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I hesitated, pride warring with practicality. But the heat won out. I allowed myself to rest against his arm, my head pillowed on his bicep, which was approximately the size of a small tree trunk. The effect was immediate—blessed coolness radiating from his skin to mine.

“Oh,” I breathed, unable to stop myself from pressing closer. “That’s... better.”

A sound rumbled in his chest—not quite a growl, not quite a purr. His tail curled loosely around my ankle, the touch so light I might have imagined it.

“Sleep,” he commanded softly. “I will monitor the systems.”

But that night, sleep didn’t come easy.

Instead, vivid dreams wrapped around me like a net of silk and fire. Hands I recognized but shouldn’t. A mouth on my skin. My name in that gravel voice, turned reverent and hungry.

I was in a different place—still a desert, but beautiful rather than deadly.

Golden dunes stretched to the horizon under a sky painted in impossible colors.

And he was there, Rhaekar, but different—his full alien nature on display, magnificent and primal.

The markings on his skin gleamed like burnished gold, his eyes fierce and hungry as they locked on mine.

“Kassari,” he called, the word unfamiliar yet instantly meaningful. “My fate mate.”

He stalked toward me with predatory grace, and instead of running, I moved to meet him. His hands found my waist, hot and possessive, lifting me effortlessly. My legs wrapped around him as if they’d always belonged there.

“This is a dream,” I murmured against his mouth.

“This is unity,” he corrected, his voice deeper, rougher. “The sharing of mates.”

His kiss devastated me—hot and demanding and perfect. I opened for him instantly, his tongue sliding against mine in a dance that felt like coming home. His taste was exotic and familiar all at once, sending sparks of pleasure cascading through my body.

We were suddenly on the ground, the sand beneath us impossibly soft. His weight pressed me down, delicious and commanding, as his mouth traveled from my lips to my jaw, my neck, my collarbone. Every touch ignited new fires beneath my skin.

“I need—” I gasped, arching as his sharp teeth grazed my pulse point.

“Tell me,” he growled, his hands sliding beneath my clothes, which seemed to melt away at his touch. “Tell me what you need, little flame.”

“You,” I breathed, shameless with desire. “Inside me. Now.”

He growled again, the sound vibrating through my bones. His claws extended, carefully shredding what remained of my clothing without scratching my skin. Then his mouth was on my breast, hot and wet, tongue circling my nipple before sucking hard enough to make me cry out.

“Fuck,” I moaned, threading my fingers through his hair, surprised to find it soft despite its wild appearance. “More, please?—”

He obliged, his mouth working magic on my sensitive flesh while his hand slid lower, across my stomach, between my thighs. When his fingers found my center, already slick with need, we both groaned.

“So wet for me,” he purred, his golden eyes meeting mine as he stroked through my folds. “So ready.”

“Yes,” I hissed, bucking against his hand. “Don’t tease me, Rhaekar.”

The sound of his name on my lips seemed to break something in him. With a fluid motion, he positioned himself between my thighs, the blunt head of his cock pressing against my entrance. He was huge, intimidatingly so, but my body welcomed him as if made for this—for him.

“Mine,” he growled as he pushed inside, stretching me exquisitely with each careful inch. “My kassari. My mate.”

I cried out as he filled me completely, the sensation so perfect it bordered on pain. He stilled, giving me time to adjust, his body trembling with the effort of his restraint.

“Yours,” I agreed, not understanding the full meaning but feeling the truth of it in my bones. “And you’re mine.”

That admission unleashed him. He began to move, long powerful strokes that hit something deep inside me with each thrust. I clung to his shoulders, nails digging into his skin as pleasure built with shocking speed.

“Harder,” I demanded, wrapping my legs tighter around his waist. “I won’t break.”

He snarled, baring teeth that were sharper than human, more predatory. The sight sent a thrill through me that I couldn’t explain—shouldn’t want—but did.

“Bite me,” I begged, the words spilling from me without conscious thought. “Mark me. Claim me.”

His rhythm faltered for just a moment, his eyes widening with surprise before darkening with primal hunger. “Do you know what you ask for, little flame?”

“I don’t care,” I gasped as he hit a spot inside me that made stars explode behind my eyelids. “I need it. Need you.”

His pace increased, driving me higher, building a pleasure so intense it bordered on unbearable. His mouth descended to my neck, breath hot against my pulse point.

“It will bind us,” he warned, even as his hips maintained their relentless rhythm. “Forever.”

“Yes,” I moaned, tangling my fingers in his hair and pulling his mouth closer to my neck. “Please, Rhaekar. Make me yours.”

With a growl that vibrated through my entire body, he sank his teeth into the junction of my neck and shoulder—not breaking skin but applying exquisite pressure.

The slight pain combined with the pleasure of his cock driving into me pushed me over the edge.

I came with a scream, my inner walls clamping down on him as waves of ecstasy crashed through me.

He followed immediately, his release triggering another wave of pleasure that left me sobbing his name.

I felt something strange, a physical change as he swelled inside me, locking us together as his seed pumped deep.

The sensation was foreign but perfect, prolonging my orgasm until I could barely breathe through the pleasure.

We stayed joined, panting, as aftershocks rippled through us both. His teeth released my neck, his tongue gently soothing the mark he’d left.

“My kassari,” he murmured against my skin. “Mine at last.”

I woke with a gasp, heart pounding and legs tangled in the protective blanket. My skin buzzed like it remembered every touch from the dream, my center throbbing with phantom pleasure so real I had to press my thighs together to ease the ache.

When I dared glance over at the space beside me, I saw that I was alone, the emergency lights cast a strange glow around me. And, I wasn’t sure whether I was disappointed in myself or him?