“Jasper would burn himself alive if you weren’t there to remind him to breathe,” she continues. “Dredyn’s control would suffocate him if you didn’t make him laugh. And me? I’d be lost in the darkness without you reminding me there’s still light.”
I surge forward and crash my mouth against hers.
My good hand fists in her hair, yanking her head back so I can take her deeper, devouring the soft moan that vibrates against my tongue.
Mara gives as good as she gets. Her nails rake down my neck hard enough to leave marks, and I growl into her mouth, shoving out of the chair so fast it scrapes across the floor. I lift her onto the table in one motion, stepping between her thighs, pressing the hard line of my cock against her core through our clothes. She rolls her hips into me shamelessly, and the friction drags a ragged curse from my lips.
I bite her bottom lip then soothe it with my tongue before plunging back in. My bandaged hand grips her hip bruisingly, holding her exactly where I need her as I grind against her again until I feel her shudder.
I can’t wait anymore.
My good hand slides down her body, hooks into the waistband of her leggings, and I rip. The fabric tears and I yank what’s left down her thighs.
I shove my jeans open just enough, free myself, and line up with her pussy. She’s already slick and dripping for me...
“Look at me,” I growl against her lips.
Her eyes lock on mine and I thrust into her in one brutal stroke.
She cries out, back bowing off the table, nails digging into my shoulders hard enough to bruise. I don’t give her time to adjust. I pull back and slam home again, deeper, setting a punishing rhythm that has the table creaking beneath us.
“Fuck, Mara—” I groan.
Her legs wrap around my waist, heels digging into my back. I oblige, pounding into her with everything I have.
She comes first, sudden and violent, walls pulsing around me as she bites down on my shoulder to muffle her scream. The pain and pleasure mix, shoving me over the edge, and I follow her with a guttural curse, spilling deep inside her.
My forehead rests against hers, both of us slick with sweat.
“You’re everything,” she whispers, voice wrecked, fingers stroking my hair.
I kiss her, slow this time.
“You’re more than the glue, Talon, you’re part of the structure. Don’t forget that,” she says against my mouth.
I nod, still buried inside her, still feeling her heartbeat around me.
“They’re going to work through this—they have to. Because underneath all the anger and betrayal, they love each other, just like they love you. Just like you love them.” Her fingers trace the sweat-slick line of my jaw, trembling a little as the aftershocks still ripple through her. “Just like how I love you.”
“Mara... I don’t know how to be without you. I don’t want to know how to be without you. You’re our home. I love you so fucking much it terrifies me. Because loving you this hard means I finally have something real to lose. You’re my gravity, Mara. You’re the reason I don’t float away when everything else goes to hell. I love you.”
I don’t know when in my admission I stopped talking to just her.
I want to scream at all three and tell them how I feel.
I love you all so much it’s killing me.
I love the way we fit, jagged edges and all.
I love the family we became despite every reason we shouldn’t.
I love you in a way that scares the shit out of me because it’s the first time I’ve ever felt complete.
I press my lips to hers, tasting salt from both our tears.
“I love you,” I whisper against her mouth. “All of you. And I’m not losing this. I’m not losing any of you.”
TWENTY-THREE
