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T heir lips met with a reckless fervor, parting at once. Her tongue swept against his, tasting their mutual confession. Cora trembled at the flood of desire pouring through her, so strong it was as if it had broken a dam. She supposed that was expected after she’d pent it up all afternoon and evening. Now she turned herself over to it, let her body take the lead. Her muscles uncoiled as if breathing a collective sigh, one that said finally . Every ounce of tension that left her body collected in a pool of heat at her center, warming her lower belly, burning in a ball of hungry heat between her thighs. Meanwhile, her heart opened, expanded, singing with the glorious revelation, the trust, that Teryn loved her. He well and truly loved her.

And he was hers .

Teryn’s arms wound around her, one hand weaving through her loose tresses, the other pressing into her back, tugging her closer. She arched against him, desperate to feel more of him, all of him. Her palms burned with her yearning, igniting every line of ink that marked them. She released Teryn’s collar and let one hand cradle the back of his head, the other slipping beneath his shirt to smooth over his pectoral, his shoulder. He hissed in a breath at her touch, shuddering beneath her palm. A wicked smile curled her lips, and she drew the other hand away from his neck, down his chest, to the hem of his shirt. Lifting it, she slipped her hand underneath and splayed her palm over his muscled abdomen. A stifled groan left his throat and he took her bottom lip between his teeth. She gasped at the slight pressure he applied, thrilled that her touch had sparked such a reaction in him.

He pulled back suddenly, and for a moment she feared he would ask her to stop, tell her he was the one who wanted to take things slow. She’d honor that, of course, but as he looked down at her with half-lidded eyes, lips swollen from the ferocity of their kisses, she desperately wished he wouldn’t make such a request. Thankfully, he merely reached for the collar of his shirt and pulled the article over his head. Though this was her second time seeing him bare-chested today, this time was different. She felt no apprehension. No fraying nerves. Only fascination and desire.

His chest heaved as he stood before her, making no move to return to her arms. As much as she wanted to feel him against her, she wanted this too—a moment to look him over. Admire him. Drink in the sight of the man she loved without any reservations. She lifted a hand and alighted her fingertips upon his ribs, right over the scar that marred his flesh. He tensed as she touched him, tracing the line of puckered skin. Then she trailed her hand up his torso, over his chest, his collarbone, then up his neck. She smoothed her thumb over the small circular scar there.

Finally, he dared to move, lifting a hand to her neck as well. He brushed his fingers softly over her identical scar, then bent forward and caressed it with his lips. He did the same to the scar on the other side, a slow and tender gesture. They both held these twin marks, a permanent reminder of the collar they’d both worn.

When Teryn pulled back, something dark flashed in his eyes. “If I ever meet the man who did that to you…”

She silenced him with her lips. There was no use making idle threats against the Elvyn male who’d trapped her in that collar, stifling her magic. Fanon was a world away, in the fae realm. Cora may hold the secret to entering the realm—her worldwalking magic paired with Valorre’s ability to pierce the Veil that protected El’Ara—but she had no intention of returning.

Besides, she didn’t want to think about El’Ara, the Veil, or the prophecy her fate was entwined in. The only thing she wanted to be entwined with right now was Teryn. His lips. His arms. His body. His love.

She pulled back slightly and infused her tone with a taunting lilt. “You may want revenge on the male who put me in that collar, but what about what I did to you? I’m the one who collared you. Do you want to punish me?”

A wry grin quirked his mouth. “Do you want to be punished?”

“I do,” she whispered.

“How?” His voice came out like a growl.

It reminded her of how he’d sounded when he’d told her to say his name earlier. The demand in his tone had been so thrilling. She wanted to hear it again.

She gave him a coy smile. “I’ll let you make one command of me. Tell me one thing to do to make up for my previous misdeeds, and I’ll do it now.”

“Anything?”

She stepped closer, angled her head higher. “Anything.”

His throat bobbed. Silence stretched between them before he managed to speak. “Undress for me.”

That same thrill tore through her. All she could manage in reply was a nod.

Slowly, he backed away from her and sat at the edge of the bed. She stood before him, and a flicker of apprehension moved over his face. “Is this all right?” he asked, voice soft. He reached for her, softly touching her arm as if to tell her she didn’t have to do this.

