hot, slick contrast. She slid her arms around Ksenia’s neck, and they twined their legs beneath the water, the sensations heightened from her recent shift.
Heat instantly pooled between her thighs as her dragon roused, roaring with enthusiasm at the opportunity to play with its new bonded partner. Astra tilted her hips against Ksenia’s, her hot core pressed against the top of Ksenia’s thigh.
Wordlessly they parted just long enough to hoist themselves up onto the dock before closing the distance again. Astra glided her palms down Ksenia’s chest, pausing to tease and pinch her nipples before slipping her fingers between Ksenia’s thighs and stroking.
Ksenia let her head fall back, giving herself over to the pleasure, yet aware of her dragon’s desire to return the favor. When Astra dropped down and pressed her mouth onto Ksenia’s soaked flesh, she spread her legs eagerly.
She let herself enjoy the other woman’s flicking tongue for just a moment before urging the woman to roll onto her back. She stretched herself along Astra’s body, straddling her shoulders while she aligned her head with Astra’s hips and gripped her by the thighs, spreading her open. Astra’s bare pussy glistened in the moonlight, and when Ksenia made the first tentative lick and swirl around Astra’s clit, she tasted the sweetness of the lake water mixed with the woman’s own tart flavor. Astra bucked and moaned, the sound vibrating against Ksenia’s flesh, making her tilt her hips and drop closer to Astra’s mouth.
In that moment, their dragons were coiled so tightly together she could almost hear the other woman’s deepest thoughts. What drove Astra to compete was far more heart-rending and emotional than what compelled Ksenia, but through the bond, she felt Astra object. There were no mental words exchanged—their bond was not exactly a telepathic link—but she had the strongest sense that Astra believed Ksenia’s desire for a partnership wasn’t a trivial need, and that her loneliness as an outcast young Sandrekar was just as unnecessary a trauma as Astra losing her brother.
Ksenia didn’t argue, but the depth of the other woman’s understanding nearly brought tears to her eyes. She focused intently on the pleasure after that, both giving and receiving until they were both wrapped in an ever-tightening spiral of ecstasy.
When it reached its pinnacle, they’d rolled onto their sides, and Ksenia had nearly lost any sense of where she ended and Astra began. They climaxed together in a writhing tangle of limbs, her orgasm shivering through her just as a cascade of meteors peppered the night sky with tiny lights. They parted, gasping, and spent and just lay there staring up into the night, still lying head to foot, but each with one hand twined tightly with the other’s.
22
Ksenia
Astra squeezed her hand once before the lights of the arena came up, then released it just as the klaxon signaled the start of the fight. Ksenia leaped into action, charging head-long at the pair of wolf shifters across the sand from her while Astra swept around with the hopes of flanking them. As she expected, they were ready, parting and swinging around in a coordinated attack she barely avoided.
This fight was going to be a challenge, but hopefully with the close bond she’d forged with her partner, they’d ultimately prevail.
Ryker was on the move again and she chased him, keenly aware that his brother remained behind, almost casual in the way he sauntered around as if he were the bait in an Astra-sized trap.
She sensed Astra before she saw her, wings sweeping through the air as she cleared the top of one of the massive, crumbling columns. But even though Ronin couldn’t have seen her, he smoothly stepped out of her way before she could land her strike to his back. Then he turned an easy backflip over her head and made a jab between Astra’s shoulder blades. The scoreboard dinged with a point to Silver Fangs.
Ksenia cursed as she rolled out of the way of Ryker’s next attack. That would’ve been a point for them if Astra had landed it. These guys were too fucking slippery.
Astra roared in frustration, turning toward her attacker and going on the offensive instantly, but Ronin was gone in a flash of silver. He reappeared flanking Ksenia, and she turned, keeping both brothers within sight as she assessed her situation. They walked toward her as if cornering their supper, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness. Ryker threw a punch which she countered easily, but he never gave her