13. Kaia

We climb the stairs one by one, my footsteps slow and measured. I sway my hips back and forth, the soft cotton fabric swishing around my legs. I know I look good in this robe-type thing he calls my pajamas. It cinches in at the waist and lets an ample amount of cleavage out on display. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he got a look at me.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but there’s only one bed in our room. I spent my entire bath thinking about it and what — if anything — I wanted to do about it. There was something freeing about letting him touch me earlier, about finally giving in to something that I really wanted. Like I finally got to do something for me .

And it wasn’t a disappointment.

So what if I maybe wanted to try it again? No harm, right? I mean, he’s clearly a gentleman. He’s held back this entire time and waited until he had my permission to do anything. It’s more than I can say for one of my exes. And not only is he very, very good with his hands, but he made me feel wanted the entire time. I wasn’t self-conscious once. Everywhere he touched me lit up and sang under his ministrations.

Fuck it.

Why not just be honest with ourselves? We are two grown adults, and we can sleep with each other without getting so attached that we can’t stop. He wants me, and I want him. Why would I miss out on something this good? And now that Natalie, who I discovered is a witch, had been kind enough to slip me some magical lube to help with the stretch – I know, I laughed, too – I’m ready to throw caution to the wind.

“You are doing this on purpose,” he says matter-of-factly. His voice is low and rough. I love it when he practically growls at me. It’s like I can feel it all the way down to my toes.

“Doing what?” I ask innocently.

I shove the key into the door of our room. It’s an old skeleton key but made of thick, heavy iron. It clicks to the right, and the door swings open. Within seconds, Thoren has tossed the tea to the side, taken me in his arms, and shut the door. My back gets shoved against the heavy wood as he grabs the key from my hand. When the lock clicks, his wings unfurl and wrap us in a cocoon.

“You’re tempting me.” His dark eyes bore into mine, like he’s really trying to figure me out. “Why?”

“I just think we should start being honest with each other,” I explain, my voice barely coming out above a whisper. I trace the bones of his wings and relish in the way it makes him shiver. His tail snakes up over my foot and grabs hold of my ankle. Having him invade my space like this makes me dizzy. He took a bath before me while I got the grand tour and family history from Natalie. He smells like whiskey and the rosemary soap that was left for guests in the room. God, I could breathe him in all day.

And yes, I know that sounds weird.

“Honest?” His eyebrow peaks up toward one of his horns. “What would you like to be honest about, Goldilocks?”

“How we feel about each other, you know?” I groan because I can feel the embarrassment seeping in. I shouldn’t be ashamed to talk about sex. I am almost thirty . And he’s…my mate. So I should be able to discuss this without my entire body blushing. “I like you, and I think you like me.”

He grins and nods down toward his cock, which is most definitely happy to see me.

“I think I like you, yes, Goldilocks. What about it?”

“I just don’t see why we shouldn’t” — I shrug — “indulge a little.”

Oh, my god. I sound like an idiot. Indulge a little ? Seriously?

He hums as he leans forward and drops his nose to my neck. Goose bumps break out all over my arms, and as he breathes in deeply, my clit pulses with need. “And are you not afraid that I won’t be able to stop?” he asks before placing a single, hot kiss below my ear. His beard tickles my throat as he pulls the robe slowly down my shoulder. “Because I am.”

“We— We’re adults.” I clear my throat and try to shake free of the haze. “We aren’t ruled by our emotions. We can stop whenever we want.” I can’t tell if I’m trying to convince him or myself at this point.

The sharp points of his canines scratch against my shoulder. He sinks down on one knee and then the other. Our height difference means we’re almost face-to-face. He’s just barely shorter than me, and it feels strange to be looking down at him. The fire casts a warm, orange glow around the room, and a soft moan escapes my mouth when he exposes my breast.

“When I first set eyes on you,” he murmurs, his lips just barely touching my nipple, “I thought you were perfect, absolutely stunning. But now?” His eyes dart up to mine as his tongue licks slowly over my breast. “I know you must be a Goddess, sent to me by the Gods themselves.”

Okay, wow. That’s a lot. And it’s working because my pussy is desperate for more of his sweet nothings. I wrap my hand into the longer strands of his hair at the nape of his neck and tug. He grins, the look wicked on his handsome face, and then he licks his bottom lip. His cheekbones are accentuated by the fire’s light, and his cheeks are flushed with arousal. And he thinks I’m one of the Gods…

“If you don’t stop fucking around,” I warn him, “I will take it all back.”

