"I just killed my maker, survived a magical assassination attempt, and bonded myself to you for eternity." I reach for the fastening of my pants. "I've never been more sure of anything."
Something snaps in him.
One moment he's standing there, fighting for control. The next, his hands are on me, pulling me against him, his mouth claiming mine with a desperation that steals my breath.
And I feel it. Not just the kiss, not just his hands on my skin. Ifeel what he feels. The relief of having me alive. The hunger he's been suppressing for hours. The overwhelming love that saturates everything else.
It's almost too much. Almost.
I pull at his shirt, needing it off, needing to feel his skin against mine. He breaks the kiss long enough to tear it over his head, and then we're pressed together, chest to chest, our heartbeats pounding in unison. Our marks pressed together, both glowing brighter at the contact.
"Shower," I manage against his mouth.
He reaches past me and turns on the water. Hot, steaming, perfect. Then his hands are at my waist, stripping away what's left of my clothing while I do the same to him. Boots, pants, everything, tossed aside until we're both bare, both exposed, both feeling everything the other feels.
He lifts me easily, carrying me into the shower. The hot water hits my skin like a benediction, washing away the blood and dirt and remnants of battle. I wrap my legs around his waist, my back against the cool marble wall, and pull his mouth back to mine.
The bond makes everything more intense.
I feel his hands on my body, and I feel his sensation of touching me. The softness of my skin, the curve of my waist, the weight of me in his arms. A feedback loop of pleasure that builds with every touch.
"I can feel what you feel," I gasp against his throat.
"I know." His voice is wrecked. "I feel you too."
He presses me harder against the wall, the water cascading over both of us, and I feel his need like it's my own.
"Don't hold back," I tell him. "Not tonight. I want all of you."
He groans, a sound that vibrates through both of us, and shifts my weight, positioning himself at my entrance. I feel his anticipation, his desperation, his overwhelming love, all of it amplifiedthrough the bond until I can't tell where his emotions end and mine begin.
He pushes into me.
The sensation is indescribable. Not just the physical feeling of him filling me. I feel that from both sides. His pleasure at being inside me. My pleasure at taking him. The bond weaving it all together until we're gasping, both of us, overwhelmed by the intensity.
"Celeste." My name on his lips is a prayer.
He starts to move, slow at first, controlled. But the bond won't let him hide. I feel his restraint fraying, feel how much he wants to let go.
"More," I demand. "Harder."
He obeys.
The wall is cold against my back, the water hot against my skin, and he's everywhere. His body against mine, his emotions flooding through me, his pleasure building in tandem with my own. Every thrust sends waves through the bond, echoing between us, multiplying.
I rake my nails down his back, and I feel the sting of it through his senses. He bites down on my shoulder, not hard enough to draw blood, not yet.
It's too much. It's not enough. It's everything.
"I need..." I can't finish the sentence. I don't have to.
He knows. He feels what I feel.
His hand slides between us, finding the place where I need him most, and the dual sensation, his fingers on me, my pleasure flooding through him, tips us both toward the edge.
He growls against my throat.
The orgasm hits like a wave, crashing through both of us simultaneously. I feel him shatter as I shatter, his release and mine tangled together through the bond until there's no separation, nodistinction, just us. One pleasure, one heartbeat, two bodies sharing every sensation.
