I felt Blake’s magic. It was powerful and controlled, but now it was more than just power. His energy wrapped around me, pressing against my own, and my magic, weak as it was, responded. Heat flared inside me, fire sparking at the edges of my consciousness, reacting to the intensity of his presence.
Blake’s gaze burned into me, his eyes dark with a hunger I couldn’t ignore. His presence, the steady hum of his power, wrapped around me like a vise. He stayed still then, eyes locked on mine, watching me as the thread pulled us closer, the space between us shrinking with each heartbeat.
But just as it was supposed to tighten, to complete the bond, the thread hesitated.
It flickered.
A sudden, sharp pull yanked at my chest, making me gasp. The thread quivered, unstable, as if caught between forces that were pulling in opposite directions.
I glanced up at Blake, his eyes darkened with concern, but heremained still, his jaw clenched as though willing the bond to hold. His gaze met mine, and I felt that familiar pull toward him, something magnetic between us.
But still the thread resisted. It twisted in the air, writhing like it was fighting something unseen.
I could feel the strain deep inside, tugging at the edges of my mind, something blocked, something hidden. My body tensed involuntarily, and a strange sensation crept over me—an odd, heavy pressure, like a distant memory struggling to resurface. It was suffocating, dizzying, but I couldn’t place it.
But somehow Iknewthis wasn’t how Pairing was meant to feel.
I surged up and joined my lips to his, and the world fractured around us. The moment our mouths met, everything else fell away.
It was just him. Just me.
His lips were warm, firm, but the real fire was beneath, where our souls met in the unseen space between us. It wasn’t just a kiss. It was surrender and defiance, a claiming and a question all at once. I felt the pull of him, the raw, unspoken need that had always existed between us, threading through my veins like molten gold. Magic, or maybe something deeper, surged in the space between our bodies, crackling at my fingertips, singing through my bones.
Then the red line snapped into place.
The bond formed. The thread pulsed, and I felt the connection, like a puzzle piece fitting where I hadn’t realized it was missing.
A surge of energy jolted through me, sharp and dizzying. Blake felt it, too. I could see it in the way his eyes darkened, the way his breath hitched. The connection between us tightened, like an invisible cord pulling us closer.
His hand released my wrists, sliding down to grip my hips, pulling me tighter against him. The moment his fingers made contact, I felt his magic coil around mine, tugging and pulling, until it was impossible to tell where his ended and mine began.
Blake cursed beneath his breath before his mouth was back on mine, his kiss even fiercer and more demanding.
His hips pressed harder against mine, the thick ridge of his cock rubbing against my aching core through the thin layer of clothing that suddenly felt like a cruel barrier.
My fingers dug into his shoulders, trying to drag him closer, to erase the last traces of space between us. My magic lashed out, wild and untamed, and Blake’s growl deepened, his power tightening around me like a steel vise.
“Blake,please—”
His mouth moved from mine, tracing a fiery path down my throat, teeth grazing sensitive skin as his hand slipped down between my thighs, the cool metal of his magic trailing after his touch like a brand. I arched into him, every nerve alight, every sense overwhelmed.
I was soaked, undeniably ready for him. And Iknewnow that Blake Axefire had a penchant for making me wait, but I couldn’t wait a single moment longer.
Even now, as his fingers circled my entrance, I gripped his hair in my hands and pulled.
“Now, Blake,” I begged. “Please.”
Blake’s groan vibrated through his chest, and he reared back just enough to look at me. His stormy eyes, darker than I’d ever seen, blazed with raw, primal desire.
“Rubi,” he growled out.
“I like the way you say my name.”
His teeth glinted in the warm light. “I know.”
Blake moved backward on his knees, shucking his pants offclumsily, making me light with laughter, magic crackling in the air as if it responded to me.
My legs parted again, cradling his hips between my thighs as he notched himself at my entrance. I sucked in a breath, brow furrowed, and he laughed.
