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Just like with Blaise, his praise hits something inside me – something raw and soft – and I moan around him, which makeshim curse again and grip the pillow behind his head like he’s barely holding on.

I build a rhythm, using both hands and mouth, letting myself be guided by the way he gasps and groans, the way his hips twitch under my touch.

“Evie—” he chokes out. “If you keep going, I’m not gonna last.”

I pull back, licking gently along the underside of his shaft. “Then don’t.”

He lets out a strangled laugh as I take him deeper, right to the back of my throat, and then heshatters, groaning deep as he spills onto my tongue, hand fisting in the sheets, every muscle in his body going taut before relaxing beneath me.

When he opens his eyes again, they’re soft and dark with something deeper than lust.

He pulls me up into his arms, cradling me against his chest like I’m breakable.

“You’re fucking incredible,” he whispers against my hair. “And you’re mine, Eviana.Mine.”

He’s still panting when I press soft kisses to his chest, tasting the salt of his skin, the faint trace of sweat. Xar’s hand slides into my hair, gently guiding me up to meet his mouth again. This time, his kiss is slower. Messy. Open. Worshipful.

He rolls us gently so I’m beneath him, and the way he looks at me makes my breath catch.

“Still okay?” he murmurs, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek.

“Yes,” I whisper. “I want this. I wantyou. I’m ready and I want my first time to be before my heat. Before I lose myself to the haze. Please, alpha.”

Something shifts in his expression – tenderness laced with hunger. “I need you to tell me if anything hurts. If you need to stop, we stop. No questions. No shame. Understood?”

I nod. “I trust you.”

He kisses me again, deeper this time, and I feel it in my toes. I feel iteverywhere.

His hands glide over my body, mapping every curve with aching reverence. He touches me like I’m something holy – his mouth following the path of his fingers, lips brushing my throat, my breasts, my ribs. He lingers over the swell of my hips, the inside of my thighs, until I’m trembling again, my scent spiralling in the air.

“You’re so wet,” he groans, fingers slipping between my legs. “So ready.”

His thumb finds my clit, circling gently as he teases me open with slow, careful strokes. I arch against him, moaning, and his eyes darken.

“I want to be inside you, Evie. I want you to feel me. Every inch.”

“Please,” I whisper. “I need you.”

Xar lines himself up, the tip of his cock nudging at my entrance, and pauses. He leans down, pressing his forehead to mine.

“Breathe with me, baby,” he murmurs. “I’ve got you.”

He pushes in slowly, carefully, giving me time to stretch around him. The burn is sharp at first – but thankfully brief. And then all I feel isfull.

Anchored.

Claimed.

Whole.

I gasp, nails digging into his arms, and he stills, watching me closely.

“You okay?”

I nod. “More than okay. Don’t stop.”

He starts to move – painstakingly slow but deep thrusts that leave me gasping, my body clinging to him with every roll of hiships. He’s so big, sopresent, and I can feel every inch of him, every brush against that place inside me that makes my toes curl.