Shadow's End (Elder Races #9)

She understood what he meant. He had given his great, noble soul to her without reservation. He had mated with her.

“I can’t be apart from you, either,” she murmured softly. “You are everything I ever wanted, everything I could ever need. Gray, you’re my world.”

He lifted his head. The look in his eyes was vulnerable. “No regrets?”

An unamused laugh broke out of her. “Gods, yes. A ton of them. But they all revolve around reaching Ferion sooner, before Malphas had trapped him, so that you and I wouldn’t have had to be apart for so long.”

And maybe they wouldn’t have had to lose Constantine and Soren.

But that path of thought lay in the wrong direction. Asking what ifs was an insidious pastime, filled with useless pain.

The truth was, eventually, someone would have had to kill Malphas. Somehow, the cost would have been high. Maybe down another road, it would have been Graydon who had been killed.

Firmly, she turned away from that path, to focus on the wealth of what she truly had.

A small smile tugged at his lips. He nuzzled her with his nose. “We would have had that house outside of Charleston.”

She shook her head. “That was a pipe dream,” she told him. “Or, maybe it would have been a bridge until we got ourselves sorted out emotionally and did what had to be done. If we had ever truly experienced even a smallest part of that dream, I could never have returned to the same dwelling where Calondir lived, no matter how big it was or how separate we lived our lives.”

A hint of blade flashed in his eyes. “That’s good, because otherwise I would have had to kill him.”

“You say the sweetest things,” she crooned up at him. When he burst out laughing, she grinned.

As quickly as it started, his laughter died, and hunger took its place.

Oh, she recognized that look. She was beginning to have a physical reaction every time she saw it in his face.

Her heart began to pound, the muscles in her thighs trembled, and desire for him melted through her body in a liquid gush. They grew so sated every time they made love, yet somehow it only fueled the fire.

He bent his head and kissed her, his lips playing softly over hers in such a cherishing caress, tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She kissed him with everything she had, pouring all the love she felt for him through the sensitive barrier of her skin.

Her body was a love letter written just for him. As his fingers stroked along the curves of her breast, the peaks of her nipples tightened. She’d had no idea that she could feel so much pleasure.

Arching her back, she rubbed against his body. Low at the back of his throat, he made a soft, sexy sound, like a growl. But the growl didn’t fade. It remained a steady vibration.

With astonishment and delight, she realized her adorable, dangerous lover was purring.

She didn’t dare say anything, or he would get self-conscious and stop.

And she never wanted him to stop.

He was so observant. Hiding her face against his shoulder, she decided she needed to take quick action, to keep him from wondering about whatever was happening in her expression.

She began to kiss him all over the broad expanse of his muscled chest. As she gently nibbled, licked and suckled at his nipples, he sucked in his breath.

“I was going to do that,” he muttered. “I mean, to you.”

“You give me so much pleasure, all the time,” she whispered. “This time, let me focus on you.”

She ran her mouth down the rippling muscles of his flat stomach. Pulling her hair to one side, she kissed the tip of his large erection. He was beautifully made, his penis thick and full, while underneath, his sac had drawn tight with arousal.

He settled back against the pillows, parting his legs to give her better access, while he stroked her hair and watched her, his look turning heavy-lidded and sensual.

She smiled up the length of his body and told him, “I love you.”

As he opened his mouth to respond, she bent her head back to his cock and took him in her mouth.

His whole big body jerked, and he slammed his head back against the pillow. “Holy gods,” he gasped. “Your mouth is so fucking hot.”

She was too busy licking and sucking along the broad, thick head of his cock to reply out loud. Telepathically, she murmured, Is that a good thing?

“Sweetheart, it’s an amazing, amazing thing.” Gently, he caressed her cheek, and ran a finger along the edge of her lips where he penetrated her mouth. His hands were shaking. He whispered, “You are so beautiful.”

Wordlessly, she crooned. He was beautiful too, everywhere, both inside and out. Opening her throat, she took him all the way in and held the position for one long, luscious moment. When she couldn’t sustain it any longer, she pulled back, sucking hard along his length. Then she impaled herself on him again.