When he reached the last button, he paused. His gaze lifted to mine, asking permission one more time.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He eased the fabric from my shoulders, sliding it down my arms. The gown pooled at my waist, and I was bare before him from the waist up, wearing only my thin undergarment. The cool air made my nipples peak.
Kieran’s breath left him in a rush. “Cyrene. You’re—I don’t have words.”
He unfastened the tiny buttons on the front of my undergarment and parted it. Leaning back on his heels, his eyes roamed over me with appreciation. He took in every freckle, every curve, every scar that made me uniquely myself. His gaze paused on the crescent-shaped birthmark below my left breast, then moved to the thin silver scar across my ribs. He traced it with gentle fingers, his touch asking a question.
“Cauldron explosion,” I said softly. “I was nine and decided I knew better than the elders.”
His mouth curved. “You were headstrong even then.”
“I prefer determined.”
“You were perfect even then.” Leaning down, he kissed the old scar. “Perfect now.”
The air caught in my lungs. He was seeing the real Cyrene beneath the royal trappings and witch queen title. The woman with scars and freckles and flaws. And he was looking at me as if I truly was everything he’d ever need.
“You’re trembling,” I said.
“I’m terrified I’ll wake up and find this is a dream.” His hands hovered over my skin, not quite touching. “That you’ll disappear like you did six years ago.”
I caught his hands and placed them on my waist. “I’m real. I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”
He exhaled, then eased the gown down over my hips until it whispered to the floor. His eyes darkened further as he took in the sight of me in just my undergarment, the thin fabric leaving little to the imagination.
A tremor ran through him. “I need you to know that I’ve never—” He shook his head. “In six years, there’s been no one. Not once. After I met you, I couldn’t look at anyone else. I tried to forget, to move on when I couldn’t find you, but—” He drew a shaky breath. “You ruined me for everyone else.”
This powerful, beautiful man, desired by many, had kept himself only for me even when he thought he’d never find me again.
“There’s been no one for me either. I told myself it was because I was focused on my magic, on my sisters and grandmother. But the truth is, no one evermeasured up to the memory of those three days with you.”
His eyes flared with satisfaction, with hunger, and with a bone-deep relief that echoed through our bond.
“Mine,” he whispered. “As I am completely yours.”
His fingers caught the top of my undergarment, and he looked up at me.
“Please.”
He slid it away, and then I was completely bare, vulnerable in a way that should’ve terrified me but didn’t. Not with the way he was looking at me.
“Gorgeous,” he breathed. “You’re absolutely gorgeous.”
Then his mouth was on mine again, and I gasped at the sensation of his clothed body against my naked one, the contrast of textures overwhelming. His shirt was soft against my breasts, his trousers rough against my thighs. I tugged at his collar, wanting to feel his skin on mine.
He pulled back long enough to yank his tunic over his head and toss it aside. Then we were skin to skin, and the sensation stole my breath.
He was beautiful. All muscle and surprisingly warm for a vampire. But, then, he was a born vampire, not one created by full blood draining, a rarity in my world.
I ran my hands over his shoulders, down his chest, mapping the planes and angles of him while he watched me with hooded eyes.
“My turn to tremble,” I said.
“You have no idea what you do to me.” He lowered his head, pressing kisses along my jaw, down my throat. “What you’ve always done to me.”
His mouth found the hollow of my collarbone, and I arched into him. He kissed lower, across my chest, and when his lips closed around my nipple, I cried out.
