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“Yes,” I whisper, clinging to him. “Yours.”

He pins my arms above my head with one hand and slows down, each thrust maddeningly deep, slow, intentional. His other hand cups my jaw, keeping my eyes on his.

“I want to see your face when you fall apart,” he murmurs. “I want to remember it.”

I’m so close I can barely hold on. My body is trembling, every nerve on fire.

Then he thrusts harder—one, two, three times—and I break. I cry out his name, my back arching as pleasure crashes over me in waves.

Griffin groans, deep and guttural, and thrusts once more before he follows me, his body tensing as he spills into me. His lips find mine again, gentler this time. Softer.

He doesn’t pull out right away. He stays inside me, breathing hard against my throat, his arms wrapped around me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.

When he finally moves, it’s to roll us both onto our sides. He pulls me to his chest and kisses the top of my head.

Griffin’s breathing slows, but his arms stay wrapped tightly around me. His body is warm, solid, and I feel utterly wrecked—sated and trembling, my heart still galloping from everything he has just given me.

But then, his lips brush against my temple, and he says, “I’m not done with you yet.”

I tilt my head to gaze up at him, and the look in his eyes makes heat flood through me all over again. He’s not satisfied—far from it. He’s insatiable, and I’m his target.

“Griffin!”

He rolls on top of me again, kissing me with slow, consuming intent, his mouth making promises I already know he’ll keep.

“Tonight,” he murmurs against my lips, “I make sure there’s not a single part of you that doesn’t know who you belong to.”

The world narrows to the drag of his hands over my skin, the heat in his voice, the way he moves like he has forever to worship every inch of me.

Later,much later, we stand on the balcony overlooking the sleeping palace grounds. The night air is cool, but Griffin’s warmth at my back keeps me comfortable. His arms encircle my waist, his chin resting on top of my head.

“What are you thinking?” he asks, his voice a rumble that I feel more than hear.

“I’m thinking that when I first saw you in that cell, I was scared—but not completely. Was it because a part of me recognized you from my childhood? Or was it because, deep inside, our fated mate bond prevented me from totally fearing you?”

“Who knows? I’m just glad you don’t remember that time.”

I smile softly, turning around to face him. “I never understood why my father left us, you know. But after what you told me, I reached out to one of my mother’s old friends. It turns out that when I found my way home, after you saved me, my father freaked out. That was when my mother figured out that I hadn’t been kidnapped. The love of her life had soldtheir daughter to human traffickers. She left him, not the other way around. She sent him to prison. All this time, I thought my mother was weak when she was strong, so strong. She protected me when I needed it. His actions broke her, but she fought for me. I wish I had known. I wish I could thank her.”

“She knows.” Griffin kisses my tears away. “She was so proud of you. You got her strength.”

I smile into his chest, my heart aching. “She would have been so happy if she’d lived to see this day.”

“She’s watching, along with my parents. They’re all getting to know each other.”

I chuckle. “That’s a nice thought.”

We stand in silence for a few minutes and then I murmur, “I am glad that I trusted you. Even when everything in me was screaming not to, not to believe you, I pushed past my own grief and listened. I’m so happy I did that.”

“Did you really throw away everything I got you up in Seattle?” he asks lightly.

“No.” I feel myself flush. “I just said that to be mean to you.”

“Well, you broke my heart.”

I kiss him lightly on the lips. “You can punish me later for that.”

His hand squeezes my ass. “I fully intend to.” He wraps his arms around me even tighter. “Although, I didn’t make it easy for you.”