Page 25 of Elemental Becoming

He gently presses his lips to mine, like he’s giving me the chance to pull away. Like he is making sure I know exactly what is happening.

I sink into him—into the warmth curling through my chest, the slow, building pressure. And gods, I want it.

I want him.

When he finally pulls back, his thumb grazes my cheek, his touch light but lingering. And then he says, “This is so much easier than pretending.”

My heart slams into my ribs, wanting his lips back on mine.

But he’s not done speaking.

“I spent months trying to keep my distance.” His fingers leisurely trail along my jaw, his voice steady in a way that I am not. “Trying to convince myself this didn’t mean anything. That you couldn’t mean something.” His thumb brushes over my lower lip, and I forget how to breathe. “And yet, here we are.”

He tilts his head, watching me like he is memorizing every inch of my face, every uneven breath, every thought I cannot put into words.

“I’m done pretending, Amara, darling.”

The way he says my name—gods, I am undone.

But he still isn’t finished. “And the real question is . . . are you?” His lips graze my temple, soft and fleeting, just enough to leave me completely boneless.

A question that is not really a question at all. It is a challenge. A certainty. Because he already knows my answer.

Thane starts to pull away, just enough to leave me aching. I grab him by the collar, yanking him back to me, crushing my mouth to his. Thane doesn’t hesitate. He doesn’t think. He just takes what I’m offering.

It’s desperate, hot and unrelenting, a clash of mouths and tongues and too many months of pretending this wasn’t inevitable, that this was no more than just physical attraction.

He groans against my lips, low and raw. Heat bolts through me. His tongue strokes mine, unhurried, deep, and devastating. When his lips move, they suck at mine, then bite, then soothe.

I pull him deeper, chasing the taste of him, greedy for more.

His teeth graze my lower lip, and I moan into his mouth, tilting my head, slanting my mouth against his, desperate to takehim deeper.

He drags his tongue across my lips, then across my teeth, before diving back in. He swallows every breath, every sound. I don’t even know who is leading this anymore—only that we are both taking. Both giving.

“Amara.”

My name is a rough whisper against my lips. A sound full of heat and restraint and something deeper. I feel it like a brand against my skin.

I am his.

He groans, growling my name again, while he drags his mouth across mine, devouring and claiming. And I want more.

Ineedmore.

“You drive me insane.” His voice breaks between kisses, losing himself in this.

In me.

He drags his tongue along my lower lip again, teasing, taunting, before taking my mouth again, deeper this time.

“You make me lose control, gods help me.” He presses closer, his hands tightening around my waist, his breath hot against my skin.

I swallow a whimper, fingers fist in his shirt, dragging him closer—though there’s barely space left between us.

“Tell me you want this.” His voice is gravel and fire—half plea, half demand.

As if he’s asking for more than just my body. As if he doesn’t already know.