Page 47 of Fragile Beings
Artem gave in to temptation and slowly pulled her bottom lip into his mouth. It wasn’t quite a kiss, but a taste of what was to come. He gently pressed his teeth into the soft flesh before running his tongue along the mark, soothing the sting. “So?” he breathed, releasing her with one last bite. “Now I owe you my life on top of just wanting you. I don’t see anything wrong here.”
It wasn’t easy supporting his weight on one forearm, but Artem wasn’t about to let this point go unmade. Easing one hand down between their bodies, he slid his fingers just below the waistband of her shorts. “This isn’t an exchange, treat. This is a done thing. You are mine. I am yours. A dragon doesn’t Choose twice.” His clawtips brushed tight curls as he whispered against her mouth, “And this dragon is going to fucking spoil you rotten.”
Artem swallowed her little mew of surprise. He kissed her thoroughly, with everything he had, and felt her sweetness spread through his veins like golden honey. Her mouth was soft under his, tentative in ways that made his heart ache. Her tongue darted shyly to stroke his lower lip, to skate over the edge of deadly fang. Her taste was all he’d ever wanted and more than he could have imagined.
Paloma melted under him, the tension in her spine easing away as he kissed her again and again in the semi-darkness. In between kisses, he murmured sweet things and promises. Small sounds of desire escaped her throat, spurring him on. Forcing his aching spine to lock, Artem held himself over her and gently slid his fingers down through her curls. Slick heat waited for him.
Gods.
He tore his mouth from hers to let out a long, crooning whistle. “You are going to taste so good,” he breathed against the curve of her jaw. He pressed a lingering kiss there, too, just because he could. “I can’t wait to brand you into my fucking soul, Paloma.”
His body didn’t want to move anymore, to take more weight, but Artem didn’t care. He was going to do this even if it killed him.
Sliding down her body, he paused several times to kiss a particularly alluring patch of skin and to thrust up her loose sweatshirt. Full breasts with dark nipples greeted him. He lingered there for several minutes, lavishing attention on each pretty inch of her, until she was breathing hard and clutching at his hair. Only then did he move on.
Gritting his teeth against both his demanding cock and his increasingly stiff muscles, he eased her shorts down and off her legs. Glancing up at her face, Artem watched a flush spread across her chest and upward, into her cheeks.
Closing her thighs and turning her legs slightly away from him, she choked out, “I’ve never done… this before.”
Artem’s tail, still firmly wrapped around her thigh, gave it a reassuring squeeze. He forced his tone to be as neutral as possible when he asked, “Are you a virgin?”
She shook her head, but her eyes slid away from his. “No. I slept with someone in college, but it was only a couple of times. And years ago. I’ll understand if maybe you don’t want to—”
Giving her an easy smile, he tried not to show his relief. While a part of him might have enjoyed the idea of being her first and only, a much larger, more reasonable part of him understood that a virgin wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t mind shyness, nor inexperience, but he didn’t want to have to completely start from scratch with a partner, either.
“Oh, I want to,” he reassured her. “I just had to check.” Using one hand and his tail, Artem kept his eyes locked with hers as he slowly pulled her legs apart.
Lowering his head, he looked up at her through his lashes. “You tell me if you want me to stop. Understood?” He waited for her shaky nod before pressing a reverent kiss to her hip bone. My brave little mate, he thought, heart warming with pride. “That’s my sweet treat.”
Seeking to keep her comfortable and pliant under him, Artem started off slow. He teased her with flicks of his tongue — longer than a human’s, and more useful in this task than his clawed fingers were — and listened to her soft moans, looking for cues. Gradually, her wariness faded into enthusiasm. When her fingers curled around one of his horns, holding tight as her thighs flexed around his ears, Artem’s chest swelled with triumph.
Locking eyes with her, he winked once, as a warning, before sliding his tongue into the tight channel of her cunt.
Paloma gasped, nearly shooting upright with surprise as he curled the tip against the sensitive spot inside her. Not wanting her to dislodge him, Artem used his wings to carefully pin her shoulders down into the ramshackle nest. He increased the pace of his thrusting tongue, alternating between that and firm circles around her clitoris, until she arched her back and cried out for him.
And then he did it again.
And again.
Finally, when she pushed at his horns with a weak moan, Artem allowed her to rest. Hauling his aching body back up, he contented himself with more kisses — the slow, drugging kind that came from a partner well-sated.
“Artem,” she breathed, dazed. It was like she meant to start a sentence, but didn’t have any other words readily available. “Artem.”
Before he could do anything more to hurt himself, he turned them back onto their sides. Keeping her back pressed against his front, he did his best to ignore the raging ache of his erection nestled against her soft curves. It was something that would have to be borne. Going any further in his state would not be an option.
Paloma lifted her head to peer at him over her shoulder. Her hair was a wild tangle and her lips were beautifully swollen when she asked, “But what about you?”
He let out a choked laugh. “I got what I wanted. Not sure my body could take anything more right now, anyway.”
Her dark brows snapped together. “Are you hurting?”
Yes, but he wasn’t about to ruin the moment by telling her that. He was a ‘Riik soldier and an Aždaja. He could take a little pain.
“Shh, treat.” Artem smoothed his palm down her stomach and licked his lips, savoring the taste of her that lingered there. “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me. I wanted to take care of you.”
Paloma squirmed in his hold until he was forced to loosen his arm, letting her turn over so she faced him. “I’m not used to that.”
His lips thinned as he took in her earnest expression. “You should be. You will be.”
