He slowly sank one finger inside her, then another. 'Are you ready for more?' A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. He bit her neck, making a small sting, then he licked it away as he thrust those fingers in a delicious rhythm.
She cried out and lifted her hips. His shaft strained for her, but he worked another finger inside her. How he loved the feel of her tightness. Her moist heat. Soft, mewling sounds escaped her lips when he circled his thumb around her clitoris.
'I'm ready,' she said. 'I promise I'm ready.'
With a growl, he latched on to her mouth and drank from her. He didn't deserve her, but the gods had given her to him and he was going to do everything within his power to make her happy. She would never regret giving herself to him.
'I want to kiss you here,' he said, again circling his thumb around the very heart of her wetness.
Her eyes closed in surrender. As generous as she was, his Grace wasn't content to take pleasure only for herself; she insisted on returning it. 'I… want to kiss… you here,' she said, between panting breaths, slipping her own hand between them and cupping the long, thick length of him. 'Who gets to go first?'
Those beads of sweat grew into a fine sheen over his entire body. She craved excitement, he thought, and so he would give it to her. 'We will both go first.'
Her tongue shot out and traced her own lips, taking in the residual taste of himself he'd left behind. 'Really? How?'
In a total of two seconds, he removed his pants, then her panties, leaving them both completely naked. He gathered her into his arms and settled on his back, placing her on top. He'd never given a woman a chance to take him in her mouth. Picturing Grace's red curls spilled across his abdomen, over his thighs and cock, picturing her teeth grazing his length and her mouth sucking him deeply, nearly made him come.
'Straddle me,' he said, surprised he still possessed a voice. His need pounded through his veins. 'Do not face me. Face the other direction.'
Her nipples pebbled further, and she gazed down at him with an expression of utter longing. Slowly she did as he instructed. Her back was long and slender and perfectly proportioned. He caressed a fingertip down each vertebra, and tiny bumps of pleasure appeared on her skin.
He clasped her hips, tugged, scooting her closer and closer to his waiting mouth.
'Now lean over,' he instructed.
Languidly sensual, she moved her mouth toward his thick erection. Her warm breath fanned his heavy testicles as he lifted his head and licked into her slick heat.
At that first contact, Grace screamed her pleasure. Not an orgasm, but close. So close. Her hands clenched Darius's hips. He continued to lave her, and she inched the thick length of him into her mouth-and almost screamed again. The eroticism of having his shaft nestled in her mouth while Darius tasted her very essence proved earth- shattering.
'This is what I meant when I said I wanted to eat you,' he rumbled, the vibrations resonating into her.
His words and actions combined, bringing her swiftly to a torturing climax. Her body jerked and quivered as a thousand lights sparked past her mind. Pleasure, so much pleasure. She tore her lips from him as his name ripped past her throat. 'Darius, Darius, Darius.' The heat of it branded.
When her climax faded, she should have been sated, completely fulfilled. But she wasn't. She wanted him buried deep inside her, so deep he'd leave his mark on her for days.
Desperate, Darius lifted her and spun her toward him. He tumbled her over and gazed down at her. 'Now?' The word emerged hoarse and eager. Frantic. He needed to be inside her.
She spread her legs wide, fitting his hard length where it belonged, almost-but not quite-at the sweet edge of penetration. 'I'll always be ready for you.'
'You're my woman. Say it.'
'I'm yours. Now. Always.'
'And I am yours.' He slanted his mouth over hers at the same moment he impaled her. He cried out at the joy of it, the heady bliss, his enjoyment so intense his wings burst unbidden from his back, stroking a heated draft over their bodies. His majestic wings stayed suspended in the air for a breathless moment, two deceptively sheer extensions that at last lowered, surrounding him and Grace in an iridescent cocoon.
Shocked, he stared down at her. Her eyes were closed, and her lips pressed together. Instead of a pained cry, she murmured in surrender.
For Grace, the sharp pain of virginity left as suddenly as it appeared, leaving only the thickness of him. The hardness.
'You are… this is… I am your first lover,' he said, when the realization struck him. 'Only lover.' A possessiveness more potent than orgasm shuddered through him.
'Don't stop,' she said. 'Mmm. You feel so good.'
'Your only mate,' he said with awe. He moved slowly at first, but that wasn't enough for her. She gripped his hips, raised her own and ground herself into him. He needed no more encouragement. He clasped her bottom and pumped into her, over and over, again and again.
He rode her hard, unable to slow. His kisses grew fervent, plunging in sync with his powerful thrusts. Exquisite tension held her in its grasp, held tighter, tighter, then suddenly exploded, gifting her with the most shattering gratification she'd ever experienced. She shuddered with it, gasped and screamed with it.
'By the gods, you are sweet,' he said through clenched teeth. Anchoring her legs atop his shoulders and sending him deeper inside her, he quickened his strokes further and joined her, chanting her name.
Unexpectedly she climaxed again.
Darius carried Grace to bed and neither of them rose for several hours.
He wanted to spend the rest of his life right here in her arms, her plump backside nestled against him, but knew that wasn't meant to be.
Midnight had settled over the land.
Moonlight crept through the windows, its silvery fingers intertwining with darkness. The city pulsed with life, even at this later hour. Time to leave. Still…
He allowed himself a few more minutes of quiet luxury, of holding Grace in the protective shield of his embrace. Her intoxicating scent surrounded him, and her warmth seeped into his bones. Virgin. She had been virgin. This beautiful, sensuous creature had given him what she'd given no other man.
She was a treasure more rich and satisfying than any other. He would protect her with his life.
'Darius?' she sighed, snuggling closer.
'Hmm?'
'Are we married? I mean, we didn't sign anything or-'
'We are joined. Never think otherwise.'
'I'm glad.' She eased up on her elbow and offered him a satisfied smile.
'As am I,' he said.
'What we did-I don't think there's even a word to describe the bliss.'
He nipped the softness of her shoulder with his teeth. 'I meant to go slowly, wife, meant to savor you.'
Her eyelids fluttered down. 'Say it again.'
'I meant to go-'
'No. The part where you called me your wife.'
His arms tightened around her. 'We belong together, wife.'
She rolled onto her side and faced him. 'Just so you know, I happened to like it the way you gave it to me, husband .'
His cock should not have stirred for hours-perhaps days-but as he looked at her and basked in her words, need unfurled through him. If they did not get up, he would take her again, and he knew he wouldn't have the strength to leave afterward.
'Get dressed,' he said, patting her bottom. 'Time for us to visit Jason Graves.'
Grace lost her dazed expression. The sensual reprieve ended as real life intruded. She lumbered to her feet and stumbled to her bathroom. Wincing at the soreness of her body, she took a quick shower and slipped on a pair of black pants and a matching black, short-sleeved shirt.
When she glanced up, Darius stood in the bathroom doorway, watching her through intense, golden eyes.
