the room as I place my lips against it, feeling the flutter of his heart. Feeling like I’m in a trance, I open my mouth and bite down on the delicate skin of his throat, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to leave a mark. Vaeril jerks beneath me, his hands gripping my back as he utters something in elvish. Removing my teeth, I lick a long line up from the marked skin and press my cheek against his. Untangling my hands from his hair, I trail them down until I reach his ears. As soon as I touch them, he shudders, and a wicked smile spreads across my lips as an idea comes to mind.
Using the tip of my index finger, I gently trace his ear, stopping as I reach the pointed tip. A low growl emits from his chest, and he drops his head to my shoulder, kissing along the exposed skin to my neck. Taking that as a sign I should continue, I make sure to stroke the tip of his ear with one hand as I used the other to run my fingers through his hair, enjoying the texture of the silky silver strands.
“Clarissa,” he gasps, his tone low and breathy. “If you keep doing that, this will be over very quickly.” His words are muffled against my skin, sending a shock of desire and pleasure through my body. Something scrapes across the base of my neck before I feel a flash of pain as he bites down, mimicking what I’d done to him not long ago. Except, the pain disappears almost immediately, replaced by an intense wave of arousal.
“Mine,” he growls, that purring rattle starting up in his chest again as he kisses the bite mark on my neck. Usually I would have issues with someone claiming me as theirs, but here and now, it only turns me on even more, my body shuddering.
Placing my hands on his chest, I push gently, and he steps back, putting some space between us with a slight frown on his face. He’s strong enough that if he didn’t want to move, he wouldn’t have, but the fact that he did because I asked him to proves I’ve made the right decision. Sliding down from the dressing table, I smile at him as I walk past, reaching out and catching his hand.
I stop before the bed, drop his hand, and turn to face him. When he realises what I’m doing, his frown disappears and is replaced by an intense, possessive look as his eyes run over me. His body tenses, and I know he wants to close the gap between us, but he pauses. “Are you sure this is what you want? Once the bond is sealed, it can’t be broken.”
“Yes,” I reply simply, and even though I’m terrified, my voice is steady and sure.
He growls low in response, and a feline grin appears on his face. “Turn around,” he orders softly. Taking a deep breath, I do as instructed, my senses heightened at the prospect of not being able to see him. The heat of his body reaches me, and I know he’s close. A finger touches my neck and gently traces a line from just below my ear to the curve of my shoulder, my body erupting in goosebumps as he touches the mark on my neck. A moan escapes me, and his chest rumbles in approval. “This needs to come off,” he whispers, pressing a kiss against my neck as his fingers trail along the back of my dress. Reaching across, I detach the fabric affixed to the cuffs on my wrists, letting it fall behind me. His fingers work quickly with the fastenings on the back of the dress, and before I know it, it’s in a puddle of fabric at my feet. “Turn around,” he demands, and I do as he says.
If I was feeling self-conscious before, that sentiment completely disappears as I take in Vaeril’s expression. He looks like a starving man who’s just come across a cornucopia of food and isn’t quite sure if it’s real or not. The undergarments the elves wear are very different from those of the humans, and I’d been embarrassed by them at first, since the light lace does little to conceal my chest or between my thighs. Instead, the garments seem to enhance what I have, like the body is meant to be seen.
His eyes skim over my figure, and I can feel