The same dragon who had gone down on me after our first meeting with no hesitation… was blushing. My soul would never know peace until I heard him sing.
“What about a drinking contest?” I asked as we entered the maze. “If I win, I get one song. If you win, you can have whatever you want. Aside from my hometown name, of course.” He may be bigger than me, but if his reaction to liquor was the same as it was to my drugged tea, then it was safe to assume Dante was a lightweight.
He glanced down at me with a wolfish grin. “You can’t be intoxicated for the things I want, Princess.”
Dammit. Now I’m blushing.I looked away from him, only to find that we had happened upon a statue of a woman entangled in the embrace of two men. Her head was thrown back, eyes sealed shut on a gasp as her first lover worshiped her breasts. The man kneeling at her feet had her leg thrown over his shoulder as he gazed up at her in worship while his hand dipped underneath her robe. The title read ‘Fall From Grace’ but, if you asked me, I’d say my girl was doing just fine.
“You and that damn nickname,” I muttered.
“Here, try my spiced apple, it’s good.” He set his mug against my lips, then tilted it back when I drank. It lacked the sweetness of my blueberry mead. Yet the apple flavoring was enhanced by spices of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. “That’s it, little Badger,” he murmured softly, petting my hair. “Drink. Drink and forget.”
I pushed the drink away, trying to rein in my laugh before I spit it out. “I thought I had to be sober for the things you wanted to do?”
“Oh? Is that the direction this date is headed?”
“Could be,” I teased. The moon was full, the mead was good, and dammit all, I just wanted to throw my brain out the window for a night and kiss the hell out of him until we ended a tangled mess of mouths and limbs. To feel him sink into me until I finally got a reprieve from the alarmingly feral infatuation I had for him. “For a song.”
“So insistent.” Dante grabbed me by the throat and dragged me against the base of the statue. My breath hitched when his thumb ran along my lower lip. “How about a different bet?” His gray eyes roamed over my body until his mouth curved on a grin at my shiver. “If you can stay quiet for me, I’ll sing for you. If you can’t, you’ll allow me to call you whatever I like.”
I looked around our corner of the maze. No one was within eyesight, but I could still hear the laughter of the noble women in the distance. “Here?” I let out a gasp as his lips found my throat.
Dante’s dark chuckle reverberated against my collarbone. “Didn’t I warn you I lacked patience?”
“But someone could see,” I scolded, trying to beat back the rush of excitement in my voice.
“I know. That’s why you’ll have to be extra careful, won’t you?” He paused his movements to gaze down at me with a devilish grin. “Do we have a deal, Princess?”
Somewhere deep in my soul, the moral compass guiding me through life shriveled up and died. Public decency? Never heard of her.
“Deal.”
“That’s my girl,” he rasped. His mouth clamped over mine, and he kissed me as if he’d perish if I pushed him away.
My knees buckled, and he guided me down to sit on the statue’s base. The pressure of his tongue coaxed my lips apart, deepening the kiss with tender impatient caresses that sapped my strength until I clung to him like a lifeline.
He took advantage of my weakness, parting my legs with his thigh to settle himself in between. The tip of his tongue swept across my own. Playing against my teeth before it marauded its way deeper, tasting my throat.
Startled by the intensity, I shrank back, but he followed, his hand sliding up to grip my hair and force my head back, trapping me open for him. Heat rushed through me until a fevered moan threatened to slip past. I fought it back, refusing to lose the bet.
His mouth broke from mine to skim along the arch of my throat, sending tremors of pleasure that left goosebumps in its wake. A rustle of leaves snapped my eyes open, I bit my lip to control my breathing and scanned the neatly trimmed shrubbery for signs of an interloper. Dark shadows beyond crisp green leaves accompanied the voices of men locked into a discussion regarding a gambling house. Dante’s hand slipped beneath my blouse to knead my breast, stroking over the peak until I nearly lost myself and cried out. The men continued on their path, too engrossed in their conversation to notice our tryst on the other side of the yew.
“Well done,” he murmured. “Wrap your arms around my neck. Yes, just like that.” Rough hands made quick work of removing my trousers. Cold air nipped at my exposed skin, highlighting the searing heat of his touch as he settled me back down against the marble. He moved lower, the silken strands of his hair tickling my thighs.
I threw a hand over my mouth, cutting off a gasp as his lips brushed over my pussy through the thin layer of my panties. His tongue darted out to drag against the slit. My body bowed forward, quivering as his mouth closed over my clit and sucked gently.
Dante shuddered, then ripped my panties from my body. I watched on, entranced as he brought them up to his face and breathed deep. “Fucking hell, Cherry. Do you know what your scent does to me?” He threw the garment aside and spread my legs further apart. “Of course not, how could you? Stay quiet if you don’t want an audience, love. I’ll fuck you in full view of the court if need be.”
Sweet mother of mercy.
His breath teased over my pussy, and I shrank away, hit with a wave of bashfulness at my lack of experience. What was I supposed to do with my hands? What if it didn’t taste good? I nearly worked up the courage to ask, but Dante gripped my hips and dragged me to him, mercilessly plundering the swollen flesh until all questions faded into the stars above.
“Don’t hide this from me,” he growled. “It’s mine.” Quivering thighs spread further, desperate to give into the demanding mouth hell-bent on wrenching a scream from my throat.
I bit down on my finger as my free hand grabbed his horn. When his tongue dove inside me again, my hips jerked, trying to drag him deeper. “That’s right, sweetheart… use me how you like,” he whispered wickedly, lavishing attention over my clit.
Nearly at the edge, my head fell back, mirroring the silent scream of the woman carved in eternal rapture.
My, what a pair we made.
