Page 91 of Kingdoms of Shadow and Ash

She invaded his space, wearing nothing but a shirt, a tempting smile on her lips. 'I did.'

He cupped her cheek. He'd found her intriguing since he'd first heard the songs sung in her honor, but he knew she wasn't for him. She cared only for herself … and achieving the impossible. But something about this place—their discovery—made him want to throw caution to the wind … to celebrate.

She went up on her tiptoes as Cal lowered his lips, and their mouths met in a sensual caress. She tasted of the dried reindeer meat he always carried in his cloak, mixed with her sweet summer scent of roses and freshly cut fields. He longed for those scents to return to his own lands. He'd only ever smelled them when he'd sneaked into her kingdoms, and now here they were, buffeting his senses like a tantalizing promise.

She pulled back, looking up at him with a question in her eyes. He thought for a moment she might walk away, but then she leaned towards him, and this time, when their lips met, no other thoughts filled his mind.

The kiss deepened, and Cal's tongue caressed Fyia's. His lips were soft but commanding, and she happily relinquished control, letting her body melt against his, letting him lead the way.

She groaned into his mouth as his tongue played with hers. He pulled her against him, his hands on her behind, fingers massaging through the flimsy fabric of her shirt.

He went slowly, the kisses demanding yet exploratory, unhurried and assured. He felt so right, every part of him a delight under her fingers … the solid cords of muscle, stubble covered jaw, silky hair. And his lips had been made by the Gods, for a kiss had never felt so good, stealing her breath, wiping her brain clean of anything but the feel of them.

Cal turned her, then pulled her back by her hips, one hand sliding to her breasts, the other brushing her hair to one side. He ran his nose down her neck, then nipped her nape before kissing his way back to her ear.

Fyia shivered at the intensity, sensation firing from her toes to the top of her head. She barely knew where he touched her, for he seemed to be everywhere at once, lips and hands working together in perfect harmony.

He pinched her nipple, and she tipped her head against him, then reached back, sliding a hand between them, cupping his arousal through his breeches. He exhaled loudly in her ear, and a trickle of desire collected in her core. She tugged at his doublet, and Cal's hands flew to help, yanking it open. He lifted her shirt, then pressed her naked skin to his, grunting when their flesh collided.

They stilled a moment, then Cal dropped to his knees behind her, holding her hips with his hands—scalding against her skin—and kissed her backside. 'Fyia,' he said, as his fingers traced down her spine, 'it's beautiful.'

She was going to argue that a scale could hardly be considered a thing of beauty, but then he kissed her there, and she felt a pleasure so intense she crumpled forwards, moaning. 'Is it sensitive?' he asked, doing it again to test his theory.

'Gods,' she said, pulling away, the sensation too much. She turned to look down at him, running her hands through his hair. 'It never has been before, but … yes.'

He pressed his face to her stomach and kissed her, his hands cupping her backside. She ran her fingers down the shells of his ears, and he choked, squeezing her buttocks and pressing his face more forcefully into her.

'What …?' she asked, then realized the texture behind his ears was … strange. She pulled one ear lobe forward and examined the back, shocked to find a tiny row of scales stretching from the top to the bottom. She ran a finger down it once more.

'Fyia,' he groaned. 'Warrior … help me.'

'That bad?'

'That … something,' he said, running a finger over her own scale in revenge.

'Okay,' she said, grabbing hold of his arm, 'truce. We need to talk about your fire-touch.'

'Do we?' he said, pressing his lips to the inside of her thigh.

She caressed his ear. He moaned, but didn't stop. Instead, he moved his lips to her sex, licking and sucking, one hand sliding over her scale, which made her buck against him. 'Cal,' she breathed, 'I'm going to …' He sucked, and she cried out, convulsing, holding his head as waves of pleasure hit. But as the waves turned to ripples, and then disappeared, the scale on her back warmed. 'Cal … look …'

'Something's happening to mine too,' he said, and she pulled at his ear until she could see.

'Oh my Gods … they're glowing!' She spun and pulled up her shirt.

'Yours is too,' he said. 'Has this ever …?'

'No. You?'

'Never.' He brushed his lips across her glowing golden mark.

'But you've had sex … right?' The words escaped without thought. He raised an eyebrow, and he was right to … that mouth had had practice, and she wasn't complaining. 'Maybe it's because we're surrounded by dragon scales?' she said. 'Like calling to like, or … something?'

Cal shrugged. 'Or maybe it's because we're both fire-touched.'

'Maybe,' she agreed. She turned and sat on his legs. 'Whatever it is, I want to make it happen again.' She kissed him, playing with his earlobe with one hand while reaching for the fastening of his breeches with the other. She freed his impressive erection, but he caught her hands.

'Fyia … we … I think we should stop.'

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