On my mate.
Air ghosted over my skin as he kicked the door shut behind him. Without looking away from me, he locked it too.
“Nothing and no one is going to interrupt this moment.” One knee, then the other, hit the floor like he was preparing to worship at a holy altar. Even with him kneeling, his head was only slightly below mine.
His large, imposing frame made me feel protected in all the right ways.
“This bond…” He rubbed the spot over the center of his chest—where his magic well rested. A mirror feeling burned in the undulating white of mine. I flattened my palm there, my heart beating a staccato rhythm.
Vaeron dragged in a shuddering breath. “I cannot wait any longer to claim you. After tonight, everything became clear to me. But I won’t touch you like that unless you want it too. I would never hurt you in that way.”
The chain linking us twisted a tight circle like it wouldn’t release us from this moment until it got what it wanted.
Most mates couldn’t keep their hands off each other once their brands seared their backs. But with everything that had happened between the Issaraeth and me—the hunting, my broken knee, his betrayal—surrendering to that final act had been impossible.
Its denial had been incredibly painful too.
The image of him punching Herr Elyriane rose from the depths of my mind. As Elessarum, I should have condemnedsuch an act. But I couldn’t find it within me to muster any condemnation. In fact, his public display of possession…made me want to give in.
To let him claim me fully, to join our bodies as one.
Even though I knew the act would demolish the last peaceful piece of me. Even though I knew my soul would be irrevocably changed afterward. Even though I knew that by coupling with Vaeron, I was betraying the memory of my parents, of the other Elessarum who had died to keep me out of the crown’s clutches.
I wanted him.Neededhim. And that truth made me ache.
So I nodded, even though I knew it was a vow that I would be held to for the rest of my life.
“I need your words, Sylaira,” he crooned, his grip on me tightening.
“I want you, Vaeron,” I told him on a single breath. “I am ready.”
And I was, truly. I was so, so tired of fighting. Of resisting him. Of resisting what I desired too.
I scarcely had a moment to take in his relief before he swept me into a bruising kiss. Our mouths clashed—raw and ravaging. He bowed my back, farther and farther until I had to cling to his tunic to anchor myself amid the storm.
Tongue swiping against tongue, chest pressed against chest, he held me—possessed me.
His need flooded our connection. Mine surged too as he backed me toward his bed. A flash of worry about my leg shot through the haze of my lust, but before I could so much as voice the concern, white ribboned around my frame and lifted me.
Vaeron stood, chest heaving, as his magic settled me like something scared in the center of his expansive mattress. The plush comfort cocooned me, but the light didn’t dissipate.Instead, the tendrils crept beneath my clothes, caressing my skin.
Pebbles scattered out across the surface. My breath hitched as his power circled my nipples and tightened. “Oh!” I gasped at the sensation.
My mate didn’t move. But the hunger in his eyes darkened, until the ice of his pupils had all but melted. Radiance continued to work me as his calloused fingers traveled the length of his torso, removing his formal attire.
Muscles carved by a brutal sculptor emerged as the black fabric fell to the floor. My gaze drew directly to his hardness, peeking out of the tops of his trousers and perfectly framed by a deep V in his abdominals.
There was no doubt in my mind that Vaeron was a dangerous, dangerous male. And even more so to me.
And here I was, choosing him. Choosing to share my body in such an intimate, irrevocable way. Damn the costs.
Seams of light lifted the hem of my linen shirt, and I sat up long enough for his magic to pull it over my head. The bind around my breasts fell away next. Despite minimal exertion, sweat beaded my skin.
It was simply the way my mate drank me in that caused me to heat from the inside out.
“So fucking beautiful,” he murmured, transfixed. I blushed, and he leaned forward, knuckles caressing the back of my cheek. “After all this time…I don’t know if I can be gentle. I don’t know if I can hold myself back, Sylaira. I need you to tell me if it’s too much.”
His power tightened around my upper arms. My core fluttered like a thousand beating wings.
