"Raikar…" she gasped, her voice breaking.
Her orgasm soon exploded outward, a violent, beautiful release. Her inner walls clenched rhythmically around his fingers, her body convulsing as she cried out her ecstasy, a raw, unfettered sound that echoed in the room.
But he didn't give her time to recover. His panther was too eager, too close to the surface. The need to claim her, to join with her completely, was a fever in his blood.
He pulled down his shorts, freeing his large cock that was already hard and throbbing for her, and climbed atop her,his body covering hers. She reached down between them, her small hand guiding his cock to her slick entrance. The touch of her fingers, so confident and sure, sent another surge of possessiveness through him.
Then he pushed into her, inch by inch, watching her face as he filled her completely. She was so tight, so warm, stretching to accommodate him. A low moan escaped her lips.
"You feel so… good," she breathed, her eyes half-closed with pleasure.
He started moving with slow and deliberate thrusts, savoring the exquisite friction, the way her body welcomed him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him impossibly deeper, her strength meeting his. As their pleasure mounted, he acted on an impulse born from his deepest instincts. He wanted to see her take control. To give her the power.
In a swift motion, he flipped them on the bed. Now she was atop him, straddling his hips, his back against the sheets. Her eyes flashed with surprise, then with a dark, thrilling understanding. She reveled in the power, her expression shifting from vulnerable to fiercely dominant. This was the warrior he knew, the woman who met challenges head-on.
His hands tightened on her hips, guiding her, feeling the powerful muscles of her thighs work as she rode him. He was getting fully lost—in the moment, in the sensations, in the golden pulse of the mate bond weaving them tighter. His panther was so close to the surface, so desperate to mark her, to claim her forever, that he didn't even realize his claws had extended, just a fraction, the sharp points pressing against her skin.
She rode him with wild abandon, her head thrown back, her breasts swaying with the rhythm. He thrust up into her, meeting her movements with hard, deep drives, pushing her toward another peak. Within minutes, she was orgasming again,a violent force that made her body clench around his cock in pulsating waves. Her convulsions above him were a beautiful, uncontrolled dance.
It drove him to his own climax. His hands tightened further on her hips, the possessiveness overwhelming. As his orgasm ripped through his body—a blinding, white-hot explosion—he spilled his seed deep inside her, a primal, claiming act. In that peak of ecstasy, his grip was fierce on her hips.
She collapsed against his sweaty chest, breathing hard, her body limp with spent pleasure. He wrapped his arms tight around her, holding her close, his face buried in her hair.
Mine,his panther sighed.Finally mine.
Raikar never wanted to let her go.
ELEVEN
JADE
Jade's limbs felt like liquid as she slowly disentangled herself from Raikar's powerful frame, her core still pulsing with the aftershocks of what had just transpired between them. The cool air of the guest room kissed her overheated flesh as she rolled to his side, her breathing still uneven from their explosive connection.
What the hell did I just do?
She knew she shouldn't have crossed that line with him. But her defenses had been obliterated by the day's events: the terror of nearly dying in that panther's claws, the primal thrill of Raikar's rescue, the intimate trust of riding on his massive panther form through the jungle. Then his gentle care as he'd tended her wound, and the way his blue eyes had darkened with something far more dangerous than desire when he'd cupped her face.
When he'd kissed her this time, she hadn't resisted. She'd given in completely.
And what a surrender it had been.
The connection she'd experienced with him defied everything she thought she knew about physical intimacy. Ben had been adequate, even good at times, but this—this hadbeen a revelation. The hunger that had consumed her, the wild abandon when Raikar had flipped their positions and commanded her to take control—that surge of power had been intoxicating. She'd never felt so alive, so cherished, so utterly herself yet completely transformed.
But now, lying here in the aftermath with her heart still racing, something else was happening. Something that caused her skin to prickle with unease.
There was a humming beneath her skin, a strange vibration that seemed to pulse in rhythm with her heartbeat. More disturbing still was the odd sensation that she could feel Raikar's emotions as if they were her own—his satisfaction, his possessiveness, his deep contentment. It was impossible, yet undeniably real.
This is not normal.
Jade shifted her weight and caught sight of something that made her frown. Two parallel marks adorned her left hip, right where Raikar's hand had gripped her with desperate intensity during his climax. The scratches were shallow but distinct, perfectly spaced like...
"Raikar," she said, injecting lightness into her tone despite the growing knot in her stomach. "Looks like you scratched me."
She'd expected him to laugh, maybe make some joke about getting carried away. Instead, Raikar's entire body went rigid. When he looked down at the marks on her hip, his face drained of color, his expression shifting to something that looked suspiciously like horror.
"What?" Jade was suddenly very aware of her nakedness. "What's wrong?"
"I'm so sorry, Jade." His voice was rough with what sounded like genuine anguish. "I accidentally marked you. Not fully, but partially."
