Page 24 of Elias

“Let go of Daddy’s neck, Baby girl,” he encouraged.

She didn’t want to, but she did as he told her.

In a flash, he flipped her over so she was on her stomach. It scared her, but at the same time, she was exhilarated. She only knew the basics about what to expect from the claiming. Her mother had never mentioned a word about being on her stomach.

Elias leaned over her and kissed her neck. “Relax, Little one. I’m just going to unbutton your dress.”

“Oh.” She took a deep breath as reason filtered in. Right. The buttons.

His fingers came to the buttons that started high on her neck, and he quickly worked his way downward. There were two dozen. She knew because she’d stood counting them this morning when her mother and sister had secured her into this ceremonial gown.

Urgency made her fidget. It was taking him too long to get the stupid dress off her. She wanted it gone. She wanted his clothes gone, too. She wanted to see his chest. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to press her mark against him again so she could experience that zing.

“Who thought these ridiculous buttons were a good idea?” Elias grumbled, chuckling.

“A sadist apparently,” she murmured.

He laughed again. “What do you know about sadism, Little firecracker?”

She shrugged. “I read books.”

Another chuckle rumbled through him as he got closer to her lower back. “There’s a disconnect between the mating habits of citizens in the valley and my people.” He bent and kissed her neck again before whispering, “I think it’s intentional. Your friends and family have no idea what kind of bond you and I will experience for the rest of our lives.”

She couldn’t breathe. His words and the way he breathed against her neck made the tingling pick up again.

He slid his hand under the open dress against the small of her back, but he wasn’t touching her skin because of the three layers of shifts. Suddenly she thought perhaps the most barbaric part of this entire show was actually this dress.

Elias slid off the end of the bed and then dragged her to the edge, lifted her, and set her on her feet in front of him. He held her gaze as he tugged the sleeves of her dress down so that the dress fell over her shoulders and eventually slid to the floor.

She stood before him in thin shifts. Her arms were bare now, exposing her mark.

Elias tipped her head back with one finger to look into her eyes. He was so much taller than her. His other hand rubbed her bicep. “Do you want me to hang the dress carefully in the closet so it doesn’t get stepped on?”

She shook her head. “I think you should kick it under the bed and maybe use it as a dust rag later.”

He chuckled. She loved it when he chuckled. His entire body shook. “I thought you were no longer bucking tradition.”

She shrugged playfully. “I’ll admit the fated connection is impossible to deny, but the ceremonial clothing is overkill. Take off your shirt.”

He chuckled harder as he stepped back and went to work on the buttons down the front of his shirt. He stared at her face the entire time. “Such a bossy Little firecracker.”

She ignored his teasing and watched as he finally unveiled his rock-hard chest. She licked her lips. Every bit of him appealed to her, which was probably just as fated as everything else she’d experienced today. Of course he appealed to her. He could have three eyeballs, no legs or arms, and a giant scar down his middle, and she would still think he was the sexiest man alive.

None of those things were true, though. He was perfection.

He kicked off his shoes next before kneeling before her and removing her sandals. “Such dainty, cute feet my mate has.”

She shivered as he helped her step out of the pool of her dress so he could toss it and her sandals to the side, and then his hands came to her ankles.

Leah grabbed his shoulders, holding on tight as she swayed. His touch… He looked up at her as he slid his hands up higher until he gripped the back of her knees.

“So soft…” he muttered. He stroked the edges of her knees with his thumbs.

Her legs nearly buckled, especially when he slowly rose, pushing her shifts up with his movements.

She was panting when his palms eased past her thighs to cup her bottom, and she held her breath as he rose to his full height, gathering the layers of thin material in his hands.

“I’m going to take this off you now, Baby girl.”