Page 51 of The Serpent Prince

Or … did he just want to feed?

She had imagined this more times than she cared to admit. And at the moment, she didn’t much care that he saw this as a transaction.

Imani began moving against him, trying to tell him without words how much she needed him inside her.

The elf prince kissed her softly, gently … a kiss at odds with his entire mood. He pulled away from her lips. She watched his eyes move over her face. Imani got the impression he was memorizing the moment.

She shut her eyes again, unable to look when she felt so many things.

Imani felt him watching her as he pushed into her. A small moan escaped her as her hips rose to meet his, and inch by inch, he filled her, and she could hardly breathe.

Maybe she was starving, but it felt perfect.

Kiran looked down at her like she was some kind of goddess. He pulled her even closer in one motion, and his stubbled cheeks brushed hers. Unable to control her body as he kept slowly moving inside her, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, quiet noises of pleasure coming out of her involuntarily. She shut her eyes again and turned her head to the side.

“This feels …” He trailed off and shook his head, as if remembering he wasn’t supposed to be talking about something.

“Kiran … please, Kiran,” she moaned quietly. Her breath was trapped in her chest.

His pace was slow and tender. Imani wondered, as he moved in and out of her, his strokes powerful, if he loved this as much as her.

He nuzzled her neck. “Shh, my darling,” he breathed against her ear, kissing her softly.

Kiran then moved faster, his eyes riveted to hers as if he could sense how close Imani was.

He dipped down to rest his forehead against hers. When his mouth lowered to hers again, that stirring, that unnatural beat inside her chest, spread its wings, the sensation tickling every breath Imani gathered. She reached inside him.

And when their eyes met, Kiran’s lips and nose resting upon her own, wings inside her chest grew and took flight, and Imani could do nothing to stop it. Breathing hard, Imani fell, and Kiran rumbled, “Yes. Fuck!” His hand left her thigh to slide behind her head, an abrasive demand.

“You think you are in control this time, Imani?” He shook his head, and Imani felt his magical signature pierce hers. Drinking hungrily, he took more than he let Imani have of him.

But the beauty of his soul as it mingled against hers was overwhelming and intoxicating. She was shocked and let out one loud moan as she took more—and let him have more of her.

He snarled and threw his head back, letting the pleasure wash over him in waves.

She grabbed at him when he finally pulled his essence away, craving more of the substance that had filled her with euphoria like she’d never known. Her body awakened, her skin buzzing with awareness, as the moon seemed to break through the darkness of Niflheim for a moment to brighten the tent.

But he kept her at bay.

“No,” he growled, pushing her shoulders down against the bed. “Look at me.”

Trembling beneath him, Imani did and watched a shaky smile light up his entire face. In the way he looked, yes, he was unrivaled, but the way he loved was truly unraveled.

He was the most beautiful creature Imani had ever known.

Imani could feel him inside her chest, the part of his soul he let her take. For the first time in her life, she was truly sated.

They lay tangled together, both catching their breaths.

Imani couldn’t see straight and didn’t know what to say. She lay there like a stone statue for a moment.

Kiran softly kissed her then rolled next to her and gathered her into his arms. When he nuzzled into her hair, a low rumble like that of an animal left his chest, and she let out a contented sigh. It only made him grin wider against her skin as he hovered his lips once more near her ear.

“My silly, pretty thing …”

She buried herself closer, still confused. Was this another game of his? It didn’t feel like a game.

The prince held her tightly to him as if he couldn’t bear even an inch of her skin apart from him. He let his forehead rest against hers, kissing her over and over for … she didn’t even know how long, hands intertwined in her hair, both of them feeling a force—like gravity—holding them together.