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“Zevran,” she whispers, leaning into my touch. “Is it strange that I feel safer with you in the middle of all of this danger than I have in my entire life?”

I slant my lips over hers, claiming her with my mouth. She opens for me, and I deepen the kiss, my tongue caressing hers.

When I pull back, her breath has changed, and I keep my forehead pressed against hers.

“I’m going to ask you to marry me,” I say, our breaths mingling. “Not tonight. When I’ve freed you. Because you deserve the very best, and that includes the proposal, the ring, the wedding, everything.”

“Really?” she asks, and the hope on her face makes me want to give her the whole world.

“Really,” I swear, and kiss her again.

Her arms wrap around my neck. Her thighs hug my hips and pull me closer.

It’s now. I need to claim her now, right here in my kitchen.

I slide my hands up her thighs, feeling her shiver under my palms. She makes a soft sound against my mouth, and I drag her to the edge of the counter and into me, letting her feel exactly what she does to me. She gasps and presses closer to my rapidly thickening cock.

I kiss her throat, her jaw, the soft place beneath her ear, and her head falls back to give me access. My hands move over her, feeling the weight of her breasts through the thin fabric of her dress, and she arches into my touch. She’s eager in a way that makes me want her with an ache so fierce I can’t think.

“Zevran.” My name in her mouth is breathless.

“I have you,” I say against her throat, my teeth nipping her flesh.

My hand slides to her inner thigh, and she parts for me without hesitation. I’m reaching for the edge of her underwear before I remember. We’re not alone in this house anymore. It’s full of goddamn men.

“Nyet,” I growl against her mouth, lifting her completely off the counter and scooping her into my arms before she can even blink.

“Where—” she gasps, her arms wrapping around my neck.

I carry her out of the kitchen, past the wide-open archways, and take the stairs two at a time. My shoes thud against the steps, my grip on her thighs bruising and possessive. She buries her face in my neck, giggling breathlessly, her warmth and scent filling every inch of my senses.

I kick the master bedroom door open, carry her inside, and slam it shut with my heel. The quiet of the room descends on us.

I stride to the king-sized bed and drop her onto the center of the mattress.

Cora bounces slightly, her blonde hair fanning out like haloed fire against the pillows, her dress hiked up around her hips. She looks up at me with wide eyes.

I stand at the foot of the bed, slowly unbuttoning my shirt, my eyes locked on hers.

“Do you remember our deal at Lorenzo’s house, printsessa?” I ask, my voice dropping an octave.

A sweet, rosy blush climbs up her chest and throat. “How could I forget?”

“I told you that if you came for me, you were mine.” I throw my shirt onto the floor, exposing every tattooed inch of my chest and arms. I unbuckle my belt with a heavy, metallic clink. “You came, Cora. You shattered on my tongue. You gave yourself to me, and now I’m taking every fucking bit of what’s mine.”

I climb onto the bed, crawling over her like a predator. She doesn’t retreat. She reaches for me, her small hands planting firmly on my chest, feeling the heavy thud of my heart.

“I’m yours,” she breathes, the words a sacred, helpless vow.

“Forever,” I correct, hooking my fingers into the elastic of her underwear and ripping them down her legs in one sharp tug. I toss the fabric aside. “There is no going back for you now.”

I dive between her legs, spreading her thighs wide and pressing my face directly against her slick, sweet heat.

Cora arches off the bed with a desperate cry, her hands fisting into the bedsheets. “Zevran!”

“So fucking sweet,” I murmur against her wet velvet, and then I bury my tongue deep inside her.

She writhes, her hips rolling helplessly into my mouth. I eat her like a starving man. I lap up her sweetness, my tongue working her clit in rhythmic circles. The sounds she makes are intoxicating. Jagged little moans, and my name, over and over.