, tugging him closer as his hands roamed over me, my mouth just as hungry and demanding as his. Our bond thrummed with shared desire, each sensation echoing between us. His lips trailed fire down my neck, and I gasped as he nipped at the sensitive spot below my ear.
“You like that?” he purred as he braced me against the wall.
I whimpered, feeling as if I might implode.
“Good. Keep making those sweet noises.” He nibbled, then nipped a line down my neck as his claws gently pressed against my core. “I don’t have my shadows to help tend to you this time, so I suppose you’ll have to settle for me.”
A sharp gasp escaped before I could stop it, and I clamped a hand over my mouth.
A feral grin spread across his face, one that screamedpossessiveandprimal.
He kissed me again, swallowing every whimper as his fingers dipped lower, gliding over my wet folds. His touch was slow, teasing, precise, and playful, even with the claws on his fingertips, dragging over me in strokes that made me arch and my pulse gallop. I rocked against his hand, desperate for more, but he held me right on the edge, denying me the friction I needed.
Groaning, he pressed harder, but still not enough, before his mouth returned to mine in a kiss that stole my breath.
I gave him every gasp and moan.
His hands mapped every inch of me like he was memorizing each contour and tremble. As if tonight might be our last, he hooked a claw in my panties and yanked them down in one smooth motion, letting them fall to the floor.
Cool air kissed my skin.
