Rivers of blood and sand

Ander led us back into the living room and up the stairs. In the few times I’d been here, never once did I venture upstairs. I knew Ander’s bedroom was up here as well as Ari’s and Reed’s, but that’s all I knew. When I first saw their house months ago, I thought it was way too big for them, and I still thought so. Unless they were planning on taking in any more wayward Mythics.

We passed a sitting room that was a third of the size of the downstairs living room. The furniture was brighter and smaller but somehow didn’t clash. At first, I thought we’d stop here to talk, but Ander didn’t slow down, not until we came across a door. With his layered scent in front of the door, I knew this was his bedroom. I never thought I’d ever see this. It was only fair since he’d seen mine, but even so, anticipation built in my stomach.

There was an undercurrent of fear mixing with the excitement. A sense of dread at what I might discover. How many other women has he brought up here? I couldn’t smell any hints of feminine scents other than Jade, Harmony, and Ari, but the scents were old and they didn’t count. When they went in there, it wasn’t to sleep with Ander. My dragon didn’t rear her head up at the thought of them in his room.

Maybe I shouldn’t go in there. I didn’t think I could handle smelling another woman on his bed.

Ander grabbed a hold of my hand, preventing me from retreating. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze as he opened his bedroom door. After taking a steadying breath, I followed him, taking in the interior of his bedroom and taking a deep breath. His scent was so strong here—obviously—and that had my dragon relaxing, even though I was far from relaxed. The dark wood paneled wall, floor, and furniture contrasted with the light-colored sheets on his massive bed. Seriously, the thing was fucking huge. He could comfortably fit six people on it.

Nope, I wasn’t going to think about the possibility that he had an orgy here. One woman at a time was bad enough.

Ander released my hand, allowing me to wander around his room. No surprise, he had weapons lining his side wall, and I bet they were clean and ready to use at any moment. Beside his weapons was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, filled with a ton of books. As I studied his room, I breathed in the scents, checking to see if I’d find any traces of another woman. So far I hadn’t found any, but then again, I’d been avoiding going near his bed.

“Other than my little sisters, no other woman has been allowed in here.” Ander was leaning against the wall beside the closed door, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched me. I guess I hadn’t been subtle in my perusal of his room.

“What?”

“I told you, I’ve always kept things impersonal. Bringing them here would only have the opposite effect.” His lips twitched as I slowly approached the bed. The clamp clenching my chest eased as his words proved true. “Well, that and Ari has impeccable timing and knows when to interrupt.”

I ignored the twisting in my stomach at the reminder of how he didn’t want a mate. Even if it devastated me, I had to respect his wishes. Forcing someone into a mating they didn’t want was a recipe for disaster. It was something you should never do to someone you care about. In my mind, it was the most selfish thing you could ever do.

I didn’t want to be mated to someone because I trapped them or forced them into it.

“Then why am I allowed in here?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light and joking, but I don’t think I succeeded.

Ander shoved off the wall, eating up the distance between us within a few steps. His fingers wound through my hair, tilting my head back so we maintained eye contact. Before I could say a single word, he sealed his lips over mine. There wasn’t a single moment of hesitation on my part. I kissed back with the ferocity that followed a long day full of multiple near-death experiences.

As I stood on my tiptoes to give him better access, I wrapped my arms around his neck. Ander released his hold on my hair, grabbing my ass and hauling me up his body. My legs wrapped around his waist pressing my aching core against him. His hands kneaded my ass while his tongue plunged into my mouth. I rubbed against him, whimpering at the feel of him.

A sharp sting bit my ass when he smacked his open palm on my left cheek, wringing a gasp from me. My aching pussy throbbed even harder than before as desire pooled between my legs.

“Why?” I asked when I managed to wrench my lips away from his, my voice husky and lush.

“By saving my life today, you put yourself at risk. You could’ve died.”

My brows knitted together as I stared up at him and the hard line of his clenched jaw. “Are you seriously mad at me for saving your life?” My voice was barely above a whisper, showcasing my disbelief.

