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He played with her ass for a while, giving her light smacks, slipping his fingers into the slick, warm cove beneath to tease her. He even scraped his teeth over her soft skin until she was begging and pleading with him to come back inside her.

He took her by the hips and entered her with a firm thrust that made her moan his name.

“That’s it,” he told her. “Take it, bad girl. My bad girl.”

He reached around her to play with her heavy breasts as he slid his cock in and out of her. Pleasure gripped him by the scruff of the neck. His nerves were heated, sensitized.

“Touch yourself.”

“Oh.” She gave him another adorably startled look.

He gently bit the turn of her neck. “You heard me.”

Her hand slid down between her thighs. The fingertips grazed the root of his dick and he hissed with the pain/pleasure of it. He put his hand over hers, guided her to tease her plump little clit.

She groaned and pressed her ass into him.

“That’s it. Make yourself come, angel. I want to feel that hot pussy squeezing around me.”

The cougar surfaced, reveling in this most primal of mating positions.

So tight. So wet. So fucking hot.

He wanted to pound into Rosana, lose himself in her slick heat, but he also wanted this to last. For minutes, hours…as long as it took. Until she knew exactly to whom she belonged.

So he gritted his teeth and grasped her hips, setting a firm, steady rhythm until she keened out his name and constricted around him.

“Please, please, please…”

Flames streaked up his spine. His balls drew up, tight and hard.

At some point, she’d stopped touching herself. Reaching around her, he circled her clit with two fingers until she arched her back and with a little scream, went the rest of the way over.

He gave a few hard thrusts and followed her into the fire. Emptying himself into her until he had nothing left.

For a long minute, he stayed inside her, chest heaving, and then he somehow summoned the energy to withdraw from her.

Flopping onto his back, he pulled her into his arms. She nestled against him, head on his shoulder.

He dragged the quilt over them both and dozed for a few minutes before rousing himself for a quick trip to the bathroom.

After that, he didn’t remember anything else until she left the bed an hour later to use the bathroom herself. When she rejoined him under the covers, she cuddled close, combing her fingers through the crisp dark hair on his chest.

His larynx vibrated in contentment.

She chuckled. “You’re purring.”

His mouth curved. “I’m a cat, love.”

“I like it.” She propped herself on an elbow to smile down at him. “You’ll have to show me your cougar. I’ll bet he’s beautiful.”

The purr increased in volume. Inside, the cat preened itself.

“He thinks so,” Adric said dryly and tucked her into the crook of his elbow. “And yeah, he’d love to show himself to you.”

He didn’t add that it would probably never happen. For these few hours, he didn’t want to think about what lay ahead, just enjoy being with her.

She resumed petting him, and his eyes closed. He hadn’t expected to get much sleep his last night in Baltimore, but the sex had wrung him out in a good way.

He was drifting in that warm, comfortable place between waking and sleep when she murmured his name.

“Mm?” he replied without opening his eyes.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering.”

“Yeah?” he asked warily.

She traced a finger down his sternum. “You don’t have to answer.”

His wariness increased. He opened his eyes. “Just ask.”

“Why did you kill your uncle?”

He went motionless. Even after all these years, the thought of Leron Savonett could still fill him with a murderous rage.

The hand on his chest stilled. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”

He didn’t want to tell her, but he wasn’t surprised she’d asked—only that she’d waited this long.

“Because he needed killing,” he said in a hard voice.

“I see.”

“But what you really want to know is why I didn’t challenge him for alpha in a fair fight.”

A short silence. “Yeah. I guess I do wonder about that.”

His teeth clenched. He put her away from him and sat up. “I know what your brother says. That I have no honor, no respect for tradition. That I murdered my own uncle in cold blood. Well, Dion knows nothing .”

She sat up, too, the quilt clutched to her breasts. “But I’m not my brother. Tell me. Make me understand.”

He eyed her. It occurred to him that this was his chance to push her away for good. To make her leave and never look back.

“Well, everything you heard was true. I lured my uncle Leron into a back alley and slit his throat because I wasn’t sure that if I challenged him, I’d win.”

She flinched. He waited for her to throw off the quilt, announce she would sleep in the other room after all.

But instead, she took his hands. “Oh, Ric. I know that. But that doesn’t tell me why. Because I know you had a good reason. You are honorable, and your clan is so much better off ever since you became alpha.”

He looked down at their clasped hands. So much for scaring her off.

The woman fucking believed in him.

And he found himself explaining further, something he never did.

“He…went after people I loved. He guessed that I’d grow up to challenge him, so he was especially hard on my friends. It got so I was afraid to even talk to someone, because they might end up locked in a cell—or dead. And it wasn’t an easy death.”

She squeezed his fingers. “Oh, Adric. I’m so sorry.”

“So fuck honor. The man needed to die, and I was the only one who could take him out.”

“You did the right thing.”

“Not according to most of the world.”

“Then they’re wrong,” she said fiercely.

“Maybe. But right or wrong, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

He reached for her. He was done talking about his uncle. She had a red abrasion on her jaw—whisker burn.

“I hurt you.” He lightly touched the mark. “If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve shaved.”

“I don’t mind.” She captured his hand, held it against her face. “I kind of like it.”

He leaned in to brush a kiss over the reddened skin. She turned her face so that he kissed her full on the lips instead, her mouth open, welcoming, as if he hadn’t just admitted to breaking one of the fada’s most sacred traditions.

“Me, too,” he said. “I like seeing my mark on you, having you carry my scent.” And that gave him an idea. He got out of bed and removed the amethyst quartz from her jeans. “I’ll be right back.”

He returned with the amethyst secured by a leather cord. The quilt had slipped lower, exposing her breasts. He dropped the cord over her head and settled the purple chunk of quartz between her cleavage.

“Thank you.” She clutched the pendant with a starry-eyed look that made his heart clenching uncomfortably. “I love it.”

“It’s not much.” Still, he liked seeing his amethyst there, over her heart.

“It is to me.” She tugged on his hand. “C’mere.”

“Is this where you show your gratitude?” He traced those pretty globes with a finger, teased the nipples into points.

A huff of laughter. “I thought it was a gift.”

“Everything has a price.” He crawled over her, pressing her back onto the pillows.

“And if I don’t want to pay?” Sapphire eyes dared him.

He dipped his head to suckle a dusky nipple. “Then I’ll just have to convince you it’s worth it.”