Very rarely did he make any noise like that.
And for some reason, it lit a fire in my belly, stoked the need building within me.
His next kiss almost brought me to my knees with how firm andsureit was. Like he knew exactly what he wanted—needed—to do. He poured everything into this second kiss; the fear and anguish of his life, the desperate need for his own future, and everything he wanted but never thought he would have.
The kiss set me ablaze, coursing through me and awakening parts of me hidden behind the magic of the collar.
I felt that familiar tug in my chest, the powerful need to bond hitting me hard.
Thor was the last of my mates that I needed to survive. He might be the key to breaking free of not just the collar, but the binds on my back cutting me off from the rest of my bonds.
He could be the beginning—and end—of everything.
And all I wanted to do was give in.
89
Thor
My mate tasted like freedom. Like safety. She felt like an entirely new world, one without pain and the bars of a cage. And just her presence alone calmed the terrifying pain forever burned into my being. With her, I no longer felt the whispers of my scars. With her, the time in the cage felt like a memory I could one day escape.
She was the one I wanted most if this was the life I was now to have. It would mean nothing without her.
And I hoped she felt that with each moment I kissed her. I hoped she understood how desperately I needed her to survive this new world.
Ivy leaned into my touch, though she never pushed for more. She allowed me to explore her on my own. As I swiped my tongue against the seam of her lips, she opened to me freely. I pulled my hand from hers and brought our bodies closer, feeling the soft, delicate planes of her body against mine. Just the simplicity of holding her close and kissing her had a new feeling rising within me.
This feeling was different, throbbing. It had my cock swelling in my pants, pressing hard against her soft stomach.
Against my lips, Ivy moaned. Desperation had me holding firm to her hip, keeping her lips pressed againstmine. All I wanted was to know what it felt like to belong to her in the same way the others did.
I wanted to mark her. Make her mine.
In the back of my mind, my beast yearned for it.Mate, mine, claim, repeated in my head, the only command I wanted to listen to ever again.
Let me claim you, I pleaded, swiping my tongue against hers and tasting what the future might look like: sweet and free, warm and perfect.Complete the bond with me.
For a moment, she stiffened, but the next swipe of my tongue had her melting into my embrace.Yes, she said.I’ll complete the bond with you.
If it were possible for my heart to crash out of my chest, I was almost certain it would be breaking through my ribs now from her words. They were powerful, everything I never thought I would ever hear.
Mate, mine claim, my beast said, whispering the words with reverence in the back of my head.
He’d protected me for decades from the worst of our punishments. He’d given me back full control during the shift.
If this was the only thing he asked of me, the only thing we would ever agree on again, then finally having our mate and claiming her was exactly what I needed to do.
I backed Ivy into the wall behind her, earning another soft sound from my mate. I curled my fingers through her soft, thick hair, enjoying the feeling of the strands between my fingers more than I thought possible. The hand on her hip moved to skim her waist, while her hands moved to my chest.
You’re in control,she whispered, bringing her hands around my neck.We go at your pace.
A shudder rolled down my spine, uncertainty playing in the back of my mind.
I had no experience, and the only times I’d been exposed tomatinghad been in the form of soldiers taking one another outside the cages in the shadows where they wouldn’t get caught.
Teach me,I replied honestly, pulling back with a groan. Herlips were red and swollen, eyes burning with desire. When I breathed in, it wasn’t just her warm, comforting scent that filled my lungs. There was something else perfuming the air, something that had my cock twitching.
Show me what I should do.
