Page 283 of Elemental Becoming

I swallow, barely able to form words.

“Understand what?”

His fingers tighten on my legs.

“That this was never about power, Amara. This was never about control.”

His thumb traces another lingering path along my skin.

“This,” he murmurs, his eyes locked on mine, “was always about you.”

My heart squeezes with the overwhelming love I have for this man. Not long ago, getting him to share what he felt was like drawing water from stone. Now, he offers those truths freely, and every one of them feels precious.

Sitting up, I cup his face between my hands. Pressing a kiss to his lips, I taste . . . me.

I pull back with a breathless laugh.

“I didn’t expect the afternoon to turn out like this.” My gaze drifts toward the door. “I’m going to be late to meet Valen.”

Thane grunts, clearly displeased.

“Or we could stay here,” he murmurs, his fingers tracing languid patterns up my thigh.

“Forever?”

“Mmm.” His mouth quirks slightly, but his hand doesn’t stop moving.

“Tempting.” I laugh softly, then lean forward and press a kiss against his shoulder. “I like you like this.”

He tilts his head slightly, brows narrowing. “Like what?”

I smile, brushing my fingers through the damp strands of his hair. “Relaxed. Playful. Silly.”

A subtle shift moves through his expression. One I don’t think he even realizes is there. His smoke-gray eyes darken, revealing a glimpse of something raw and unguarded. A glimpse I know he’ll try to bury the moment he becomes aware of it.

But before he can retreat, before he can lock himself down, I hear it through the bond. A whisper, quiet enough to feel accidental.

“You’re the reason for that, Amara.”

Warmth blooms in my chest, sudden and fierce. Gods, I’m completely and utterly lost to this man.

“I love you, Thane.”

I say it without hesitation or fear, because it’s the truth. In every touch. Every look. Every unspoken thing between us.

His mind brushes against mine. Fully. Deeply. A presence I feel all around me. A storm of emotions, raw and unchecked, folding around me like a shield. Like the way he held me last night after my nightmares.

I press closer, my forehead resting against his.

“I am yours,”I whisper through the bond.

His fingers slide through the wet tangles of my hair, his touch softer than I expect. He sits back, pulling me into his lap. My bare skin presses against his wet, clothed body. His arms wrap around me with no intention of letting go.

When he speaks, his voice is gentle, as though the weight of the words is almost too much to bear.

“This is the first time I’ve ever felt like I am home.”

I still.