Adron could feel her nervousness, her uncertainty, and he wanted to soothe her. “I won't hurt you, Livia. I promise.”
She smiled a smile that wrenched his gut. How he wished he'd met her before that fateful night. Then he could have been the lover she deserved. He would have been able to take her all night. Slowly. Teasingly.
He had no idea what he'd be like now. But he would try to pleasure her. Do his damnedest to make sure her first time was at least a decent memory.
His groin tight, he pushed himself up and moved slowly to the bed. He sat on the edge and leaned his cane against the wall where he could get to it in the morning.
Before he knew what she intended, she sat in his lap and kissed him.
Adron inhaled the sweetness of her breath as he ran his hands over her back. He'd never expected a virgin to be so bold. And she was a quick learner. She deepened her kiss and teased his tongue with hers.
Oh, yeah, this could be fun.
He unbuttoned her shirt to expose her lacy bra. She moaned as he ran his hand over her satin-covered breasts and squeezed them gently in his hands. Gah, how he'd missed the way a woman felt in his arms. He was all but drooling at the thought of tasting her breasts.
Livia shook all over at the foreign throb between her legs. And when he released the catch behind her back and her bra fell open, she shivered. No man had ever seen her naked before, and it took all her courage not to run away.
He stared at her bare breasts as he ran his hands over the taut peaks. He traced slow, simmering circles around her, sending chills all over her body. “You are so beautiful,” he breathed. Then he dipped his head down and took her breast into his mouth.
Livia sucked her breath in sharply as his tongue swirled around her flesh, teasing, licking. Never had she felt anything like it. With every lick, her stomach fluttered. She leaned forward, cradling his head in her hands. Her body was on fire. He trailed his hands over her bare back, down her hips, and when he cupped her between her legs, she groaned.
He looked up at her, his eyes dazed and hungry as he breathed raggedly. Then he rolled her over, onto the mattress, and shut the curtains, He turned the lights off with a control he had on the nightstand.
She heard him remove the rest of his clothes in the darkness, but she couldn't see anything at all.
Adron ached to see her naked, but he didn't want any light whatsoever for her to see his damaged body. She might change her mind if she realized what an ugly monster he was. His cock hot and heavy for her, he unfastened the stiff, prickly brace on his left leg and let it fall to the floor. Next, he removed the one on his hand and arm.
Then, slowly, carefully, he pulled her clothes from her.
He ran his hand over her smooth, hot skin, delighting in her murmurs of pleasure. He'd never taken a virgin before, and the knowledge that he was her first lover added even more excitement to the moment.
No man had ever touched her.
No one but him.
Even with his wings broken and clipped, he soared at that knowledge.
Livia moaned as he covered her with his long, hot body. She'd never felt anything like all that lean, hard strength spread out evenly against her bare flesh. He kissed her fiercely as he separated her thighs with his knee. Then he pressed his thigh against the center of her body, the hairs on his leg teasing her intimately.
She ran her hand over his back, feeling the rugged terrain of scars, muscle, and skin.
“My name is Adron,” he whispered a second before he traced the outline of her ear with his tongue.
“Adron,” she repeated, testing the syllables. It was a strong name that suited him.
He stroked her with his thigh, his tongue, and his hands. Arching her back, Livia welcomed his touch. It was so wickedly erotic to feel him all over and yet see nothing of him. It was like a vivid and yet surreal dream.
Reaching up, she freed his hair and let it fall around his face, then buried her hands in the silken strands of it. He leaned down and placed his lips in the crook of her arm where he suckled her flesh.
Adron swallowed as he pulled back, wanting desperately to see her face. Instead, he lifted his hand to trace the contours of it. He could feel the tiny cleft in her chin, imagine the small oval face overwhelmed by large brown eyes that tugged at a heart he'd thought was dead.
She was breathtaking. And for tonight, she was his.
All his.
Closing his eyes, he moved himself down her body, then cursed as a wave of fierce pain lanced up his leg and across his back.
She tensed beneath him. “What's wrong?”
Adron couldn't answer. The pain in his leg was so intense that it instantly quelled his desire. He rolled over onto his back and struggled to breathe.
“Adron?”
The concern in her voice ate at him. Gah, he was a pathetic waste of humanity.
“My leg,” he said between clenched teeth. “I need the painkillers on my nightstand.”
“Which leg?”
“Damn it, get my medicine.”
“Which leg!” she insisted.
He groaned out loud, hating himself for the fact he couldn't keep it in. But the pain was just too much. “The left one.”
She took his knee into her hands.
He cursed as even more pain tore through him. “Stop!” he snarled.
“Just relax . . .” She massaged the joint.
A strange warmth came from her hands, seeping deep into his skin. He frowned as the ache began to diminish.
Suddenly, it was gone entirely.
For a full minute he lay there, tense, waiting for it to return.
It didn't.
In fact, nothing hurt. Not his chest, not his arm, not his knee. Nothing.
“What did you do?”
She placed her hand against his chest. “It's only temporary. But for a few hours, it won't bother you at all.”
Adron couldn't believe it. He'd learned to live in a state of constant, unrelenting pain. Physical agony so severe that he couldn't sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time.
Until now.
The absence of it was unbelievable. His heart swelled with joy. He was free. Even if it was only temporary, he still had a moment to remember what he'd been like before his body had been cruelly, vengefully taken from him.
And it was all because of her.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her precious lips.
Livia felt his heart pounding under her hand, and she heard the laughter in his voice.
“Thank you.”
She smiled. Until he moved down her body with his kisses. She moaned as fierce pleasure tore through her. His hands and mouth felt incredible against her bare skin.
