Burned by Darkness - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,56

of protest remained locked in her throat. Her entire body might be coiled tight with an eager desire to climax, but she was as anxious as Baine to prolong this moment.

This was her mate. The male who was entwined with her very soul.

As if capable of reading her mind, Baine stroked his lips over the curve of her breast before tracing the line of her collarbone. Then, whispering a soft word of power, he released a burst of magic.

Tayla felt a golden heat race over her skin. Opening her eyes, she glanced down to discover that the dragon marque was once again around her neck. Only this time it wasn’t a gold chain, but instead a brilliant strand of amber that glowed with the same fire as in Baine’s eyes.

“What is it?” she breathed in amazement.

“A mating sacrament.” His lips gently brushed over the precious stones. “My promise that you are a gift I will always cherish.”

Joy radiated through her body.

Mate.

Her mate.

Twining her fingers through the softness of his hair, Tayla urged Baine up so she could kiss him with all the love that flooded through her heart.

He readily returned the kiss, his fingers stroking as light as a butterfly wing along the line of her cleft.

Tayla jerked in pleasure.

“I need you now, Baine,” she rasped.

He lifted his head and their gazes collided. In the shadows his features were impossibly beautiful, his expression tense with raw desire.

Slowly he moved onto the bed, his solid weight pressing her into the mattress. Then, sliding his hands beneath her thighs, he tugged her legs apart so he could settle between them. The sensation of his hot skin pressed against her sent a rush of excitement through her.

It felt so utterly right as he cradled his hips even deeper, his chest rubbing her aching nipples. As if he somehow completed her.

Running her hands down his back, Tayla savored the hard muscles that rippled beneath her touch. He was a lethal predator who could rule the world.

And yet he treated her as if she was his most priceless treasure.

She smiled as she shivered beneath him. This was why his touch ignited the fire within her. Why she ached for his kisses.

It wasn’t just his raw, masculine perfection. Or his skilled caresses. It was the knowledge deep in her heart that his loyalty was absolute.

He would never abandon her, never betray her, and never, ever stop caring about her.

Heady stuff for a female who’d never been truly loved.

Her hands reached the smooth curve of his butt and Tayla felt him shudder as she cupped him with restless desire.

His hooded gaze swept over her face before he was leaning down to stroke his lips over her forehead.

“Tell me this mating is what you desire, Tayla,” he demanded. “Tell me you want to be mine forever.”

She reached up to frame his face in her hands. “Forever, my love.”

“My love,” he echoed, the aching tenderness in his voice nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

A shiver racked his body as his lips brushed over her flushed features.

“My heart beats for you,” he murmured, his words a soft pledge. “There is no going back for either of us.”

His breath seared over her skin as he tilted his hips to press the tip of his cock against her entrance.

She moaned in pleasure as his erection relentlessly pressed deeper into her damp heat, stretching her to the point of near pain.

Delicious.

Muttering beneath his breath, Baine pulled out before he was shoving forward, impaling her with one smooth thrust.

“Yes,” she groaned, wrapping her legs around his hips.

Buried deep inside her, Baine trailed his mouth over her skin to at last kiss her with a devouring hunger.

At the same time, he began to rock softly against her. With each thrust his tongue stroked into her mouth, the matching rhythm intensifying the furious pleasure that spread through her body.

Her fingers flexed as a whimper lodged in her throat. The sheer intimacy of having him balls-deep inside her was intensified by the white flames that danced over their bodies. The dragon-fire entwined them, a physical display of their mating.

His breath rasped in the shadowed silence as he quickened his pace.

“Never leave me again,” he muttered against her lips. “I need to know you’ll be here with me.”

Dear lord, it was too much. She felt as if she was going to explode into a billion tiny pieces.

She scored her nails down his back, the pleasure almost unbearable.

“Always…” she moaned.

“My beautiful imp,” he whispered, his head lowering to take