“Because you’re mine,” she whispered. “I can’t hurt you, either.”
A harsh breath exploded out of him. Silas cupped the sides of her jaw. Nudging her forehead more firmly with his own, like he might be able to meld them together if he just pressed hard enough, he grated, “That’s why you’ve got to do it. I need to know that you’re safe — even from me. Especially from me.”
“Iamsafe with you,” she argued, softer, a little pained.
“Yes.” He smoothed his thumbs over the silken rises of her cheeks, savoring her. “And if that ever changes, you put me down.”
When she remained stubbornly silent, he whispered, “You have a piece of my soul wrapped around your throat and my whole rotten heart in your hand. You have no idea how vulnerable you’ve made me. Promise me, Petra. Promise me you won’t let me hurt you. Protect me from that.”
If he’d ever needed real proof that Petra Zaskodna was a good person, too good for him by far, this was it. She would never take advantage of the power he’d given her. She would never sell him out or give it to someone else. She was his, just as much as he was hers. She’d protect him — even from himself.
And that’s why he knew she’d say yes, even if she hated the idea as much as he would in her place.
“Okay,” she breathed, nodding as much as their position would allow. “Okay.”
Silas closed his eyes. Relief lifted the weight of the worry that had plagued him, the certainty that everyone was right to believe he’d hurt his mate at the first opportunity.
Knowing she wouldn’t let that happen…
He could finally let go.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Silas shuddered.His fingers speared into her silken hair. The animal in him howled for her, ravenous for the way she bent her neck so sweetly for him. It marveled at their luck. How could they have gotten such an exquisite creature in their grasp, willing and submissive?
Silas rubbed his lips over her brow, down over the bridge of her nose, until he finally reached her mouth. Pressing the words into her lips, he snarled, “You’remymate.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
“You’re gonna do as I say.”
“Yes.”
“You’re gonna let me use you however I want, as many times as I want, until I’m satisfied.”
Her breaths escaped in quick little pants. He loved feeling them, tasting her in the tiny amount of air that separated their mouths. “Gods,yes.”
“Careful, little goddess,” he warned, backing her slowly toward the front door. “I might never be satisfied.”
Gods bless her, Petra had already begun to work on the button of his jeans. His mate was truly a gift.
“Poor me,” she sassed, even as her back hit the door. “A hot demon is about to fuck me so good and so hard and for so long that I forget my own last name. However will I survive?—”
“Shut up,” he huffed, pushing the door open with one hand. His other fisted the hair at the nape of her neck, holding her in place as he drove his mouth down on hers.
Petra made a hungry sound in the back of her throat. Her fingers worked at his fly as she stumbled backward into the entryway. Floorboards creaked as they tripped over one another and shuffled their way inside. Their tongues tangled in a slick dance, sending the roar of lust in his blood to new heights.
Silas couldn’t get enough of her taste. The scent of her clouded his already scattered mind. His world was nothing but the feel of her skin and the way she clung to him, desperate for his kiss.
His shadows undulated across the floor, slamming the door shut behind them, and crawled up his body. The feeling of tightness, of not fitting in his skin, got worse and worse and worse until—snap.
The man he was, the person he tried to be for her, disappeared. In his place was a demon ready to claim his mate once and for all.
Sheathed in shadow, his body became bigger, his proportions just a little wrong. His horns lengthened into jagged points and his claws extended, easily allowing him to tear through Petra’s clothing. Shadows snaked down her legs, pulling off everything he couldn’t reach, leaving her completely nude.
She made a soft, squeaky noise of surprise, but she didn’t smell like fear when he growled, long and low, at the sight of his shadows circling her throat — the only bit of coverage he’d allowed her now.
Petra pawed at him, her deft fingers turned clumsy as she fought to touch him while his shadows worked all over her body,getting in her way. She didn’t stand a chance against them, though. They roped around her wrists and forearms, binding them together, and whirled her around to face the wall. Silas nudged her legs apart with his foot and dragged his shadowed hands down her flanks, admiring her tanned flesh.
