I lift my leg, pressing my thigh against her bare sex as I tense my muscles until she gives me what I desire. A wanton moan.
I am already hard for her, aching for her, and yet I cannot give myself to her. The darkness in me has begun its fight for dominance again, and I do not know how to shut it out. How to make it stop. It is louder and more persistent now. Less willing to be buried. And yet, it has been mostly silent all night. So why now? Why does it insist on pestering me when I want to forget about the weight of responsibility and just enjoy this new experience?
Let go.
Mindlessly, I reach to untie the laces at the waist of myleathers. As the knots loosen, Amara sinks her teeth into my bottom lip. The mix of pain and pleasure jolts me enough that I realize where my hands are. With a rush of fear, I release the laces and grip Amara’s lower back.
Gods, I almost lost control.
That was close. Too close.
Her hips grind against my thigh as I begin to fall deeper beneath her spell, losing parts of my rational mind to the rhythm of her breath. She feels so good. Every inch of her. I drag my claws over her bare skin, nearly growling as those little bumps rise in the wake of my touch.
Let go.
I ignore the voice.
She raises herself onto her knees, and my face follows hers. “You’re like a drug,” she says, her voice shaky and eager.
“Good.”
My bonded heart flutters as she groans, “Stop weaponizing your wink.”
Did I wink? How did I not know I winked? I work to keep the surprise from my face. There is a disconnect between my mind, words, and actions. A blur between myself and the shadow. It is slowly gaining control.
She kisses me again, and I growl into her mouth, feeling her need grow into a desperate, hungry thing. I want more of her.Allof her. Her wild passion. Her unburdened honesty. Her anger and rage. Her sorrow and pain. Her light and dark. All of it.
Let go.
I lift her hips and roll us away from the wall, pulling her beneath me. Our eyes lock, and the absolute ferality in her gaze knocks the air from my lungs.
She wants me.
Now.
Her desperation mixes with my own, building and consuming as it grows. I was not prepared for this.
I strain to speak as I wrestle with my own control.I cannot risk harming her.“Amara, we will have plenty of time to mate when we are off this planet.”
Now,the voice repeats.
“What if we don’t make it off this planet?” she asks, eyes flicking between mine.
I stare into the simmering fear behind her strong expression, and the shadow creeps up my throat before I can fight it back. My voice comes out as a deep rumble that vibrates everything around us. “We will survive this,mek Lysaer. There is nothing that could take you from me.” I lower my mouth to her ear, and in a whisper that drips with danger, I add, “I am a very different monster than I was before.”
“Fuck,” she groans, rolling her hips in search of friction and finding me just out of reach. “Scary Vexar is my new favorite.”
Our tether floods with a combination of lust and raw power. My hips lower between her legs. Our combined need is too much. It is blinding. Heady. Irrepressible. The shadow is all-consuming. It demands I give in to her. It demands I cede control. It demands. It demands. It demands. And I want to. More than anything.
I grab her jaw and kiss her deeply, using more force than I should. Instead of flinching back, she leans into me, moaning and pulling me closer, begging for more.
Mine.
Every twitch of her muscles and sound from her lips drags me further from my control. My body burns. Hearts thrum. Vision broadens. A rumble shakes the room.It came from me.
A sliver of reason snaps back into place. I cannot take her like this, not with this darkness roiling through me. My hands feel like weapons against her flesh. But my body is moving on itsown. I am little more than a passenger, a spectator of my own actions.
“I can’t lose you,” she moans as my hand slides down her stomach, dipping between her thighs.
