Her heart was racing, but her limbs were heavy. Her blood felt like fermented wine, whizzing through her brain, drugging her senses. The large hand on her hip clamped her tight, melded her closer, her soft flesh yielding around his hardness.
She sucked in her breath—his breath—as his other hand dropped around to her ribcage. He skimmed the underside of her full breast before cupping her in his searing palm. His tongue swirled against hers as his thumb circled her nipple.
He broke the kiss, dragging his mouth to her ear. "Touch me," he commanded, his breath teasing her hair. Then he brushed his tongue along the underside of her jaw, spreading his drugging kisses.
Tentatively, she walked the fingers of her right hand over his shoulders, reveling in the way his muscles tensed. A heady feeling to know she had power over him. Since her eyelids were too heavy to open, she used that hand to explore his broad back—what she could reach of it. She ran her thumb up along his pointy ears and then down, across to his chiseled jawline. When she reached the back of his head, she delved her fingers into his fragrant mane of wild locks. But she was careful not to touch him with her left hand. The few times her nixrath had come too close, he'd winced in obvious pain. And it was hard to cause him pain when he was being so gentle with her.
Without warning, he dropped back onto the mattress, pulling her halfway down. She understood why, a moment later, when his thumb was replaced swiftly with his ravenous mouth locking on her nipple. Pleasure exploded in her brain. The sound in the back of her throat was more animal than human. A sound he seemed to relish because he answered with a growl of approval. It jolted her from the small ecstasy clouding her head.
Slowly, she pried her hands from the furs either side of his head, where they'd dropped when he'd pulled her down. She sat upright, her nipples straining towards the wet warmth of his mouth. Her skin was flushed with equal parts desire and fluster. Her breath hitched as his eyes blazed a path over her breasts. And now that she was out of reach of his tongue, his hands were roaming all the places his mouth was denied. Beneath her, the nudging length of his cock foreshadowed all that was still to come.
She was trying hard to concentrate, trying to snatch at her crumbling armor. But his touches were overpowering her wits. He'd instructed her to touch him, to give in to the clawing need he knew she felt, and the feelings of guilt were falling away as he plowed through her defenses.
Merritt was her love. But Thrax was proving her obsession. And the beast in her—the lust he evoked—was very easily overmastering the gentle rectitude of love she was barely clinging to. Her grip slipped a little more as he pinched her nipple.
Then, all at once, she stopped caring and let go. It wasn't even a conscious thought. Her body was no longer hers to command. It belonged to him. A sound she didn't even recognize as coming from her own chest, broke free. She was consumed by sensation and pleasure rushing around her and through her.
She moved instinctually, her fingers dragging red welts down his muscled ribs. Down to where the plains of sinew were like smooth rock under her nails.
He was beautiful. She couldn't believe she was thinking that of a warg, but he truly did possess a face and body hewn by the loving hand of Maeda herself.
Again, he caught her unawares. With uncanny speed, he sat upright and flipped her down, reversing their positions. Now he was the one on top and she the one beneath him, her thighs splayed. She clamped her legs to his flanks and gasped at the sudden dominant weight against her sex. Adrenaline spiked in her chest, increasing her desire. He dragged his nose along her jaw, nipping and tasting her.
She licked her lips and tilted her head back, baring her throat for him. His hips nudged her thighs further apart, his hard flesh sliding over her damp folds.
She wasn't ready. It was too soon! Why couldn't they just touch each other some more?
Her breathing quickened and her right hand latched like a claw around his thick forearm. She wasn't sure if she was pulling him closer or keeping him at bay. Not that it mattered, because he was like Mantor. Unstoppable and all powerful—easier to move a mountain than stay Thrax's unyielding weight. Her strength was nothing to his.
Her eyes snapped wide, dropping down his torso to the mighty shaft poised at her sex. There it was—the very thing she'd been avoiding all night. But she could evade it no longer. It was a weapon worthy of its wielder. Bestial in size, darker than the rest of him and nestled in coarse hair.
Panicked, she brought her left hand up to his chest to push him back. Her thumb ring was pressed over his heart before she knew what she'd done.
A bellow of pain filled her ears. She flinched with a hiss, her body rigid with fear. Like iron jaws, his fangs snapped inches from her face.
He wrenched her hand away from his chest, holding her wrist in a painful grip. His eyes turned violent yellow as he panted. Fur was sprouting over his arms and face and his jaws were elongating. It was awful to behold.
"Stop screaming!" He growled.
