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When he pulled back, she breathed, “I love you, Darien.” She clung to him, fingers digging into his biceps. “You’re my everything.”

His throat bobbed. “Don’t you do that. Don’t talk as if you’re going to lose me. If you lose me, that means I lose you too, and I can’t live with that.” He kissed her forehead. “I said forever, and I meant it. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours. I’ll always be yours.”

His movements sped up, and he bent to rest his cheek on her shoulder. She clutched him to her, one hand at the back of his head, the other digging into his back. Her orgasm crested at nearly the same time as his. They dissolved into their pleasure together, their heavy breathing the only sound for a long while after.

—

“Where did you learn how to do this?” Loren asked.

They were in the soaker tub in their suite. She was lying snug between Darien’s legs, her back resting against his chest. Hot water filled the tub nearly to the brim, clouds of fruit-scented bubbles sloshing over the edge and soaking the mat. He was braiding her hair into two sections, fingers weaving the strands over and under with impressive skill. Loren had to admit the pink-tinted bubbles formed a pretty comical contrast with the black-haired, tattooed Darkslayer. A Darkslayer covered in countless scars, those bubbles clinging to his skin.

“When my mom died, Ivy was upset because she didn’t know how to braid her own hair. My mom used to do it for her. So, I taught myself how. It was hard enough for the two of us to adjust to not having our mom around, never mind the countless things she did for us that we took for granted… The things we had no idea how to do on our own.” He finished off the first braid, tying the end with one of the tiny elastics resting on the tub’s edge. He moved onto the other side, fingers tickling her skin. “Braiding hair was the one thing I could fix, so I fixed it.”

A rush of emotion spread through her chest. “You’re incredible.”

A couple minutes passed as Darien finished braiding. When he reached the end and tied it, he said quietly, “I’ve done my best.”

Once the elastic was secured, she turned to face him, water lapping against the sides of the tub. “You are incredible, Darien. You need to start giving yourself more credit.”

Those large hands were suddenly gripping the backs of her thighs, pulling her up until she was straddling him. “How about my beautiful girl fucks me right here in this tub, and then we’ll talk about the credit I don’t give myself.” He grabbed a fistful of her ass and pulled her up higher, his other hand dipping into the water between their bodies. His fingers circled his cock. She felt the crown of it rub along her entrance, nudging it. “Sound good?”

“That sounds really good.” She’d barely got the last word out before he was easing her down. Slowly.

The rush of hot water that accompanied their joining made her gasp, the soft exhalation echoing through the bathroom. But soon he had her right full, no room for water, no space between them. They were as close as they could get, yet it never felt close enough.

“I need to tell you something,” Darien said.

“Is it a good something?” She slid up a little before sinking back down, taking him in as far as she could.

“Yes.”

“Then you can tell me.”

His mouth twitched. There was something dancing in his eyes—joy, she thought. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever let on top of me.”

Loren searched his expression. That joy was still there. “Really?”

“Really.”

“But…” She eased up a little, then back down. The friction, and that burning stare of his…they were both so good. “Didn’t you ever want to have a woman on top of you?”

“I like to be in control of everything in my life,” he said. “Letting someone else be on top takes that away from me.” She heard all the words he didn’t say: for her, he would relinquish control. Only her. “How does that make you feel?”

“Good,” she breathed. Her legs trembled as she pushed herself back up again, bubbles sloshing. This was their third time today. They hadn’t left their suite since he’d broken the enchantment on her tongue. Her whole body was sore, especially the area between her legs. But the pleasure was somehow doubled, just the way she liked it.

“Happy?” His deep voice was rougher than gravel.

She nodded, arms circling his neck. “Happy.” Being on top of him had always made her feel powerful. But now that she knew she was the only person to ever top the leader of the Seven Devils… It made her really happy. It was such a small thing, but it filled her with so much joy, she could burst from it.

She kept her movements swift and deep, water splashing around them. He kept his hands on her ass, fingers digging into her skin, but he let her do all the work, not moving her once, only watching her in the way that only Darien could watch her, his stare hotter than the water.

Soon, the breaths he drew were as ragged as hers, and just as quick. He watched her intently, that gaze devouring every part of her body as she moved above him. That look spurred her to ride him faster, her need to see him come undone, to please him, greater than the need for her own release. It was just him and her, her and him, and she never wanted anything else. She touched him with the kind of greed that was endless, hands running up the hard planes of his stomach, his chest.