decidedly bovine features, he was as breathtaking as any god she could image. She gazed in admiration at the rippling muscles on his back as he moved about the cavern, glancing side to side and seemingly searching for something. He disappeared around a shadowy corner of the chamber.
A moment later she heard water dripping into a container. The sound deepened with every drop collected. Soon, Darron returned holding an earthen bowl of water. He stood before her and offered it. “Drink.”
She hesitantly sniffed the water. It carried the faint scent of minerals but other than that, the water appeared fresh and was very welcome. She bowed her head to eagerly drink. She also noticed Darron’s scent had subtly changed. He no longer smelled like a beast. His skin now carried the light, musky scent of a man. A scent she found strongly enticing.
Darron tipped the bowl and helped her to drink it all.
She instantly felt better and was ready for more water, but was afraid to ask. She thought it best to show gratitude first and whispered a shaky, “Thank you.”
He moved closer, brushing his chest against hers. A slight puff of moist breath bathed her face. A glimmer of what looked like pure male ferocity flashed in his eyes.
She tensed. Now what? “You seem decent,” she pleaded softly. “Let me go or do what you’re going to do, but please don’t hurt me.”
Darron softly exhaled. His hands stroked the sides of her bare arms. “I don’t wish to hurt you.”
The light touch of his broad hands on her skin caused a cascade of unsettling sensations. Her arms already tingled from being hoisted above her head for so long. She gently rolled her wrists to bring some blood to her fingertips.
Darron’s hands traveled toward her raised wrists. His fingers brushed against the leather bonds and hovered there.
She wondered if he was deliberating about whether or not to untie her. Her heart pounded with hope. Would he set her free?
His hands lowered to gently cup the sides of her face.
She tipped her chin upward. He was studying her, seemingly drawing in every detail with intense focus. There was an awed spark in his eyes that almost verged on worship. No one had ever looked at her that way. His expression left her breathless.
He leaned closer and she felt the firm nudge of a hard cock against her belly, and gasped.
“I need this…” His hands lowered to her thighs and gently stroked their rounded curves. “Will you allow it?”
Larisa was too stunned to answer.
She simply nodded.
He lifted the hem of her tunic to her hips and slid his hand between her legs to part them. His fingers slowly circled the thick tangle of dark curls before one dipped between the lips of her sex, searching for the tiny bud hidden there. He carefully explored her body until he found it and pressed down with lazily, circling strokes.
She sighed at his restrained tenderness. His gentle touch and obvious interest in her pleasure eased her fears. A rush of heat flooded between her thighs. She arched toward him and moaned when a surprisingly strong jolt of pleasure rocked her body.
Abruptly he took hold of her hips and lifted her against the column. Larisa felt weightless in his grasp. A blissful feeling of surrender followed.
Darron pinned her body with his and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He slowly rubbed her wet sex with the head of his cock, making it slick, then pressed gently but persistently between her thighs.
His thick cock slid deep inside her in a single unhurried thrust.
She gulped a startled breath at the first stroke’s harsh stretch but by the second and third slow thrusts, she loved the faint burn. The silky hair on his thighs brushed lightly against her skin. The sensation of being completely filled was stunning. She tightened her legs around his hips to lock him in place as he moved cautiously inside her. She wished her hands were free to stroke her bud and add to the rising pleasure, but the tether held her wrists taut.
Heat rolled off his skin as his body covered her. His hips pumped with smooth, graceful motions but as he grew more excited, the pace sped and his breath panted near her ear.
Judging by the gruff, breathy sounds, Larisa knew he was close to climax. Her mind reeled. A god was taking her—and it felt wonderful. She floated on every exciting sensation as the slick stroke of his shaft began to rub against her bud at exactly the right angle.
Larisa rolled her hips against him with abandon; their bodies fit perfectly. The feeling was so unbelievably good it surprised her when it got even better, and a shudder of unbearable pleasure broke over her with a wave of gripping contractions. The final release was so strong, her lips parted on a long, sweet moan.
Darron’s hands firmly gripped her hips and hoisted her higher. His uninhibited strokes sped. His chest pinned her firmly against the column as his body tensed. He came with his own crashing climax that left him trembling. He pressed close and remained almost motionless inside her for what felt like forever, wringing every last bit of pleasure from the act.
She gulped a deep breath as full realization of what she’d done rushed forward. She had mated with a god. And loved it.
What kind of woman did that make her? A goddess or a doomed consort? In every tale of mortal women who had been abducted, ravished or who’d willingly made love to a god, it always ended badly for the mortal. Everyone knew contact with a god drastically changed a woman’s fate. Darron seemed so caring. The act of shared pleasure had been beautiful…but surely tragedy lay ahead.
Darron carefully lowered her feet to the floor. Larisa immediately felt his warm seed trickle down her thighs.
He untied the tether from the bronze ring and unbound Larisa’s wrists. He tossed the tether aside, swept her into his arms and drew her close to his chest. “I’m going to keep you.”
Her fingertips tingled from being lowered too quickly but she allowed herself to relax in his arms and lightly brushed her face against the soft strands of hair running down the center of his chest. He was big and solid and she felt herself melting against him from sheer exhaustion.
Darron cradled her in his arms. His tail swished quietly as he walked beyond the cavernous chamber and into the narrow passageways of the labyrinth, which were lit with a blazing torch at every turn. She tried to ignore the unsettling sound of the tail by listening to the thump of his heart deep in his chest.
There were many twists in the path as they journeyed deeper into the labyrinth. Darron walked for what felt like forever. The ground slightly trembled beneath their feet regularly, as if the island were a great beast shifting its weight and groaning. Tiny plumes of dust and debris trickled down the walls.
Finally they came to a small chamber furnished with lush furs laid atop a sweet-smelling straw mattress. Darron stopped and gently lowered her feet to the floor.
His eyes drooped. “This must be what tired feels like?” He lay down on the mattress with an exhausted sigh, his long body stretching the length of the bed. He reached out, took hold of her wrist and pulled her down beside him. His big arms locked around her, holding her captive against his chest. “If I fell asleep, would you run away?”
She felt comforted in his arms. “No.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I like having you near.” He held her close as his breathing slowed.
Soon he slept, and not long after, so did Larisa. A beautiful but strangely agitated dream followed…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Larisa was floating in a beautiful place that appeared to be made of blindingly bright, rainbow-colored light. The atmosphere was as thick as honey and hummed with vibrancy. These seemed no distinct impression of up or down and nothing around her possessed true solidity.
She glided beneath a roaring waterfall of shimmering light, passing right through it with no physical sensation at all. Fluid, translucent walls of pastel-tinted light also proved to be no barrier; she easily crossed through those as well.
This place slightly resembled the Palace of Asterion, with its pattern-embellished columns of light and its soaring grandeur, but its ethereal beauty was far beyond anything she could compare it to.
She became aware of male voices arguing and moved toward a glowing gathering of tall, slender beings that
