Chapter 22

His hands fist in my hair, tugging me slightly. Huge, muscled thighs bracket my face, and I squeeze his ass, reveling in the heady feel of him. I'm so damn turned on again, wetness slicks the sides of my thighs.

His cock's big, but not unpleasantly so. Still, I'm doing my best to give him the same kind of pleasure he gave me last night. I want him to lose control. I know I shouldn't; I know deep down that's a special kind of fucked up, considering we're on this stupid quest to help him regain control.

But I want him to lose himself in this moment. I want him where I was last night, marveling over him, over what we have, and over how good it could be.

Most of all, I want the control.

So I suck him in deeper, my cheeks hollowing out with the force of it, and I'm rewarded by another low groan. His hands clench my hair more firmly, his gaze never leaving mine.

"You are so beautiful. In everything, but especially like this, my Ali," he rasps, and I can't help the moan that rips out of me. "Do you like this? Does this please you?"

I slide my hand from the rock-hard contour of his ass, down his leg, and into the wetness of my pussy. "Mmhmm," I hum, rocking back and forth and picking up the pace. I'm mildly shocked by how wet I am, by how much being on my knees in front of him turns me on.

"Are you touching yourself?"

I don't answer, sucking him deep again, relaxing my throat, before sliding my tongue around his tip. A wicked smile curves my lips, and I hold up my fingers, showing him just exactly how excited I am before taking him back into my mouth.

He starts fucking me earnestly then, holding my hair and thrusting in and out of my mouth. I moan my encouragement, circling my clit in a feverish pace as his cock rams into my mouth.

"Ali," he grunts, stiffening, and then he's coming, filling my mouth with it. I swallow, drinking it down, still working myself. Before I can finish myself, he's flipping me onto the makeshift pallet, his mouth replacing my fingers, his fingers sliding easily inside of me.

My entire body lights up with pleasure. I grind into him, riding his face as he massages me deep inside, his mouth suckling my clit. His other finger finds my nipple, and when he pinches it, hard, I jerk off the ground.

"Lesath," I cry out, feeling a gush of liquid.

"Look at this, look how much you need me," he says, then his mouth fastens back on me as I ride out another orgasm. He keeps licking, lapping it up until I push his head away, my body overly sensitive.

I quake with aftershocks as he crawls back up my body, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Good morning, Ali." He's so self-satisfied and still somehow so sexy that I can't help grinning up at him, my legs still trembling from the ridiculous orgasms.

"Hi," I repeat. I blink a few times, suddenly unsure at what the hell's come over me. I mean, it's not like I regret it, holy shit, how could I regret the kind of pleasure I've had?

"That was fun," I add, feeling ridiculous. Fun didn't begin to cover it. Reality blinks back in, and I bite my cheeks. "Fun, fun."

"It was fun," he agrees, but his forehead crinkles. He narrows his eyes at me.

I'm being weird. "This is weird, right?"

His face falls, his easy smile disappearing. "Did you not want… did you not want to?"

"No, no, I definitely did?—"

His stunning smile reappears, and he traces the curve of one breast.

"I just, ah, you know, the mating bond?"

"We did not fulfill the bond, Ali," Lesath's smile grows. "But you can see that we did trigger something. No wonder we did not see it until now." His finger continues to smooth along the curve of my breast, and I gasp.

Purplish light seeps from my skin, and when I look closer, I see a dozen or so glowing dots there. Lesath traces between the dots, like he's connecting them.

It dawns on me.

"Your mark," I whisper.

"Our mark," he agrees. "Scorpio. It is perfect on you."

I swallow hard, throwing the blanket back over me.

"Ali." His eyes plead with me. "Do not be embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed," I snap. "I'm branded. That's different."

"I will wear yours, too, once we finish the bond."

I glare at him, not sure why I'm furious all the sudden. I sit up, tugging the blanket around my chest, and cradle my head in my hands. "I just… I mean…"

"I understand." Lesath's voice is soft. "I will ready the horses. We can eat as we travel. The sooner we get there, the better."

"That's not necess?—"

"We will set a hard pace and I will train you to use that dagger tonight. We will be too exhausted to push this any further. And then it can be fully in your hands after I receive my markings. You will have a choice, not one guided by any sort of fear that I will lose myself again. You should have a choice and I am a poor mate for having forced you to take an oath to sleep next to me."

I open my mouth to tell him he's wrong, that I didn't mean to snap at him. I enjoyed what we did, good lord, did I enjoy it, but this is going to take some getting used to.

But he's already turned away and stalked back through the cave entrance, saddle bags in hand except for the one for our bedroll and blanket.

My head spins. This man is so damn hot and cold. Irritation rises, and I grit my teeth as I tug on underwear and the pliable leather pants and vest. My legs are sore, my ankle feels wobbly, and there's a pleasant ache in my middle that speaks to the pleasure he wrung from my body.

"Asshole," I mutter, but it lacks my normal conviction.

My normal conviction. I frown, throwing on a clean blouse and the leather vest that surprisingly helped keep my boobs from bouncing all over the place on horseback.

No wonder he stormed out of here. He took one look at my reaction to his mark on me, something that softened him up and made him stare at me with his heart in his eyes, saw my momentary panic, and ran.

My throat tightens, and I roll the bedroll up with extreme prejudice, stuffing it in the pack alongside the blanket. I glance around, finding a canteen and filling it with the sulfurous water from the hot spring. It'll taste weird, but water is water. Raking my fingers through my hair, I manage a messy braid.

"I miss Ulson." The words surprise me. I never thought I'd say that. Never thought I'd want to go back to that gilded black cage. But man, it sure would be nice to have a hot meal and someone help me detangle my hair.

One night on the road and I already miss that massive bed.

Lesath's clothes catch my eye, puddled on the ground in a heap.

He was so eager to run away from me, to dominate the conversation and not let me get in a word edgewise, that he took off for the horses butt naked. I certainly wouldn't want my twig and berries hanging out where Molmith could graze freely.

I snort a laugh. I throw the canteen and packs over my shoulder, my mood brightening at the thought of Lesath fending off an attack from that devil horse. Bending down, I scoop up his clothes, his spicy scent filling my nose. Closing my eyes, I can't help but inhale deeply.

The thing between us has changed.

Taking our relationship physical has spawned a deep need in me, and I know exactly what I have to do to scratch that itch.

My eyes widen slightly as I walk slowly through the cave, leaving the quiet burble of the waterfall and spring behind.

I want to scratch the itch.

And what's worse, I think I like Lesath even more for trying to push me away this morning. I like that he's acting honorably, even if he's running cliterference that's making me crazy. He's doing his best to honor my wishes, to give me space and time before we seal the deal. Too bad I don't want either anymore. I want him; I want all of him.

An evil grin curves my lips.

I'm not going to make it easy on him.