Page 26 of Dancing With Demons
I’m still not sure what happened when we become airborne, and I’m pressed against his bloody chest. I can’t feel my fingers or lips, and my nose is frigid against the heat of his chest. It’s too cold. I’ll die if we don’t find shelter. Ifhedoesn’t find shelter.
Chaos magic is a dangerous force, I think with mild amusement as I nestle deeper against Eth’tak’s warm body.Didn’t Tolmond tell me so, during one of our practices?
At least I brought Eth’tak with me, or I’d be frozen by now.
My heart drops when we descend, though the blood in my veins has turned to ice. He seems to find something. Shelter, hopefully, that will keep me from freezing my toes off. He falls to his knees with me in his arms, and leans over me. “Piper, can you hear me?”
I can’t speak, my teeth chattering something fierce, but I nod.
“I’m going to get you warmed up.” He kisses my brow. I want to enjoy the sensation, but I’m just too cold. He seems to realize it and levers up just long enough to manifest a blazing fire in the center of the cave. Its heat floods into me, and he scoots me forward, doing his best to shelter me from the worst of the blizzard outside.
Soon, the feeling in my extremities returns, and I stroke the soft down of his fur. I tangle my fingers through it, reveling in the new sensation. His heavy hands stroke down my back, over my rump, and my legs.
The slaughter is gone, but it’s a small relief.
I need to worry about myself now.
“Tell me if it gets too warm,” he murmurs in my ear, sending a delicious tingle up my spine. “Or if you feel hot.”
My laugh is distant. “I like the heat,” I say in turn, raking through the light fur on his shoulders. “And I like you.”
“You’re just saying that,” he growls, though his touch never goes away.
“Why do you think I came with you in the first place?” My sigh is long and slow. “I trusted you then, and I trust you now. Don’t you believe me?”
He runs a hand through my hair. “You’re in shock, Piper.
“You used a lot of magic to get us here,” he says, seeming to consider his words thoughtfully. “Whereverhereis.”
“Here, there,” I say, nuzzling my face against his hard chest. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters very much,” he chides gently. “Depending on where we are, we could be half a world away from Galmoleth, and that is a very long flight home.”
But there’s a hitch in his throat when my lips meet the flesh of his chest. He looks down at me with surprise, those red eyes homing in on me. Is it- fear sparkling in them? I can hardly care, enjoying how thoroughly he handles me in his effort to keep me alive.
His wings are still wrapped around us both, sheltering us from the worst of the elements, and yet, when I crane my neck to face him fully, he doesn’t pull away. Still, the fear settles into his expression. “Piper, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I trust you with my life,” I whisper, pressing my cheek to his and kissing the side of his neck. “I know you won’t do anything to hurt me.”
A little groan finds him.
But when our lips connect, something gives in him, and he finally yields to my kiss. It’s so different than Tolmond’s diligent caress, but it’s just as delectable.
13
Piper
There’s a rumble in Eth’tak’s throat as I push him onto his back. I wantmorethan he’s giving me, his hands and mouth too gentle. Like he’s still afraid of hurting me.
He hasn’t even tried to take my soaked clothes off.
I place his hands at my hips. “Stop overthinking this,” I murmur between kisses. “I know you want this as much as I do.”
He grimaces and glances away as my mouth descends on the hard lines of his chest. “You have Tolmond.”
“So?” I ask, every kiss forcing a little sound of pleasure from his throat. “Ineedyou right now. What would he think if you let me freeze to death? All the way out here, in the middle of the mountains?”
His red eyes fall on me again, flaring with defiance. “I wouldn’t-”