TWENTY-FOUR #3
And through all of it, Thane never looks away from me. His breathing is rough and uneven as he holds me close enough to feel the wild rhythm of my heartbeat echoing against his own.
“Amara,” he says again, my name sounding almost holy.
Another surge of magics pulses through me in response, brighter this time, illuminating the entire room in flashes of gold and ember-light.
I arch my back, surrendering completely as pleasure detonates through me.
But he’s not finished. With a sudden, effortless movement, his arms tighten around me, lifting me off the desk.
I gasp, my legs clenching tighter around him, my nails digging into his back as he moves, controlled and relentless.
“Thane . . . ” My voice breaks as he holds me there, suspended in his arms. His name falls from my lips like a prayer, my cry ringing through the room, a heady mix of ecstasy and raw power.
We’re moving, breathless, our lips fused, bodies tangled.
Then the cool wall meets my back, jolting a gasp from me.
Thane braces me there, pinning me against the smooth stone, his grip possessive and unyielding.
The new angle pulls a broken cry from my throat, pleasure crashing through me hard enough to make my head fall back against the wall.
Thane’s arms tighten around me, lifting me higher against him with effortless strength. He holds me like I weigh nothing, like I belong here wrapped around him, pinned between his body and the cold stone.
My body grips him tighter inside me.
“Gods,” he rasps against my throat, his teeth scraping lightly before he sucks another kiss against my skin. “You feel so fucking good. Gods, I wanted this all night. I needed you, Amara.”
He drives deeper, pulling a broken gasp from me. The sheer strength of him, the way he takes me against the wall, overwhelms me completely. Intoxicates me.
I clutch at his shoulders, his arms, feeling the hard muscle shifting beneath my fingertips as he moves against me with devastating control.
“Thane . . . ” My voice breaks as another wave of pleasure begins to build.
He growls, his mouth brushing along my jaw before finding my lips again, hungry enough to make my pulse stutter. His fingers dig into my sides, adjusting his hold, pressing me impossibly closer and deeper.
“You’re so deep—” I breathe unevenly, my forehead falling briefly against his shoulder as sensation spirals through me faster than I can contain it.
He gently pulls out, then slides into me again.
“That’s it,” he snarls against my throat, his breath ragged, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin. His fingers slide into my hair, holding me there. “Take it—take all of me. Like you were made for me. Gods, you feel like fire.”
Another pulse of magics ripple through the room in response.
A guttural sound leaves him, almost a growl, almost a groan, as his rhythm falters for a heartbeat. His head dips against my collarbone like he’s trying to brace himself, trying not to completely lose control.
“I can’t . . . fuck, Amara . . . ” His voice shakes, rough and wrecked. “You burn through me. Like I was made to be consumed by you.”
The bond blazes behind my ribs, flooded with Thane’s fear, love, and desperate need for me.
I grab his face, forcing his gaze back to mine.
“Look at me,” I whisper fiercely. “I’m here. I’m alive.”
A broken breath leaves me as he pulls out, then sinks into me again.
“Now make me feel it.”
His eyes lock onto mine, the golden flecks inside them flaring brighter. A low groan rumbles through his chest, and for one suspended heartbeat, he falters beneath the weight of whatever he sees in my expression.
“You’re mine. Every part of you,” he breathes, his voice wrecked with emotion. “Mine to worship. Mine to love.”
The fierceness and totality of it tears through me.
“You keep looking at me like that,” he rasps against my mouth, breathing hard now, “and I’m not going to last much longer.” His voice roughens, desire and desperation tangling together. “Are you trying to break me? Because this—this is how you do it.”
I cling to him tighter, completely lost in the heat and power of him, but still holding onto the look between us like it is the only unshakable thing left in the world.
“Mine,” he says, with a primal growl. “Say that you’re mine, Amara, darling.”
My breath shatters as he thrusts again, harder this time. My fingers claw at his back, searching for something solid to anchor me as the world narrows to him, to this.
“Yours,” I gasp, the word torn from me. “Gods, I’m yours.”
The golden flecks in his eyes flare brighter. “Say it again.”
