"Let go," he commanded against my flesh. "Show everyone how beautiful you are when you come for me."
That was all it took. I shattered with a cry I couldn't contain, my body convulsing around his finger as waves of pleasure crashed through me. He didn't let up, working me through my orgasm and beyond, until I was trembling and gasping. Only then did he ease back, pressing a tender kiss to my inner thigh before rising to his full height. His mouth and chin glistened with evidence of my pleasure, but he didn't wipe it away. Instead, he smiled down at me with such raw satisfaction that I felt myself clenching again in aftershock.
"Perfect," he murmured, cradling my face in one large hand. "Absolutely perfect."
Chapter three
Mated
Magnur
Her taste still lingered on my tongue, sweet and intoxicating as sin itself. I watched her tremble against the glass barrier, her eyes half-lidded and glassy with pleasure. I could have howled with triumph and hunger, I'd claimed her, marked her with my scent, but it wasn't enough. Every cell in my body screamed to take her, to carry her away and keep her for days, weeks, forever. The thread between us pulsed with insistent heat, demanding more. I clenched my jaw so tight my teeth ached, fighting to keep myself in check. My claws threatened to emerge, itching to tear through that blue dress completely. My fangs ached to mark her throat where her pulse still hammered wildly. To claim. To possess.
"You're quiet," Jade murmured, her voice husky from crying out my name. She reached up, fingertips brushing my jaw where tension had hardened it to stone. "What are you thinking?"
I caught her hand, pressed a kiss to her palm, buying myself seconds to find words. The simple touch of her skin against my lips sent another wave of hunger crashing through me.
"I'm thinking," I managed, "that if I don't exercise extraordinary restraint right now, I might carry you off like some primitive creature claiming its mate."
Her pupils dilated at my words, the scent of her arousal spiking again. Fuck, she was going to be the death of me. I took a step back, putting inches between us that felt like miles. The cool night air did little to calm the heat racing through my veins. I needed to do this right. To give her a real choice, not one made in the haze of orgasm and magical connection.
"Jade." I swallowed hard, forced my voice to steady. "Would you like to come home with me?"
"Yes." Her eyes met mine, clear and knowing. "Absolutely yes."
I extended my hand. "First, let me fix your dress," I smoothed it down over her curves, the backs of my knuckles brushing against her warm skin.
She shivered under my touch but held still. When I reached behind her to raise her zipper, my face ended up inches from her neck. I breathed in deeply, letting her scent fill my lungs to help keep me calm.
"Thank you," she whispered, her breath tickling my ear as I straightened her dress.
I offered my arm, and she took it without hesitation, her body was close enough that I could feel her warmth through my suit jacket. The elevator doors opened upon our approach. Jade's fingers traced light patterns on my forearm where I'd rolled up my sleeves, brushing against the edges of scars I normally kept hidden. Her touch didn't shy away from them. If anything, she seemed fascinated, her fingertips exploring the raised texture.
The elevator chimed as we reached the lobby, the doors sliding open to reveal the night beyond. My car waited at the curb. I opened the passenger door for her, watching as she slid into the leather seat, her dress sliding up and showing more of her thighs, the sight made my mouth water.
Once behind the wheel, I took a moment to simply breathe and center myself before starting the engine. I could get us to my home in minutes if I drove the way I usually did, too fast and reckless. But that would terrify her, and that was the last thing I wanted. My knuckles whitened as I gripped the steering wheel, driving at a human pace through streets that blurred at the edges of my vision. Jade's presence beside me was an exquisite torture, her scent filling the enclosed space, making my head spin.
"Your eyes," she observed, studying my profile as I navigated a turn. "They get brighter when you're...feeling things strongly."
I glanced at her, knowing full well my pupils were glowing like embers. "Does that bother you?"
She shook her head, a small smile playing at her lips. "It's like having my own personal mood ring. Convenient."
I couldn't help but laugh, tension I didn't know I was carrying easing from my shoulders. This woman was extraordinary.
We pulled into the private garage beneath my building, the car's headlights sweeping across concrete pillars before I found my designated space. The engine fell silent, but neither of us moved immediately.
Jade unbuckled her seatbelt and turned toward me, suddenly serious. "Just to be clear," she said, her voice steady despite the quick pace of her heart, "I know exactly what I'm doing. I want this. I want you."
"Then let's go inside."
As we stepped into my private elevator, the thread between us hummed stronger, no longer diluted by the outside world or other people. Here, in the liminal space between public andprivate, it felt like we were already crossing a threshold that had nothing to do with physical doors.
Jade leaned into my side, her warmth seeping through my clothes. The elevator began its ascent, carrying us up toward what felt increasingly like fate itself. The elevator doors slid open, revealing the entryway to my penthouse, dark woods, clean lines, open space. I held the door with one hand, letting Jade step through first, watching as she took in her surroundings. The moment we crossed the threshold, something shifted in the air between us. The thread connecting our bodies pulsed harder, more insistent, as if recognizing we were finally alone, truly alone.
Something inside me fractured.
The restraint I'd been clinging to since the moment I first saw her shattered. I scooped her into my arms, cradling her against my chest. Her curves fitting perfectly against my body as if she'd been designed specifically for my arms. I couldn't suppress my rumbled of satisfaction, a purr vibrating through my chest at finally having her exactly where she belonged.
