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Reign’s jaw tightens. “You’ve been walking across the grounds, in the dark, with nothing under these?”

“It’s the middle of the night, and Gio’s asleep. No one saw me.”

His voice is a low growl against my ear. “That’s not the point.”

I lick my lips. “What is the point?”

“The point is that anyone could have seen what’s mine.”

I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips. “You’re jealous.”

“Damn right, I am.” His hands tighten on my hips. “Everything about you belongs to me. Your body, your smile, these little sounds you make when I touch you. All mine. Soon, I’m making it official. But until then, you protect what’s mine.”

There’s something about the raw need in his voice, the barely restrained hunger in his eyes, that makes heat pool low in my belly.

“I like when you get all growly and protective.” I press closer to him. “It’s kind of hot.”

“You think this is funny?” Reign backs me up against the oak tree and slides his hand from my ass to my waist. “You think I like the idea of you exposed, vulnerable, where anyone could see you?”

“No one saw me,” I repeat, reaching up to trace the hard line of his jaw. “And I’ll make it up to you.”

His eyes flash in the darkness. “Damn right, you will.”

I sink to my knees in the soft grass. The moonlight filters through the branches, casting dappled shadows across his face as he looks down at me with surprise that quickly morphs into hunger.

My fingers work at his belt buckle, the metal cool against my skin. His breathing accelerates as I pop the button on his jeans and slowly lower the zipper. The sound seems impossibly loud in the quiet garden, but I’m beyond caring.

“This wasn’t what I meant, Princess,” he says through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” I tug his jeans and boxers down just enough to free him. “I want to feel you in my throat.”

He’s already hard, thick, and heavy in my hand as I stroke him once, twice, feeling him grow even harder under my touch.

I look up at him through my lashes as I take him into my mouth and watch his face tighten with pleasure. The power I feel in this moment is intoxicating. This strong, dangerous man coming undone because of me.

“Fuck.” His grip tightens in my hair as I take him deeper. “You’re going to kill me, Princess.”

I hollow my cheeks and suck harder, using my hand to work what doesn’t fit in my mouth. His hips jerk forward involuntarily, and I have to suppress a moan as he hits the back of my throat.

“Look at you,” Reign groans. “If only your fiancé could see you now, so desperate for me you’d risk everything. You have no idea what it does to me, knowing I’m the only one who gets to see you like this. The only one who knows how greedy you really are. How wet you get just from sucking me off.”

Liquid heat pools between my thighs.

“Fuck,” he groans, his head falling back momentarily before his gaze locks with mine again. “That’s it, baby. Take it deeper.”

My hands work in tandem with my mouth. One strokes what I can’t take, the other cupping and gently squeezing below.

“That’s it, Princess,” he murmurs. “Just like that.”

I moan around him. I can feel him getting closer, and his grip in my hair tightens, guiding me into a faster rhythm that I eagerly match.

“Audrey,” he warns, his voice tight. “I’m going to?—”

His restraint breaks with a guttural sound that sends heat flooding through me. I feel the pulse of his release, swallowing around him as he shudders above me.

When I finally pull away, his eyes darken with renewed hunger. Before I can react, he grips my arms and pulls me up, turning me in one fluid motion so I’m facing the ancient oak.

“Hands on the tree,” he commands. “Now.”