cock entered her, watched as her arousal coated it, and she could feel the tension thrumming within him, could feel his internal struggle with every stroke.
His eyes returned to hers, and Leyloni knew in that instant that her control was only an illusion.
Snarling, he flipped Leyloni onto her back and positioned himself over her without withdrawing from her. He shoved deeper as he settled upon her. His hair fell around his face to tickle her skin as he stared down at her.
“And you are mine, Leyloni,” he growled low, grinding his pelvis against hers, making her gasp. “Mine to possess and mine to protect. You are my heartsong, my lifespark, my everything, for this life and the eternity afterward.”
Leyloni reached up with both hands and cradled his jaw. “I love you, Arysteon.”
“And I love you.”
He drew his hips back and slammed them forward again, capturing her lips with his own in the same instant to capture her sharp cry. Their bodies created a song to fill in that silence—a song matching the one sung by their hearts.
19
A contented hum rumbled in Arysteon’s chest as he stretched out his legs and drew Leyloni’s body more firmly against his. The blanket they lay upon was spread over soft grass, creating a comfortable cushion into which he felt he was sinking as he descended from the heights of his climax. The air was redolent of their combined arousal and the forest’s spring growth, the former of which was nearly enough to drive Arysteon to take Leyloni again.
His still-erect stem throbbed, echoing the gradually easing rhythm of his heartbeat. Pleasure pulsed from his shaft with each of those beats, rippling through his body and making him tingle, the sensations accentuated by the Heat coursing through his veins.
The Crimson Comet’s Heat lingered in the air, more powerful than it had been upon its arrival days before. Even on days like today, when the comet itself had been hidden by soft white clouds since dawn, Arysteon sensed it up there, glaring it him. He felt it pressuring him to give in.
Instead, he closed his eyes, turned his face to press his nose to Leyloni’s hair, and relished this languidity. The afternoon sun beamed through the boughs overhead to bathe his scales in pleasant warmth. The wind—which bore a mild chill now that Arysteon and his clan had come farther north—sighed through the leaves and swept across the ground, caressing Arysteon and his mate.
Leyloni shivered, prompting Arysteon to turn toward her and drape his tail and leg over her lower body, blanketing her in a bit more of his warmth.
He would have liked to remain that way for a long, long while, unhurried and unworried, enjoying the simple intimacy they shared. He would also have been content to remain in the flower filled glade in which they’d sheltered a few days before, watching the light of the sun or moon and stars glimmer on the pool’s surface, laughing as Leyloni braided flowers into chains and Serek made his best efforts to either tear apart or eat those delicate chains.
But they’d only spent a couple days in that enchanting place before the rain had ceased and they’d felt the need to continue their journey. Too much tragedy and danger lay behind him—and too much uncertainty ahead—for them to feel secure lingering there long.
Arysteon had thought about that glade often in the days since they’d left it. Would there be a similar spot near the Snow Tree village? Would he be able to find a spot of similar magic and wonder to share with his beloved mate?
This time here and now—this sliver of the afternoon during which Serek had been too tired and cranky to continue traveling—was another little taste of the sort of life they could have when they were finally able to stop traveling. Despite his time lairing in the ruins, he felt as though he’d been wandering for his entire life. Leyloni was his chance to finally have a true place, a true home. A place to nest where he could watch his mate’s belly grow with their youngling, where Arysteon, Leyloni, and their children could enjoy peace and comfort.
Soon enough, Serek would wake, and they would resume their journey, leaving this place behind just like all the other spots where they’d rested. But Arysteon would not let that eventuality diminish his enjoyment now.
Leyloni’s skin was so soft, so smooth, and her heady scent was overwhelming in its allure. He rubbed his cheek against her curls,