It’s a challenging statement, chilling me because of the lie in it.
“No,” I whisper. “Because you have a new family now. You have me.” I hesitate, but I plow on with the truth he wanted me to know. “You’re afraid of losing me.”
“I’ll kill anyone to stop my fear from happening,” he says. “Without thought or remorse. The demons of Pyra-Mortem have no idea of the new threat that your presence has unleashed.”
I swallow hard, my breaths deeper. “These trials…”
Now it’s Roman’s turn to breathe deeply, a forceful exhalation. “I can’t interfere, or we run the risk of upsetting the Balance. But I will do everything in my power to ensure that you survive.”
Before I can stop myself, I slip closer, and he doesn’t hesitate to pull me to him, his lips finding mine.
We’ve been together for only a short time, but we’ve grown closer with each intimate moment. Now that I’ve found his true fear and faced my own in delving deep into his psyche, no barriers remain between us. The connection between our souls and our powers is stronger now that I know the truth.
The strength of the bond we’ve formed in a relatively short time may have taken me by surprise, but in a way, every member of my pack has come into my life and cemented themselves in my soul after no more than a few moments with me.
As our kiss deepens, I fall into his touch.
His hands caress my sides, but the burning jolt of energy that flows through me is littered with the darkness and pain of the memory he just relived. It sears me, but my own power reacts to it, merging with his in a way that heats and cools, over and over.
When he removes our clothing with his rune magic, I press him back onto the bed, straddling his body. His hard length presses up against my sensitive core, but I resist the urge to slide down onto him.
There’s one thing I want to do. One way I hope to give him pleasure and in turn, to release some of the pain that I feel beating under his skin.
“Let me take care of you tonight,” I murmur.
His grip tightens on my arms, not enough to hurt me, but I lean forward anyway, my body responding to his need.
“Say my name,” he rumbles back.
I know what he’s asking for. The name I only use when we’re naked together.
“Rune,” I whisper. “I want to give you pleasure.”
His eyes are dark, the green faded under his demon desire. I sense that one day, he’ll come at me having completely shed his human façade, and a thrill of anticipation fills me.
“Roman was my name before I lost my family,” he tells me, his voice calm despite his pain. “Rune is my name now. You make me believe that I can one day have both again.”
Our gazes meet and hold, and despite the desperate need in my body—a need that has my thighs trembling as I fight not to rock against him—I don’t break the hold. Roman just shared what could be the most intimate part of himself, and I can’t brush past it.
“You were honest about your heritage,” I say roughly. I’ve been angry at him, and distrustful, because I believed he’d created a false identity, but he’d actually revealed more than I thought.
His fingertips brush my shoulders, trailing down my sides. “I didn’t want to lie to you.”
He shifts under me, and I groan. “Rune.”
His chest rumbles, and I feel the swirls of his dark energy expanding as his demon power rises to the surface. “Take your control now,” he says.
I sense that my power has unlocked his base instincts, and if I want to give him the same pleasure he always gives me, I need to do it now.
Placing both hands on his chest, I lean forward and kiss along his muscles. When I swirl my tongue against his chest and stomach as I move, his taste is rich and spicy, and I have to clench my thighs against him to ease the ache in my core. I’ve never actively shied away from sex, but the vigilante and outcast lifestyle haven’t given me much opportunity to explore this side of myself.
I want to explore it all with Roman. Every part.
I slide farther down his body until I’m straddling his legs, my focus on his abs as I kiss along the rigid lines, using my tongue to track along his skin until I reach the hard length jutting up between us.
A rush of air escapes my lips as I run one hand down his shaft before I wrap my fingers around him, a few inches below the thick head. He jerks in my hand, and I glance up to see that he’s watching me, those fathomless eyes like a burning beam on my face. His lips are slightly parted, breaths deep and ragged, and I find myself wanting to see him lose control from my touch.
I stroke him gently, and then harder, and he swallows roughly, his hands reaching for me, but I shake my head with a chuckle. “You need to stay exactly where you are or this stops,” I warn him.
