"My turn," he said, his voice rough with promise.
The silk fell away like shed armor, pooling around my knees on the cold marble. Instead of feeling exposed or vulnerable, the way Kaelen's storm-grey eyes traveled over my naked body made me feel worshipped, treasured, absolutely perfect.
"Beautiful," he murmured, his gaze taking in every detail with obvious appreciation. "Every inch of you."
When his hand wrapped around my aching cock, I nearly came apart at the first touch. I'd been so focused on his pleasure, so lost in the rightness of serving him, that my own desperate need had built to almost unbearable levels. Now it crashed over me like a tidal wave, making me gasp and arch into his grip.
"Let go," he commanded softly, his thumb sweeping over the sensitive head in slow, maddening circles. "You've been so good for me, so perfect. Let me take care of you now."
The pleasure was already building beyond what I could control, aided by the bond that now sang between us with new intensity. Every stroke of his hand pushed me closer to the edge, and for once, I didn't fight it. Didn't try to maintain control or discipline or any of the things that had been drilled into me.
I simply surrendered to his touch, to his will, to theoverwhelming rightness of being claimed so completely.
"Please," I gasped, not even sure what I was begging for anymore.
"That's it," he encouraged, his voice warm with approval. "Stop thinking. Just feel."
When the climax finally took me, it was with a force that shattered every wall I'd built around my heart. I cried out—loud, desperate, utterly without shame—as pleasure tore through me in waves that seemed to go on forever. My vision went white, my body convulsing in his grip while he continued to stroke me through the aftershocks.
When awareness finally returned, I found myself collapsed against his chest, both of us breathing hard, both of us marked by satisfaction. The bond between us hummed with perfect harmony, no longer just forming but fully forged, binding us together in ways that went deeper than flesh.
"There," Kaelen whispered against my hair, his arms tightening around me possessively. "Now you're mine. Completely."
I was. And it felt like coming home to myself at last.
We held each other in the aftermath, skin cooling in the night air, hearts gradually slowing to match each other's rhythm. But even as the immediate fire began to bank, I could feel something deeper stirring—not just physical desire, but the sacred pull of completion that demanded we finish what we'd begun.
The marble altar waited beside us, silk-draped and ready, moonlight turning the deep crimson fabric to the color of wine and blood and passion. This was where we would seal our bond completely, where ceremony would transform into something far more primal and consuming.
When Kaelen finally stirred, lifting his head to meet my eyes, his smile was soft with satisfaction and dark promise. "Ready for the rest?"
The question sent fresh heat spiraling through my belly, desire rekindling with startling intensity. My body, which moments ago had felt wrung out and spent, began to respond to the hunger I saw reflected in his storm-grey gaze.
"With you?" I said, reaching up to cup his face in my hands, marveling at the way he leaned into my touch like he craved it. "I'm ready for anything."
His answering kiss was different from the others we'd shared—deeper, more claiming, flavored with the taste of our mingled releases and the knowledge that we now belonged to each other completely. When he pulled back, his eyes had darkened to the color of storm clouds heavy with lightning.
"Then come," he said, rising gracefully to his feet and extending his hand to me. "Let me show you what it means to be truly claimed."
I took his offered hand and let him pull me upright, my legs unsteady but my resolve absolute. The silk beneath our feet was soft as water, warming quickly from the heat of the sunstone altar that pulsed with its own inner fire. Kaelen guided me tothe edge of the draped marble, his touch gentle but inexorable.
"Lie back," he commanded softly, and I obeyed without hesitation, settling onto the silk with a trust so complete it should have terrified me. Instead, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
The fabric was warmer than I'd expected, heated by the sacred stone beneath until it felt like being cradled in sunshine. I stretched out fully, letting myself be displayed for his appreciation, and the way his gaze traveled over my naked form made me feel like the most precious thing he'd ever laid eyes on.
"Perfect," he breathed, moving to kneel beside me on the altar. "You're absolutely perfect, Rion. Do you know that?"
The praise sent warmth flooding through my chest, more intoxicating than wine. No one had ever looked at me the way Kaelen did—like I was something to be treasured rather than merely used.
His hands began to map my body with reverent attention, fingertips tracing the scars that marked my chest and arms before moving lower to explore unmarked territory. Each touch was deliberate, worshipful, designed to catalog every inch of me until he knew my body better than I did myself.
When his palm flattened against my stomach, feeling the way my muscles jumped beneath his touch, I couldn't suppress the soft moan that escaped me. The sound seemed to please him, judging by the way his eyes flashed with renewed hunger.
"I want to taste every inch of you," he murmured,leaning down to press his lips to the hollow of my throat. "I want to mark you with my mouth until there's no part of you that doesn't remember my touch."
The promise sent liquid fire racing through my veins. "Please," I whispered, the word barely a breath. "Please, Kaelen."
He began at my collarbone, lips and tongue and the gentle scrape of teeth working patterns into my skin that made me writhe beneath him. Each kiss was a brand, each caress a claim, and by the time he reached my chest I was already trembling with renewed need.
