“And families give each other space to grow.”
She stopped at their bedroom door.“Ready to see our room?”
His response was to kiss the spot just below her ear.
She pushed open the door to a softly lit room.Tamsin’s Cornish blue and cream quilt lay on the bed, sheer curtains glowing silver with moonlight.The air held a faint trace of lavender and beeswax, and from outside came the distant rustle of wind through the trees.
“Perfect,” Liam murmured, though his focus had already shifted to her.
“I was nervous,” she admitted.“About living together, about whether we’d—”
He silenced her with a kiss, passionate and consuming.“I was too.But I want this.You.All of it.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
This time, their kiss held nothing back.It was deep, hungry, and laced with months of built-up need.Every letter he’d written, every restless night she’d endured, every fantasy neither had dared say aloud—they all poured into the collision of their mouths and bodies.His leopard prowled beneath his skin, and hers rose to meet it, their beasts recognizing what their human sides had fought for so long.
Clothes disappeared in a frenzy, fabric tearing under fingers that shifted between human and claw.When her bare skin met his, the contact sent shockwaves through them both.
“God, Sienna,” Liam groaned against her throat, his voice caught between man and beast.“Your scent is driving me wild.”
She arched into him, her leopard purring audibly.“I missed you, and it was even worse once we’d made love.I understood exactly what I was missing.”
He backed her toward the bed, worshipping every curve—cupping her breasts, stroking down her back, and coming to rest on her backside.His touch left a trail of fire on her skin.She could see his control fraying in the tremor of his fingers, in the way his eyes flickered between human blue-green and leopard intensity.
“Mine,” he growled, and the word vibrated through her bones.
“Prove it,” she challenged, nipping at his jaw hard enough to leave a mark.
He scooped her up and deposited her on the bed, the quilt cover cool against her overheated back.His mouth found her breast, teeth grazing the peak before soothing with his tongue.The dual sensation made her cry out, her nails—half-shifted to claws—raked down his shoulders.
“Please,” she panted, rolling her hips against him.“I need—”
“I know what you need.”His hand slipped between them, fingers finding her slick and ready.“So wet for me, sweetheart.Your body knows who it belongs to.”
She keened at his touch, her inner muscles clenching around his fingers as he worked her.“Liam, I can’t—I need you inside me now.”
He grabbed a condom, and when he sank into her at last, they both went still.Gazes locked.Breathing ragged.The connection between them snapped taut, binding them beyond the physical.Their leopards recognized their mates, and the recognition sang through their blood.
“Finally,” she breathed.
Then they moved, finding a rhythm that spoke of desperation and a homecoming.She met him thrust for thrust, her body welcoming him deeper with each roll of her hips.The air grew thick with sweat and breathy moans, with the sound of skin against skin and whispered endearments that turned filthy and sweet by turns.
He changed angles, hitting a spot that made her see stars.“There,” she gasped, her legs tightening around him.“Right there, don’t stop.”
“Never stopping,” he promised, his control fraying.“I intend to fill you up, mark you inside and out.Everyone will know you’re mine.”
The possessive words sent her higher.Her climax built like a storm in her bones.His mouth found her throat, tongue tracing where her pulse hammered.
“Do it,” she whispered.“I want to wear your mark where everyone can see.”
He froze above her, his blue-green eyes glowing with gold tinges.“Sienna, sweetheart.It’ll hurt.”
“Good,” she said, clenching around him and watching his control shatter.“I want the pain.The proof.I need you to claim me.”
His breath caught, then he growled—a guttural sound that resonated in her core.He pressed her wrists to the bed, pinning her beneath him, and licked the spot he planned to bite.The gesture was pure leopard, and it made her inner cat purr.
“Together,” he said, voice gravel.“We claim each other.”
