Chapter 38

Oz

The quiet snick of the door closing was like the bell tolling. I knew my time was running short. In the days, the hours, the moments I had left, I'd determined I would spend every second worshiping the woman standing at the edge of the narrow bed.

Stella disrobed in front of me as though it was the most natural thing in the world and not the exquisite gift that it was. First, her shoulders were revealed along with my claiming mark. The scar had looked angry when I"d first left it there. Now it blended perfectly with her honeyed skin, like she"d been born with the mark.

The silk fabric of the shirt slipped from her body. Her lush breasts with the caramel tips greeted me. The nipples looked more like fingers beckoning me closer, closer. I stepped toward her, no longer able to keep away.

She wasn"t sin incarnate. I was. If anyone would have to pay for what was between us, it would only be me. I accepted my fate.

As I advanced on her, my gaze traveled down her curves to her stomach. I bit the inside of my lip at the sight of her belly button. I couldn"t wait to dip my tongue in that hollow divot. I wondered if she would giggle or moan. Soon, I"d find out.

But first, I wanted another taste of her real treasure. She was bare between her thighs, which gave me a view of the dusky pink heart of her. I needed to swallow. And then swallow again. Didn"t matter how many times I did it, I would never cease wanting to taste this woman.

This princess of my race.

This goddess among women.

Stella stood before me, completely nude. My legs went wobbly prepared to give her her due. I should be on my knees.

I let her pull up my shirt. She saw my scars and ran a hand and then her lips over them. I hissed at the contact. It was as though those wounds had never hurt. As though they"d been put there for her pleasure.

She undid the buttons of my pants and bent as she shoved them down. She stayed down on her knees, which bothered me at first. I was the one meant to worship her. But when she took me into her palm, I decided to give my goddess what she wanted. But not in this way.

I reached down and pulled her up. "Not on your knees."

"But I want to."

"You bow before no one. Do you understand me?"

She nodded. And then her lips were on mine. She kissed me, her lips warm and insistent. Her hands tangled in my hair as she deepened the kiss. My head was spinning with want, my body reeling with the knowledge that it could have.

Right now, she was mine. When we got to Portland, she might choose me still. Even if she didn"t, I would be hers until my last breath. I would love her until my heart stopped. There was nothing and no one who could take that away from me.

Our tongues danced together, which was funny since I had never danced a single step in time to a beat in my life. But that"s what we were doing together. The music was the pounding of my heart. It wasn"t racing. It didn"t feel rushed or forced. It felt natural and right. It felt as if we had always been meant to be together.

I broke the kiss, looking into Stella"s eyes. In them, I saw the reflection of the rising moon. There was a small voice in the back of my head that wondered if this was all an effect of the moon"s pull on her animal nature. I was sure that had something to do with it. But not all.

"I love you," I said.

Her smile was the most beautiful thing I"d ever seen in my life. It took her a couple of times before she could get the words past her throat. "I love you, too. I mean, I really do. Not because I"m supposed to because we"re fated and all. Because I actually like you as a person. You"re strong and brave. And so thoughtful. I love how you take care of me in the simplest ways. No one"s ever done that for me. And you"re so fucking sexy. I can"t wait to have you inside me."

I ran my knuckles down the side of her face, cherishing each of her features from her eager eyes, to her flaring nostrils, to those supple lips.

"And you"re loyal. I don"t doubt for a second that you would turn your back on me."

Now it was my turn to choke out the words. "I was loyal to the king. Now all my loyalty is to you."

She smiled, then went up on her toes to kiss me again.

I pressed my index finger to her lips. "Remember that. Promise me, you"ll remember that."

"I will. Can I jump your bones now?"

"Yes. You can jump my bones now."

"I"m gonna start with this one."

She wrapped her hand around my erection. Now it was her giving the tug, and I was the one following. She led me to the bed and shoved me down on it.

Stella"s body was a masterpiece. I admired every inch of it as she towered over me, completely naked. I had killed for this woman. I would do it again. In a heartbeat.

Her hands trailed up and down my erection. I groaned at the sensation, closing my eyes and letting myself get lost in the pleasure. It was all happening too soon. I didn"t want it to be over just as it started. It had been a while for me and never this good.

Just as I thought I had myself under control, she licked my tip. I jackknifed off the bed, taking her with me. But my woman was strong. Or maybe that was the cat peeking out of her eyes.

She pressed me back down on the bed. I fought for control. It was a losing battle because Stella wasn"t playing fair.

She had a tight grip on my length, her mouth at the tip. The other hand cupped my balls. There was no way I could win. I was going to have to surrender. That"s when her teeth nipped at my flesh.

"You said I could mark you."

My brain was not working. Neither was my throat. The only thing I could get past my lips were moans.

With her fingers still stroking my length, she lifted my ball sack. I felt her lips on the underside of the skin there. And then her teeth.

The pleasure started where her teeth marked me as hers. Then my balls swelled, preparing for release. Only somehow I didn"t blow my load.

My mind was so focused on that spot where she had marked her claim on me. All the ecstasy was concentrated there. It was pure joy that went in a loop from her bite to my balls to my cock and back again.

On and on it went like the world"s longest orgasm. I don"t think I noticed when she lifted her face from my crotch. She let go of my cock, forcing another groan from me. The pleasure was, at this point, becoming painful. Then she sank that lush body down on me, and I came to understand the word nirvana.

Everything faded away. For a brief second, even Stella left my consciousness. What remained was only sensation. Her warmth surrounding my cock ignited every nerve ending inside of me.

It was as if I had been searching for something my entire life, and I had finally found it. There was a sense of completeness, of wholeness, that washed over me. It was more than physical pleasure; it was an ascension. I"d touched death and understood what it truly meant to be alive. All worries, doubts, and fears melted away, replaced by an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment.

I saw stars. It was fitting. Because Stella was now my true north.