Page 99 of Blood & Snow

The pleasure leaves me gasping into his mouth, my cries swallowed by his steady kiss.

When it passes, I sag against him, chest heaving, the fog of shock finally breaking apart.

My thoughts clear enough to realize how fiercely I want him—not just his body but everything he is.

The man who terrifies the world is holding me gently, keeping me together when I’m falling apart.

The truth I’ve fought to bury claws its way free.

“I love you,” I whisper against his wet skin, the words spilling out before I can doubt them.

My lips brush his throat as I say it again, louder this time, carried by the desperate certainty in my chest.

“I love you, Xander.”

His thrusts slow, his forehead pressing to mine.

For the first time since the blood in the snow, his expression softens, eyes burning silver beneath the steam.

His hand spreads across my back, holding me so close I can barely breathe.

“You have me,Ptichka,” he murmurs, voice husky with something more than lust.

“All of me. And I’ll never let you go.”

The reassurance breaks me open in a new way.

My hips roll to meet him, slower now, matching his gentler pace.

Our bodies move together, water streaming down us, every kiss speaking the words he struggles to say.

My fear dissolves into want, into love, into the fierce need to stay bound to him no matter the cost.

I clutch at his shoulders, tilting my head back as anotherswell of heat begins to rise inside me.

Each slow thrust strokes deep, coaxing me higher instead of overwhelming me.

My body responds with soft moans that grow louder, my chest pressed to his as the water slides between us.

He cups my face, eyes locked on mine as though he needs me to see the truth he cannot say aloud.

My walls flutter around him, pressure building in a way that feels like release and surrender all at once.

“I need you,” I gasp, nails scraping over his slick skin.

“I need you, Xander. Don’t stop.”

He kisses me hard, drinking in the plea, his pace still unhurried but relentless in its focus.

The pleasure crests again, flooding through me in rolling waves.

My cries echo against the glass, but this time they aren't broken—they're whole, born of love as much as lust.

I convulse around him, every nerve alight, clinging to him with all the desperate certainty of someone who finally understands she belongs exactly where she is.

Before I can recover, he turns me gently, bracing me against the slick tile.

His chest covers my back, cock sliding inside again with an unhurried push that makes me shiver.