Finally, Rage lowered himself onto me, bracing his weight on his elbows, and then he pressed his lips to mine in a slow, tender kiss.
He acted as if we had all night … but what if we didn’t? What if they saw me leave? What if the mages were coming right now with the blood mage they spoke of and—
“We need to seal it before they break it,” I breathed, tugging on the waistband of his underwear.
He pulled back, his brow furrowed, and stared at me.
“What?” he asked.
I sucked in a breath, and my gaze darted to the door before returning to Rage. The wretched fear I’d tried to ignore reared within me, and I nearly whimpered.
“What did you just say?” he repeated, cocking his head to the side as he studied me.
My lower lip trembled as I fought the tumult within … but I wouldn’t mar our relationship with any more lies. I had to be honest with him now—and always. “The high mages heard how you called all of the shifters back to the island. They know you’ll be a strong leader, and some of them are worried you’ll betoostrong.” I thought of Kian and Snade’s words from only a short time before. “A threat.”
“Too strong?” Rage sat back on the bed, staring at me with an intensity that held none of our former passion. “Too strong for what?”
I swallowed, my chest still heaving with each breath, but the dam had burst, and now fear held me in its icy grip. The awful truth of what the high mages wanted—and what they would do to preserve their way of life hit me like silver slugs to my chest. “They want total control. I think they had it with Declan—I’m sure they did—but you aren’t doing anything the way they think you should.”
“That’s their problem,” he snapped as if insulted that I’d even brought it up.
“Yes, but they said if I’m going to be going to school there, we can’t be bonded mates. That I’ll spy for you. I overheard them talking. If they break our mate bond before we seal it … it will be broken forever.”
He blinked, and then a full-on howl ripped from his throat. The sound, so full of wrath and betrayal, made me flinch, and I scooted back—away from him—by instinct. Silky onyx fur rippled down his arms, a clear sign that he was struggling to rein in his wolf.
This was my fault.
I dropped my chin to my chest in defeat.
“Oh, I will have you, Nai Crescent.” Rage growled, his voice barely human. “All of you. But not because of their threat to our bond. They will not force this moment.”
I didn’t want to force anything either, and yet … wasn’t it our plan all along to seal our mate bond? I wanted Rage—no matter what else came our way, I wanted him. But if we didn’t hurry…
Raising my chin, I offered him a sad smile. “If I go back and we’re not mated, then they may get their wish and break our bond forever.”
Anger slipped over his features like a mask. “Let. Them.Try.” Fire danced over his skin as his magic flared out of control with his emotions. “I’m the alpha king, and you are my fated mate. If they come between us, I’ll dismantle them, limb by limb, and use them for firewood before I burn their entire realm to the ground.”
The fight might happen anyway, couldn’t he see? But this … our mate bond—would he really risk it? He might … but I couldn’t. More than anything, I just wanted to be his.
I inched forward on my knees and then stroked his cheek. “Please, Rage? I can’t handle a world in which we aren’t mated.”
His expression fell, and the fury left his eyes. His wolf’s fur retreated, and when he met my gaze again, I stared into the green eyes of the man I loved.
He nodded. “Me neither.”
His eyes raked over me, kneeling before him in my bra and undies, begging him to take my V card.
“Holy Mother Mage, Nai. You are irresistible…”
Yaas!
I grinned as he took a deep breath. Gently, he lay me back on the silky sheets, straddling me, letting his gaze dance over my skin. He slid down so he was now hovering over my knees. He leaned over my abdomen and licked me. My nervous giggle cut off as he traced his tongue down my abdomen a little way and then paused to nip at the sensitive flesh just above my underwear.
I gasped, and Rage glanced up, his eyes heavy-lidded, and licked his lips.
“You taste like heaven,” he breathed in a gravelly tone that made my insides melt.
His warm breath fanned out over my skin, making it break out in goosebumps where he’d just attended with his tongue and teeth.
