Page 29 of Fate Unchained

Ah, so this was where the mysterious Norville came from. He arched a brow. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to get married.” A hard expression crossed her face, and it didn’t seem natural to her. He wanted to wipe it away. “In Coromesto, husbands have the right to all their wife’s property. And the two become financially tied together.”

She sat up slightly, her eyes flashing. “I don’t want to be financially responsible for a husband’s mistakes. Say he invested all our money and loses it? Then dies?” She pointed at her chest. “I’d be responsible for his poor decisions. Do you think that’s fair?” She shook her head. “No, I’m not letting that ever happen again. Other people … aren’t to be trusted.”

He studied her a long moment. “I agree.” The vulk dug dens out of rock, and over time, they pack had accumulated a massive fortune of gold and jewels from the stone, so he didn’t worry about wealth. If he did, he wouldn’t want anyone else to muck it up either.

“I want to know what you were learning from those books.”

Her cheeks flushed full-on scarlet. “I was curious about what happens in the bedroom.” She arched a brow. “I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.” The tightness around her lips relaxed, and she lay back down. He copied her, this time lying closer to her. “So I asked my neighbor if he wanted to try a few things. He accepted.”

Kyril growled. “Of course he did.”

“Like I said, after a few sessions, he got too intense, and I cut things off.” She shrugged. “Besides, so far, everything I’ve tried wasn’t great. It was much better in my head.”

Kyril had always found sex to be a nice release, but that was about it. He’d never spent much time with any particular partner. A slew of females who lived nearby came to him to be taken in the vulk way, hard and primal. Although, he didn’t knot them. He’d tried it a few times when he was young, and didn’t like the forced togetherness. Regardless, the females left happy and returned to him again and again. “Overrated? Naw. You just didn’t have the right partner.”

Really though, had he? His encounters filled a need, but not much more. It wasn’t ever anything he’d write a book about.

Their gazes locked, and her breath hitched. “You’re my partner now. My temporary partner, anyway.” She reached out and pressed a fingertip gently over the rune mark on his chest.

At her soft, single touch, his blood heated. “The storm will keep going for a while, so we have some time to kill.” He stroked his fingers over the silken strands of her hair. His hand was massive along her head, the claws looking especially lethal against her delicate skin. “You’ve wanted me to touch you since the moment you met me, and I won’t turn needy like your neighbor.”

“I suppose if I touch you now, then I’ll stop wanting to.” Soft fingers trailed up his neck and explored along his jaw. “Wanting to touch you is a distraction, and I don’t want a distraction.”

“Good.” His voice was coarse. Unrecognizable. “Let’s remove the distraction.”

She stroked his face and neck again. A small purr rumbled up from deep within his chest, but he bit it back.

She gasped. “Oh.” She inched closer.

“Then we agree I get you under me.” He pressed his lips to the column of her throat and trailed upward, making her murmur low in her throat.

“Only touching,” she said.

“I get to see you naked.”

She shifted, drawing back a few inches, and shoved the covers off his torso. “Since I want to see all of you, I suppose that’s fair.”

He wanted to see her body more than he wanted his next breath. Keeping his claws from her skin, he tugged her shirt off. She sat and helped, her hands better suited for releasing the laces of the bodice she wore under her sweater. But he didn’t need help with her pants and sliced her underwear off with one claw.

She squeaked, making a small clucking sound of disapproval.

He took in all of Lilah, and his breath froze in his lungs. He managed a grunt. “You’re stunning.”

Her entire face turned red, and she ducked her head. “Lie back.”

“No. Let me look at you.” He trailed his fingers up her waist to her breast, swiping his thumb across her nipple. She shuddered and let out a small sigh. Every part of her was perfect. Hips he wanted to pin to the ground while he drove inside her, breasts he wanted to tease until she moaned and thrashed, and while he couldn’t see it yet, he’d explore the secret place between her legs with his tongue until he knew exactly how to make her release explosive.

A purr rumbled in his chest again. Every other time it thrummed through him, he’d tried to suppress it, but now he let it vibrate through his chest in a rich hum. He shifted. “Part your legs for me.”

“Not so fast.” She pushed at him, trying to coax him onto his back. “I’m the one exploring right now.” Leaning over, she nuzzled his neck and sighed. “And don’t stop making that sound.” He hadn’t realized he was still purring for her.

A small smile crossed her lips. “I want you to lie there, absolutely still, while I run my hands over you.”

He groaned. “That’s torture.”

She leaned up and kissed along the underside of his muzzle. “I think you can handle it.”

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