The Unexpected Bonding Vow - Michelle Howard Page 0,31

He swiped the stains and blood from his face and chest then cleaned off the rest of his body as best he could. It would have been nice to have a full soak in a hydronic bathing pool but this was better than nothing and at least he no longer smelled.

Through it all, Saedra had made no sounds but the skin on Garik’s back burned from the intensity of her stare and his cock only got harder and harder. Injuries no longer paining him meant he had no means of ignoring his arousal any more. He turned to face Saedra and was thrown by the passionate blaze in her eyes.

A stronger man would have resisted. Garik couldn’t. He crossed the room to stand in front of her. Saedra tipped her head back to keep her eyes on his face. The action also gave him a clear look at the jagged scar slashing over the right side of her face. He’d glimpsed it the night before but in the morning light, it was an angry vivid white against the canvas of a pale cheek.

Garik traced the scar with a single finger, ignoring her flinch. “What happened?”

“Maurin,” she whispered.

Anger rose like a wave threatening to pull him under. His thumb rubbed over the healed scar and he tried not to think about the pain she must have felt. Saedra had proved she was stronger than his original thought when he’d studied her frail slender appearance in his cell.

No woman who’d planned her escape with such meticulous care would ever be considered weak in his eyes. She was nothing like the women Garik sought to assuage his sexual needs. Because he had a problem with trust, those women were few and far between.

Now there was Saedra. Saedra who bravely met his gaze. Saedra who had risked her life to enter the cell of an assassin and free him.

“I shouldn’t do this,” he said.

Her lids fluttered. “Do what?”

Ah fuck, the innocence drew him too. It was like waving a red flag in front of a charging animal. Garik lowered his head and took her mouth with a hungry snarl. He swallowed her surprised gasp, hands cupping her face as he devoured her lips.

Chapter 9

Stunned, Saedra initially hesitated when Garik kissed her. She’d been taking in the slopes and planes of his muscled body. Nude, he was a fine specimen. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t seen many men without clothes. She knew his body with its sculpted muscles was a treat.

Then he touched the scar on her face. Usually, when anyone drew attention to the injury, shame would roll over her.

Instead, having Garik’s hands on her filled Saedra with an entirely different feeling. Before she could protest or distract him from further questions, he’d kissed her. Saedra moaned and rose on her tip-toes, meeting him with the fierce thrust of her tongue in his mouth. Excitement lit her nerve endings from their shared kiss.

Her experience was non-existent but her response was instinctive. She pressed her hands on his chest for balance and the sensation of his skin beneath her fingers left her dizzy.

Garik nipped her lips and teased the edges with his tongue. The hands cupping her face tilted her head this way and that as he attempted to consume her. Saedra, for her part, didn’t fight or resist. She wanted to give him everything and more. Her first kiss and it left her starry eyed she was sure when he finally pulled away.

His mouth was wet, his gaze heavy lidded. “Saedra.”

Her name was a whisper of sound. She leaned into him, wanting all the contact, as much as she could stand. His hands drifted over her shoulders, rubbing their way down her arms until he caught her hands in his. He raised the left one and turned her wrist up, baring the slashes from their mate bond. The wound was developing a dark purple outline.

Heat singed her cheeks and an uncomfortable wetness formed between her legs. “Garik, w-what are you doing?”

He kissed the marks softly, gaze never leaving hers. Saedra couldn’t stop shaking. Desire was a new feeling for her. An unfamiliar emotion she had no experience to fall back on or to fully understand.

“You are a lot of temptation, Saedra. I’m not sure you know what you’re asking for.” Garik released her wrist and stepped back.

Saedra was oddly pleased with his statement. He wanted her. As much if not more than she wanted him. On top of that, she was his bond