It was then she realized the shrill ringing in her ears was her own screams. She clamped her hand over her mouth and nodded, trembling. "Please...please let me go!" The fingers of her left hand flexed, turing white in his grip.
"Rowan..." His voice was guttural, barely human. His grip loosened a little, but not enough that she could snatch it free. "Just wait a moment...let me—"
"Get away from me!" It was too late, she was cold all over.
The mood was dead and gone. The lust she'd felt was doused in terror.
Her released her with a growl and she scrabbled backwards, pulling the furs over her naked breasts. Relief washed over her as his eyes and body returned to...normal.
"Your ring," he rasped. "Just take the ring off and we—"
"No!" The ring never left her finger. Her father's protection was the Iron Girdle, and without it she was lost. The golrag had nearly killed her the one time she'd been stupid enough to remove it.
And tonight, it served as a reminder of the beast lurking behind those preternatural eyes piercing her soul. A jolt of cold reality when she'd needed it most. Now that he wasn't touching her, she could focus again. Focus on getting back home to Merritt.
"You know what nixrath does to outlanders, Rowan." Thrax's breathing was harsh as he glared at the ring. There was an ugly welt, like a burn mark, on his chest where she'd allowed her nixrath to touch him. "Take it off."
The niggling guilt his wound evoked made her voice sharper than necessary. "Never. Not for any reason." She was thankful for the barrier of fur blankets hiding her nakedness, and still more grateful when he left the bed altogether.
He staggered backwards, in obvious pain. "You have nothing to fear from me, Rowan."
"I want to go home Thrax."
It was the wrong thing to say. His lip curled back, his eyes flashing. His canines were still sharp and long as he bit out a harsh, "No." Then he threw her own words back at her. "Never. Not for any reason."
For a terrifying moment, his muscles bunched as though he meant to wrest the nixrath from thumb! But he kept his distance in the end. Likely one burn was enough for tonight. Finally, the yellow dimmed in his eyes. Mantled in cold rage, he let the silence scratch between them like claws on slate rock. It was an intimidating look made more so because he was still naked. "You will get used to me, Rowan. Even the half of me you think you fear." His eyes flicked to the ring. "Wear your armor, if you must. I'm a patient wolf..." With a low growl, he began to shift, his eyes locking her in place. The beast he'd strained against only moments before, began to emerge.
Whimpering, she shrunk deeper into the furs. She was now trapped in his wolf gaze, powerless to look away. His ears lengthened and turned black with fur. The pelt rushed over his body like a wave, his jaw protracting into a black muzzle, curling back over long fangs. In a matter of seconds, his hands became thick paws and he was standing upright in a way she'd not known a giant wolf could do. It was at once horrifying and fascinating. His tail was deadly still behind him.
His wolf face was impassive as he watched her. Only the agitated twitch of his ears gave any indication of what thoughts might lie behind those cold, yellow eyes.
She was proud of herself for not screaming this time. But when the wargrex leaped back onto the bed, she yelped. The bed creaked dangerously. But he did nothing more than curl up on the far end like a shaggy hound. A hound as large as a war horse.
She'd refused to put aside her armor, and now he'd armored himself, too. In thick fur and menacing teeth. He'd retreated behind a beast that couldn't speak. It seemed he was done with her, for tonight at least. He closed his eyes with a low grunt. "Go to sleep," he seemed to say, and then turned his face away.
She lay back, certain now that he wouldn't touch her. In fact, mad as it seemed, she felt almost safe with him on the edge of the bed like that. Every time she wriggled to get comfortable, his ears twitched around. Once he glanced up at her with a dubious glare. It was obvious he didn't trust her either.
She stared up at the wood beams of the vaulted ceiling. Who would've guessed she'd survive the Mating Moon still a virgin. Thrax might be a beast, but he was something of a gentleman, too. This she admitted to herself grudgingly. If anything, she'd been the one to cause violence. But, she reminded herself, it was for the best. She could return to Merritt as an untouched bride.
She turned on her side to watch Thrax with a soft frown tugging at her mouth, her heart restless with guilt. The wargrex lay unmoving, eyes shut. She lay still for what seemed like hours. Eventually the tension in the room evaporated and a drowsy peace set in, a clear sign he'd fallen asleep. His tail twitched in dreams and the sight tugged a soft smile to her lips. It was strangely endearing.
Her eyes fluttered closed and she snuggled deep into the furs. She let the soft sound of his breathing lull her to sleep. When she woke a few hours later, the bed was empty and Thrax was gone.