Burning Up

could not have known.
    Orel had been a selfish lover, though she hadn’t the experience to realize it at the time. Cunnilingus was a pleasure he’d never offered her, though she’d heard much of it from the other Roses.
    Her Garden mates had often rhapsodized about the sensation, comparing the tongue talents of this lover or that, until Amaris had been wild with curiosity.
    No, Raniero could not have known. But once he’d made the offer, a dozen Varil raiders could not have dragged her from the room.
    She hesitated, eying him. “But you are bound. How would you . . . ?”
    Dark brows lifted. “You need only lower yourself over my head.”
    Oh, she saw how he could accomplish it now. And what a wicked idea. Unable to resist, Amaris plucked her blood-stained gown over her head and kicked off her slippers. Only to hesitate, suddenly flustered. “I am bloody.”
    He gave her a very male smile. “I care not.”
    Come to think of it, neither did she.
    There was a moment’s awkwardness as Amaris dealt with the problem of arranging her legs to accommodate his broad shoulders and bound arms. Then she settled down over his face, her own heating in self-consciousness.
    Which she promptly forgot with the first molten flick of his tongue.
    The sensation was startling in its intensity. Wet, hot, and piercingly sweet. Amaris settled down a little lower to give him better access, then raised up quickly, biting her lip. “Can you breathe?”
    “Very well. Come back here.” There was laughter in his voice.
    She eased down again and was rewarded with a long, incredibly skillful lap that sent exotic sensations shooting up her spine.
    And that was only the start of the delicious pleasure.
    Sometimes he traced exotic runes over her jutting clit with the very tip of his tongue. Sometimes he lapped between her folds, or thrust deep into her sex in a maddening tease, or suckled her until the muscles of her thighs danced and quivered.
    Amaris had thought herself experienced in the ways of passion, but Raniero taught her differently. He seemed to know her body far better than she did.
    And he used that knowledge to whip her into an orgasm that rolled over her and drowned her in sweet fire.
     
    G ods, what lush pleasure. The scent of the Rose flooded Raniero’s head as her taste flowed over his tongue, astringent yet impossibly delicious, reminding him of a juicily ripe persimmon. Warm thighs clasped his head as slender fingers fisted in his hair, demanding and begging by turns.
    Driving him mad with frustration.
    He ached to touch her, to jerk free from his bonds and tumble her down and thrust his cock deep in that luscious peach of a cunt. But he was helpless.
    Yet he’d never felt more powerful. Bound, he explored the power he could wield with only his tongue, his teeth, his lips. Nibbling, sucking, licking, he listened to her helpless cries of pleasure as his balls tightened into burning knots and his aching cock stretched up the length of his belly.
    She’d fought for him. She was half his weight and a fraction of his strength, but she’d gone against those towering reptilian monsters to save his life.
    Yet he was the one who was supposed to do the saving.
    And now her delicate body quivered and jumped against his mouth, right there against his face—so frustratingly far from where he most wanted her.
    She came again, her voice lifting in high, helpless cries of pleasure.
    He dragged his chin up until he could gaze along the length of her beautiful body. “Fuck me,” Raniero growled at last, unable to take anymore. “Red God’s balls, fuck me.”
    She looked down at him with dazed eyes. And then she rose from his face.
    For a moment he was afraid she’d leave him like this—aching, furious, his cock hard as a sword hilt.
    But then she moved down over his hips and freed his sex from his breeches. He almost moaned in relief. Grabbing the thick shaft of his cock, Amaris impaled herself, sliding the length of him in one deliciously tight swoop. Raniero shivered at the sensation—tight as a cream-slick fist, hot and dazzling.
    He threw back his head and ground upward, desperate for the climax that was just inches out of reach.
    So damned close.

SEVEN
    R aniero stuffed her with mind-blowing sensations, his cock a searing length buried halfway to her throat. Amaris tossed back her head and began to work her thighs, thrusting, grinding, driven by a burning whip of need.
    Bracing her hands on his rock-hard belly, she gazed