Chapter 29

KLARA

The sun was lowering in the sky, and I felt like I was out of my own skin. Like it was just something that had kept me contained my whole life.

My hair was wild. My skin sensitive and stinging. There was a ball of determination nestled deep in my belly. And I felt like I wasn’t myself. I felt like this other thing. This wild being who threw herself off the backs of dragons, who’d looked at death as it had risen up to approach her.

My bones and joints were aching from the impact of Zaridan’s catches. A permanent fluttering had taken root in my stomach, the force of the fall, and I wondered if it would ever go away.

There was another aching, wild thing in me though. An intertwining of frustration, anger, want, and gratitude. It mingled with the adrenaline, and I found that every time Sarkin caught me after another fall, it grew and grew.

His touch set me on fire. My body felt like it was a string, tightening and tightening, and I wondered what would happen when that string finally snapped.

I didn’t know if Sarkin felt it too. The adrenaline. The building and mounting sensation of fierce need. I wouldn’t have believed it, but in the last two falls I’d taken…I’d felt the fluttering in my belly move between my thighs.

When Sarkin caught me that final time, I knew I’d had enough. I’d willingly jumped off Zaridan over a dozen times that afternoon. I had been dismantled and then rebuilt with every last one until I was someone I didn’t quite recognize anymore.

Sarkin’s hands on me were as familiar as the sturdy, unyielding harness between my thighs and the sound of Zaridan’s great wings.

That string of tension finally snapped when Sarkin murmured into my ear, “Good?”

A breath, or a gasp or a sob perhaps, escaped me, and I turned in his arms, swiveling in the leather mount.

My kiss was a desperate, aching, wild little monster. The thought of it—of him, his lips, his touch, his taste—had consumed me. He was a monster, one who cared about me, one who had pushed me off Zaridan’s back to free me.

His kiss was immediate, his grip tightening on my waist. I was tugging at his clothes, fumbling with the clasps near the hem of his pants.

“Get them off,” I pleaded, my voice husky and raw from the wind. I needed to feel his skin against mine. I needed to be grounded to something, or else I feared I would fall into nothingness. “ Kakkari , please!”

Sarkin’s growl was both a warning and a demand. He leaned over and thumped his fist along Zaridan’s side three times. She veered, aiming for the nearest flattened ledge along the cliffside.

I moved my mouth, biting at Sarkin’s neck, making him hiss, followed by a groan that had me squeezing my legs around the harness all the more forcefully. I couldn’t find the relief I needed though. If I didn’t have it soon, I was almost afraid of what would happen.

As sunset painted beautiful pastel colors over the Tharken cliffs and I heard the crash of waves from a faraway ocean, I felt a maelstrom of fierce need storming through every vein, rushing with every throb of my heart.

Sarkin timed our jump onto the ledge perfectly, and Zaridan left us, flying freely through the pass and disappearing from view. The stone was solid beneath my feet as Sarkin tore at my clothes. It was like a race to get us both undressed as quickly as possible. When we were naked, I crashed into him, crying out in relief at the warm stretch of his body against me, all solid muscles and tantalizing, arousing strength.

His mouth was hot like a brand on my neck, marking me with his teeth and tongue. My hands dove into his hair, keeping him there. He kissed and nibbled downward, seeking, before sucking my nipple between his lips. My moan echoed through Tharken.

“Need you now,” I pleaded. I didn’t want to be teased or kissed or petted. I needed him inside my body. I needed to feel the stinging stretch of him, the thickness of his cock keeping me rooted to the earth. “Sarkin, hanniva !”

“Take me in your hand,” he growled. My fingers curled, my grip tight, and his hips bucked forward when I slid my hand down. “ Fuck , aralye . I never thought…”

“Thought what?” I breathed, my eyes going half-lidded at the feel of him in my palm.

“Never thought it would be like this with you,” he admitted, his brow furrowing in an almost angry expression. But I knew better now. “I thought Lishara’s blessing was behind us.”

I thought I understood what he was saying.

“This need feels almost worse,” I confessed, running my fist down his cock again, my thumb swiping over the sensitive head, smearing his pre-come, making him grit his teeth. “How do you want me?”

