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His heart seemed to jump into his throat, and he quickly closed the door so no one passing by in the hallway might see her. He pressed his back against it and slowly drank her in. The fire from the hearth and the candelabra on the dresser next to her lit her up enough to see every curve. It felt wrong and positively right. At the thought of touching her, he shivered.

“No promises for tomorrow?”

She sauntered forward. “The only promise I want is that you will forget about everything outside this room and focus on me tonight and promise you will not regret it in the morning.”

He swallowed hard. He wanted this. Wanted her. “Katana, I…”

“No one has ever stood up for me the way you do, and you do not ask for anything in return.” She pressed her hand to his bare chest and looked up at him. “I do not need your heart, Thane.”

He picked her up by the back of her thighs and wrapped her legs around his hips. “Alright, Katana, I’ll make you those promises. Tonight, there is only you.”

Her lips crashed into his and he set her on the silk-covered bed.

The morning lightpeeked through the window and the heat of the sun wasn’t the only thing warming Thane this morning. A soft, luscious body lay draped across his torso, blonde hair spread across his chest. Her quiet breath brushed across hisskin, making him think of how she breathed his name while trembling the previous night.

She giggled when he kissed above her navel and gasped, gripping his shoulders when his lips traveled below it. The sound of her quiet moans haunted him now. The way she arched into him, wrapping her thighs tighter around his waist and how surprised she was that her pleasure started to peak. She asked him not to stop until she cried out, and he didn’t. If anyone deserved to be pleased, to be cherished and worshiped, it was her. This goddess who’d been beaten and disparaged and treated the way no one should ever be. It amazed him still that she kept that light in her, and even if the darkness took her sometimes, she came back with a smile.

With a blush and a soft kiss, she’d confessed it was rare that she ever felt that and always thought something was wrong with her. After she said that, he made sure she hit that pleasure point three times more. The sound of her losing herself, and that he was the reason for it, was enough to make him climb into ecstasy with her. There wasn’t anything wrong with her. It was her asshole of a partner.

Thane found his fingers absently running along her back as he stared up at the ceiling. One night of passion. That was all.

No promises for a relationship.

No love.

No more.

She pushed her hair out of her face, then lifted her head, blinking slowly and smiling. She turned to the window, shielding her eyes from the light. “It’s morning already?”

He smiled. “You said, ‘it’s’.”

“I supposeI’mpicking up on how you all speak.” Pushing herself up to her knees, she sat back and stretched her arms overhead, showing off her lovely body with a level of comfortthat made him smile wider. “I’m so hungry. You left me famished.”

He chuckled, desperately wanting to pull her back onto his chest. She slid off the bed and he stared at her perfect bare ass as she walked across the room to pick up her silk dress. Maker, just looking at her seemed to set him aflame.

“Thank you, Thane. I needed to feel… desired. I needed someone to show me what lovemaking could be and,” she grinned, “you are very good.”

His cheeks warmed, and he slipped out of the blankets and wrapped the sheet around his waist. “I needed that too. To feel wanted.” After being crushed months ago by the elf he thought he’d spend forever with, it was everything he could have wanted. She wasn’t just a quick lay to fill a void. He could have found that with just about any female.

“Why do you hide yourself from me?” she asked and seemed to be purely curious. “I’ve seen all that you are. Even had you in my mouth.”

Gods, and how good her mouth felt too. Lifting a shoulder, he leaned against the bedpost. “I guess I’m just not as comfortable as you are with my own nakedness. Although I could look at yours all day.”

She giggled. “Every bit of you is lovely, and I’m glad I was able to experience it.” She winked then quickly made her way to the door and gripped the handle.

“You’re leaving already?”

“It is morning, is it not? We said one night. And we are going back to Palenor today. I need to gather my things.” Everything came out rushed, even her breath, and he couldn’t help but think she wanted to get away from him. A slow sinking weight in his chest made him rub the spot, as if it could make it go away.

“Yes,” he said, and swallowed to wet his dry throat.

She pulled the door open, and he nearly choked. “Katana, you’re not dressed. Someone could see you.” He hurried over and pulled the sheet from his waist and draped it around her. “And I don’t want anyone seeing you like that but me.” With her gaze lifted to his, his heart beat faster. That was not part of their agreement. Anyone could see her naked if she wanted. They weren’t in a relationship. There was no commitment.

“I was not thinking. I do not normally walk around other people’s homes undressed.” She tugged the sheet off and pushed it back into his arms, then slipped her dress overhead. “See you at breakfast?”

“I’ll stop by your room when I’m dressed.”

“Alright.”