Ruvon cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs stroking her cheekbones. "I love you. Have I told you that today?"
"Not yet. It's still early."
"I love you." He kissed her forehead. "I love you." Her nose. "I love you." Her cheeks, one and then the other. "And in three weeks, I'm going to marry you, and then I'm going to love you for the rest of eternity."
He kissed her lips, soft at first, tender, but then her arms went around his neck and his hands slid down to her waist, and the kiss deepened into something hungry and urgent and full of promise.
They'd been careful until now, always stopping before things went too far. The wait had been excruciating, but necessary. Arezoo had wanted to do things right, to be married before they took that final step.
And now she was only three weeks away from having everything she wanted.
Ruvon backed her toward the couch, his mouth never leaving hers. They tumbled onto the cushions in a tangle of limbs, her fingers threading through his hair, his hands warm through the fabric of her shirt.
"Three weeks," he murmured against her lips. "And you'll be mine."
"I already am." She pulled him closer.
9
ESAG
Esag was nervous, which was ridiculous. He was over five thousand years old. He'd lived through the fall of civilizations, survived the destruction of his entire world, and spent millennia wandering the earth with nothing but his wits and his two companions. He'd faced danger, heartbreak, and loneliness that would have broken lesser immortals.
And yet here he was, heart racing and palms sweating like a teenager before his first date because Tula was coming over for dinner.
He had prepared pasta with a tomato and basil sauce, combining frozen noodles with sauce from a jar and sprinkling everything with fresh parmesan cheese. He'd added a green salad and bread from the Pearl. It wasn't fancy, but that was the extent of his culinary capabilities. Usually, he ate sandwiches from the café or frozen pizzas from the supermarket, but it wasn't like he could have invited Tula to dinner and served her stuff from the vending machines.
Hopefully, he had read her hints correctly, and she was coming over expecting him to satisfy another kind of hunger.
He'd banished Roven and Davuh hours ago, with strict instructions not to return until morning. Since they'd already had plans for tonight, that hadn't been necessary, and his request had earned him merciless teasing.
His friends were some of the oldest immortals on the planet but had the maturity of teenage boys.
Davuh and Roven hadn't been wrong, though. Esag needed them out of the house so he could have a romantic evening with Tula that would hopefully end up in bed.
The thought sent a jolt of anticipation through him, followed immediately by another wave of nerves. He'd been holding back for so long, or at least it seemed like a long time, giving Tula space to be certain of her choice. He hadn't wanted to be the reason she left Tony. He hadn't wanted their relationship to be built on the ruins of another.
But Tula had made her decision.
She'd ended things with Tony on her own terms, for her own reasons, and now she was coming to him, and he was going to make sure she didn't regret that choice.
Walking over to the mirror next to the entry, he examined his reflection. He'd showered twice today, trimmed his beard, combed his hair back from his face, and put on a dark blue dress shirt. He looked presentable. Maybe even handsome, if he was being generous.
But looks weren't what mattered tonight. He already knew that Tula was attracted to him. What mattered was making her feel cherished, desired, and thoroughly satisfied so she would want to come back for more.
He had five thousand years of experience to draw on. There wasn't a technique he didn't know, a trick he hadn't mastered. He'd been with more women than he could count, but most of them had been human. He'd been with a couple of immortal females before the fall of the gods, but the memory of those long-ago encounters had faded over the millennia. What he remembered most was their stamina, which had matched his own. Human females couldn't compare in that regard, and they were also incredibly fragile, but he'd known pleasure with them and had given plenty in return.
He knew how to read a woman's body, how to find the spots that made her gasp, how to build pleasure until it crested and broke like a wave.
Still, the fact remained that it had been five thousand years since he'd been with an immortal.
The thought made his pulse quicken.
He always had to hold back with human women, to temper his strength and his appetite. With Tula, he wouldn't have to hold back. Then again, she was pregnant, so perhaps the rules were different when an immortal female was expecting?
How would his venom affect the baby? Had she asked Bridget if she could even have sex with an immortal in her condition?
Suddenly, he was no longer sure about his seduction plans. As much as he wanted Tula, he wouldn't do anything without verifying first that it was safe for her baby.
