Page 28

His hands slid to her waist, grip firm. "Fair enough. But I need your words, Keira. Consent. No games."

She nodded. "I want this. I want you. But I don’t want pain tonight. No belts. No ropes. Just... heat."

He bent his head, brushing his mouth over hers as he swept her up in his arms and carried her back to bed. If he was going to have her, he meant to have her in his bed where she belonged.

As he closed the door behind them, she whispered, "One more thing first. Safe sex."

He blinked. "Seriously? Now?"

She grinned. "Afraid so. I’ve had a recent physical. I’m clean, and I’m also on the pill."

"Same, and that’s sweet of you, love," he murmured against her neck, his voice a low rasp. "But panther-shifters can’t father children with humans unless the mate-bond is fully sealed. It’s a safeguard—biological, mystical, take your pick."

Her breath hitched. "So... no risk?"

"No risk," he confirmed. "But every reward."

She pulled him to the bed, then paused, her eyes flicking down with heat and certainty. The silk of the dressing gown slid from her shoulders, pooling at her feet like melted moonlight. Naked, unflinching, she sank to her knees before him.

Finn’s breath hitched, a low growl rumbling from his chest as her hands reached for the waistband of his jeans. Her fingers were confident but reverent, making quick work of the button fly. When she freed him, he hissed through his teeth, the sight of her—kneeling, willing, eyes locked on his—nearly undoing him.

She looked up at him with something like defiance and devotion twisted together, then took him into her mouth with a slow, deliberate hunger. Heat surged through him, his hand sliding to the back of her head, fingers threading into her hair as her lips worked magic and fire across his skin.

"Fuck, Keira," he rasped, his hips twitching forward despite his best intentions. Her tongue was sin and salvation, each swirl a promise, each pull a demand. He let her set the rhythm, watching her, undone by her boldness, her devotion, the way she worshiped him with her mouth.

When he was close—so close he saw stars—he pulled her up, catching her mouth in a feral kiss as he lifted her, turned, and brought them both down onto the large bed in a tangle of limbs and desperate want, kicking off his jeans as he did so.

What followed was far from gentle. It was a primal need, igniting sharply and instantaneously, a raging inferno of desire and appetite colliding with a sense of urgency.

He captured her mouth first, taking it with deliberate force, his lips embracing hers, stealing every breath she attempted to draw, and replacing it with a hunger that consumed any hesitance. Each kiss was an order, each swirl of his tongue a requirement. It wasn't just passion—it was complete ownership expressed through inhales and the clashing of teeth. She arched her back beneath him, his name both a curse and an invocation.

He held her wrists above her head, his voice a menacing whisper. "You tell me if this gets too much. You stop me if it feels wrong. But right now, I’m going to make you feel every damn second we've been apart."

She gasped his name while lifting her hips to meet his own. He emitted a low growl, his teeth nipping at her throat. "That's it. Give me your fire."

His hand ventured between her thighs, fingers teasing and probing curiously. She had already grown wet and eager with anticipation, twitching with desperate need. Her body squirmed about, craving more contact.

"So responsive," he murmured. "Just like I remember."

Every caress from his fingertips was purposeful and exact. He drove her to the brink of climax only to draw her back repeatedly until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Finn, please…"

"Beg louder, little hacker. Let the house hear."

"I need you?—"

"You'll have me. But only when I say."

Her orgasm surged powerfully, seemingly drawn out by the sheer intensity of his determination. He kissed her through it all, whispering curses into her mouth tenderly as he penetrated her slowly yet relentlessly until she quivered and clung to him like a lifeline.

He dominated her body with authority, barely held in check by a razor-thin line of self-control, each thrust a desperate surge of need just on the verge of being unleashed, akin to a storm looming on the horizon. She matched his intensity with her own blend of fury and submission, her nails digging into his back, her voice hoarse with desire.

When she shattered beneath him once more, he gave in, body jerking as pleasure ripped through him like a tide breaking loose. Her name tore from his throat, a raw, guttural sound, as though he could summon forgiveness from the darkness with nothing but the heat of their joined bodies and the brutal honesty of their need.

After, she curled against him, silent. Finn wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close. Her cheek rested just above his heart, and for a moment, everything was still. He watched the ceiling, listening to the cadence of her breath, wondering if sleep had taken her or if her silence masked something deeper. He didn’t ask. Not yet. But the weight of her against him made the sharp edges inside ease.

He closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to her hair, breathing her in slowly—letting her scent settle in his lungs, a balm and a brand. His arm tightened around her just slightly, a silent vow written in the quiet of their tangle.