Page 52 of Eternally Bound
“Yes.”
He carried her from the room and down the hall to the stairs. She nestled closer to him, savoring the scent of the spiced soap on his body. Unable to resist, she rested her fingers against his chest and sighed when she felt the powerful flex of his muscles with every step he took. She slid her fingers down his flesh. The yearning to taste him grew until she turned her mouth into his chest and slid her tongue out to lick his salty skin.
Ronan’s fangs tingled as they lengthened, and he found himself drawing her closer as her tongue slid over him again. He shifted his hold on her to grip the knob of her door and pushed it open.
She withdrew from him as he set her on her feet. Before, she would have blushed over her actions with him; now she couldn’t find it in herself to be embarrassed, not if this was to be their last night together for a while, possibly forever. Resting her hand on his cheek, she stepped into him.
Ronan told himself to back away from her, but his feet were planted to the floor as her breasts brushed against his chest and her eyes searched his. He knew he had to look half wild with his need for her, yet she showed no fear as she rose onto her toes.
Her gaze never left his when she kissed him. Her breath warmed his mouth as they stared at each other and Ronan resisted drawing her closer. If he did, if this continued, there would be no stopping, not this time.
CHAPTER 24
The heightened scent of her arousal filled his nostrils and permeated his body. He was taken off guard by the intensity of her longing for him as he remained unmoving against her. Her lashes fell to shadow her eyes, and she broke the kiss.
As she moved to pull away, his arm lashed out and drew her to him. Her eyes deepened in color when they met his again. He caressed her cheek before his hand slid back to entwine in her silken hair.
His eyes were drawn to her mouth as he waited for her to tell him no. Waited for her to pull away. She did neither of those things; instead, she leaned into him, her breath coming faster as her fingers dug into his chest.
He knew he shouldn’t do this, knew it would only make it more difficult to let her go. She would fly free from here and the brutal life she’d been born into. He would remain and continue to fight until he died or succumbed to the lure of becoming a Savage.
But none of that mattered. All he wanted now was to be inside of her, moving over her, listening to her sensual moans as he claimed her for this brief period of time.
When she kissed him again, he pulled her so firmly against him that no air flowed between their bodies. She belonged withhimand him alone.
Something niggled at the back of his mind, an intuition that he should acknowledge, but couldn’t, as everything in him became focused on her alone.
He pulled her hair back, deepening the kiss and catching her sigh when her mouth parted and her tongue entwined with his. Lifting his mouth from hers, he ran his tongue along the slender column of her throat before he nipped at her supple flesh.
His fangs ached to pierce her skin, to taste the blood pulsing through her vein and calling to him like a siren on the rocks, but he resisted the impulse. It could drive her away if he took from her now.
Her knees buckled when his other hand slid up to cup her breast. He supported her weight as she cried out and her head fell back to allow him better access to her throat. Lifting her, he swung her into his arms, kicked the door shut behind them, and carried her further into the room.
Stopping beside the bed, he set her on her feet and stepped back to drink in the sight of her. She stared up at him, her lips swollen, her eyes heavy lidded and seductive. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
A trickle of unease slid through her as Ronan’s eyes ran ravenously over her body. His raw need for her was evident on his face and in the heavy bulge behind his pants. No matter what he believed about himself, if she asked him to stop this now, he would walk away from her, but despite her apprehension over what she knew was to come, she didn’t want to stop it.
At one time, she’d believed him to be a monster simply because of what he was. Now he was the only man who had ever made her feel like she truly mattered in this world because of who she was, and not because she might be able to have children one day. He was the only man she had ever wanted to share this experience with.
He was setting her free today, and before she left, she would have the memory of this night to hold close while she was gone.
Swallowing heavily, she pushed aside her fear as he remained where he was, giving her a chance to change her mind, she knew. The elder women had prepared her for her wedding night, told her what to expect and what would happen. They hadn’t prepared her for her overwhelming desire for him too.
His eyes were almost entirely red when she met them. The outline of his fangs pressed against his lips, but the obvious signs of what he was didn’t scare her. “I want this. I wantyou.”
Ronan released an explosive exhale as he gripped the hem of her shirt. He pulled it slowly up, giving her the time to change her mind as he revealed more of supple flesh and curves. Her eyes never left his as she lifted her arms for him. He pulled the shirt over her head and tossed it aside. The black sports bar she wore kept her handful-sized breasts concealed, but there was something incredibly sexy about this tomboyish look on her.
Hooking his fingers into the band of her sweatpants, he pulled her a step closer until their chests were flush against each other. He tugged her sweats and underwear lower over her rounded hips. He kept waiting for her to tell him to stop, but all he saw in her gaze was yearning as she watched every move he made.
When he’d been in the gym with her earlier, all he could think of was tearing the clothes from her and burying himself inside her before she could stop him. Now, when he knew he would have her, all he wanted was to savor every inch of her. He bent to slide the sweats over her supple thighs and down her shapely calves. She stepped out of them as he rose to stand before her again.
He grasped the edges of her bra and slid it over her head. Her silvery hair cascaded around her shoulders when her arms settled at her sides. Her luscious curves and the small triangle of darker blonde hair shielding her sex from his view caused his mouth to water.
Stepping closer, he gritted his teeth against the throbbing need of his cock while he leisurely slid the backs of his knuckles up her sides. She bit on her lower lip as she raptly watched him, and he memorized her every reaction to his touch. His gaze latched onto her pert breasts with their pink nipples standing out tantalizingly, but he didn’t touch them, not yet. Instead, he continued to explore her as he ran his hands over her flat stomach and round hips.
Smelling her desire on the air, he knew she was most likely wet for him already, and he wanted to feel that wetness slipping over his fingers. However, if he slid his fingers between her legs now, he knew he would be lost to her, and he wanted to take this as slow as possible. Her breath hitched in when his hands cupped her firm ass.
“You’re exquisite,” he murmured.
