Page 76 of The Scribe (Irin Chronicles 1)

Shaking his head in wonder, he said, “For you? It is never too much.”

“Faster,” she urged.

“No.” He bent his head again, fighting back his own desire to take and claim and spend himself in the cradle of her body. He loosened the button of her jeans before he slid them down over her legs. Each newly revealed limb received the attention of his lips. His fingers. Magic flowed between them. He could feel her energy and smiled, knowing one day she would mark him too.

“When you find your power,” he murmured in her ear as he stretched out beside her on the narrow bed, “you will sing to me. And I will feel your magic as you feel mine.”

“Is that what I’m feeling?” she said with a smile, throwing one leg over his thigh and pulling him closer. “That’s a lot of magic.”

He grinned, pleased by the laughter in her eyes.

“Ava,” he whispered again. “Reshon.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I can hear you. Inside. All I hear is you.”

He stilled his hands. “And what do I sound like?”

“Perfect,” she choked out. “You sound… perfect.”

He saw the tears forming, so he came to her, knowing there was no pleasure she could ask for that he would not give. He ran a hand from the nape of her neck, down her spine, picturing the spells he would mark her with. Spells to strengthen her. Claim her. Mark her as his mate as she would mark him as hers.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“You.”

Now it was his breath that was coming faster as she reached down and took him in her hand. His head fell back and Malachi felt Ava press kisses along the line of his jaw as she worked his pants down over his hips. Then her lips trailed over the markings on his collarbone. His shoulder. Her delicate teeth closed over his nipple for a moment before she continued across his chest. He was on the edge of losing control.

“Ava, stop.” His head swam with the rush of sensation.

“Really?”

“Uh… no, not really.”

He was light-headed with desire. Intoxicated by her touch. She might not have been able to use Irina magic, but Ava had a power all her own. Her energy was mounting again, feeding him, stoking the fire that built between them. They were face-to-face, staring into each other’s eyes while Malachi’s fingers moved over her skin.

“So warm.” He buried his face in her neck and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him there. “I need you.”

“Then take me,” she whispered. “And don’t let go.”

He lifted her thigh and drew her forward, sliding into her body with aching slowness as he drank in the sensations. Heat. Pleasure. His instincts roused, and he groaned into her mouth as they rocked together. Skin against skin. Lips melded together. Push. Pull. He felt the blood rushing in his veins. Felt their breath mingle as their pleasure built. And when he felt Ava begin to fall over the edge, he followed.

He would follow her anywhere.

“What does ‘jah-num’mean?”

“Hmm?” He was drowsy after the third time he’d taken her. Sex energized Irin men, but eventually, even the strongest man tired. Ava was like a loose rag draped across his chest. She had tried to move away when she started to fall asleep, but he wouldn’t allow it, pulling her closer, still needing the contact.

“You say it sometimes. When we’re together. ‘Jah—’”

“Oh,canim.It means… my darling.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “My life.” More kisses along her cheek, ignoring the slight tension his words evoked. He didn’t hold back. “It means ‘my soul.’” The shell of her ear. Loose lazy brushes of his lips that soothed her and fed his need. He had forgotten what it meant to be held.

“Canim.” She tried the word out, whispering as her fingers traced over thetalesmon his chest. She circled down to the blank area on the skin over his heart. “There’s nothing here.”

“I’ve never taken a mate.”

“Never?” A slow smile curved her lips. “You don’t make love like a virgin, Malachi.”

He could feel the quiet laugh from her, and he reached down, pinching her thigh before his hand spread to soothe the sting.

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