He laughed, but it was low and humorless. “I want you in every way, Klara.”

A shiver dragged its way up my spine like a slow touch.

“I’m afraid it will never be enough,” he growled, glaring. As if it was my fault alone.

I kissed him again, and his tongue swept into my mouth. It felt like he was devouring me. Tingles started all over my body until I was trembling. The adrenaline was still pumping through me, still making me feel like I was flying.

“We’re talking entirely too much,” I said against his lips, the raspiness and urgency in my tone sounding like a little growl of my own.

He groaned, his hands threading through my hair. He pulled me back with a fist in my hair, my throat exposed to him, as our eyes connected. My breathing went shallow.

“Do that again—give me your little growl. Tell me what you want, princess, and I’ll give you whatever you need.”

“Make love to me, Sarkin,” I pleaded.

His expression flickered. I saw his molten determination bloom, his hot, burning eyes roving down my body, as if he was envisioning everything he would do to me.

“Beg me with your little Dakkari word,” he commanded, his thumb dipping between my legs, gentle and teasing over my sensitive clit. My thighs trembled.

“ Hanniva, ” I said. His eyes closed, and in my grip, I felt his cock pulse and harden even further, if that was even possible. “ Hanniva! ”

He pushed me up against the cliffside, my back against surprisingly smooth stone. The expanse of the Tharken cliffs was before us, a breathtaking view in itself, but all I had eyes for was my husband.

He moved me bodily, hitching me up as my legs wrapped around his hips. Reminiscent of our first time in Lishara’s temple, only instead of a heartstone pillar, my back was against the cliffs.

We both groaned in satisfaction and relief when he slid deep inside without warning. I was open to him like this. I took him easily, with no resistance, my body wanting, needing . A desperate little thing, and it was hungry.

Our lovemaking was quick. Like falling off Zaridan, this moment felt like I was out of my body. I felt only sensations. I felt the drag of my hand across his shoulders. The tightness between my thighs, the pleasure rising with every bump of his dakke against my clit, rubbing against me with perfect friction and pressure.

I felt his lips at my neck. I felt his hot breath explode against my skin with every powerful thrust. I felt my legs tighten in time with the muscles flexing in his backside. My heartbeat was so loud it sounded like the great rush of Zaridan’s wings.

When my orgasm hit, it blinded me. The whole world burst into starlight. My scream echoed throughout Tharken long after I’d unleashed it. Relief and ecstasy came. I wasn’t aware that I was crying until after the most powerful wave of it was over. When I opened my eyes, they were blurry with unushered tears. Belatedly, I realized that Sarkin was groaning, his thrusts jerky and slowing as he gave me the last of his strength, as the lashes of his come filled me.

When it was over, I hugged him to me as tears dripped down my face. Again I felt the rapidness of our hearts against one another. Soon, as they slowed, their beats began to match.

Sarkin maneuvered my legs to the ground.

“What are you doing?” I whispered, not trusting my voice as I watched him slide to his knees before me.

I was shy when he parted my thighs, though I was curious. His thumb traced over my sex, and I jumped, biting my lip, anticipation curling in my belly.

In disbelief, I watched him lean forward, his tongue darting out as he lapped between my thighs. My lips parted, tingles exploding across my skin, my scalp prickling. When his tongue curled around my sensitive clit, I sucked in a sharp breath. He was gentle, rubbing his soft lips against the bundle of nerves, and I started to pant. He was holding my gaze, those molten, multicolored eyes watching every expression that flickered over my face.

He liked to see what he did to me.

My eyes closed as I felt desire bloom deep. This time it felt different. It felt slow, but it felt endless. It wasn’t rushed or desperate. He licked and kissed between my thighs, lapping at our combined mess, the mess we’d made together, and he didn’t seem to care at all how perfectly wicked that felt.

“Sarkin,” I breathed, wanting him again, not thinking it was possible so soon. We’d barely caught our breath.

He rose and captured my lips. I sucked at his tongue, tasting what he had. My fingers dug into his shoulders, and his hands came up to my breasts, pinching at my nipples, making me arch into him.

“Again?” I gasped.

“Again,” he growled. “We’ll make camp here tonight. I’m nowhere near done with you yet, wife.”