Bloodgate by Joely Burkhart

Author:Joely Burkhart
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: maya jaguar fantasy romance romance
Publisher: Joely Burkhart

She stared up at the broad leaves of the canopy. Cool stone, slightly damp, pressed against her back. B'alam's solid warmth stretched out along her side, the weight of his thigh and arm across her. She turned her head and met his steady gaze locked on her face.

"I know what I must do."

He stroked his thumb down the curve of her jaw, smiling slightly. Yet his eyes were so solemn. It made her heart ache to look at him. She knew him beyond thought, as though the unseeing, unhearing part of her soul were made from the same breath of the gods. A great and fearsome magic tied them together.

"No magic, lady." He stroked her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, and her belly tightened with heat. "Love."

"But—"

Replacing his thumb with his lips, he rubbed his mouth against the curve of her jaw, lower, until he whispered against her lips. His hair slid over his shoulder to pool on her breasts. "I love you, lady. I walk this life beside you."

Her heart swelled with hope. I will never be alone again. "And the next life?"

Pain flinched across his face, his eyes hollowed with regret. "As guardian, I'm bound to my gate. As long as mankind walks this earth, until this age ends and a new creation begins, I will prowl the jungles and guard our magic from those who might misuse it."

She cupped his face with both hands, memorizing the planes and chasms, the bridge of his nose, the curve of his lips. Glancing up at the sun and the dark maw slowly rising to swallow it, she made a decision. They had few precious moments left before this fragile world must end.

She drew him down to her. "Then let us make the most of this life."

His breath sighed across her cheek. “I’ve walked your dreams for so long, aching to hold you in the flesh. Yet I cannot bear to break your heart. You deserve a warrior who can walk the White Road with you hand in hand to Raised-Up Sky for all eternity.”

“Of my own choosing, I’ve been alone all these years, when I could have loved you.” She combed her fingers through his hair. “If this world shall end today, I can’t bear never knowing your love.”

She smoothed her palms across his back, relishing the hot flow of muscle against her. He wore the skin of a man, but he felt like fine, delicate fur against her. Lord Itzam often wore the jaguar pelt across his shoulders—but this felt like B’alam wore a human pelt on top of his jaguar form.

Pressing her lips to his, she explored the heat of his mouth. He tasted like cacao, his teeth faintly sharper but otherwise human. The rumbling sound rolling from his chest was all predator, vibrating his body against hers. She couldn’t tell if the marks on his body were tattoos or natural skin pigments. Dark gray and black circles emphasized his eyes and cheeks, giving him a wild, feral look that made her heartbeat quicken in a delicious sprint.

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