“Alek,” I moaned between his lips, rocking against him, begging him with my body to put me out of my misery. “Please,” I sighed, nipping at his bottom lip.
He smirked against my mouth, slipping his free hand between us, diving beneath the hem of my shorts. “Fuck,” he hissed when he found I wore nothing beneath them. His fingers were strong as he slid them through me, and was instantly drenched with my need. “You’re soaked for me,” he said, teasing my clit with light flicks.
I rocked upward, needing more pressure, more of him. He slid through my folds, rubbing up and down, slipping in and out for seconds at a time. Winding me up so tight I was certain I’d shatter.
“Alek,” I practically growled, digging my nails into his bare back. He hissed, and I saw the hunger in his eyes as he plunged in one finger, then two. I arched into his touch, needing him to fill me in every way possible. I moved on his hand, seeking out that release that he controlled. Body, mind, soul, this man had possessed me completely. I could feel him in every cell in my body, hungered for him in every inch of my soul.
And I made sure that shone through my eyes as I locked with his, and turned my head to the side, exposing my neck.
He growled, pausing his torture of me, stilling so completely I whimpered.
“Feed,” I demanded, begged. “Now,” I said, and rocked on his hand for emphasis. I wanted to take care of him just as much as he cared for me. Wanted to give him this, the one true value I had to offer him.
“Lyric,” he groaned, lowering his lips to my exposed neck. “Fuck, you’re perfect,” he whispered against my skin. He pumped his fingers inside me, harder, faster, finding that spot deep inside and curling his fingers against it. And just when I was coiled as tight as I could possibly be, just as I couldn’t breathe from wanting this man, needing this man—
He sank his fangs into the soft flesh of my neck.
And I screamed.
Moaned.
Shattered as I burst into a thousand pieces beneath him.
My entire body sparked and ignited, shimmered and sighed a gasp of pure release as electricity barreled down my spine.
I shuddered, warmth cascading over my skin as he sucked and drank from me, as my orgasm shivered and shook. And when he drew his head back, his lips stained with my blood, I nearly came again at the sight. At the primal claiming written in the depths of his eyes.
He lapped his tongue along the tiny puncture wounds, sealing the holes with one stroke.
I reached for him, pumping his hard cock in my hands, shifting beneath him to get him right where I needed him—
“Lyric,” he groaned, shaking his head and pulling away just out of my reach.
I whimpered again. “Don’t you want to—”
“More than anything,” he cut me off, scooting to the opposite side of the bed.
I gaped at his retreat.
“I told you,” he said, smiling a rare smile I’m sure few people ever saw. “I need to marry you first,” he said, trailing one finger along the edge of my arm and down. I trembled under that touch.
“Don’t you think it’s a little unfair?” I asked, turning on my side to face him. “I keep having all the fun while you’re left wanting—”
“You give me everything, Lyric,” he said, shaking his head. “Watching you come? Making you shatter?” He licked his lips. “I’d be content doing that for the rest of forever.”
“But what if I want to take care of you?”
“You fed me,” he said.
“More than that,” I said, my heart still racing. God, I wanted him on a level I never knew possible. I wanted him to feel as undone as me. Wanted to unravel him the way he did me. Wanted to drive him mad in the same way.
“Then you know what you have to do,” he said, his voice all tease.
The breath in my lungs tightened. My heart rate soared. I knew in my bones what I needed to do to be complete, to feel the last piece of my soul click into place. I knew it but couldn’t wrap my mind around it at the same time.
“Fine,” I sighed, smacking my hand against my hip. “I’ll marry you,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not like vampire-human marriages are recognized by the state—”
“You’ll marry me?” Alek asked, and the vulnerability in his voice took all the levity right out of me. Why wouldn’t I want to marry him? This strong, incredible man who had saved my life in more ways than one? Who demonstrated compassion to his sister, his people, when he could rule with fear alone? Who wouldn’t want to spend whatever time they had left with him on this earth? The doubt in his eyes made me wonder just what horrors and judgment he’d been subjected to over his long lifetime, and the need to soothe those hurts? It was overwhelming to the point of pain.