His hesitation warmed her heart, but it also filled her with the slightest self-consciousness. Still, she wanted to do this. Needed to. Her heart thundered in her chest. “Yes.”

With a nod, he pulled his hand away and sat back, his posture easing.

With trembling hands, she undid the tie at her waist and let her robe fall open. She watched his face as his eyes wandered over the length of her chemise. His lips parted as she slowly let the robe fall from her shoulders. Then she dragged the top of her chemise down her shoulders, slipping her arms through and freeing them, before baring her breasts. Her moves weren’t elegant or seductive, but it didn’t matter. Teryn watched her with such rapt attention, his gaze heavy with desire, that she felt like the most beautiful, alluring figure in the world. She tugged her chemise the rest of the way down and let it fall at her feet.

Teryn bit his bottom lip as he looked her over, then his gaze rested on hers. “Can I touch you?”

She shuddered at the question. “Please.”

He reached for her with gentle hands, bracketing her hips with his palms. He pulled her closer to where he sat at the edge of the bed until she was standing between his legs. Their heights weren’t so different with him sitting, and for once she stood slightly above him. He lifted his chin and she tasted his lips, a slow and languorous kiss. When they separated, he brought his mouth to her neck. Then her upper chest. With his tongue, he explored the arched curve of her breast. She released a soft cry as his tongue skated over her sensitive peak. His hands tightened on her hips at the sound.

Her desire grew tenfold, at the pressure of his palms, the pleasure he painted with his tongue. It made her knees weak. Giving in, she dropped herself into his lap, straddling his hips. Hips that were annoyingly still clothed.

He tensed beneath her, his hands roving along her upper back then drifting down, down, curving around her bottom. She pressed her mouth to his again, and he tugged her tighter to him. Then, in a swift move, he flipped her onto her back. The soft velvet blankets contrasted Teryn’s hard angles, the stiff fabric of his trousers. Trousers that were straining against his desire in obvious ways.

“Teryn,” she whispered against his mouth. “I want more of you.”

“How much more?”

“All of you. I told you, I don’t want to wait.”

He pulled back slightly, hovering over her. “Are you sure?”

“You don’t want to waste a single moment between us. I don’t either.” With that, she slid her hand down his chest to the waistband of his trousers, tucking her fingertips just beneath the fabric. He groaned, then shifted to the side to undo his trousers’ buttons, freeing himself at last. She didn’t think her heart could beat any faster, but it nearly shot from her chest as she explored him with her palms. He did the same to her, feeling the parts of her he hadn’t touched yet. They held each other’s eyes, coaxing sounds from each other, testing which touches made the other shudder, which had them arching into each other for more.

Then finally, when Cora didn’t think she could take another second of the beautiful torment they teased each other with, she shifted more firmly beneath him, and let him settle fully over her.

They paused and exchanged a tender kiss. “I love you,” Teryn said when their lips parted.

“I love you,” Cora echoed back.

Then Teryn seated himself fully inside her. Cora gasped at the fullness, the rightness, the euphoria that thrummed through her as their hips began to move. She’d never felt this before. Sure, she’d taken lovers when she’d lived with the Forest People, but it was nothing like this. Nothing like the connection between her heart and Teryn’s. Nothing like the emotion that tore through her as they quickened their pace, reading each other’s bodies, movements, signals, as if they were speaking a brand-new language.

Teryn gripped her hand, pressing into the blankets beneath them, an anchor to reality as her euphoria grew. Heat continued to build at her core, growing hotter and hotter, even as the thrust of their hips sated it. She wanted more. More. Again and again.

Finally, she crested the wave of pleasure, feeling it tear through her, coursing through every inch of her body, her soul. Her eyes watered with the force of it. The promise of it.

Teryn pressed his mouth to hers once more. “I love you,” he said, voice strangled. “I love you so much, Cora.”

The words drove her over the edge, release shuddering through her. Teryn found his next, a wave that chased her own, that danced with it. That rose and calmed with it.

They remained entangled, sweat soaked and spent for minutes on end, neither speaking as they caught their breath, communicating with wordless smiles. Teryn brushed the hair away from her brow. When they finally managed to separate, it was only to rearrange themselves. Teryn reclined on his back while Cora draped herself over him, her head cradled against his chest. She closed her eyes and gave in to a moment of rest, lulled by the sound of his heart.