Ander gave a small head shake, his lips brushing mine in the process. His hands flexed against my ass, pressing me harder against him. Which really wasn’t helping me be able to think right now. “I’m mad because you put your life in jeopardy. I don’t want to live at the expense of your life. My life isn’t more important than yours.”

I opened my mouth to argue when he smacked my other ass cheek, wringing another whimper from me.

The corner of Ander’s lips kicked up in a smirk as he massaged the stinging cheek. “That’s for not telling me everything that happened in the Wilds.” His voice was a low rumble, vibrating against my overly sensitive body.

“What?” Another intelligent response, but at least this time, I had the excuse of his hard dick pressing against my soaked center. I couldn’t help myself and rubbed against him again, earning a low groan from him.

Another smack had me jolting against him as more moans slipped free. “For telling another man instead of me,” he whispered, his voice husky and raspy, sending shivers down my spine and heat pooling in my center. His lips brushed mine as he spoke.

Understanding finally broke through my lusty haze. “You were listening in on Roman and me.”

“I was,” he admitted, without a single scrap of shame on his face as he grabbed my ass tighter and shifted my hips so I ground against his dick again and again. I dug my nails into his shoulders as he kissed me again and repeated his actions several more times. His muscles shifted under my hands as he drove me wild.

“Ander.” His movements stalled and before I could react, he laid me down on the plush bed. My legs refused to release him, forcing him to hover over me as he moved me up the bed, only stopping when my head was cushioned by the soft pillows.

His hand moved from my hip, lightly trailing over my stomach as it slid down my shorts. Ander groaned against my mouth at my lack of underwear, and I grinned in response. After pinching my clit hard enough for me to cry out, he plunged two fingers into my dripping pussy, wasting no time as he began thrusting his fingers. I was so turned on, that it didn’t take long for a clenching to begin quickly building low in my stomach. It came on so suddenly, that I couldn’t hold back my release of building pleasure as I crashed over the edge.

Ander trailed kisses down my neck as I came down from my high and bit down on the crux of my neck, stopping shy of breaking the skin. It was reminiscent of the first time he touched me, with how the bite lingered and bordered on the fine line between pleasure and pain. Only this time, I didn’t hide how it affected me as I moaned and whimpered.

He kissed and licked away the pain as he removed his fingers from my pussy and brought his glistening fingers to his mouth. Holding my gaze in a heated stare, he sucked his fingers clean, and my core clenched at the sight.

Cold air met my chest as he lifted my tank top, exposing my breasts. Ander groaned, dropping his head to swirl his tongue around my nipple. He nipped it as hard as he had my neck—much harder than my nipple was used to. I didn’t think it was possible, but the throb in my core intensified as it clenched with a building need. My fingers threaded through his hair, and I realized this was another first for us.

In all of our times together, I was never allowed to touch his hair. Hell, I never was allowed to touch him, period.

While he bit and sucked on my right breast, he pinched my left nipple, rolling it between his deft fingers. It was almost too much stimulation as the pleasure in my core kept building to a crescendo. “Not yet,” he whispered against my breast, his warm breath fanning over my sensitive flesh.

I didn’t question how he knew about the tightening in my core or how close I was to tumbling over the edge. Again. He switched back and forth between my breasts, driving me fucking crazy with the pleasure he could bring over my body. After switching back and forth between my breasts, he bit down on one of my nipples. This time, he drew blood. The stinging pain melded with pleasure so perfectly, I nearly lost my battle then and there, but somehow I held on.

There wasn’t a single ounce of worry in my mind as he dipped his fingers in the blood and began drawing sigils across my breasts—and not because I knew he couldn’t hurt me so long as my blood was mixed with his.

Energy skated over my skin as the blood sank in. A few moments later, heat filled with buzzing electricity began in my stomach, spreading through my breasts, and settling down in my clit and pussy. It was hard to describe the buzzing energy or how it set my body aflame with desire, pleasure, and the smallest bite of pain.

