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He sucked that bundle of nerves between his teeth, and I exploded with a shriek, muscles locking while my core spasmed. Stars burst behind my closed eyes, and I worried that my heart had stopped. He continued to lap at me while I trembled, and when he finally pulled away, his mouth was shining with my release. He licked his lips with the look of a satisfied feline.

“Now you are ready.”

He backed off the bed and dropped his sweats. My heart lodged in my throat. Rami was, in a word, massive. I had the fleeting thought that maybe I wasn’t ready to take that monster, but damn if I wasn’t going to try. He covered me with his body and grabbed a pillow to shove under my hips. The elevation made it easier for him to drag his hard length through my folds, coating it with my arousal. When he nudged my oversensitive clit, I shuddered, and he stilled.

“We can stop,” he forced out, his body rigid with restraint. It was clear he wanted to do anything but. “If you’ve changed your mind⁠—”

“No, nallukka.” I lifted my head to pepper his face with desperate kisses. “Don’t you dare stop.”

He sagged a little in relief, capturing my lips with his as he notched himself at my entrance. He braced himself on one forearm beside my head, the other hand going to my hip. His fingers twitched as he slowly pressed in an inch, and my body seized at the intrusion. God, he was so big. There was no way.

He moved his mouth to my ear. “Relax, kulta,” he whispered. “Just breathe. Open for me.” He rocked his hips with gentle, shallow movements, and my body started to melt under his warm praise. “You’re doing so good, kulta. Niin hyvä tyttö. You can take more.”

I moaned as his words started twisting that coil again and my pelvis rolled, meeting his measured, careful thrusts. My heart felt like it was glowing, a bright beacon electrified by our pulsing bond. Nothing had ever felt so perfect, and when I met Rami’s intense gaze, I could barely breathe around the swell of emotion in my chest.

He nuzzled his face back into my neck. His hand on my hip flexed, gripping more firmly, and his breaths were short, hot pants against my skin. Then, without warning, he buried himself in a single, powerful thrust. I gasped, the sound caught in my throat as I clung to him in shock. But before I even had time to process the burn of being filled for the first time, Rami’s hand on my hip grew warm, and his tingling magic seeped into me, soothing the sting at once. It teased my nerves with pleasure, and the pressure in my core built.

Oh, I like that trick.

As soon as he felt my tension slip away, he stopped holding back. The headboard banged against the wall, advertising our activities to the entire house, but I was too lost to care. Everything was Rami—around me, inside me. Heart, body, mind, soul. I could feel the tremor in his muscles as he struggled to control himself. To pace himself.

“You feel too good,” he grated out, slowing his movements.

I slid my hands from his shoulders back up into his hair and forced him to look at me. “Keep going, nallukka. We have forever.”

With a growl, he reared back onto his knees, pulling me with him to straddle his thick thighs. A surprised cry escaped me as the change in position allowed him to reach new depths. I felt him everywhere. He wrapped his strong arms around me, keeping me steady while he rutted up into me like a wild animal let loose. His frenzied thrusts hit my g-spot with every stroke, and all I could do was hold on while he drove me closer and closer to the tipping point. He buried his face against my shoulder while I dragged my fingernails down his back, both of us grinding and clawing and panting together.

“Come with me,” he begged, movements stuttering. “Tule kanssani nyt!” He swelled impossibly larger, igniting fireworks and sending me into a euphoric free-fall. His name tore from my lips as I shattered around him. His shout echoed mine while he found his own release, hips jerking. The intensity stretched on as our bodies continued to move together in a desperate attempt to wring every last ounce of pleasure from each other.

While the tempest calmed, Rami held me on his lap until all that was left of us was beating hearts and heaving lungs. His staggered breath ghosted over my collarbone, making me shiver and clench. It drew a groan from him, and he held me tighter. I sifted my fingers through his hair with a soft laugh, warm in the afterglow and the feelings I couldn’t deny for this man.

“I love you, nallukka,” I whispered. “So much.”

Rami let out a shaky exhale and pressed a kiss over my heart. “Minäkin rakastan sinua, kulta.”

55

RAMI

Early morning light slid through a slivered gap in the blackout curtains, and a single ray of light danced over Cordelia’s naked skin. I’d been awake for hours, unable to sleep, unable to do anything but watch her breathe.

My kulta.

My Heart.

For the first time in my life, I understood what it meant to feel whole. It was like I’d had no henki—no spirit—before her. Now everything was different. I was stronger, attuned, stable. My healing ability was a glowing sun in my chest, where before it was the flickering light of a candle.

My thoughts drifted back to last night, when we surrendered to the frantic demands of the bond and our bodies both. She’d called me nallukka—teddy bear. It was a sweet endearment that made me smile now, but hearing my native language on her tongue then had made me feel primal and possessive.

I traced the curve of her shoulder with my eyes, still unwilling to disturb her. She needed her rest after yesterday. Not only the trauma of the explosion, but forming a soul-bond on her own with nothing but instinct to guide her… It must have taken an exquisite amount of power. That bond now pulsed between us like a steady heartbeat, breakable only through death.

Cordelia stirred, cuddling up against me. “Morning, nallukka.” Her voice was husky with sleep as she used that nickname again, sending a surge of fire straight to my dick.

“Huomenta, kulta.” My hands swept over her bare back, and I gathered her closer to me.

She nuzzled her face against my chest. “Hoo-oh-men-tah,” she repeated between kisses that traced the lines of my tattoo.

My beast purred with delight. “Hyvää huomenta if you’re being formal.”