Page 73 of Firebird
A steady, low, rumbling purr vibrated from his chest to mine, his dragon making himself known. I had a fleeting thought that I should be disgusted, but I banished it at once. I would no longer rebuke myself for what I felt for Julian. I trusted myself, and everything inside me yearned for him. I ground harder against him, my sex soaking the linen sheet between us.
Through the tether binding us—the one I could not and would not ever break—I felt his desperate longing, which spun me higher, increasing my arousal.
“Gods,” I shuddered as I rocked up and rubbed my quim against his hard length.
He gripped the inner neckline of my tunic and ripped it open, one breast popping free. Instantly, he lowered his head and sucked the tight peak into his mouth, that low purr stimulating me further.
I was a writhing mess when his hand on my thigh moved between my legs and stroked my slick slit.
“Mmmm,” he moaned against my nipple before he slid a finger inside me. “Malina,” he groaned, his raspy voice beckoning me toward climax.
I cried out and arched my neck, already coming when he thrust a second finger inside me, pumping deep and fast, his teeth grazing my breast.
Then he was hovering over me, still stroking his fingers, his thumb pressing against my clitoris, his gaze ever watchful, burning me with want.
My mouth dropped open as I came, a keening moan pouring from my throat. The pleasure was so great, I couldn’t quiet myself if I’d tried.
“Mmm,” he hummed again, holding his fingers deep as I pulsed around them. He lowered his mouth as I panted, brushing a soft kiss against my swollen lips. “You come so sweetly, my wild firebird.” Another sweep of his mouth. “I had no idea you’d be so soft and perfect.”
He pulled his fingers from my body, causing me to gasp and squeeze my thighs together. Shifting his body up, his weight on one arm, he watched me as he sucked his fingers clean, letting out another purring groan.
It was frightfully shocking to discover that made me squirm with desire yet again. He grinned, his canines sharper than they should be for a human, but not what they would be in half-skin.
“Did you let your dragon slip his leash?” I asked while a blush flushed my cheeks.
“I can’t deny him what he wants.” He stared at me with soft adoration.
I gaped at Julian, trying to reconcile myself with the boundary we’d just crossed and how I still wanted more when he winced. I pushed him off me, and he let me roll him onto his back, where I saw dark blood had seeped through the sheet and onto my tunic.
“Gods! You’re bleeding.”
“I believe a suture or two popped while we were… engaged.”
“Julian! Why didn’t you stop?”
He frowned. “Not on my life. I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.”
I pulled the linen down gently, trying not to hurt him further. “Only a man would rather bleed to death than end his pleasure.”
“It was your pleasure I wasn’t willing to end.”
I glanced up at him while I pulled the cleaning rag I kept folded over the bowl beside his bed.
“You should’ve stopped anyway,” I snapped, dabbing the blood clean. Only one stitch had popped, but two more were stretched wider.
“By Jupiter,” he rumbled, cupping my chin to make me look at him, “I’d have bled to death just to see that look of sweet ecstasy on your face. Knowing I’d put it there.”
“Stop it, Julian.” I shoved his hand away and leaned across the small side table where I’d been keeping the medicinal supplies, including the needle and thread. “You’re embarrassing me,” I said low as I bent to restitch the one that had come loose.
His laugh was soft and deep, his hand finding my knee and giving me a squeeze. I kept my eyes on my work.
“Malina,” he rasped when I ignored him too long. “Thank you.”
Finally, I looked at him. “For what?”
“For being exactly who you are and nothing else. For not pretending this”—he gestured between us—“doesn’t exist.” A frown pinched his brow. “I was afraid you might deny me. Deny us. I was afraid you wouldn’t allow even this.”
“Will there be more thanthis?”
