Page 79 of Spar of Hearts

This wasn’t lust. Lust for her was a sudden splinter of need that she would forget as fast as it had come. This was an ache in her core, a fire in her belly that sent steam up to her heart. Each thump sent droplets back down onto the flames with a fizzle, a pop, then a sensual hiss.

The frigid, whimpering she-wolf within melted as Roderick slipped a finger under her corset, then another. One hand, then the next, until his warm, broad hands were firmly perched on her waist.

Roderick inhaled deep and slow, then coaxed her around to face him. More bewildering to herself, she allowed it. The heat engulfing her cheeks intensified as she looked up at him. A soft pulse throbbed between her legs.

“You never answered my question,” Anya murmured, hoping more questions would cool her. Condensation dripped from the cave ceiling onto the fire, exploding in little crackles. She still wanted to know, of course. She wanted to hear from his own lips exactly what he cherished so much about their evening together all those months ago.

His chest rose and fell against hers as he chuckled softly. “That pout on your lip makes you look like a damsel.”

“Well, you make me distressed.”

She licked dry lips. Not that she was preparing for anything.

Roderick pulled her closer, pressing his fingers into the swell of her hips. “Now now, is that any way to talk to your rescuer?”

“You dodged the question.” Her eyes fell to his lips.

“I’m not disagreeing with you.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“This.”

Chapter 28

Roderick Bryson

A breathy gasp escaped Anya’s chest as Roderick brushed his lips on hers. Her golden eyes fluttered closed, and his own followed, lost in the holy sensation of her kiss. Divine, she was silky smooth—lips, hips, claws—everything about her was sleek like the curve of the crescent moon. He undulated his fingertips on the soft swell of her hips to lock the sensation away in his mind.

Anya’s hands roamed up his body, fingering through the hair on his chest in a deep, slow press. Sharp little crescent moons pricked his skin, making him shiver. There would be evidence of her on his body, her claw tips on his chest, her sweet taste in his mouth—proof for the next morning when he feared it was just a dream, that he was still stuck in the inky blackness that swallowed him in his nightmares.

“Roderick,” Anya gasped, “don’t you hate me?”

“Never. But Divine help me, I tried.”

Anya pushed and pulled against him, like the moon and the tide. A crash, then a caress, a splash, then a touch. He was but a wave, helpless to the whims of the lunar goddess.

Somewhere outside, a seabird called. The tide washed shifting sand into the mouth of the cave. He lost himself in the chorus of nature, desiring to become a part of it with her, for their most intimate sounds to join the wind over the sea.

“Mm,” Anya moaned against his lips. He peeked an eye open. She looked equally puzzled and pleasured all at the same time. Her movements became desperate—hungry. Her little whimpers demanded more of him, and her claws did the same, working their way down his back, to his hips, tracing the waist of his undershorts, drawing a needy groan from his chest.

This was what he wanted, but it was too fast. There were so many things he wanted to know about her, secrets he needed to share…He refused to rush this and ruin everything.

“Anya—”

“Roderick—”

“No, no, Anya—”

She silenced his protest with another kiss and a sweep of her delicate tongue. She let his top lip conquer hers, exposing her own to the tips of his aching fangs.

He groaned as her claws dipped below his waistband.

“Stop, Anya.” He pulled away and stumbled back a step. Anya’s canine eyes were blown wide, gold rings shining against her black scleras in the flickering firelight. She threw her hands over her mouth.

“Oh stars, oh Mother Moon…” She reeled back toward the mouth of the cave, almost slipping on the thin spread of sand on rock. The utter shock in her tone made his heart throb. Damn it, couldn’t he do anything right? That was too harsh, wasn’t it?

“I can explain.” He stepped to her, fingers pulsing with urgency. “You didn’t do anything wrong, I just—”