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His restraint is maddening. He’s stoking my arousal to a fever pitch, and desire coils more tightly inside me. Ineedhim inside me. My breasts swell and ache for his touch. Every nerve is alight. I want him to claim every inch of me until I can no longer remember where I end and he begins.

At last, I can’t wait any longer. I reach for his belt and tug it free, never breaking his gaze. Then I slide his trousers down, freeing him.

Gods.Gods. He is devastating, divine perfection in every way.

His gaze scorches over me, pure, unfiltered desire radiating from him. Primal. Possessive. He grips the folds of my dress at my waist.

“Tell me you want me.” His voice is husky, ragged, stripped of his usual control. “I can see it, and I can feel it, but I want to hear you say it. Tell me in English.”

“I don’t just want you.” I take a deep breath. “Ineedyou. Without you, I’m not whole.”

Tonight, the dam is breaking. No more lies. No more pretending. Just the raw, unfiltered truth between Talan and me. And for the first time in ages, I can finally breathe.

He leans his face close to mine, his eyes scorching. “Here she is—the real Nia.”

“You have been tormenting me for far too long, Talan. Ineedyou.”

A low growl rumbles from his chest. Grabbing my ass, he lifts me and presses me against the wall. I wrap my thighs around his waist, my back flat against the stone.

His arousal presses against my core. Slowly, he slides inside me, stretching me open, filling me. From the center out, hot pleasure radiates through my body. I clutch his shoulders and tilt my head back.

One of his hands cups my ass, anchoring me where he wants me, and the other threads into my hair. He tugs my head close to his and kisses me again.

Carefully, he thrusts deeper inside me. I can tell he’s holding back. Tension radiates off him. My hips tilt slightly, urging him on. He groans a little, and I adjust to him as he slides even deeper.

“I will never let you go again,” he rasps. “You’re the first light. You’re the start of everything.”

Primal, animal pleasure ripples through my body as he thrusts into me, moving faster now. My fingernails dig into his shoulders. He drives deeper, unrelenting, and I feel myself breaking open.

“Look at me, Nia,” he murmurs.

I open my eyes, my gaze locked on his as he buries himself deep inside me. I knew that sex with Talan would be amazing, but even in all my fantasies, I couldn’t have pictured the absolute mind-shattering ecstasy of this moment.

The copper in his eyes is no longer fire. It’s lightning flashing in a storm. I know I said nothing lasts forever, but we belong to each other for good. I’m his, and he’s mine. It was always this way, and it always will be.

He moves faster now, driving against me.

A storm breaks inside me. My orgasm ripples through my mind, and it’s like the sky itself cracking open inside my body.

His kiss is desperate, reverent. As pleasure ripples through me, he covers my mouth with his, his body shuddering with mine, his fingers gripping me more tightly.

I catch my breath, aftershocks making me clench around him.

Holding his shoulders, I melt against him. There’s a glow between us as magical as twilight.

The man is an addiction, one I’m never giving up.

Slowly, he slides out of me and lets my feet drop to the floor. I adjust my clothing, and he does the same.

Once I’m dressed, Talan gathers me in his arms, and I wrap my arms around his neck.

I’m getting carried a lot these days.

“I understand why you lied,” he says softly. “Of course you did. I let the world think I was a monster. I let the world think I was the Butcher of Brittany.”

“And it wasn’t you, was it?”

He carries me into his sanctuary, which is lit by torches that cast warm light over the books.