Page 26 of Elemental Becoming

His lips claim mine, like he’s carving his name into me, so I’ll never forget.

I don’t answer. I can’t. I just kiss him again, harder, deeper, desperate to drown in him. Because this isn’t just a kiss. This is surrender. This is ruin.

This iseverything.

His lips trail down my neck. A kiss. A nip. The drag of his tongue like a vow, like he’s memorizing the way I come undone.

“Gods, Thane.” My voice is barely a whisper, full of need and breathless.

I am falling.

And there is no stopping it now.

And then, the bond pulses, low and deep. Like it has been waiting for this . . . for us.

Thane shifts—pressing into me, all heat and hunger and need.

Just him. Just me.

Just this.

His lips claim mine, like he’s carving his name into me, so I’ll never forget. A promise of everything he’s willing to give.

He rocks his hips once, testing.

Then again, deeper this time.

A sound slips from me, wrecked, uncontrollable, something I can’t hold back. I shift beneath him, my thighs parting in invitation. Closer isn’t close enough.

His hand slides up to cup my breast, heat searing through the thin fabric of my sleeping gown. He groans as his thumb brushes, circles, presses, just enough to send the slow burn into a bursting wildfire.

His mouth never leaves mine—just keeps taking. Consuming. Wrecking.

I am about to lose control. I need himnow.

Then, a sharp knock sounds at the door.

Loud. Immediate. Jarring.

I freeze.

Thane exhales against my lips, unhurried, controlled,murderous. My breath comes in uneven pulls, my head spinning, my body aching for him.

“Ignore it,” I whisper, my fingers still gripping his shirt.

His forehead rests against mine, his chest rising and fallingagainst me. “I fully intend to.”

But another knock sounds, more insistent this time.

Thane tilts his head back, his jaw tight, his patience hanging by a thread. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

I bite my lip, trying not to laugh.

The knock comes again. Three sharp, clipped raps.

“And this is why we can’t have nice things,” I mutter.

Thane lets out a low, frustrated growl, his hands still tight on my waist, his body still pressed against mine, radiating heat and unfinished intent.