The smart thing would be to let her go. To release her hair and put distance between us.
I don’t.
I drag her mouth to mine.
She opens for me immediately, her tongue seeking out mine, her fingers fisting in my shirt to drag me closer. I let her, rolling her onto her back to settle between her thighs. She arches up against me with a moan that vibrates through my chest, legs lifting to wrap around my hips, pulling me harder into her body.
The friction is unbearable. Perfect. And not nearly enough.
I break the kiss to bite my way down her throat, finding the spot where her pulse hammers, and bite down hard. She cries out. Loud enough that Therin will hear, and … I don’t care. Her hands are in my hair, holding me against her throat, and I suck at her skin until I know she’ll wear the bruise for days.
Lifting my head, I look at her. Her lips are swollen, throat already darkening with the mark of my teeth. She looks like she’s been fucked, even though we’re both still fully clothed, and the sight of her like this … undone, wanting,mine… makes something savage twist in my chest.
I want to buy myself inside her. I want to make her come, screaming my name—mytruename—and then I want to do it again until she can’t remember whosheis.
I want to ruin her for anyone who comes after me.
But Therin is less than twenty feet away, and if I take her now it won’t be enough. I’ll want more. I’ll wanteverything. And I don’t know what will happen if I stop keeping her at a distance.
I start to draw back …
… and the bond ignites.
I feel it catch, the connection flaring hot and bright, and the Nightwild threads weave tighter. It’s happened before, but this time she notices.
She gasps and wrenches back, eyes going wide.
“What is that?”
I go still above her. She’s staring up at me, one hand pressed against her chest.
“Whatisit? What did you do?”
I don’t answer. I’m half-lost in the taste of her, my body hard and aching for her. But underneath that, my mind is starting to catch up.
“What did youdoto me?”
She’s pressing harder against her chest, right over her heart, her breathing ragged. Through the bond, her confusion shifts toward fear.
I could tell her. I could explain what I did in the clearing that day, how I used her blood and created something that wasn’t supposed to exist. That the Nightwild magic has reached for her, weaving her into something I don’t want to acknowledge.
But knowledge is currency, and I’ve spent hundreds of years learning never to give anything away for free.
“You’ll need to be more specific.” I keep my voice light, letting a hint of amusement creep in. “I’ve done a lot of things to you.”
Her eyes flash, her fear of me receding under frustration. “That isn’t an answer! Tell me what I felt.”
“Magic.” My mouth curves up. The wanting is still there, simmering under my skin, but I have it under control now. “The kind that happens when a human princess writhes beneath a fae warrior.”
A flush spreads down her throat—the same throat I was biting minutes ago, marking with my teeth. She shoves at my chest, and I allow her to move me, rolling off her to sit, putting space between us.
“Something happened. I felt it. Andyouknow what it is.”
I do. I know exactly what happened. Through desire, the blood bond and Nightwild magic claimed her a little more. Unfortunately, no matter how much I want to deny it, I know what it means and where it’s heading.
And I have absolutely no intention of telling her any of it.
“I know a lot of things.” My voice is cooler now. The shift is complete. A moment ago I was lost in the heat of her, now I have that door firmly closed. “Doesn’t mean I’m obligated to share them with you,Moirthalen.”