A mischievous chuckle escapes those sexy-as-fuck lips. “I don’t think you’d have the power to do that, Goldilocks.”

I lean forward and hover above his mouth. “Don’t call me that,” I tell him. “Not while we’re like this.” I want to hear my real name on his lips.

Closing the distance between us, I take his whiskey-tinged lips with my own. It’s not the first time we’ve kissed, but it could be. He takes my breath away every single time. And that puzzle piece begins to slide a little closer to its spot. He breaks the kiss and gazes up at me with swollen lips and heavy-lidded eyes.

“Kaia.” My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. The corners of his lips tilt. “Kaia,” he says again, like he’s praying to me. He leans up, kissing me softly, our lips coming together, lazy and languid. “I want to taste every inch of your delicate skin.”

“Yes, please.” I moan when he leaves my lips to push me back against the door and claim my nipple. His hot tongue swirls around it before he sucks it between his teeth. Pleasure shoots down my spine. I try to rub my thighs together, desperate for some kind of friction. I try to get beneath my robe to rub my clit, but Thoren stops me and holds my wrists firmly against the door.

“Your pleasure is mine.” His mouth moves to my other nipple, giving it the same rough attention as the other. My robe is hanging on by the belt around my waist, but he rips it away. I’ll kill him if he actually just ripped it. That was my favorite.

“That sounds like an oxymoron.”

“I do not know what that means.” His lips are hot as they skate down my stomach. When he realizes I’m too short, or he’s too tall, for his angle to work, he picks me up and carries me over to the bed in a few quick steps. He tosses me down onto it as he begins to strip for me.

“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter. My brain is short-circuiting. “I couldn’t explain it to you even if I wanted to.”

“Kaia,” he says, tossing his shirt to the side.

“Yes?” I move my eyes, which had wandered down his tight rows of abs, back up to his face.

“Stop talking about oxy’s.”

That makes me laugh, but it catches in my throat when his big hands make quick work of his pants. They fall to the ground, and his cock is suddenly on full display. The shaft is long and thick, the same gray color as his skin, and the head is deeper in color, swollen and dripping for me .

“Can I touch you?” I look back up to his face, and he’s looking at me like I hung the moon.

“You can always touch me, my mate.” He leans forward, placing one knee on the mattress. I sit up and crawl over to him. I want to take my time, but I also need to taste him. There’s suddenly nothing more important than getting my mouth all over him. My thighs are slick, and my nipples are aching. I just need him.

My fingertips run over his shoulders and down his thick biceps. His forearms are large as well, I’m sure from working in the forge for so many years. The hair on his chest is soft and covers just the perfect amount of him, from a dusting at his collarbone to a trail right down to where I want to be. He’s clearly older than me; his salt-and-pepper hair and the wrinkles around his eyes prove that. But he’s also older in a different way, as if he ages far slower, and he’s been waiting for me for much longer than I’ve been waiting for him.

His eyes close when I finally wrap my hand — or try to — around the base of his cock. My fingers don’t even begin to touch, but that’s okay. I like the challenge. He’s hard as stone and hot under my palm. I give him one slow stroke from root to tip and then swirl the precum there back down his shaft. He’s groaning and flexing, his muscles working hard as they hold back.

“Mate,” he says, his eyes capturing my own as his hand tangles in my hair. “I will not last long if you keep touching me like that. I’ve waited so long for you. Let me taste you.”

I grin and bite the inside of my cheek. This man makes me feel so much all at once. I roll my eyes and shrug. “I guess that would be okay.”

He laughs and then tackles me back onto the bed. Our mouths clash, and our laughter dies. My legs wrap around his hips while he thrusts to run his cock through my wetness. The friction on my clit is divine, and I cry out as an orgasm sneaks up on me. My nails scrape down his arms, and he bites my neck. The pain and pleasure sends me soaring out of my body.

I know there will be a mark there in the morning, and I love the thought. Maybe I should mark him as well, let others know he is mine.

Mine?

“One of many I plan to give you tonight.” His voice brings me out of the momentary panic. He reaches back and smacks the side of my ass. “Now, turn over and let me lick you.”