His gun was within easy reach, the vehicle was warded, and she had a wall of fierce half-orc between her and the outside world. Like a cat curling up in the sun, she let herself bask in him a while longer, tethering ever-more securely.
She thought that she would drop off to sleep immediately, but with Kaz glued to her back, his hips nestled against her ass, and his hands on her, she felt… not particularly tired.
Atria stared at the fabric-covered siding of the cab’s interior, her lust slowly feeding off of Kaz’s. She could feel his erection straining between them, but he didn’t so much as twitch when she dared to shift backward an inch, eliminating what little space remained.
She could feel his chest expand and relax with deep breaths. Was he asleep? Or was he being sucked under the heady swirl of lust like she was?
“Kaz?” she whispered, heart pounding.
The hand on her stomach moved. The tip of his pinkie slidjustunder the hem of her loose pants — totally innocent, except for the way it made her bodyburn.
“Yes, princess?”
“I…” She swallowed. What did she plan to say? Therewasno plan. Fumbling, she said, “I’m just— I want you to know that I had no idea about… I didn’t realize I was your mate. Before.”
She felt him stiffen. “What the fuck?”
In an instant, Atria was flat on her back. A glowering half-orc loomed over her, his brows drawn and his lips pressed into a scowl.
That should have been the part she focused on most, considering how deadly she knew Kaz to be, but all Atria could focus on was the way he wedged his sturdy hips between her thighs, and how his hair slid over his tense shoulder to tickle her cheek when he leaned down to growl, “Is that why you askedwhatwhen I told your ex you’re mine?”
Atria’s pulse raced in her throat as she stared up at him.Gods, he’s beautiful.
A being forged for wrath, Kaz looked terrible and beautiful and predatory when those dark eyes pinned her in place.
It was the same look he gave her in the bathroom at the motel, when he devoured her like he wanted to drown between her thighs. Norman had always wanted her, but Kaz…
He looked like he wanted todestroyher.
“I didn’t know,” she breathed, unable to stop herself from slowly lifting her legs, cradling his hips with the soft flesh of her thighs. Welcoming him home. “I saw the kohl but I didn’t see ithappen.I thought…”
One of his hands curled around the base of her throat. “You thought I belonged to someone else. You thoughtyoubelonged to someone else.”
He let more of his weight rest on her. Atria bit back a groan. Gods, she’d never craved the touch of another like she did with Kaz. Even his weight bearing down on her, his grip on her throat, the warmth blazing from his skin — all of it made her go soft and wet with a swiftness that appalled her.
Shifting her legs restlessly, she answered, “Yes.”
“Did that make you jealous?” He leaned closer, until his lips ghosted over her own, and continued, “Did the idea of me fucking someone else make you want to hiss, princess?”
Did it? She certainly didn’t like it when the waitress looked at him like she wanted to know what lived behind his zipper. And she’d been… hurt, discovering the kohl after their interlude in the bathroom of the motel, though she’d rationalized it as smarting pride at the time.
She’d tried to tell herself that being mated or bonded to a man like Kaz was the last thing she wanted, but it was a weak lie.
Atria had spent her entire life believing she would never know the blessing of a mate. As a Bonded priestess, she wasn’tsupposedto have one. And after she left the Sanctuary, a part of her had always assumed that the universe would never reward her by putting a mate in her path.
But she wanted one anyway. If she was being honest with herself, she knew that she wantedKazfrom the moment he wiped away her tears in the motel room.
“It didn’t make me want to hiss,” she answered, hands sliding up his naked sides to dig into the muscles bracketing his strong spine. The truth, unacknowledged even to herself, spilled out. “It made me wish I could be even half as lucky as your mate. Did she know how privileged she was to have you? Did she appreciate how beautiful you are?” She lifted her hips, grinding up until she saw Kaz’s jaw flex. “Did she worship your cock like I could?”
There was no telling what was iris and what was pupil anymore. Kaz’s pupils were so expanded, they looked like they wanted to swallow every bit of light they could.
His voice was ragged when he said, “Worship?”
Atria wished he’d move. Touch her. Press his thumb into her mouth or squeeze her breast orsomething.She keened softly when he remained ruthlessly still, completely ignoring the way she attempted to roll her hips into his. She couldn’t even arch her neck for a kiss; not when he had his fingers around her throat, pinning her down.
“Worship,” she repeated, husky with need. “No one else could worship your body like I can. I need to touch you more than I need to breathe.”
“Because you’re an empath?” He dragged his fangs over her cheek to nip at the slope of her jaw. Breathing wetly against her skin, he growled, “Or because you’remine?”
