Icarus Unbound by Bernadette Gardner

"He didn't tell me that. He only told me I should consider letting you go, mating you to someone else before the committee decrees it."
    Lara's eyes widened, and Jaran put a hand on her shoulder, hoping to stave off her alarm. "I won't do that. You are mine, and you will remain mine."
    She stiffened. "They can remove you from leadership."
    "They won't. I am Jidar's choice, and they respect his wishes even though he's gone."
    "Jaran—"
    He pressed a finger to her lips. "Don't worry about it now.
    We have more important business to attend, such as getting you out of these clothes."
    A sudden wave of desire collided with Lara's mounting frustrations, leaving her trembling in the wake of Jaran's 81

    Icarus Unbound
    by Bernadette Gardner
    touch. A tumult of conflicting emotions had her nerve endings on fire.
    How could Jaran dismiss something so important? How could his warm breath across her cheek make her forget all her worries?
    He pressed his lips to her jaw, and her knees weakened, forcing her to stiffen her muscles to remain standing. His earlier kiss had left her breathless and unable to think clearly.
    Now a series of them trailing down her neck obliterated her ability to reason.
    Her symbion woke and drugged her with an influx of biochemical lust. Heat swept through her body, and in seconds her sex was wet, her thighs damp and her nipples hard and aching. Twenty years ago, had someone explained how her symbion would control her sexual desires, she might have reconsidered the joining. At thirty, she'd never experienced a mating cycle before. For ten years, she'd enjoyed sex for recreational purposes, as all young Icarians did, but this was the first time symbion hormones had come into play, and she found them impossible to fight.
    What a cruel joke that the alien bird with whom she shared her body would choose to supercharge her mating instincts now, with the man she'd spent most of her life trying to avoid.
    A shiver ran down her body as Jaran began to peel away her clothing. He freed her breasts from the soft binding of her shirt and pushed the stretchy material down to her hips.
    "This is better," he muttered before taking the tip of one breast in his mouth.
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    Icarus Unbound
    by Bernadette Gardner
    Lara gasped. An arrow of sensation shot through her, sharp pleasure, causing her clit to pulse between her tightly clenched thighs. Jaran thumbed her other nipple, making the flesh stand straight and tight, then he suckled harder.
    Instinct bade her to wrap her hand around his golden head and hold his hot mouth against her. A small part of her brain rebelled. She couldn't do this. Every time she surrendered to him, she lost some of herself, some of the anger that had kept her from crumbling during all the times he'd taunted and teased her.
    Growing up, no one had made her feel as bad as Jaran had. How dare he be the one to make her feel this good now.
    "Spread your legs for me." His demand came in a rough whisper while he trailed his lips from one aching nipple to the other.
    Lara obeyed mindlessly, her ire forgotten when he pushed her clothing down past her hips and helped her shed the flimsy material. One strong arm snaked around her waist and pulled her to him. The other hand found her sex and began to part the plump, wet folds. "I can't forget the way you taste,"
    he said as he searched between her thighs.
    She moaned when he found her clit and pinched it. Her already trembling knees gave way, and he caught her before she crumbled and guided her to the pallet. The alor fibers enveloped her like the pelt of some exotic animal. She sank into the sweet-smelling fluff which helped accommodate her symbion's anatomy so she could lie on her back and not damage her wings.
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    Icarus Unbound
    by Bernadette Gardner
    Jaran's eyes had darkened to bronze, and he sported a full erection, unmistakable proof that not only did he find her arousing, he had the ability to do something about it.
    Another wave of desire washed over