One hand in her hair, fingers threading tight at the base of her skull, the other braced against the wall beside her head. I pull her into me and kiss her hard—deep, consuming, my mouth claiming hers like it’s been starving.
She gasps into me.
Not in fear.
Inrelief.
Her hands come up instinctively, gripping my forearms, nails digging into the tough skin there like she needs proof I’m solid. I groan into her mouth, low and rough, the sound tearing out of me before I can stop it.
I taste her—wine and sweetness and something purely Yara—and the bond roars alive inside my chest, screamingyes.
I break the kiss only long enough to breathe against her lips.
“See what happens,” I murmur, voice wrecked, “when you invite a Reaper into your home?”
My claws catch the fabric of her dress as I pull it over her shoulders. Not delicate. Controlled, but forceful. The sound of tearing fabric fills the room, sharp and final.
Her breath stutters.
But she doesn’t pull away.
Her eyes meet mine—darkened, glazed with want, but still fierce.
“Nothing’s really happened yet,” she says.
There it is.
The challenge.
Delight floods me.
I smile—slow, dangerous, utterly pleased. “Oh,” I say softly. “Then let me show you.”
I lift her.
Not roughly. Not carelessly. I guide her back until her thighs hit the edge of the couch, then ease her down, never breaking eye contact. My hands move with certainty—every touch intentional, every motion telegraphed.
“You aremine,” I say, my thumb brushing under her chin, forcing her to look at me. “And I am yours. You don’t disappear on me. Ever.”
Her voice is breathless but steady. “I won’t.”
Good.
I strip her slowly now—not because I’m suddenly gentle, but because I want her to feel every second of it. Fabric slides from her skin. My claws trace but don’t scratch. My bone spurs skim past her without contact.
She shivers.
“Look at you,” I murmur, reverent despite myself. “So strong. So defiant. And you trusted me anyway.”
Her chest rises and falls fast. “You earned it.”
That does something dangerous to me.
I kneel before her.
The world narrows to the sound of her breathing, the heat radiating from her skin, the way her hands tremble when they reach for me and stop, uncertain.
I take her wrists gently, press them to the couch on either side of her hips.