Page 186 of Elemental Becoming

A breathless laugh escapes me as memory rushes back instantly. My magics surging wildly out of control, stripping us both bare before I even realized what I’d done. The shock of it had barely registered before he was pressing me into the soft earth beside the lagoon, his body covering mine as he whispered,Let’s figure that out later.

“No,” I murmur, trailing my hands across his bare chest, savoring the warmth of his skin beneath my fingertips. “I want to enjoy every moment of this.”

Something darkens in his gaze at the words.

“Good,” he says, his voice rough enough to send another waveof heat through me. “Because I plan to make this last.”

Firelight and moonlight conspire together, tracing every hard line of his body in silver and gold. I knew he was strong, but seeing him like this . . .it’s breathtaking.My hands spread across his chest, savoring the feel of him beneath my fingertips. Down the firm planes of his stomach. Over every contour until my fingers reach the laces at his waist.

He hums in approval as I loosen them, his head tipping back briefly, exposing the strong line of his throat. Then a raw, unrestrained sound tears from his chest as my hand wanders lower, wrapping my fingers around him, feeling the hardness of him against my palm.

“Fuck,” he breathes, voice tight with strain. “I’ve told you before that you’ll be the undoing of me, right?”

A shaky laugh escapes me. “Promise?”

Our eyes meet, a promise reflected in his, before his mouth finds mine again, fierce enough to pull a soft sound from my throat. He lifts me effortlessly, and I wrap my legs around his waist as the world narrows to nothing but him.

His lips trail along my neck.

“By all the gods,” he murmurs against my skin. “I can’t get enough of you.”

“Then don’t,” I whisper, threading my fingers into his dark waves, surrendering to the raw hunger burning in his eyes.

He pivots sharply, sweeping an arm across the desk behind us. Papers and books crash to the floor without either of us caring. A wild thrill rushes through me at the way he doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t second-guess.

He’s strength, heat, and raw power—and right now, every inch of him belongs to me.

He lowers me onto the desk, his mouth closing over my breast with desperate intensity. A broken sound slips from me as sensation races through my body, sharp enough to leave metrembling beneath his touch.

“You feel so good,” I whisper unevenly.

And gods, I need this. To feel something other than fear and death pressing against me. To remember there is still warmth in the world after everything that happened tonight.

And Thane—strong and fiercely alive beneath my hands—feels like the only thing keeping me from breaking apart.

Thane lifts his head, his gaze dark with hunger and stripped raw with emotion, pinning me beneath the magnitude of everything he feels.

“You’re mine, Amara, darling.”

His fingers tighten at my waist, holding me firmly against him, and the possessiveness in his voice sends another rush of heat through me.

“And I’m going to show you exactly what that means.”

He draws me closer to the edge of the desk, and anticipation coils tightly through my body, every nerve alive with awareness of him. The air between us feels impossibly heavy now, charged with everything we’ve been holding back all night.

He shifts his pants just enough, and I feel him press against my entrance. When I think I will finally feel him, he steps back long enough to rid himself of his clothes. Firelight dances across bare skin and hard muscle as he straightens again, all restrained strength and devastating focus. My gaze drinks in every inch of him.

And gods—he’s beautiful.

Thane steps toward me again, his eyes turning ravenous when he catches me staring at him. A shiver rolls through me as he presses into me, my body stretching around his glorious tip.

My arms slide above my head against the desk, my back arching instinctively toward him. He folds over me, flicking his tongue over my nipple. A tease. A promise. When he straightens, his glazed eyes trail over every inch of me.

“I’ve imagined this for weeks,” he groans as his tip pushes deeper into me. “You spread out before me and completely mine.” His hand tightens against my thigh. “Letting me have you.”

A ragged moan tears from my throat as he thrusts into me. My fingers tighten against the edge of the desk as I brace myself beneath him, feeling every inch of him.

Behind him, the firelight glows, painting gold and shadow across the hard lines of his body. His eyes stay locked on mine, intense and searching, as though he’s trying to memorize every reaction I give him.