She stands in the doorway barefoot, dark hair mussed, still wearing Rhett’s oversized hoodie. But there’s nothing uncertain about her posture. Nothing hesitant or questioning.
She looks at me like she’s made a decision.
“I don’t want to wait anymore,” she says quietly.
The words hit me like lightning. Direct. Certain. So different from the careful, cautious Bree who usually second-guesses every choice.
“Bree.” My voice comes out rougher than I mean it to. “You don’t have to—”
“I know I don’t have to.” She steps into the room, closing the door behind her with deliberate care. “I want to.”
The air between us shifts immediately, charged and thick. I can feel her Ether stirring, silver mist beginning to curl around her ankles, and my hunger responds with a sharp spike of need.
She crosses the room slowly, never breaking eye contact. When she’s close enough to touch, she stops.
“In the kitchen, you said you needed me,” she says. “Show me how much.”
The last of my restraint snaps.
I reach for her, cupping her face in my hands, and kiss her like I’m drowning. She kisses me back just as desperately, her hands fisting in my shirt, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us.
The moment our mouths meet, the Ether responds. I feel it rushing from her skin into mine, warm and electric and intoxicating. But this time I don’t panic. This time I let myself sink into it, let myselftake.
The feeding is different now—not the accidental pull from before, but something deliberate. Controlled. I can feel her pleasure sparking through the connection, can sense every gasp and shiver like it’s my own.
And I realize something that makes my breath catch: the more pleasure I give her, the more she gives me in return. It’s not taking at all—it’s creating something beautiful and desperate between us, where every gasp she gives me makes me want to give her more.
“Wes,” she breathes against my mouth, and I can hear the surprise in her voice. Like she’s feeling the same connection I am.
“I know.” I trail my lips down her throat, tasting vanilla and starlight on her skin. “I can feel it too. Every time you let go a little more, I feel it. And you like it, don’t you?”
She makes a soft sound that’s half gasp, half moan, and the Ether surges brighter. I can taste her surrender in the magic flowing between us, sweet and electric on my tongue.
“Don’t hide from me,” I murmur against the sensitive spot where her neck meets her shoulder. “I can feel when you’re holding back. And I want everything you’ll give me.”
Her hands slide under my shirt, nails dragging across my skin in a way that makes me shudder. “Then take it.”
The words hit me like lightning—so different from the careful, hesitant Bree I’m used to. There’s something new in her voice, something bold and unapologetic that makes my pulse spike. I can feel it in the Ether too, black threads weaving through the silver in patterns I don’t understand. But right now I don’t care about the source. Right now I only care about the way she’s looking at me like she’s finally ready to stop apologizing for what she wants.
I lift her easily, her legs wrapping around my waist as I carry her to the bed. The hoodie rides up, and I realize she’s only wearing underwear beneath it—the thought makes my mouth go dry and my hunger spike so sharp it’s almost painful.
When I lay her down, she doesn’t look away or try to cover herself. She just watches me with those light green eyes gone dark with want.
“Tell me what you need,” I say, my voice dropping to that low register that makes her breath catch.
“You.” The word comes out without hesitation. “All of you. I’m tired of being careful.”
Something fierce and possessive rises in my chest. “Then we won’t be careful.”
I pull her hoodie over her head, and she helps me, lifting her arms without a trace of self-consciousness. The sight of her bare skin in the dim light makes my mouth go dry, makes the hunger spike so sharp it’s almost painful.
But I force myself to go slow. To worship every inch of exposed skin with my mouth and hands until she’s arching beneath me, silver mist rising from her skin like steam.
I trail kisses down her throat, tasting vanilla and starlight on her skin. Her pulse flutters under my lips, and when I find that sensitivespot where her neck meets her shoulder, she makes a soft sound that sends fire straight through me.
“You’re beautiful,” I tell her, and I can feel the truth of it resonating through the magical connection between us. “So fucking beautiful.”
I map the curves of her waist, her hips, the soft skin of her thighs. Every touch sends sparks through the Ether, doubling the sensation until I can barely think straight. My fingers trace the edge of her underwear, pulling a gasp from her lips
