Page 85 of A Story of Sinners

I planted my hands firmly against his chest to pin him down as I slowly rocked my hips. He bucked beneath me, and I glared, slapping my hand on his chest. “You told me to take what I wanted. I’m in charge.”

Sweat prickled his brow as he relented, locking his hands behind his head to resist taking control. A glare lined his face, and I chuckled, rolling my hips once more. The cords of his neck strained with tension, and he bit down on his lip, the sharp canine leaving a small trail of blood.

My tongue was there, licking up the trail, before I even realized what I was doing, all while I slowly rocked against him. His hand moved to grip my hair, redirecting my eyes.

“Eyes on me,” he demanded.

A long, drawn-out moan spilled from my lips as his other hand moved lower, circling sensitive flesh, and my hips shifted as he throbbed inside me.

“Do it,” he demanded, moving his hand to grab my backside and force himself deeper, quickly capturing my mouth before pulling away. He angled his hips to shove his length as deep as it could go, then laid back and tilted his neck. “Bite me. Claim what is yours.”

My lips brushed his neck and he moaned, shifting beneath me, his arm working to guide our motions. Sharp teeth prickled from my gumline, and my tongue licked the spot, as if priming it for an attack.

Then, I bit down, my jaw clamping around the skin of his neck, marking and claiming him as mine, just as he was meant to be.

His movements grew frantic beneath me, hips bucking as a wild, broken noise tore from some place deep within him, almost like that of pained relief. He dragged me along his length, and I came undone, pulsing around him with my mouth still latched to his neck.

He flipped us around and his tongue delved into my mouth as he rutted into me, no longer concerned about holding back, and I took it, feeling him stretch my walls. The world trembled with the power in which he moved, and with one final thrust, he came undone, a roar echoing through the room.

He kept going, kept moving until he’d spilled every last drop of his release. When he was finished he rolled over, dragging me with him, refusing to remove himself from inside me. We lay connected with no desire to separate from one another. A hand lifted, brushing away a bright lock of hair glued to my forehead, and a soft smile lit his face.

“I’m your mate,” he whispered, and a pang of guilt hit me. A one-sided bond was not an easy thing to handle. I would know.

Still, I had no intention of leaving this one sided for much longer. One night was all it took for me to know what I wanted, to feel it, the correctness, the magic of what lay between us.

Determined, I slid off him, a whole new emptiness filling me. Climbing to my knees, I flipped my hair and bared my neck.

“I want you to bite me,” I whispered. “I want you to claim me.”

He dragged his fingers through the sticky fluid dripping from my sex, then pushed it back in. I ground down into his palm with a moan, and a deadly serious look crossed his face.

“No,” he claimed, fingers still pumping, palm pressing firmly against me. “It wasn’t fair before, and I owe this to you. I deserve to feel the pain of what I did to you. I want you to be one hundred percent sure before I claim you again. If I do claim you, the fear of rejection will always be in the back of your mind.”

It would. Always. The pain of him leaving me for the first time had been unbearable, but the rejection had been soul shredding. Still, I’d recovered. I’d survived. It was a risk I was willing to take.

I rocked my hips and tilted my head, closing my eyes. “Two wrongs don’t make a right, Ryken. I want this. I want you. I’m willing to give you the opportunity to crush me once more. The benefits outweigh the risk.”

He removed his fingers and plucked at the chain I still wore around my neck, the one holding the ring. I whined as he studied it, feeling empty. “Do you really mean that?”

I nodded. “Yes. Absolutely yes.”

He dropped the necklace and pushed off the bed, slowly redressing. My eyes tracked his movements, a sharp pang stabbing my heart, but the feelings coming from him weren’t of rejection or neglect. He was bouncing with the thrill of pure, unbridled excitement.

I rubbed my neck at the feeling of his emotions. This must have been how he felt when he held the power of the bond.

My brows furrowed as he got fully dressed, confusion clouding my thoughts. What in the world could he be so happy about? Why was he leaving me high and dry?

He leaned over the bed, fists bearing the brunt of his weight as he pressed a kiss to my lips. His mouth tilted into a lopsided grin as his eyes traced over my naked form, a look of pure satisfaction cresting his face while he licked his lips. “I have an even better idea, one that won’t leave you feeling threatened or at risk.”

My mouth parted as he pulled away, leaving me in a state of complete and total shock. He opened the curtains, letting the rays of the morning sunshine in.

“Go spend time in the Dragon Lands or stay here and rest. I will send for you at nightfall.” His eyes traced over my bedridden hair, and he chuckled at the look of total confusion on my face. “Wear something nice. I promise, you’ll like this.”

And then, he disappeared.

* * *

Gabriella was nowhere to be found. Neither was Fin, Eulalia, Gregor and Kathryn, or even Isadora. Everyone I thought to hunt down had vanished without a trace.

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