“I’m yours,” I moan.
He slams into me, drawing another gasp from my lips.
“Louder.” His voice is demanding.
“I’m yours!”
“Good girl.” His voice drops. Rough. Reverent. Absolute.
The praise sends another sharp pulse of heat through me.
He shifts his grip, hands anchoring beneath my thighs, spreading me wider, holding me open for him. Just him. Just this.
“You’re not only mine,” he growls against my throat, his voice ragged with a need that goes far beyond the physical. “You’re everything. Every breath. Every thought. Every fucking heartbeat.”
He drives deeper. Harder.
A helpless sound breaks from me as pleasure crashes through my body, too much and not nearly enough all at once.
“And you love that I would fall to my knees for you,” he murmurs against my skin.
I don’t just love it.
I love him.
Gods, I need him.
Because after everything—the fire, the blood, the screams still echoing in my head after tonight’s attack, after the ache of nearly losing everything, of watching people fall, of fighting just to keep breathing through the wreckage—this is what I hold onto.
This moment.
This man.
His hands on me, body against mine, breath in my ear, rasping my name like a prayer he’s held inside for far too long.
I have fought so hard. I have lost so much. I bled for this realm. For my friends. For myself.
And still, I chose to live.
I chose this.
I chose him.
And now, with every thrust, every growl, every broken curse from his lips, Thane is showing me the one thing I’ve been searching for through all the grief and destruction.
Not duty.
Not survival.
Us.
And gods, it’s messy and desperate and far from gentle, but maybe that’s the only way either of us knows how to feel right now.
Primal.
Visceral.
True.
The storm inside me finally breaks. Magics surge through my veins, wild and untamed, racing toward release.
The fire in the hearth blazes higher, flames twisting wildly as the power inside me spills free. The candles flare bright enough to swallow every shadow in the room.
And then—I glow.
Golden light spills across my skin from the inside out, racing over every inch of me while my flesh remains cool beneath the fire burning through my veins.
Sweat slicks both of our bodies as the storm rages around us, wind and rain wrapping through the room while the Elements surge wildly in response.
Thane’s gaze locks onto mine, utterly captivated.
“By the gods,” he breathes. “You’re magnificent.”
I cry out again, my nails digging into his back as wave after wave crashes through me, the storm mirroring every pulse of pleasure, every snap of release. Thane holds me through it, his arms strong, his lips finding mine as the room trembles with wind, rain, and magics.
Eventually, the storm begins to quiet. The golden glow beneath my skin fades. The fire settles lower in the hearth.
But Thane still refuses to let me go. He keeps holding me close, breathing hard against my skin as though neither of us is ready for the moment to end.
When my body finally relaxes, Thane begins to move again. Slow at first, then deeper, stronger, each thrust pushing me higher, dragging me along with him. I tighten around him, and he groans deeply.
He throbs inside me and I can feel the moment his control slips. A low, broken moan escapes his lips as he thrusts once more, burying himself deep, his release spilling inside me. His entire body shudders against mine, the sheer force of it stealing his breath, shaking him, owning him.
His forehead drops to my shoulder, his chest heaving, his breath hot against my skin. I shiver, the heat of his exhale ghosting over my damp skin.
For a long moment, neither of us moves, caught in the aftershocks of everything we just unleashed. Around us, only the crackle of the fire and our uneven breathing remain.
Thane brushes my sweat-damp hair back from my face, eyes still hooded with desire.
“That was . . . ” His voice roughens. “Gods, Amara . . . ”
A soft laugh escapes me, the lingering hum of magics still warm beneath my skin.
“Everything,” I whisper.
For one suspended moment, the war beyond these walls ceases to exist. There is no council. No Shadow Forces. No blood staining marble floors.
Only us.
His gaze softens further as he eases me gently away from the wall, handling me with a tenderness that makes my chest ache.
“Come to bed,” he murmurs.
I rest my head against his shoulder as he carries me across the room. The sheets feel cool against my overheated skin when he settles me there, but the chill never lasts long. Thane slides in beside me almost immediately, gathering me close until I am wrapped securely in the warmth of his body.