She mewled, already wet and swollen. “Adare,” she breathed, tossing her hair back.
“Say my name again.” He leaned over her, his hand still playing, liking the sound of his name on her lips.
“Adare.” The sound was soft.
He grasped her hips and eased inside her, careful to go slow and not harm her. His body rioted and wanted to pound, but he held on to control, easing in again. She accepted him more quickly this time, and he pushed the last few inches, knowing without a doubt this was as close to heaven as he would ever experience in this life.
Holding tight, he pulled out and pushed back in, setting up a rhythm that kept him in control. Anticipation built up inside him, combining with a rush of heat that burned him from within. Every stroke made him more sensitive and ready, and he was nearing the point of no return.
There was no going back.
For either of them.
Tremors started from inside his knees and shot up to his thighs and groin, landing hard in his cock. He pounded harder, leaning over her, taking everything he could.
She dropped down, her head on the pillow and turned to the side. Open and vulnerable to him, trusting him like she’d promised. That trust, that surrender, quieted the world around him until there was only this moment, only this female, only the two of them.Forever.
He hammered, his body taking over, his entire being filled with Grace. Her scent, her skin, her essence. A surge of electricity shot throughout his cells, going deeper, into a part of him he hadn’t known existed.
His fangs dropped low and sharp, and he clamped onto her shoulder, slicing until he marked bone. She cried out and tried to pull away, but he held her in place, letting her blood flow into his mouth. The sweet spiciness exploded on his tongue, and he drank more, the beast at his core taking over in the thrill of mating.
He edged to the side of her, lifted his burning palm, and placed the marking flat across the spot where his hand had been before. This time, energy ran through his palm, scalding in its intensity and sparking through his veins to clamp around his heart. He felt—actually felt—strings tie around his heart, all bearing her name. Who she was and who she’d always be.
They entrapped him, taking him, settling into his being with the certainty of belonging he’d never felt before.
His world was filled with her, with their future together and the knowledge that he was hers. Forever hers to protect and defend, to keep safe during an immortal lifetime.
To do that, he made her his.
The marking sizzled, and he removed his hand, driving harder inside her, his fangs still in place. His balls drew up tight, and live wires uncoiled up his spine. He came in a rush of power and strength, stilling and jerking several times inside her, his mind soaring and his body filling with an invincibility that stole his breath.
He panted, his sweaty body attached to hers. Slowly, he retracted his fangs and closed her wound, his vision fuzzy. Taking a deep breath, he withdrew from her body and turned her on her side, curling around her and yanking the comforter over them both.
Nobody had prepared him for this.
He held her tighter, against his chest, feeling her heartbeat race wildly. “Are you all right?” he managed to gasp.
She nodded, the back of her head hitting his chin. “Yes,” she breathed. “That was just a lot.”
That was an understatement, to say the least. “I didn’t hurt you?”
“No.” She snuggled her butt into his groin and pressed her face into the pillow. “Tired. My shoulder aches a little.” She yawned, the sound exhausted. The marking on her back heated his stomach, and a sharp sense of possessiveness ran through him. “I hope I didn’t just kill you,” she mumbled sleepily.
“If you did, it was definitely worth it.” He kissed her on the back of the head, holding her close, meaning every word.
Chapter 28
Morning came too early, but Adare had a job to do and couldn’t snuggle down with Grace for the entire day, as he would’ve liked. The urgency of this day shot adrenaline into his muscles. They had a one-shot chance to save those women; destroying the facility was secondary.
Yet he’d still get it accomplished if he could.
Adare kept the helicopter along the tree line and out of radar range of the Kurjan stronghold, his head aching but his mind clear. He’d had a headache all morning, but that was probably from lack of sleep. His hands were easy on the controls as he scoped out the landing area they’d chosen more than six months ago.
Seeing no threats in the surrounding forest, he set down and had barely cut the power before Benny and Ronan jumped out, hauling their backpacks full of weapons and explosives.
He powered down completely and stepped into the thick powder, catching the tarp Benny threw at him from the other side. They camouflaged the copter with a white tarp that would blend into the snowy landscape. He jogged around and lifted his pack onto his back. “It looked like there was an avalanche to the northeast, or at least some sort of rock slide, so let’s go with Route B.”
“Affirmative,” Benny said, all business while on op. With his winter-camouflaged coat, pants, and hat, he probably didn’t need the paint on his face. With it, he blended into the environment as well as Adare or Ronan did, even though he was a couple inches taller than their six feet six inches.
