"You know what I need."
"I know what your body needs." His fingers ghosted along her inner thigh, gathering the wetness there. "But I asked whatyouneed. There's a difference."
She turned to face him fully, catching his face between her hands. "I need you. Not just your touch. You. The way you make me feel desired. Wanted. Like I'm—"
He kissed her before she could finish, swallowing her words with his mouth. His teeth caught her lower lip as his hand finally found her center. Two fingers pushed inside without warning, and her hips bucked at the sudden fullness. He curved them just right, pressing against that sensitive spot that made her vision white out at the edges.
"You are desired," he growled against her mouth, his fingers withdrawing almost completely before thrusting deep. "You are wanted." Another withdrawal, another thrust that made her inner muscles clench desperately around him. "You are mine."
His thumb pressed against her clit, not the frantic circling she'd attempted but slow, deliberate pressure that had her thighs trembling. Her nails dug into his shoulders, leaving crescents in his skin. He didn't watch her with detached fascination, his pupils were blown wide, his breathing as ragged as hers, a flush spreading down his chest.
"That's it," he encouraged as her inner muscles began to flutter. "I can feel how close you are. Should I let you come now? Or should I show you what three days felt like for me?"
"Now," she gasped, hips moving against his hand. "Please, now. I can't—"
"You can." He slowed his movements to torturous strokes, his fingers barely moving inside her now, keeping her suspended on that knife's edge between pleasure and frustration. His pupils dilated as her hips chased the friction he denied her. "But I find myself equally impatient."
He moved down her body with the focused intent of someone who knew exactly what they wanted. His hands gripped her thighs, positioning them wide, his thumbs pressing into the soft flesh. The first touch of his tongue made her whole body jolt, and when her hips lifted instinctively, his forearm pressed across her stomach.
"Stay still," he murmured against her. The words sent vibrations through her sensitive flesh. "Let me."
His fingers curled inside her, finding exactly where she needed him most, making her breath stutter and catch. When she pulled his hair particularly hard, a low growl rumbled from his chest. The sound traveled through her body, making her inner muscles clench reflexively around his fingers.
Her thighs began to tremble, that telltale quiver he'd learned to recognize. Her breathing went shallow, quick little gasps that told him she was close. He sealed his lips around her clit and sucked, fingers pressing deeper at the same moment.
Her spine left the mattress entirely, back bowing as the orgasm rolled through her. The mark on her arm blazed hot, like being branded by pleasure itself. He kept his mouth on her, tongue moving in slow, firm strokes that pulled aftershock after aftershock from her shaking body until her hands pushed weakly at his shoulders.
He moved back up her body with fluid grace, his chin still wet with her arousal. His hand caught her jaw, tilting her face up when her eyes had gone unfocused and hazy. "Look at me," he said. "I want to see you when I take you."
"Eliam—"
"Three days was too long." He notched himself at her entrance, one hand braced beside her head. She could see the tension in his forearm, the way his fingers pressed into the mattress. His other hand gripped her hip, thumb pressing into the hollow there. "I won't allow that distance again."
He pushed inside in one controlled thrust. His jaw clenched, a muscle jumping there as her body gripped him. She saw his control in the rigid line of his shoulders, the careful way he held himself still while she adjusted.
"Mine," he said, withdrawing slowly until only the tip remained, then sliding back in with deliberate intent. "My chosen companion." Another withdrawal, another thrust that had her nails digging crescents into his shoulders.
"My beautiful thief." His pace increased, each stroke deep and claiming. "I’ve spent days thinking about this," he said, beginning to move. "About you, warm and willing beneath me."
"Is that all you thought about?" she gasped as he hit particularly deep. "Me beneath you?"
He withdrew until only the tip remained, then snapped his hips forward, making her cry out. "No. I thought about you in the cave." His eyes darkened with the memory. "How you looked above me on those furs, taking control. How you moved when you finally stopped fighting what you wanted."
Before she could respond, his hands gripped her waist and he rolled them. The world spun, but he kept them joined, her knees suddenly bracketing his hips. The new angle made her gasp—he pressed deeper this way, against places that sent sparks up her spine.
"Move," he commanded, his fingers pressing into the curves of her hips, already guiding her into a rhythm.
Heat flooded her face, but her body was already obeying. Her palms flattened against his chest for leverage as she found her rhythm—slow at first, testing, then faster as his hands encouraged her movements. His abs tensed beneath her, hips lifting to meet hers.
"Beautiful," he murmured, his eyes tracking over her, taking in the sway of her breasts and the way the mark seemed to glow in the moonlight. "Look at you. Covered in my mark, taking what you need from me."
"Eliam," she gasped, her movements faltering as pleasure coiled tighter in her belly.
He sat up suddenly, the angle changing again. Her cry was swallowed by his mouth as his arms wrapped around her, holding her flush against his chest while she continued to move. She could feel his heartbeat racing against hers.
"Do you know what you've done to me?" The words came out rough against her throat. "Three days away and I couldn't think of anything else. I missed—" He cut himself off, jaw clenching as if the admission physically hurt. "I missed you."
"You missed this," she corrected softly. "The sex. The—"
