Mated to the Warrior Beast

With a puttering growl, Tarkyn kissed his way down Harth’s neck, her shoulder, her collarbone, and yet still down, until the warm plump of her breast was under his tongue.

Staring at her out from under his brows and the hair falling into his eyes, he smiled as he traced her nipple with his tongue.

Harth stared down at him, watching, eyes wide, as he teased that peak that hadn’t softened since he’d held her in his hands. Then he opened his mouth over it and sucked.

Harth whimpered and her hips bucked.

He sucked again and her breath stopped. She’d wrapped both arms around him, her hands in his hair, holding him against her, still watching as he opened his mouth wider, laving her with the flat of his tongue, tasting her more, deeper, sucking harder in rhythm with his thrusts, until she began to shake.

“Harth,” he rasped against her. “My love-”

“Don’t stop, please!” she pleaded.

With a growl of approval, Tarkyn smiled around her breast and set to his task.

.....

Bracing one hand over her shoulder to keep himself at her breast, he used the other hand to lift it so that her nipple pointed to the sky, then he sucked again, this time letting his teeth graze her skin as he released, nipping at her rosy peak before opening wide again.

Harth cried out and tightened around him, arching, pushing herself back into his mouth.

His body thrilled, threatening to steal his control, but he didn’t stop, picking up the pace of both thrusts, and his suckling, until she was keening, her body shaking, and clenching around him.

“Tark... Tar... I... ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod-oh!”

She gave a full-body shudder and every hair on Tarkyn’s body stood tall. Groaning the mating call, still sucking at her, still rocking into her, he slid his free hand under the hollow of her back and lifted up as he thrust, holding the peak for a shining, silent moment as she jolted, her jaw fell wide, and she didn’t breathe.

For seconds on seconds, she arched, riding out the wave of pleasure in breathless silence, then collapsing with a cry, scrambling to reach for him and pull him down over her again, her body still quivering with the aftershocks of her release.

Panting, eyes shining, she grabbed for him and pulled him down, taking his mouth, words of love and joy rasping from her throat.

But Tarkyn was overcome. When she flicked her tongue against his, then wrapped her legs around his waist and met his thrusts, Tarkyn lost the grip on his leash.

Body alight with pleasure and awe, he broke the kiss, threw back his head and roared his joy. Then he looked down on her, cheeks flushed and smiling. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth half open, lower lip plump and slack.

“I love you so much, Harth,” he groaned, then braced on both elbows and thrust into her so hard she gasped. She tipped her head back and he kissed her chin, licking her throat as he thrust again and again. Harth, still overwhelmed by her orgasm, could only make wordless pleas. She clung to him, pulling him into her, grasping, her mouth dropped further open and her hands tightened on his back, holding him pulling herself against him, whimpering his name.

Her passion sent fire through his veins.

There was no room between them, they took every roll and thrust together and Tarkyn felt his own climax rushing closer.

Then, as he dropped his head back, still fighting against his climax because he didn’t want this to stop, Harth tipped her head up and opened her mouth on his throat.

His orgasm hit like a tidal wave, tumbling through his blood as he roared again and the world fell away-everything except Harth.

As he tumbled over that cliff of pleasure, he was aware of nothing but her mouth on his throat, her warmth pressed against him, nothing but their joining and the intense, indefinable bliss that sparked lights on the edge of his vision and sent his body rippling into joy... until his lungs inflated again and he collapsed over her, panting.

*****

~ HARTH ~

The weight of him pressing her into the deep furs was, quite possibly, the most wonderful experience Harth had ever had. While she clung to him, arms and legs wrapped around him, and tried to catch her breath, blinking and panting, her head spun.

Her mate. He was her mate. This was her life. This was her home. This would be their bed...

It all seemed too good to be true.

And then, all of the people and problems they’d met crowded in, screaming that no... it wasn’t too good at all. It was terrifying.

She was so grateful that he’d opened the curtains, that the sun shone in, flickering and rippling between the shadows of leaves and branches rustling in the breeze of the forest outside. She was so grateful that he’d even thought to do that for her, let alone that he’d done it himself. Hurrying to the task as if it were his calling.

He was a stunning male-not only in his flesh, but in his heart.

“Am I crushing you?” he asked suddenly, pushing up on his elbows to take his own weight, but Harth just shook her head and held him to her, combing her fingers through his hair that had mostly fallen from its tie now, as he stared down at her.

“No, I’m fine. Relax,” she said.

Tarkyn, his skin sheened in sweat, smiled and let his fingers trail from her temples, pulling strands of hair away from her face, down her scalp behind her ears.

It was a delicious sensation and she closed her eyes and arched into it like a cat.

Like her mate.

The dark voices wanted to clamor about that as well, about the risks they were taking. But she shook them off.

No. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told him that she’d learned to take her joy where she could find it. She’d meant every word. And she would do that now.

So, as they lay there together in the quiet afternoon, the room full of the scent of warm skin and desire, Harth smiled.

Tarkyn’s mouth tipped up on one side and he narrowed his eyes. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m just thinking that I’m happy,” she said quietly, twirling a piece of his hair around her fingers, “and that I’ll be even happier when we can spend time like this without having to watch for enemies or... obstacles.”

Tarkyn sighed, nodding. Then dropped his head to kiss her gently.

“The Queen is softening, Harth, I can feel it,” he rumbled, his chest vibrating against hers. “Just trust me. I’ll get us through this-both of us. And I’ll help your Alphas, too. I give you my word.”

She kissed him again then, just because she couldn’t resist.

When he pulled his head back to meet her eyes, she’d blinked away the beginning of tears that had been tightening her throat. Because while she couldn’t feel him as sharply as he could, apparently, feel her, she felt enough.

Her mate was a good male. The best kind. And she did trust him. More and more.

Now she just prayed that those around him were equally as good. Because she didn’t want to have to hurt anyone he cared about.