Chapter 528: 528: Honey Debts part three
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The first kiss was not chaste.
There was nothing polite about it. Her mouth found his with the ease of someone revisiting a favorite place and checking what had changed. Her aura slid along his, wrapping, testing, tugging at the edges as if trying to draw out the parts that had been kept too tightly wound for too long.
His hands found her waist.
He could feel the heat of her under the thin fabric, the coiled strength in the way she moved. She was not soft. She was a blade wrapped in silk, dangerous even when she laughed.
She broke the kiss with a small, satisfied sound and rested her forehead against his for a moment.
"Better," she said, voice low. "Much better. Seven stars suits you. You have more… room."
"Room," he repeated, slightly dazed.
"To work with," she said. "To play with. To drain. Do not worry. I will not take all of it. I am greedy, but not suicidal."
"Don't blame me if I break you," he said. "My power has already filed a note about 'strenuous physical activity' today."
"I look forward to it," she said. "Come."
She stepped back, not far, just enough that he had to follow if he wanted to keep her in reach.
He did.
They moved deeper into the warded circle, where the moss was thickest and the canopy overhead hid all but a few bold stars. The air here was warmer, the wards holding the night's chill at bay. The scent of honey still clung faintly to his skin; her own smell – iron, sap, something sharp and wild – twined with it until he could not tell where one ended and the other began.
He had been tired when he left the mountain.
Now the tiredness had shifted, gone low and hot, a different kind of ache that had nothing to do with cracked ribs.
Ikea's hands slid under the edge of his shirt, fingers splaying across his back, nails tracing lightly over muscle that no longer protested.
"Last time," she murmured against his mouth, "you were great. You were careful. Sweet. A bit distracted. Tonight there is no excuse. No battle at dawn. No general on the horizon. Just you. Me. And a very patient piece of sky. Show me what you do when you are not holding anything."
He could have answered with a joke.
He did not.
Words were suddenly a very distant second to other priorities.
He kissed her again.
The wards hummed a little higher, drawing tight around the glade.
The forest leaned away, politely.
The Soul Road, sensitive to storms of any kind, dimmed its connection at the edges, as if deciding that some conversations were not meant to be monitored.
Kai's lips crashed against IKEA's with a hunger that had been simmering since the moment he stepped into the forest. No more teasing, no more words — just the raw need to claim her mouth, to taste the wild sharpness on her tongue.
She met him fiercely, her teeth grazing his lower lip, drawing a low growl from deep in his chest. Her aura pulsed against his, a silken thread weaving through his veins, tugging at the edges of his power like she was unraveling him thread by thread.
His hands roamed up from her waist, fingers digging into the firm muscle of her back, pulling her body flush against his. She wasn't fragile; her form was all coiled strength, breasts pressing hard against his chest through the thin layers of fabric. He could feel the heat radiating from her core, a promise of the fire waiting to be unleashed. IKEA's nails raked down his spine, sending sparks of electricity through his skin, her magic amplifying the sensation until it bordered on pain — delicious, insistent pain.
She broke the kiss only to nip at his jaw, her breath hot against his ear. "That's it," she whispered, voice husky with desire. "Let it out. All of it." Her hands yanked at his shirt, pulling it over his head in one swift motion, exposing the scarred planes of his torso to the cool night air. The world around them thrummed in response, the moss beneath their feet softening like a living bed, inviting them deeper.
Kai didn't hesitate. He gripped the hem of her top, tearing it away with a rip that echoed softly in the glade. Her skin glowed faintly under the starlight filtering through the canopy — pale and marked with faint runes that pulsed with her heartbeat.
He cupped her breasts, thumbs brushing over hardened nipples, eliciting a sharp gasp from her. Leaning down, he took one peak into his mouth, sucking hard, tongue flicking relentlessly. IKEA arched into him, her fingers threading through his hair, pulling him closer as a moan escaped her lips.
"Kai..." Her voice was a plea and a command, her legs parting slightly as she ground her hips against his growing arousal. He could feel his ant rod straining against his pants, big, thick and throbbing, begging for release.
But he wouldn't rush this. Not tonight. He wanted to break her, to push her beyond anything she'd known, to make her shatter under him in ways no one else ever had.
His mouth trailed lower, kissing a path down her sternum, over the taut muscles of her abdomen. He knelt before her, hands sliding to the waistband of her pants, shoving them down along with whatever barrier lay beneath.
IKEA stepped out of them gracefully, her ant hole already glistening with arousal, the scent of her —iron and wild sap— filling his senses. He looked up at her, eyes dark with intent, and she nodded, a predatory smile curving her lips.
Kai's tongue darted out, tracing the slick folds of her ant hole, savoring the salty and sweet taste of her. She bucked against his face, hands gripping his shoulders for balance. He delved deeper, lapping at her entrance, then circling her clit with firm, insistent strokes.
IKEA's moans grew louder, a tiny amount of aura flaring bright from her, intertwining with his in a dance of power and lust. He sucked her clit into his mouth, fingers joining the assault — one sliding into her tight heat, then two, curling to hit that spot that made her thighs tremble.