She'd never felt powerful like this.
Not the power of authority or violence or political maneuvering. This was different. This was the power ofgiving, of being the one person in the world who could undo him like this.
"Delia—" His voice broke on her name. "I'm going to—you should—"
She didn't pull back.
She took him deeper instead, relaxing her throat, breathing through her nose, and swallowed around the head as the fourth ridge pressed against her lips.
Ralvar broke.
A raw, guttural roar tore from his throat. His hand tightened in her hair as his cock throbbed against her tongue. Hot, thick pulses flooded her mouth; she swallowed reflexively, again and again, tasting the salt and heat of him while his hips jerked in short, helpless rocks. Each spurt was heavy, endless; she felt the ridges pulse with every release, felt his balls draw up tight against her chin.
When the last weak twitch faded, she pulled back slowly, lips dragging over every ridge one final time, and licked him clean with soft, careful strokes.
Ralvar collapsed back into the furs, chest heaving, eyes glassy. For a long moment he just stared at the ceiling, breathing hard, like he’d forgotten how lungs worked.
Then he reached down, hauled her up his body with one arm, and crushed her against his chest.
"I don't know what I did," he said finally, "to deserve you."
"You asked what I wanted when no one else ever had." She pressed a kiss to his skin, just above his heart. "You made me believe I was worth wanting."
"You were always worth wanting." His voice had gone rough again. "Humans are fools."
"Maybe." She laughed softly. "But I'm glad their foolishness led me here."
They lay in comfortable silence for a while, his hands tracing idle patterns on her back, her fingers exploring the scars on his chest. The evening light deepened toward dusk. Somewhere distant, a bell rang—shift change, maybe, or some other signal of the outpost's daily rhythm.
A rhythm she was part of now.
"Delia."
The shift in his voice made her lift her head. "Yes?"
He was quiet for another moment, his jaw working like he was trying to find the right words. Finally, he exhaled, a long, slow breath that she felt against her skin.
"You have a place here, work here, people who value you. You could stay at Northwatch your whole life andnever—" He stopped. Started again. "What I mean is, you have options. Freedom. The ability to choose a path that doesn't include—"
"Ralvar." She pushed herself up on one elbow, looking down at him. "What are you trying to say?"
His eyes met hers. Amber and gold, fierce and vulnerable, all at once.
"Will you bond with me?"
The world went very still.
"I know it's fast," he continued, the words tumbling out now like water through a broken dam. "If you need time—weeks, months, years—I'll wait. However long you need. I just—"
His voice cracked.
"I need you to know that I want this. Wantyou. Not just as mykrenna, not just as the woman who shares my bed. I want to stand before the clan and declare you mine, and hear you declare me yours."
He swallowed hard.
"So I'm asking. Will you bond with me?"
Delia looked at him and thought about everything she'd been taught.Too much. Too big. Too hungry.
