As he does, the top of my undergarments slip, threatening to slide down. He notices, of course—he notices everything—and in one quick movement, he peels the straps lower, baring more of my skin as a current of cold air snakes around my shoulders.
“You’re so delicate. So warm,” he murmurs, burying his face in my neck again. “The only human I’ve ever…”
I tense, and he pulls back, his eyes hardening as he swallows down the rest of what he was going to say.
The breeze around us calms, and the flurries stop falling.
“The only human you’ve ever what?” I ask quietly, my heart pounding, my body warming with anticipation.
“The only human I’ve ever wanted to be fully intimate with,” he admits, and his eyes search mine, as if he’s bracing himself for rejection.
I blink, stunned.
His confession shouldn’t surprise me. Aerix’s refusal to be intimate with his humans has been mentioned to me before.
Still, it’s one thing to suspect, and another to have him say it out loud.
“Why me?” I ask, resting my forearms against the low back of the chair and gazing so deeply into his eyes that it’s like I’m seeing into a completely new part of him.
“Because your soul calls to me. Your fire, your passion, your defiance, your confidence, your bravery, your beauty, your blood…” he trails off, his wings flaring, his body tighteningbeneath me. “You belong to me. And I’m going to have you. Every single part of you.”
The possessiveness in his words should terrify me. Instead, it feels like coming home—like finally finding the place where I belong.
But I don’t have time to think about it further. Because his lips are crashing against mine again, and he sits straighter, his hips pushing up into mine as my fingers explore the sculpted planes of his back.
But as I near the base of his wings, I remember what happened last time and hesitate.
His body tenses even more, his fingers digging harder into my hips, pulling me closer.
“Keep going,” he murmurs in my ear, his voice thick with desire.
It’s not a request. It’s a command laced with something deeper.
My heart tumbles in my chest. “Are you sure?”
A dangerous smile curves his lips. “I never say or do anything without being sure,” he says, and something in the room shifts—like the air itself is bowing to his will.
The words sink into me, anchoring me in place, drowning me in the certainty of him. Ofus.
“Then I won’t stop,” I say, holding his gaze as I let my fingers drift to where his wings meet his back, as slowly and carefully as possible.
The raised skin there is soft—almost impossibly smooth—and the slightest pressure makes his breath catch, his wings trembling slightly.
“Is this okay?” I ask, barely more than a whisper against his skin.
“It’s perfect,” he says roughly, and as I continue, he leans forward so his forehead rests against my shoulder, as if he can’tkeep upright without bracing himself against me. A soft hiss of wind swirls up from behind the chair as if to steady him, and icy pinpricks tickle my spine.
Prince Aerix Nightborne—a ruthless, untouchable, predator in the shadows—is unraveling from my touch.
I’ve never felt so empowered in my life.
So, I move my fingers in slow, careful circles on the sensitive base of his wings. Each pass draws new sounds from him—groans, gasps, and ragged inhalations as he shakes and shudders, his hips moving in a steady rhythm against mine.
But eventually, with what seems like monumental effort, he lifts his head to meet my gaze. His eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them, filled with an intensity that makes my heart race.
“Not here. Not like this,” he says roughly, and in one fluid motion, he stands, lifting me with him and carrying me to the bed, where the rest of our clothes come off in a rush of heated kisses.
We’re so close. Chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat. And before long, I’m on my back against the sheets, fully bared to him as he hovers over me, his wings flared wide in a primal show of dominance.
