“Are you okay?” I asked, sweat beading on my skin from the effort.
“Yes.” She nodded, and cupped the back of my neck with one hand, skimming her fingers down the side of my face with the other.
“Good. Just—” I groaned when she wiggled her hips. “Fuck, Lyric. Just give yourself a—” Another wiggle, another groan.
“I told you not to hold back, Alek. I’m fine. You feel…” She closed her eyes and swiveled her hips again, moaning softly. “Good. You feel so good.”
That was all the okay I needed.
“You feel like heaven.” I kissed her once, then pulled out before pushing back in. This time we both groaned. I thrust again, my stomach tightening with each curl of my body as I clung to the tiny scraps of reason that reminded me I couldn’t lose myself.
I set the pace with deep, hard, slow strokes that sent mind-blowing pleasure throughout my body. Our breaths grew unsteady as sweat slicked our skin. Every thrust was better. Every time I filled her, she was hotter. I would never get enough of this—of her.
My fangs pulsed with hunger and need as she grew tight beneath me. She was already close again.
Her eyes fluttered shut, and I balanced on one arm, bringing her hand to my chest so both marks met. That shimmering light between us—the bond I felt no matter where she was, strengthened and brightened. Her gaze flew to mine as if she’d felt the same thing.
“I am yours, and you are mine.” My voice sounded like I’d scraped it over a thousand broken bottles.
She lifted her lips to mine. “I am yours, and you are mine.”
My self-control snapped as that bond flared hotter than the sun, and I drove into her again and again. Her walls clamped down on my cock, and she threw her head back, baring her neck. “I need you to feed!”
I struck at her jugular, and her blood flooded my mouth as she came yet again, her body convulsing around mine as I drank her down, taking my fill. She pulled me over that edge with her, pleasure charging down my spine until I exploded, my vision going black only to erupt in blasts of color and light.
She slackened beneath me, her breath steadying, and I released my bite, sealing the tiny cuts before lifting my head. Once I was sure I hadn’t taken too much, I rolled to the side, taking her with me.
Our chamber was silent with the exception of our breaths and the pounding of our hearts, and for just that moment, I reveled in the perfection of it all. I had found my mate and claimed her. I was finally whole, yet no longer belonged to only myself.
She owned me, body and soul.
I palmed her face, and she opened her eyes, smiling at me with feminine satisfaction. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I stroked my thumb over her cheek. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Hell yes. That was…” she searched my eyes like they held the answer.
“Yeah. That was us. Nothing like it in the world.” Shit. I was already hardening again inside her.
“So, when can we do it again?” Even her grin was a turn-on.
“How about right now?” I stroked once, pushing deep.
She gasped, then purred in pleasure. “Yes, please.”
I growled and took her beneath me again.
10
Lyric
“You smell incredible,” I said, squeezing Valor outside our favorite coffee shop. “You trying a new perfume?” I asked, releasing her.
Valor tilted her head, eying me skeptically. “You’re joking, right?” She held her arms out horizontally, showing her outfit—yoga pants, sports bra, and a thin black athletic jacket. “I sprinted out of the gym early so I could meet you. Didn’t even have time to shower, but I didn’t want to miss my one shot at seeing you after it’s been forever.”
I inhaled through my nose, my brow furrowed. She usually smelled like clean linens and flowers, but today she radiated a rainstorm on a sunny day. “It hasn’t been forever,” I said, smiling at her. “But I have missed you like crazy.”
Valor hauled me into the coffee shop, and we ordered our favorite drinks before heading to a table near the floor-to-ceiling windows that outfitted the front of the shop. I clutched the hot mug of coffee, nerves tangling in my gut. I wanted to tell her everything—about Avi, Alek, the new world I’d slid into headfirst. But the idea of her being killed because of it? It kept my tongue firmly locked.
“How did your thesis meeting go?” she asked when I’d sat silent for too long, the weight of all the truths I couldn’t spill heavy on my chest.
“Good,” I said, taking an easy breath. In this, at least, I was telling the truth. “My advisor has been so gracious about my missed meetings. I think all the new research I’ve done has really sweetened the deal.”