Removing my jeans, his hands slid up my thighs until he reached the lace of my panties. No hesitation. Two fingers slipped beneath the fabric.
I gasped. Sharp. Jagged.
"Soaking for me." His fingers slicked through the heat. "Drowning in it."
He stroked me—thumb working my clit while his fingers slid deep. My back arched. My head fell back. The first wave of pleasure crashed through me, drowning out everything. Stone's pain. The Academy. All of it.
Gone.
There was only James. His mouth on my breast. His tongue swirling around the tip. His fingers stretching me open.
"Please." My voice broke. "James. I need you inside me. Now."
He stood. Stripped his pants and boxers in one motion.
I stared.
He was beautiful. Thick. Heavy. Flushed with the same fever burning through me.
I fell back against the pillows, pulling him down with me. The moment our skin touched, the bond roared to life.
He settled between my thighs. The head of him grazed my entrance, teasing through the wetness. I was slick. Aching. Desperate.
I wrapped my legs around his waist. Locked my ankles behind his back.
"All of me, Lumi." His voice was raw. "Take all of it."
He surged forward.
One thrust. Deep. Soul-shattering.
I cried out. My eyes flew open as he filled every empty space inside me. So big. So solid. The only thing keeping me tethered.
He didn't let me adjust.
He moved. Hard. Relentless. His hips slammed into mine with a rhythm that echoed through the quiet room. Each stroke was a brand. A claiming.
Mine. Ours.
Through the bond, I felt his pleasure. Dark and golden. Fierce possessiveness. The way he loved my walls clenching around him. The way my scent was driving him past reason.
"I've got you." He panted against my neck, teeth grazing my throat. "Don't think. Just break for me."
I did.
The tension snapped. My muscles pulsed around him in frantic waves. I screamed his name. The world narrowed to nothing but him—his body against mine, the blinding white of release tearing through me.
He roared. Went rigid. Spilled himself inside me so hard he shook in my arms.
He held me like I was the only thing keeping him from flying apart.
Our hearts pounded together until the rhythm finally slowed.
For the first time all day, my head was silent.
Afterward, we lay tangled together in the dim light.
My head rested on his chest, his heartbeat steady under my ear. His fingers traced lazy patterns on my back, soothing, grounding.
