Page 189 of Elemental Becoming

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’myours!”

“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.