Marked by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #4)(60)

“Only Yantz? Argon Chartis was not there?”

“No, he managed to sneak away again. We only learned what had happened from interrogating Yantz, and by that time, of course, Argon was long gone. Janta, from the library, came to me with a tale about an old gulaya … but how did you know it was still active?”

“The scent of magic,” I explained. “It seemed worth trying, at least.”

“I’m glad it did work, and it saved your hide. And even more glad we exchanged the serapha charms, to guide me to you.”

I nodded in agreement and slowly, teasingly, popped another button on his shirt.

Iannis arched a brow. “You’re awfully relaxed for someone who is in heat,” he commented, leaning forward and nipping at my lower lip.

I grinned. “The heat’s been over for several days now. Somehow, I managed to survive without you.”

He winced. “I am sorry I was not there when you needed me, Sunaya.”

“Don’t be sorry.” I brushed my thumb across one of his high cheekbones, drinking in the sight of his face. “You came as soon as you could. And I’m just happy you’re here now.”

“Well then,” he said, eyes drifting up and down my naked body – my leather pants had been ruined by the elements and my top was shredded, so I’d spent the majority of the past week running around naked. “Are you saying that you really want me? That this –” he brushed his thumb across my nipple, and I gasped, “isn’t just a side effect of your shifter heritage?”

You are more than just the sum of your parts.

I wrapped my arms around Iannis’s neck, drawing him flush against me. “I’ve always wanted you,” I murmured against his mouth, then I kissed him again.

Iannis swept his tongue inside my mouth, and I moaned as the dark, exotic taste of him filled me. Desire burned low in my belly, and a pulsing ache spread through my body with each stroke of his tongue against mine, each brush of his fingers against my tingling skin. Impatient, I used my claws to shred the shirt from his body, and he laughed, rising up a little so he could shrug off the tattered garment.

“More,” I demanded, grabbing the waistband of his shorts. I was about to rip them off as well, but he closed a hand over mine.

“Slow,” he murmured, stroking his thumb over my knuckles. Somehow, he managed to infuse so much sensual promise in that one word that my knees went weak, and I was glad I was already on the ground.

“Slow,” I agreed, and he released his hand. Rising to my knees, I pressed my bare torso against his, savoring every ridge of muscle as I kissed him long and deep. My fingers worked gently at the buckle on his belt, easing it free, and then the button on his shorts came next. By the time I gripped the button with my thumb and forefinger, we were vibrating with anticipation.

I unbuttoned his shorts slowly, feeling every inch of his arousal as my knuckles slid against the fabric. His shaft sprang into my waiting hand, and I grinned against his mouth as he growled in approval.

“No underwear?” I teased, skimming my finger along his length.

“I never wear any,” he muttered, trailing hot kisses across my jaw. His teeth clamped down on my earlobe, and I instinctively squeezed him.

“Yes,” he groaned in my ear, hips rocking forward. A thrill shot through me at the sound of raw need in his voice, and I gave him what he wanted, stroking him until his shoulders gleamed with sweat in the moonlight and his chest heaved.

“Enough.” His voice was rough as he pulled my hands away, and I let out a surprised yelp as he reached around and collected my breasts into his big hands. I moaned as my sensitive nipples rasped against his palm.

“You’re extraordinary,” he murmured, eyes on mine even as he used his skilled hands to tease my breasts. He seemed to be drinking in every detail of my face. “I don’t think the Creator could have crafted a more beautiful and spirited woman if he tried.”

My face flushed at that. “Now you’re being ridiculous.”

He laughed. “Of everything I’ve said and done in the past few weeks, this is what you find ridiculous?” He let go of my right breast to stroke my cheek with the backs of his fingers. “The fact that you’re stunning?”

I grinned a little. “No, you’ve said plenty of things that are ridiculous,” I said to him, sliding my hands down the back of his shorts and squeezing his ass. “It’s just hard to believe that someone who’s lived as long as you have has never met a better-looking woman than me.”

“I’ve met many beautiful women in my lifetime,” Iannis admitted. “But none of them were you.”

He ducked his head, and I gasped as he took one of my nipples between his teeth. Electricity zinged through my veins as he teased the taut, sensitive bud with his teeth and tongue, and I scraped my nails up his back and dug them so hard into his shoulders that I was certain there would be gouge marks in his flesh in the morning. But my response only seemed to encourage him, and he slipped one hand down my flank, his long fingers finding that aching place between my legs.

“Iannis!” My eyes flew wide as he slid a finger inside me. My legs turned to jelly as my sensitive, aching flesh pulsed in response to his touch. Sensing weakness, he took advantage of the opening and pushed me onto my back, then claimed my mouth in a searing kiss as he slid a second finger inside me. I arched against him as his fingers found that sweet spot inside me, and he massaged it until I was a hot, writhing mess, moaning incoherently as my hips strained against his hand. I desperately needed release, but his palm was just a little too far away for me to get the right angle. He was teasing me, the bastard, drawing it out, and I wasn’t sure if I loved him or hated him for it.