9. Freesia #2
When he rose again, his hands returned to her torso, sliding over her ribs and her stomach.
Then his thumbs brushed the undersides of her breasts.
A sharp gasp escaped her as heat flooded her body, sudden and overwhelming until it centered low in her belly.
Her nipples tightened into aching points, and when his soapy palms grazed them, the last of her resistance shattered.
She leaned forward at the exact moment he did and their mouths crashed together not with tentative exploration, but with the hunger of a dam breaking.
His lips were firm and demanding, his tongue sweeping into her mouth with a possessiveness that made her moan instantly.
She kissed him back with equal intensity, her hands tangling in his wet hair, pulling him closer.
This was nothing like the casual kisses of past relationships—this felt like a claim, a sealing, a connection that reached past her body and curled around her very soul.
This changes everything, her mind whispered, even as she surrendered to the kiss completely.
His free hand slid from her breast, down the flat plane of her stomach, and found the heat between her thighs.
She gasped into his mouth as his fingers parted her folds, his touch knowing and sure.
Then he stroked her, circling the sensitive bundle of nerves with a rhythm that made her knees weak.
The mate bond amplified every sensation, turning pleasure into something crystalline and sharp.
"Izei," she breathed, her head falling back as his fingers dipped inside her slick entrance.
He worked her with a skill that stole her breath, his thumb maintaining pressure while his fingers thrust in and out.
It had been so long since she'd allowed herself any kind of physical release, and the dual assault of his touch and the bond's amplifying power hurtled her toward climax with terrifying speed.
She gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin as he found a spot deep inside that made stars burst behind her eyelids. "Right there—don't stop—"
Within minutes, her orgasm ripped through her with no warning, a violent, convulsive wave that made her cry out.
Her body bowed against him, every muscle taut as the pleasure crested and shattered.
But he held her through it, his hand still moving, drawing the climax out until she was limp and breathless against him, her forehead pressing to his slick chest.
Before the last tremor had even faded, before she could gather her thoughts, his hands were on her hips, lifting her as if she weighed nothing and pressing her back against the cool, wet marble of the shower wall.
Her legs wrapped instinctively around his waist, her core still pulsing as she felt the thick, blunt head of his cock press against her entrance.
Her sapphire eyes, darkened with desire, locked with his gold-flecked ones and she saw his control stretched to its limit.
"I want you," she said, the words a vow.
That was all the permission he needed. Then he drove into her in one smooth, powerful thrust, filling her completely.
A broken sound escaped her lips—part pleasure, part relief as his large cock stretched her gloriously, and the feeling of being so utterly claimed made her tigress purr with deep satisfaction.
Mark him, the beast urged. Claim your mate properly.
Not yet, Freesia thought, even as she tightened her legs around him. The danger isn't over.
He began to move, a slow, deep rhythm that quickly built in intensity as she clung to his shoulders, meeting every thrust and reveling in the primal power of him.
The mate bond sang between them, a live wire of shared sensation, and she could feel his pleasure like a fierce, bright counterpoint to her making her crave more.
"Harder," she demanded, raking her hands down his back. "I need more."
A low growl rumbled in his chest as he obeyed, his hips pistoning faster, driving into her with enough force to make the shower wall shudder.
The rhythm was primal and perfect, each impact sending shockwaves of pleasure through her.
She could feel another climax building, deeper and more consuming than the first.
"Come for me, Freesia," he growled against her neck, his breath hot on her skin.
His words were the final trigger. Her second orgasm tore through her with violent, electric force, and her inner walls clenched rhythmically around his cock.
The intensity of her release finally pushed him over the edge.
With a final, deep thrust, he buried himself inside her, his body shaking as his own climax ripped through him.
Then she felt the hot spill of his release filling her up, and the bond between them flared, strengthening in the aftermath of their shared pleasure.
For long moments they stayed like that, pressed together in the steamy warmth, their hearts hammering against each other in perfect synchronization.
Through the bond, she felt his devotion like bedrock, protectiveness like a fortress wall, and beneath it all, a fierce happiness that she had finally let him close.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tighter, wishing they could stay in this watery cocoon forever. But the real world, with its rogues and plots and ancient scrolls, waited just outside the bathroom door.
The danger chasing her hadn't disappeared.
And if they wanted a future—not just stolen moments—they would have to stop the threat together.