Page 235 of Blood Day

She moaned in response, her mind flaring with wants and desires and a need to just be here with me, to exist in the solace of our bond.

No more Blood Day. No more lycans. No more prospect of the moon chase. I’d saved her, and her roots were firmly grounded in reality now, even if it all felt like a dream to her.

I grasped her hips and walked her backward into the shower. The water came on automatically, pelting my back with cold spikes. But I didn’t care. It was worth it to curl myself around Lily and protect her from the chilly temperature.

She practically melted into me, absorbing my warmth and my strength, and simply existed with me in the moment.

You’re so fucking perfect,I told her.So beautiful and patient. I meant what I said, sweet flower. I don’t deserve you.

But I was going to try to be good enough for her anyway.

And I would start with this—with caring for her properly.

Dried blood stuck to her skin, making this shower more needed than ever. I didn’t want any part of her marred by the experiences of the past.

Those lycans didn’t own her. I did.MyErosita.My mate. My flower to nurture and grow.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, her thick blonde eyelashes parting to reveal her alluring gaze. “You’re mine, too.”

“I am,” I admitted. “I’ve been yours from the day I first saw you.” Which I’d already admitted, at least to myself. But it didn’t hurt to speak the words aloud. “I love you, Lily.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered against my lips, her mind marveling at the changes between us and how far we’d come. The fact that any of this shocked her just further proved how much I had to make up to her.

I’d never cared for another like this before, had never even desired this sort of connection. However, now I found it necessary to prove myself. To be worthy of her. To be the man she could rely on… for eternity.

The water finally began to warm, allowing me to pull her more fully beneath it. But she didn’t seem to notice. Her focus was on me and my mouth, her gaze hungry as she assessed what she knew was hers.

“Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you,” I promised her. “Tell me how to please you.”

“I want you to make me feel alive,” she whispered. “Own me. Make me feel safe. Make me… make me feel like I’m yours.”

“You are mine,” I told her, my palm gliding up her middle until I reached her throat. “And you’re safe withme.” I squeezed her neck, the action contradicting my words, but that was the point.

Trust.That was our strength, our core platform that we both stood on together.

Shetrustedme not to hurt her even when I had every advantage to do so.

Because she knew deep down I could never truly harm her. It had always been this way between us.

And tonight would be no different.

I cut off her airflow for a few more seconds, then soothed away the pain with a kiss and a breath into her mouth. She moaned, arching into me, not seeming to care about the blood still sticking to her skin.

She wanted more.

She wantedme.

And I wasn’t going to deny her for another second.

My grip shifted to the back of her neck, my opposite palm finding her hip. “Open your mouth a little more for me, darling. I want to properly own you.”

She obeyed, her tongue eagerly meeting mine as I devoured her to completion. My sweet flower wanted to feel possessed, and I was a slave to her desires.

The water continued to flow around us, heating our skin and reminding me of our first shower together—when I’d taught her the importance of taking what she wanted.

She remembered that lesson now as she eagerly explored my body with her palms, up and down my abdomen and around to my back.

There was no hesitation. She claimed me just as thoroughly as I claimed her.