God, what a sound.
Otherworldly. Achingly satisfied. Even if we weren’t already on fire, this would be the match. The strike against the textured glass and red phosphorus of the lighter box.
So, the flame came to life. The bonfire erupted towards the sky. The heat searched for anything it could damage—or, in this case, heal.
I drove into her one final time, burying myself completely as my own climax robbed me of every thought. Pleasure seared through me. The fire had gotten so hot, it was now burning blue. The bond turned me to ash, then rebuilt me simultaneously. I was a forest, decades after it was blackened from an idiot’s wayward flames. I was restored, new growth pushing upwards through once-charred soil.
As the last tremors subsided, I pulled apart from her. It took all my willpower to do so. I wanted nothing more to hold her all night, and to claim her again. And again. A dozen times over. She’d burned through me, and I needed that feeling to be never-ending.
But the pack had to become truly whole. I crawled over her legs and I shifted higher on the bed so she could easily reach me. Lucy stared at me, her green eyes glazed with euphoria, but I could tell by the glint in her gaze that she was ready to mark me.
I offered my arm. I let her take it, guiding my wrist toward her mouth. Unlike with Xander, there was no hesitation in her movements now. She knew what to do, what was expected. Her teeth closed around my flesh with confidence, biting down hard enough that I felt the sharp sting of skin breaking.
The pleasure was agony.
The agony was possession.
The possession was freedom.
The link between us buried itself so deep that it reached places within me I hadn't known existed. Lucy's life-force flowedinto my consciousness. Easily, without barrier, streaming like a river that ran out of water years ago, and was finally renewed.
Water to cool the fire.
“You’re the rain,” I murmured, bringing my free hand up to stroke her flushed cheek. “The rain after a wildfire.”
Somehow, I knew I didn’t need to explain what I meant.
Her answering smile was tired but radiant, her eyes fluttering briefly before focusing again. Two down, three to go—and I could see the hunger still lurking beneath her exhaustion. This miracle woman, who had spent her life confined to sterile rooms and medical equipment, was proving to have a stamina that matched her newfound zest for living.
I shifted to make room for Nitro, who was already moving into position, his expression unreadable. I wasn’t used to that look on my brother’s face. Nitro was decisive. Her picked a target and he sunk his blade into the bullseye. He didn’t falter.
As I moved to the end of the bed to catch my breath, I felt more stable than I had in years. And a question I’d never asked out loud felt answered.
It was the same sensation I got when torching a building, when flicking my lighter to life, and when watching flames dance in the hearth.
Lucy held the same power over me. Hot temptation wrapped in destructive exaltation.
And in the ashes, I found healing.
NITRO.
My brothers shifted away, giving me complete control and room to maneuver.
I approached Lucy with the same calculated precision I brought to every death-defying stunt. Nothing rushed, nothing left to chance. Where Xander had claimed her with measured authority and Asher had taken her with wild abandon, I would map her pleasure like coordinates on a grid, each touch and thrust plotted for maximum impact.
I’d study the target.
Find its gratifying center.
And throw my blade.
I settled between her thighs, taking in her flushed skin and silver-white hair now damp with perspiration, her chest rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths. Already she had been claimed twice, but the need in her eyes when they met mine told me she was far from done. Good. I didn’t want to hold myself back. I wanted to give her all I had to offer.
"Lucy-Loo," I murmured, using the nickname that was once a taunt, but now slipped out naturally as a term of endearment that belonged only to us. My fingers traced the curve of her hip, following the delicate road map of veins visible beneath her translucent skin. The sheen of sweat made her literally glow. “You’re full of surprises.”
Her lips curved into a tired smile. "Don't you dare treat me like I'm fragile, Nitro. I’m not scared. I don’t need to be protected right now.”
Something fierce and proud swelled in my chest at her words. Even now, exhausted and overwhelmed, she refused to be coddled. This woman who had spent her life in a sterile cage, fighting for every breath, still had fire enough to challenge anAlpha. Was this the woman that was always hiding behind the shield she erected when she first came to us? Yes, I knew that already.
