Page 117 of First Offense

The life drained from my limbs, and they secured me between them, holding me and petting me and whispering sweet words of praise.

It all blended together into a dream.

One that took me under, surrounding me in the depths of the ocean, so shadowy and right.

I sighed.

Content.

Claimed.

Cherished.

And sated.

31

Auric

I combedmy fingers through Layla’s hair, careful not to wake her as I gently untangled her strands. Novak watched, his eyes glimmering in the dark of the night. He faced Layla while I held her back to my front—a position we’d slept in several times now.

But tonight, we were naked.

Gloriously, stunningly naked.

I should hate myself for what I’d done, taking the mating bond with someone so superior to my ranking. However, my soul refused to allow me to feel any guilt.

She was mine.

Just as she should be.

Her bond to Novak should have bothered me as well, except it seemed rather appropriate given our history with each other.

He knew exactly what I liked, even a century after our last session with a woman. Perhaps because I hadn’t necessarily changed. But it was definitely different with Layla. We’d cared for her in a way we never had for any other female. We held her now, ensuring she recovered from the intensity of our fucking.

And we hadn’t even begun to demonstrate our strength or proclivities in the bedroom.

“You were right to ask about her experience,” I said, pitching my voice low so as not to disturb her. “Too much too soon would hurt her.”

He nodded, his fingers stroking her feathers, fixing those that had bent a little during sex. She hadn’t seemed to notice, too lost to the sensations to realize the harshness of Novak’s thrusts.

He didn’t know how to be gentle.

And honestly, neither did I.

But we’d tried.

“She’s bruised,” Novak said, his voice gruff and holding a dark quality to it as he removed his hand from her wing to stroke her hip.

“She’ll heal,” I murmured, kissing her neck and inhaling deeply. “She did well.”

“She did,” he agreed.

I looked at him, noting the way his hungry eyes roamed over her curves and down to the luscious space between her thighs.

He wanted more.

I did, too.