Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(52)

“Sanity is highly overrated,” he assured her, his head lowering to tongue the tip of her hard nipple. “Shall we drown in madness together, Jaelyn?”

Her lashes drifted downward as she shifted to clutch at his shoulders, her legs wrapping around his hips in silent invitation.

“Ariyal.”

“Tell me.” He blazed a path of kisses over her breast, lingering in the small valley before seeking out the tender bud on the other side. “Say the words.”

She moaned softly. “What words?”

“That you want me.”

“I ...” With an obvious effort she tilted back her head to regard him with a smoldering gaze.

“The truth, poppet,” he commanded softly.

She shivered against his tense muscles, her eyes raw with a stark need that slammed into him with brutal force.

“Yes, dammit,” she growled. “I want you.”

A fierce satisfaction jolted through him at her unwilling confession.

“Thank the gods,” he muttered.

“Not that I’m happy about it,” she continued.

He gave a short, humorless laugh. “Join the club. Do you think I want to be distracted by an arrogant leech? Especially one who happens to be bipolar?”

She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You swing from hot to cold so fast you give me whiplash,” he rasped. “I have better things to be doing with my time.”

He swallowed a laugh as she narrowed her eyes. She looked offended by the thought that he might not be any more anxious than she was to be tormented by this ruthless craving.

Then, as if unable to resist his deliberate challenge, a small, tantalizing smile curved her lips, her body deliberately arching to press her soft br**sts against the hard planes of his chest.

“Bipolar, eh?”

“Yes.”

Her legs tightened around his hips, rubbing against his c**k with a promise that nearly sent him to his knees.

“And yet you’re desperate for me.”

He grunted, feeling as if he had just been kicked in the gut.

Yeah. Desperate just about covered it.

He had barely touched her and yet he was ready to explode.

It was downright embarrassing for a man who was known to make sex last hours, if not days.

“Careful, Jaelyn. Don’t start something you’re not prepared to finish,” he warned.

In answer, she reached to tug at the button of his jeans. “You are wearing too many clothes, fairy.”

His heart slammed against his chest as she tugged down the zipper, her fingers circling his straining erection.

A groan was wrenched from his throat at the sheer bliss of her touch.

His gaze skimmed over her pale, beautiful face and down the elegant curve of her neck to the small mounds of her br**sts. A part of him admired her sleek lines and well-defined muscles. There was no mistaking the fact that she was honed to be a lethal weapon. But a greater part was busy savoring the perfect ivory skin drenched in the moonlight that was peeking through the kitchen window and the contrast of her rosy ni**les.

“Gods, Jaelyn, you’re killing me.”

Without warning she leaned forward, circling his nipple with the tip of her tongue.

“Hmmm, warm skin ...” She nibbled a path to the center of his chest, lightly scraping his skin with the tips of her fangs. “A pounding heart.” She pulled back with a taunting smile. “You still have some life left in you.”

Their gazes locked and held as a tangible, branding awareness scorched the air between them.

Despite their bickering and sniping, there was a potent force binding them together that was bigger than both of them.

Destiny had entwined their fates for its own mysterious reasons.

And he didn’t have the sense to give a damn.

“Let’s find out just how much life,” he muttered, shifting to sweep a soft kiss over her lips, wisely taking the precaution of removing her holstered shotgun and tossing it onto the floor. One less weapon seemed like a good idea if things went to hell. “What do you say, poppet?”

“Yes.”

He deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue between her dangerous fangs, his fingers tugging at her hard ni**les with increasing urgency.

For a heartbeat Jaelyn stiffened beneath his onslaught of raw hunger, her fingers digging into the muscles of his chest. Ariyal groaned, but before he could leash the savage need pounding through his body, she was tangling her tongue with his, meeting his every thrust with a ready fervor.

Any hope of restraint was shattered by her response.

He groaned, drinking deeply of her lips as his hands ran an impatient path down her back until he reached the edge of her pants.

Still it wasn’t enough.

He needed more.

Slipping his hands beneath the waistband of her pants, Ariyal peeled them off her legs and tossed them aside, pausing only long enough to kick aside his own jeans before he slowly sank to his knees.

Jaelyn made a faint sound of surprise, but Ariyal was too enthralled by the sight of her spread before him to notice.

She was exquisite.

Perfect.

And, unable to resist temptation, he leaned forward to worship the very heart of her femininity with his tongue and teeth.

He wrapped his arms around her slender thighs, urging them farther apart as he relished the slick satin beneath his tongue. She tasted of cool shadows and stormy nights.