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And I let it.

The light within me rises to meet his darkness, silver streams reaching outward through my fingertips, my wrists, anywhere we touch. They twine with his shadows, bright against dark, creating patterns that shouldn’t exist.

I step closer, testing him, a challenge, waiting to see if he’ll pull back. But he doesn’t. His eyes darken, the black of his irises bleeding outwards, and his hand drops from my jaw to my waist, drawing me against him until I feel the solid warmth of his body. The contact steals my breath, sends sparks cascading through my nerves.

His breath fans against my lips, hot, uneven, but he still hesitates for half a heartbeat. A single second of restraint. I see the moment it shatters in his eyes.

When our lips finally meet, my power surges upward, the silvery glow breaking through my skin in intricate, luminous patterns. His shadows race to meet it, wrapping around the light.

The kiss is slow at first. Teasing, searching, testing.

He breaks away just enough to look at me, and the naked hunger in his gaze takes my breath away.

Then his mouth reclaims mine.

No more control. No more restraint. Just raw, demanding need that mirrors the ache building inside me.

His body presses against mine, hard muscle against softer curves, and I’m consumed by the feel of him, thescentof him, the taste of him. My palm slides up his arm, over the tension in his shoulders, feeling the rigid control that’s keeping him from breaking apart.

I don’t want it. Idon’twant him in control. I don’t want him careful.

I want to see him break.

A soft sound escapes me, something between pleasure and a plea. His fingers flex against my waist, pulling it from me again. It triggers something primitive in him—a growl that vibrates through his chest ashe backs me against something solid. The impact sends a jolt through my spine, but the slight pain only heightens everything else.

His hands slide beneath my tunic, palms hot against bare skin, fingers tracing paths that leave fire in their wake. Where he touches me, my inner light follows, illuminating me from within.

A flash of awareness, of that connection formed at Stonehaven, floods through me.

Heneedsto touch me. Just as much as I need to betouched.

His mouth leaves mine to explore the sensitive skin beneath my ear, teeth grazing my throat in a way that makes me gasp.

And then he bites me.

Not hard. Just enough. Enough to make me gasp. Enough to make heat pool between my legs. Pleasure-pain radiates outward, drawing a sound from me I’ve never made before. His shadows respond, tightening around me, curling at my waist, sliding down my hips, while the light flares brighter.

I arch into him, my fingers working blindly at the fastenings of his uniform. Desperate to touch him without any barrier between us. I need himcloser. He lets me, even helps, stripping away his overshirt and tunic in a way that leaves me breathless. Then he’s against me once more, the heat of his skin searing into mine.

His palms cover my breasts beneath my tunic, thumbs circling sensitive peaks until they harden painfully. The intimacy steals my breath. His shadows lick at my skin where he touches, spreading out to caress my stomach, my ribs, my hips like possessive hands, touching places his fingers haven’t reached yet.

“I’ve thought about this, Mel’shira,” he whispers againstmy throat, the confession rough with longing. “Even when I told myself I shouldn’t. How you would feel. How you would taste.” His voice drops lower. “How you would sound when I touch you. The exact moment your control would break beneath my hands … my mouth.”

His words send heat spiraling through me, pooling low in my stomach. The reverence in his tone contradicts the possessiveness in his words. This duality, the ruthless strategist and the man whose fingers tremble against my skin, pulls me deeper into his orbit.

Then he’s pushing up my tunic, baring my breasts, and his head lowers. His mouth replaces his hands, lips closing around my nipple, teeth nipping sensitive flesh, and coherent thought splinters into pure sensation.

I suck in a breath when his tongue flicks, teases, sucks, and my fingers tangle into his hair, while my back arches. His laugh, the first I’ve ever heard him utter, vibrates against my skin—dark with satisfaction, heavy with promise. It makes me shiver, knowing that the sound is for me alone.

His mouth travels lower, while his shadows work ahead of him, untying, unbuttoning, sliding fabric aside. He kisses a path down my stomach, nipping at the sensitive skin just above my waistband.

Then they’re gone. Every item of clothing shed by shadow, and I’m fully exposed to him.Vulnerability washes through me—not fear, but the awareness of being seen completely, nothing hidden.

His hands guide me away from the wall, and turn me until my legs hit the bed, and I fall onto the mattress. He follows, covering my body with his, skin against skin, with nothing between us. Hisshadows curl around my thighs, easing them apart while he moves down my body.

The silver light patterns my skin where he touches me. His shadows weave between them, creating something new where our powers mingle.

He kisses the inside of my thigh, his breath hot against my skin. His shadows tighten their hold, keeping my thighs open, and the anticipation, the way he’s keeping me bared, sends a new wave of heat through me.