“You didn’t say that when you had half your fist inside me.”
He laughed and slid down between her legs. “You were beautiful then, too. You’re always beautiful. Every part of you.”
He pressed his lips to her. *And you’ll be beautiful with my fingers and tongue inside you, as well.*
Her hands bunched in the sheets as he explored her with his tongue, licking and sucking until her core was crying out to be filled. She wanted more.
*I know,*he chuckled. *Patience.*
He took his time. And she let him. It went against her instincts, to let someone else take control—but this wasn’tsomeone.It was Julian.
He tasted her and tested her patience with tortuous thoroughness, and at exactly the moment she knew she couldn’t take it anymore, he plunged his tongue into her. She cried out and thrust against him, and he was already there, his fingers slipping inside her.
She couldn’t eventhinkstraight. *How could you—perfect—*She strained against him, bending one knee to lock him between her legs, more,more—
He curled his fingers, and her body clenched tight. Even knowing it was coming, even being so close for so long, the sheer intensity left her gasping.
Julian pushed her legs apart and climbed on top of her. His fingers were still deep inside her, pumping against her g-spot until another orgasm crashed through her.
She needed more.Heneeded more, neededher, and she felt that need in her chest as though it was her own. Oh god. Was this what it meant to have a mate? To shareeverything?
*I need you inside me,*she told him, and he spread her with his fingers and fucked into her.
Her body lit up. There were no words for it. How all of Julian’s cold reserve burned away, and he became something beautiful and feral conquering her body, how she could tell him what she wanted and he gave it to her, how every touch made her feel more real. More herself. More someone she wanted to be.
She was all heat and wet andhappiness, swelling and dancing inside her until she thought she would burst apart. Julian was on top of her and inside her and part of her soul, and his joy was a flock of birds leaping into the sky.
A dragon, rising above waves that burned with the first touch of the sun.
Pleasure overtook her, and she clenched around him, dragging him over the edge with her.
They lay together, entwined body and soul, sweating and slick and panting, as brutal animal need made way for human thought. Francine rolled onto her side, pulling Julian with her and nestling against him.
“That was—” she began.
“We can do it again later,” he said quickly.
She narrowed her eyes. *I was going to say it was incredible,*she said.
*I agree.*A smile danced on his lips. *Which is why I would like to repeat the experience. Many times.*
Compared to the Julian she’d met only a few days ago, he looked like a different person. His cheeks were still too thin, theshadows under his eyes too deep—but the wary stillness that she’d thought characterized him was nowhere to be seen. He watched her without caring that she was watching him in return, and without hiding his feelings behind a mask of ice.
“Happy thoughts?” he asked, and she explained. His eyes softened. “I was thinking the same. You’re…”
“Softer?”
“Never.” He traced her lips. “Steadier.”
“I’ve found my fated mate,” she reminded him, slightly teasing. “We did things properly at last. I got somethingright.”
Her attention went to the silvery bond, and his did, too. But only for a moment before his eyes returned to hers.
“That’s not it,” he said. “It’s not what you do. It’syou.”
She swallowed back an instant retort and forced herself to consider what he’d said.
“Fine,” she admitted at last, reluctant and yet somehow feeling as though his words had unlocked something inside her. “And what about you?”
