The room spun, the world narrowing to the heat of his mouth and the rhythm of my ragged breaths. I tugged harder on his horns, pulling him exactly where I needed him, and he groaned, the sound raw and feral. “More,” I pleaded, my voice barely a whisper, lost in the rising tide of pleasure.
Zypher’s pace quickened, his tongue working with devastating precision, as if he’d mapped every inch of me and knew exactly how to push me to the edge. My body tensed, teetering on the brink, and with one final, perfect flick, I shattered, a wave of ecstasy crashing through me. My grip on his horns anchored me as I rode out the tremors, his name spilling from my lips in a breathless chant. He didn’t stop, not until every aftershock had faded and I was a trembling, sated mess beneath him. Only then did he lift his head, his lips glistening, his eyes burning with a mix of triumph and untamed hunger.
Zypher’s eyes gleamed with a wicked promise as he shifted, his large hands sliding under my hips with effortless strength. “Come here, Dilectus,” he growled, his voice thick with desire. In one fluid motion, he lifted me, the height difference between us stark as he moved us so that he was lying on his back and my trembling body straddled his thighs. I shifted slightly, feeling the length of him pressing against my soaked entrance. My breath hitched, and his lips curved into a slow, predatory smile.
One of his hands gripped my hip, the other positioned hiscock, before pulling me down. A throaty moan ripped free as he filled me in one brutal motion. The stretch of him was almost too much, and I had to pause to catch my breath.
“So perfect, Dilectus,” he murmured, his other hand claiming my other hip. The words dripped with reverence, but the glint in his eyes promised something more primal.
His hips lifted slightly, dragging a gasp from my lips. Emboldened, I rocked against him, setting a rhythm that made his breath catch. His fingers dug into my flesh, hard enough I knew I’d bruise, as he fought to let me keep control. His strength anchored me as my body wound tighter and tighter. Tension built deep in my core, spiraling me higher with every roll of my hips.
My movements became jerky as I neared the edge. Zypher rose from the bed so that we were chest to chest, with me in his lap as I rode him, one large palm slipping to my back and guiding my movements as the other slipped between our bodies. His thumb pressed against my clit at the same moment his teeth pressed against the fleshy junction where my neck and shoulder met. The dual sensations threw me over the precipice. I shattered, crying out his name as waves of pleasure crashed over me, dragging him over the edge with me.
I slumped against his chest, panting as I worked to catch my breath. The bond I’d been so uncertain of in the beginning felt like a living thing between us. It seemed to pulse in time with my heartbeat. A shudder rolled through me as I felt his power fill me, tangling with the fiery magic in my well. The sensation was overwhelming.
Zypher gently pressed a kiss to my head, his arms locking around my waist as if to anchor us to our new reality. Tears pricked my eyes at the absolute certainty that bloomed between us. The bond left no room for questions or doubts. For the first time since I’d arrived at the academy, I didn’t feel lost. I was his, and he was mine, and with him, I was home.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Gabriel
I was sitting at my desk, pen scratching against paper as I tried to outline my portion of the Human Studies project. The words blurred in front of me when a sudden surge of lust ripped through my body with enough force that I nearly toppled from my chair. A strangled groan escaped me before I could stop it, and I doubled over, bracing against the desk. My fingers clawed at the wood as my fangs dropped with a sharp ache. Heat flooded my veins, scorching, insistent, every nerve ending screaming with want. Pressure built inside me with a ferocity I couldn’t explain. One moment, I was clawing at my desk, trying to regain my composure. The next, it tore through me.
A violent, shuddering wave of ecstasy crashed down, dragging a guttural sound from my throat. My body convulsed, my back bowing as pleasure ripped me apart from the inside out. My fingers dug deeper in the desk, leaving deep grooves behind, desperate for something to anchor me as the sensations dragged me under.
Pleasure raced through me like a fire, consuming everything in its path. My fangs ached, my skin flushed hot, and I felt as if every nerve ending had been set alight. The intensity left me trembling, panting like a starved beast, as it crashed over me. When it finally released me, I collapsed forward. My chest heaved, and sweat dampened my brow. I stared down at my lap in shock as the evidence of my release soaked through my pants.
“What the fuck,” I panted, trying to make sense of whathad just happened. My mind whirred as I tried to determine what sort of magic could cause this—what vile magic could grip me so tightly and make me come in my pants like an inexperienced teenager. “Shit,” I hissed, realization slowly dawning.
Shoving away from my desk with enough force to topple my chair, I stood and tore through my room to clean up and change. Anger coiled in my gut, burning away the lingering vestiges of desire as I snarled my disgust at my soiled pants. The feelings that had ripped through me weren’t the doing of a spell—no—they belonged to Bechora Knight. The bond had chosen to force them down my throat, to make me feel what she was feeling. The lingering understanding that the bond granted me was enough to know she'd claimed another mate. Jerking my clean pants up, I let them hang, undone, on my waist and stalked to my dresser to retrieve my hidden phone. This bond had to go. I refused to be held captive to the sensations of a woman I loathed.
“Rafe,” I hissed the moment my brother answered my call. “Tell me you’ve found something to help me.”
“What happened?”
“Is it not enough to be bonded to someone I don’t want?” I snapped.
“You wouldn’t have called me if something else hadn’t happened,” he replied. “You know how risky this is for us both.”
I sighed and moved to the wall, leaning my forehead against the cool stone. “She’s bonded another. I felt it. As if it weren’t enough that the bond drags us together in my dreams, it deemed it necessary that I experience her bonding, too.”
“Gabriel,” Rafe hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, I’m sure!” I snapped. “I was given the same education about the bond that you were. This cursed bond I’ve somehow created with that— that female—will ensure I feel it every time she bonds with another.”
“You sound almost jealous, little brother.” Rafe chuckled. “Are you sure your feelings aren’t changing about your mate?”
“Absolutely not!” I snarled.
Rafe’s laughter softened into something almost sympathetic. “I’m only teasing. You’re wound so tight a breeze could snap you in two.” He paused, taking an audible breath. “I’ve found nothing about breaking the bond. What I have found… I’m not sure you want to hear it.”
My chest tightened. “There has to be a way. Maybe in whatever it is you’re withholding.”
“There isn’t,” he said firmly. “What I’ve uncovered—”
“Tell me.” I insisted. “I need to know.”
Rafe exhaled, long and reluctant, before speaking. “All our lives, we were taught that vampire mates are chosen—that a spell must accompany the bite to create our bond, and without it, the bite means nothing. But that’s not the whole truth.”
