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He tightened his fist in her silken mane. “Say it,” he insisted, needing to hear the words that had sealed both their fates.

Understanding sparked in her eyes, and her countenance softened with acceptance. “I’m yours, Jericho.” The emotion-filled words fell from her lips. Her oath, her promise.

He plunged into her welcoming heat. At her harsh cry, he stilled. “Don’t want to hurt you,” he groaned, resisting the urge to move. Gods, she was tight. Inexperienced. His.

Driving need burned at the base of his spine, compelling him to thrust deep inside of her.No. Sweat beaded his skin. He grasped for some remaining thread of restraint.

It had been centuries since he’dmade loveto a female. The thought knotted in his chest. Sex with Alex meant something more than filling a basic need.

At his hesitancy, her expression grew shuttered. “I’m sorry. It’s just been so long, and never like this. My ability…” she trailed off, turning away.

Unacceptable.

“Look at me,” he commanded in a low growl. She peered at him with darkened eyes, exposing the vulnerability she tried to hide. The need to comfort flooded his system, soothing the dark urges that tested his restraint.

“You’re perfect, Alexandra.” As he once again claimed her mouth, she melted against him, insecurities drifting away on a sigh.

Her tight sheath pulsed around his shaft, and her hips rose to take more of him. As she grew comfortable with his invasion, desire slicked her channel. He slid deeper into her warmth, groaning when she wrapped her leg around him.

Slowly, he withdrew, then eased forward, emboldened by her shudder of pleasure. Muscles burning with the strain, he began a slow, arduous pace.

When her heavy-lidded eyes slid closed, he grated, “No, Alex, stay with me.” She’d accused him of hiding his emotions from her. But Jericho was no longer holding back, and he expected the same from her. He wanted to see every emotion reflected on her expressive face. And damn if Alex didn’t reward him with each painstaking thrust.

She tightened her leg around his hip, urging him faster, deeper. “I’m here,” she rasped. “I’m here with you. I feel you…everywhere. Both my pleasure and yours. I feel all of it.” Astonishment lit her expression.

Jericho groaned. His little sympath reveled in his desire along with her own. The realization exploded within him. Heat blasted his veins, and he increased his pace, pumping into her again and again. Alex’s soft moans pushed him to the edge. He became mindless to everything but the pull of her body, the warmth of her skin, the pounding of her heart.

She arched her back, her nails digging into his hips. Her swollen lips parted on a sharp inhale, and ecstasy sparked in her eyes—igniting. With a cry of pleasure, she pulsated around him, clenching his shaft.

The power of her orgasm spurred his own. Fire blazed up his spine, and he buried himself in her depths, roaring as the climax ripped through him. Hot jets tore from his body. Marked. Claimed. At last, he possessed her completely. Her silken channel throbbed in the wake of her release, prolonging his pleasure.Take me. Take all of me.In that moment, every part of him was hers.

Muscles quaking, he sank into her—shattered.

With trembling hands, she clung to him, seeming just as affected. “Always afraid. Always blocking. I’ve never—”

Her boneless leg fell from around his hip.

After easing from her, he pulled her into his side, murmuring endearments and praise, not knowing what words left his mouth.

She laid her head on his shoulder, curling her leg over his thigh. Her exhausted sigh feathered his skin. With slumberous, petting strokes, her fingers traveled along his chest, skimming old scars, healing his wounds.

He waited for the guilt to return, feeling nothing but a deep sense of satisfaction. Since the day Alex became his Chosen, he’d wanted more than just his brand on her neck. He’d wanted to possess her, body and soul. Even though he’d sworn to never be so vulnerable again.

And therein lay the danger.

Because this time, if she broke him, there would be nothing left of him for Liam to scrape together.

Nineteen

Alex woke with a luxurious stretch,muscles aching in delicious new ways. She blinked, clearing her vision.

At the edge of the mattress, a smokey snout and curious silver eyes blurred into focus.

Titan’s nose lay inches from her own. He stood beside the bed with his blocky head resting near her pillow. Watching her sleep? Silly beast.

She held her breath and inched her hand across the sheets, ever closer to his scarred face.

Just. A. Little. Farther.