This was so much more than she'd expected. Krista had told her that a man who didn't know her would be quick with the deed, then let her leave.
But Adron was taking his time. He seemed to actually savor her body.
It was as if he were really making love to her. And she wondered, if he was this tender with a stranger, how much more so would he be if they actually knew each other? If he actually cared for her?
But tonight was all they'd ever know. When it was over she'd leave, and this moment would be nothing more than a treasured memory she'd carry with her the rest of her life, which would probably be really short once her father found out what she'd done.
That was tomorrow.
Tonight, there was just the two of them.
And she would revel in it.
Adron drank in the smell and taste of her skin as he nibbled the bare flesh of her hip. Her taste was addictive, and her smell . . .
He could breathe in the sweet floral scent forever.
Her soft hands caressed his hair and neck in a way that made him burn. He'd never thought to have another night like this.
A night with no demons. No memories.
She engulfed him, and he gladly surrendered himself to her. She was his angel of mercy, delivering him from his sins and darkness. Delivering him from his loneliness and solitude. He would treasure this peaceful moment for the rest of his life. It would warm him and keep him company when his body returned to being hateful.
His heart tender for her, he spread her legs and placed his body between them.
Livia bit her lip, expecting him to enter her.
He didn't.
Instead, he kissed a small path down her thigh while he buried his hand at the center of her body.
She groaned from the pleasure of his touch. It was sweet, pure bliss. And he took his time circling her with his fingers, delving, stroking, caressing.
“That's it,” he breathed against her leg as she rubbed herself against his hand. “Don't be embarrassed.”
She should be, and yet she wasn't.
At least not until he took her into his mouth.
Blind ecstasy ripped her asunder. “Adron? Are you supposed to do that?”
He gave her one long, deep lick. “Does it feel good?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Then I'm supposed to be doing it.” Without another word, he returned his mouth to her.
Livia writhed in his arms as his tongue tormented her. And when he slid his finger inside her, she thought she would perish from the pleasure. Krista had told her to expect pain, but there was nothing painful in his touch. Nothing but heaven. She threw her head back as he swirled his finger inside her, around and around, matching the rhythm of his tongue. Assaulted by fierce, fiery sensations, Livia felt her body quiver and jerk as if it had a mind of its own.
Her ecstasy mounted until she could stand no more, and then just as she was ready to beg him to stop, her body ripped apart.
She screamed out as her release came hard and fast. Still he toyed with her. His finger and tongue pleasured her until the sensitive flesh couldn't bear his touch any longer.
“Please,” she cried. “Please, have mercy on me.”
Adron laughed at her tone and was amazed at the foreign sound. He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed.
He pulled back, but kept his finger inside her for a moment longer. He could feel her maidenhead still intact. His body burned, demanding he take her. But he couldn't do that. He hadn't done any real damage to her yet.
Once he broke that barrier, there would be no going back. No second chances.
It would be like when he decided to . . .
He flinched at the memory. His life had been completely ruined by one impulsive act. He wouldn't let her ruin hers the same way.
She was kind and gentle. A pure heart in a world of corrupt ones.
He wouldn't spoil that. He couldn't.
Closing his eyes, he was mystified by what he felt for her. At the fact that he was able to pull himself back and rein in his treacherous body.
It had been years since he'd done anything noble. Years since he'd
wanted
to do anything noble. And for the first time in almost a decade, he felt like the man he'd once been.
And it felt good.
He reached down for the blanket and covered her with it.
Livia paused as he spooned up to her back and held her close. She reveled in the feel of his arms around her, but he didn't seem to be making any move to . . .
“Adron?”
“Yes?”
“We're not through, are we?”
He rubbed his cheek against her shoulder. “I gave you your pleasure, Livia. What more do you want?”
She turned to look at him, but in the darkness all she could see was the vaguest of outlines of his face. “But you didn't . . . You know.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Don't you think you should wait until you find someone you care about?”
“I care about you.”
Adron snorted. “You don't even know me.”
She turned in his arms and reached up to place her hand against his scarred cheek. “You're right, I don't know you. And yet I've already shared my body with you. I want you to finish.”
He pulled away from her. “Liviaâ”
“Adron. If you don't, I'll be forced into marriage with a man I despise. I don't want him to touch me the way you have. Please help me. If I'm not a virgin, he'll refuse the marriage. I can't marry him. I can't.”
Her words tore through him. An image of Alia flashed through his mind. He'd been forced for political reasons to marry her. And she'd shown him a whole new meaning to the word
hell
. It was something he'd wish on no one.
Livia skimmed her hand over his chest, down across his stomach. His gut contracted fiercely at her touch as her nails brushed at the hairs between his legs until she held him in her hand. His cock tightened and swelled even more. In that instant, he knew he was lost.
And when she kissed him, his entire world came undone. Livia was unprepared for his reaction. He growled low in his throat and rolled her over, pinning her against the mattress. He was wild and untamed as he kissed her lips, then buried his face against her neck where he licked and teased her flesh, burning her all over. He reached down between them, stroking her until she lost all reason, all sanity. His gaze locked with hers, he spread her legs wider. She felt the tip of his cock against her core.
In a sweet gesture, he took her hand in his and held it above her head. He kissed her lightly on the lips and slid himself deep inside her. As he filled her, she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out at the unexpected pain that intruded on her pleasure. He was so large that her body ached at the foreign feel of him.
But at least it was done.
She was a virgin no more.
Adron held himself perfectly still, waiting for her body to adjust to his. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, but by the fierce grip she had on his hand, he knew what she was hiding.