Chapter 866: You Think You Can Top Her Work?

Chapter 866 – You Think You Can Top Her Work?

Mira didn’t hesitate.

She kissed him.

Slow at first, almost deceptively so, her lips pressing into his like she was testing the temperature of something dangerous before diving in. Then it deepened. Heat spread fast, her breath mixing with his, her control slipping just enough to turn it from measured into hungry.

Her hand slid along his jaw, then down his neck, fingers tracing over the faint marks left from the night before.

Those marks.

She noticed them more clearly now.

Across his chest.

Along his shoulder.

Subtle.

Not messy.

But there.

And somehow...

They made him look even better.

Her lips curved faintly against his.

"You really didn’t hold back last night," she murmured.

Lux huffed softly, a smirk pulling at his mouth even as she kept him pinned in place.

"I never hold back."

Mira didn’t answer.

Instead, her gaze dropped.

Slow.

Unapologetic.

Taking him in.

The clean lines of his body, the way his muscles settled naturally, not flexing, not showing off, just... there. His abs, defined without trying, rising and falling with each breath like a quiet rhythm she could follow if she wanted to.

And lower... to his cock.

She didn’t look away.

Didn’t pretend she wasn’t looking.

Her tongue brushed lightly over her lower lip without thinking.

"You look good," she muttered.

Not teasing.

Not casual.

Just... honest.

And that was the problem.

Because she felt it too.

That pull.

That heat building low in her chest, spreading faster the longer she looked at him like this, unhidden, marked, hers and not hers at the same time.

Lux noticed.

He tilted his head slightly, watching her with that same infuriating calm.

"You seriously get like this just from looking?" he said.

A faint smirk.

"Full of marks, barely awake, and you’re already—"

"Yes."

She cut him off.

No hesitation.

No shame.

Her gaze snapped back to his eyes, sharp, steady, unapologetic.

"Yes," she repeated, softer this time, but more dangerous.

"You look... delicious."

The word lingered.

Heavy.

Lux’s smirk deepened.

"Dangerous choice of words."

Mira stepped closer.

Closing the space completely.

Her fingers slid over his chest again, slower now, more deliberate, tracing over one of the marks like she was memorizing it.

"Don’t blame me," she murmured.

Her nails dragged lightly over his skin, not enough to hurt, just enough to remind him she could.

"Your marks..." she continued, voice dropping just a fraction.

"They make me want to mark you again."

That wasn’t a tease.

That was a promise.

Lux exhaled slowly, his posture shifting just slightly now, not retreating, not resisting, but responding.

And Mira noticed that too.

The subtle change.

The way his breathing adjusted.

The way his attention sharpened.

Good.

Because this time?

She wasn’t following his pace.

She was setting it.

Her lips found his again, deeper this time, more insistent, her hand sliding along his side, then back, pulling him just enough to keep him where she wanted him.

She wanted...

This.

This heat.

This tension.

This dangerous, stupid, addictive feeling that made her forget, for just a second, that she was supposed to be above this.

"You’re trouble," she murmured against his lips.

Lux chuckled quietly.

"You said the same things as Yue."

And for some reason...

That answer only made her want him more. She wasn’t competing. Not really. But hearing it, knowing they both felt the same pull toward him, lit a possessive, dragon fire low in her gut.

Her teeth grazed his bottom lip, a warning and a promise.

"I’ll have to leave better marks," she whispered, then bit down just hard enough to make him hiss.

Her tongue immediately soothed the small hurt, a flick of heat that made his hips jerk forward. Her other hand splayed flat across the taut muscle of his abdomen, feeling the subtle clench beneath her palm.

Lux’s eyes darkened, the humor replaced by something rawer. "You think you can top her work?"

Her only answer was a slow, deliberate drag of her nails down his chest, leaving faint red lines that disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared. Almost. She knew, with the enhanced senses they both possessed, the ghost of the touch would linger.

"Bath," she commanded, her voice low and rough. "Now."

She maneuvered him, a firm hand on the small of his back, until his calves hit the wide marble lip of the tub.

He went without a fight, a predator recognizing a worthy mate’s claim. He sank into the hot water with a low sigh, steam rising around them in ghostly plumes. The water was scalding, a temperature that would have been painful to a human, but for them it was a welcome embrace.

Mira didn’t join him immediately. She stood over him for a long moment, a goddess carved from jade and shadow, her gaze possessive. The steam clung to her skin, making her glow. Then, with a fluid grace that defied her dragon form, she stepped in, settling astride his lap.

The water sloshed, lapping at their bodies in warm waves. She reached for a bar of sandalwood soap, the scent rich and earthy, and began to lather her hands.

The first touch was a shock of pleasure. Her slick hands glided over his shoulders, her thumbs digging into the tense muscle at the base of his neck. She washed him with a focused intensity, her touch both clinical and deeply intimate. This wasn’t about cleanliness, it was about erasure and replacement. She was washing away the night, washing away Yue, and in her place, leaving her own scent, her own claim.

"You smell like her," she murmured, her lips brushing against the shell of his ear. Her soapy fingers traced the line of his collarbone, then lower, circling a flat nipple. His breath hitched. "Like lotus blossoms and spring rain."

Her other hand dipped beneath the water, finding his half-hard cock, wrapping her fingers around him with confident precision. The soap created a slick, frictionless heat as she began to stroke, slow and deliberate.