I instantly lost my battle and was shoved over the edge into a body-destroying orgasm. My throat ached with how loud I was screaming. I was pretty sure I drew blood from Ander with how hard I was clawing at his back and arms, but he didn’t mind in the slightest.

I must’ve momentarily blacked out from its intensity, because the next thing I knew, I was fully undressed as was Ander. His hard cock was pressed against my aching pussy as we stared at each other. I was waiting to see if he would attempt to flip me over, or possibly lay down some ground rules. At some point he captured my hands and held them above my head, holding them with just one of his. The other was lightly tracing down my body.

“It’s been years since I’ve fucked face to face like this,” he finally admitted, a thread of emotion entering his voice.

“Too personal,” I whispered back. Not a question, a statement. It all made so much sense now. His whole asshole personality, the way he would turn me away, or not let me touch him during sex, it was all a way to distance himself. To prevent getting too close to someone else in that way again, and give them too much power over him.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed and nodded. “I can flip over, I don’t mind,” I offered, shifting under him.

Using his free hand, he gripped my hip, anchoring me in place. Before I could say anything else, his lips came down on mine in a hard kiss as he thrust into me in one smooth motion. I cried out against his lips from the pleasure-pain that always came when he first entered me and I adjusted to him.

“So perfect,” Ander murmured against my lips. “It was like you were made for me.”

After giving me a moment to adjust, he slowly slid out of me, only to slam right back in. I wrapped my legs around his waist since I was unable to use my arms, and shifted my hips to meet his thrusts. They were far from gentle, with a frantic urgency to them, but I didn’t mind.

The last time we faced each other was vastly different than now, with the way he held my gaze as we shared breaths. His chest brushed against mine, spreading the blood from my breast onto his chest. Every so often he would kiss me, or trail kisses and bites down my neck. He still held my hands above my head, pulling my arms taut so my back was arched. His other hand held my hip, holding me in place as he continued moving inside me.

The friction, the combination of deep and shallow thrusts, and his weight against me had the pressure building yet again as tingles of energy built in my chest. Almost on instinct now, I held it all back, waiting.

Whines and whimpers slipped from my lips as it all became too much. I tugged against his hold on my hands, but his grip was too tight. My whines were cut off when he kissed me, his tongue delving into my mouth, sucking on my tongue.

When he trailed kisses down my neck and whispered the words I was so desperately waiting for, I unraveled as I let the sensations of pleasure wash over me. My back arched even more, pressing against Ander’s chest as I threw my head back. Stars danced across my vision as I came down from my high.

Ander had slowed down his pace as I rode out my orgasm. He bit my neck, not near as hard as before, but enough for me to suck in a sharp breath. “Eyes on me,” he murmured and my eyes fluttered open.

“For someone who doesn’t like being face to face, you’re obsessed with eye contact.” My voice was a breathless whisper. I would’ve said more, but he pinched my nipple between his fingers, pulling a moan from me.

His bright eyes held mine, a serious expression taking hold of his face. “Only with you.”

Warmth bloomed in my chest at his words, to go along with the heat and tingling energy building in my core.

Ander released my hands and I was slow to move them, not sure what to do with them now. I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t want to do more than he was comfortable with. He’d been set in a pattern for nearly twenty years and he was finally breaking it.

He had ramped up his speed again like he wanted to see how many orgasms he could wring from me before he came. A low rumbling chuckle came from him as he bent his head down, his lips brushing my ear as he said, “You can touch me if you want.”

I didn’t need to be told twice, one hand plunged into his hair, while the other clawed at his back.

Ander grabbed my thigh and hiked my left leg over his shoulder, shifting the angle at which he thrust into me. By the time he found his release, I came two more times. My body felt like liquid, but I was far from ready to complain. I swear my body didn’t want him to leave as it all but protested as he slid out and rolled off of me. I half expected him to climb out of bed and leave, but he didn’t. Instead, he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close so I was half draped over his chest.