14. Izei #2
Then she stood, a fluid, powerful motion that had him swallowing hard.
She made quick, efficient work of her own boots, cargo pants, and panties, each piece of practical clothing discarded with a carelessness that spoke of far more important priorities.
When she stood before him fully naked, backlit by the first silver gleam of the moon, Izei's heart hammered against his ribs.
She was a warrior goddess carved from moonlight and shadow, more magnificent than any dream his lonely imagination had ever conjured.
But instead of sinking back down onto him, she knelt between his legs. He had a heartbeat to register her intent before she leaned forward and took his hard cock into her mouth.
"Freesia—" His groan tore from his throat, raw and unrestrained.
Her mouth was hot, wet, and impossibly skilled, her tongue tracing a devastating path along his sensitive underside.
One of her hands wrapped around the base of his shaft, working in a coordinated, twisting rhythm with the suction of her mouth.
Pleasure, sharp and bright, lanced through him, coiling tight in his gut.
His control, legendary and unshakable in every other aspect of his life, began to fray at the edges.
He soon surrendered to the sensation, his hands fisting in the blanket beneath him, his head thrown back as he watched the first stars prick through the velvet darkness.
It was bliss. It was torture. Every pull of her mouth, every stroke of her hand brought him closer to the edge, a precipice he was hurtling toward with terrifying speed.
But he didn't want to fall this way. He needed to be inside her, joined completely, when they both shattered.
With a gentleness that cost him every ounce of his willpower, he threaded his fingers through her hair, not pulling, but guiding. "Enough," he rasped, his voice barely recognizable. "I need you now."
She released him with a soft, wet sound, her eyes glinting up at him, understanding and agreement shining in their depths.
She didn't argue. She moved, rising up on her knees and then straddling him once more.
Her own arousal slicked her inner thighs, and the scent of her—orchid and rain and pure heat—drove his panther wild.
Freesia reached down between them, her fingers wrapping around his cock and guiding him to her entrance.
Then she sank down, taking him inside her tight, perfect heat one exquisite inch at a time.
Izei's jaw clenched as he fought to let her set the pace and to let her take all of him.
When she was fully seated, she stilled, her inner muscles fluttering around his cock as she looked down at him.
"Izei." Her voice was steady, carrying a sudden weight. "I'm ready for your mark. Are you ready for mine?"
Shock reverberated through him, followed instantly by a wave of possessive hunger so intense it stole his breath.
He'd been ready since the moment he'd stepped into that safehouse, and her scent had wrapped around his soul.
But he'd held back, giving her time, space, never pushing, believing the choice had to be entirely hers.
And now, it was.
"Yes." The word was a vow, stripped bare and absolute. "Freesia, I've been ready."
Her smile was breathtaking, a flash of white in the gathering dark.
Then she began to move, rising up on her thighs before sinking back down, taking him deep.
He met her rhythm, his hands gripping her hips, guiding her, driving up into her with powerful thrusts that made her cry out.
The mate bond blazed between them, a white-hot cable of shared sensation and emotion, amplifying every touch and every gasp.
She leaned down, capturing his mouth in a searing kiss as their bodies moved in a primal, perfect sync.
Then she turned, burying her face against his neck, her breath hot on his skin as she rode him faster, her own pleasure building toward its peak.
He could feel it through the bond, a gathering storm of sensation that mirrored his own.
Freesia finally pushed back up, bracing her hands on his chest, and her head tipped back as her movements became frantic. Seeing her like this—sweat-sheened, powerful, lost in the pleasure he was giving her—was the most beautiful thing he had ever witnessed.
Then he looked down and saw the shift begin, the subtle elongation of the nails on her right hand into sharp, black claws.
The sight sent a bolt of pure, undiluted lust straight through him.
She was about to mark him as hers. His own control shattered and his right hand shifted, his claws extending, the need to mark her, to complete the bond, becoming the only thought in his mind.
Seconds later, her climax hit her like a thunderclap and her back arched, a broken, beautiful cry tearing from her throat as her inner walls clenched around his cock in rhythmic, milking pulses.
In that exact, perfect moment, as pleasure ripped through her, she dragged her claws down the left side of his hip.
White-hot pain, exquisite and perfect, mingled with the overwhelming pleasure of her tightening channel.
It was the final trigger. His own orgasm exploded out of him with a force that shook his entire body.
He thrust up into her one last time, burying himself to the root as he roared her name to the night sky.
At the same instant, he dragged his own claws down the left side of her hip, marking her as his mate as he spilled his seed deep inside her.
Then the world dissolved into sensation—her second, smaller climax rippling through her, the aftershocks of his own release making him shudder, the brilliant completion of the mate bond slamming into place between them.
Freesia collapsed forward, her sweat-slicked body molding to his and her gasping breaths hot against his collarbone. Izei wrapped his arms around her, holding her as they both trembled and the aftershocks slowly subsided.
He could feel everything now—not just echoes, but the full, brilliant spectrum of her emotions.
Her love, fierce and bright. Her hope for their future, a solid, determined thing.
Her deep, soul-level contentment at finding her home, her place right here in his arms. His own emotions flooded back to her along the completed bond—his unwavering devotion, his absolute trust, the bone-deep certainty that she was his everything, and the fierce determination to build a lasting future together.
She lifted her head, her blue eyes glowing in the moonlight, filled with tears and wonder and love. "Izei," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "I love you."
He didn't speak aloud. He didn't need to. He poured the words directly into her mind along the new telepathic link that hummed between their souls.
I love you, Freesia. My queen. My mate. My heart.
He felt the moment she heard him, felt her joy bloom like a sunrise. She smiled and settled her head back on his chest, and they lay there in the moonlight for long, peaceful minutes, savoring the completion, the quiet, and the temporary peace.