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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

BELLE

T he door to the castle's bedroom clicked shut, leaving me alone with him at last. We'd decided to stay a few days at the Summer Castle to have a proper honeymoon. Though it was mostly the nights I was interested in.

Adom turned to me, his golden eyes fierce, soft, and everything in between. He reached for me. His large hands cradled my face. He looked down at me in the way that had made my heart first skip a beat.

How could I have doubted he'd mistake me for Charlotte? How could I have believed he would remain duty bound to her? Not when that spark in his eyes told me I was his world.

His lips hovered close, so close to mine. I wanted to fall into the moment, into him. But something wasn't quite right.

“What’s wrong?” Of course, he'd sense something was off. He paid as much attention to me as I paid to my stitching.

I managed a small, apologetic smile, even as my heart pounded. There was an unspoken pact between us. We were going to be completely honest with each other from now on.

“I’m sorry… I’m just still getting used to this—this version of you.”

His hands lowered from my face. His head dipped to look down between us at the robe that was already coming undone. He was completely hairless. No fur in sight, even on his chest. Had I developed a fur fetish?

"A fur fetish?" he asked.

Had I said that out loud? By the look of his quizzically raised brow, I had.

"Do you not like the way that I look?"

"You look great. Handsome. Strong. Smooth." I was running out of descriptors. “It’s not that I don’t… find you attractive in your skin. It’s just…I just… miss the fur.”

"You miss the fur?"

“Am I perverted for finding you sexier as a beast?”

For a heartbeat, there was only silence. Then he laughed—a deep, rumbling sound that sent a delicious shudder across my shoulder blades.

Adom tilted his forehead against mine, his closeness grounding me. “You can have me any way you want me, little sphinx.”

He tore the robe off. The man really was well made. Every line and muscle carved as though Solara had fashioned him from a blazing star. His broad, powerful shoulders gave way to a chest that rose and fell with steady, self-assured confidence. His bronze skin bore faint scars from battles fought and survived. Each ridge of his abdomen spoke of endurance and perseverance. Then the air around him began to shift.

The transformation was slow, deliberate. It was like watching raw power in motion—the ripple of muscles, the elongation of his frame as his human features melted away. The sinewy muscles beneath his bronze skin rippled as dark fur spread across his chest. His face elongated, the sharpness of his jaw softening into a beastly muzzle. His claws extended, sleek and sharp. His mane—that wild, untamed cascade of bronze, gold, and brown—remained the same regal halo around his face.

“Adom.”

I leaned closer, my nose brushing against his fur, and I felt his warmth seep into me. His deep rumble of contentment vibrated against my palm. This was him, the beast-man I had fallen in love with. I would take him any way I could get him. But I loved him in this form the most.

With a swipe of his claw, he cut the fabric of my torn gown. My wings came free. "When we're alone, do not hide these from me."

"You show me what I like. I'll show you what you like."

I fluttered my wings and got the exact response I'd been hoping for. His nose brushed the edge of my wing. He inhaled deeply. The sound of his breath was both a claim and a caress. Then he licked the tip and made my whole body clench.

"Can I fuck you now?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

His lips curved into a wicked grin, his voice thick with authority. “On the bed.”

Heat shot through me, but I didn’t hesitate. I did as I was told. Just like any girl would who had common sense, knowing she was about to bang a beast.

Shadows flickered like a living audience to the moment unfolding between us. The bed beneath me was soft, its sheets a velvety cocoon that cradled my trembling body. Adom loomed above me, his beastly form a perfect blend of power and grace, his amber eyes glowing with hunger.

His clawed hands slid along my thighs, parting them with a tenderness that belied the raw energy radiating from him. I melted beneath his touch, gasping as his furred chest brushed against my bare skin.

His breath was hot against my neck. His lips grazed the sensitive curve where my shoulder met my wing. My fingers curled into the sheets as he pressed a kiss there, his sharp teeth teasing the edge of pain and pleasure.

“Adom…”

His massive hand slid between my thighs. The heat pooling there was making my entire body feverish. Adom's deep rumble of satisfaction vibrated through me when he found just how ready I was.

I felt the blunt heat of him press against my entrance. My body arched instinctively as he teased me, the head of his cock rubbing against my slick folds. He held himself there for a moment, his claws digging into the sheets on either side of me as he fought for control.

“Please, Adom.”

That was all he needed. He thrust forward, his thick length stretching me in a single, powerful motion. I cried out. My wings sprang open like my core as he filled me completely, his massive body pinning me to the bed. The pleasure was overwhelming, a delicious ache that consumed every part of me.

His hips pulled back, only to surge forward again, harder, faster. Each thrust drove me higher. The intensity of his movements stole my breath. His claws dug into my hips, holding me in place as he took me with wild abandon, his growls mingling with my cries of pleasure.

The bed creaked beneath us. The rhythm of his thrusts shook the furniture. My wings flared wide, the sensation of the silken sheets against them amplifying the fire building within me. My nails raked across his back, drawing a roar from him that only spurred him on.

“Adom,” I gasped, my voice breaking as the tension in my body coiled tighter, ready to snap. “I’m close…”

“Wait for me,” he commanded, his voice feral.

His hips slammed into mine, each thrust driving me closer. I held on for dear life, waiting for him like I'd been told to do. The slight smirk on his face told me he was trying to hold out, trying to make it last. But our bodies had different plans.

I saw the moment he lost control. He grabbed my hand, wrapping his fingers with mine as we both leaped together. And then we shattered. My body convulsed around him as his climax crashed over me.

His release filled me in hot, pulsing waves. The force of it left us both trembling. His massive body collapsed over mine as we sank into the bed, our breaths mingling in the heated air.

There was only the sound of our breathing. The faint hum of my fluttering wings as they slowly stilled. He lifted his head, his gaze softening as he looked at me, his beastly features utterly tender.

I gave him a self-satisfied smile. "Hey."

"Hmmm?" It was a more deep purr than a question.

"I think I'm gonna run from you again tomorrow."

"You won't get past the door."

"Yes. I think it's an excellent plan too."

He chuckled, reaching out an arm and pulling me into him. I came willingly, like I always would. He moved my hair from the nape of my neck. Glancing at me with a half-lidded gaze, he ran his tongue over his canine, then looked pointedly at my collarbone.

My breath hitched as I came to understand what he wanted. I gave him him nod. He was on me before my chin dipped to my chest.

His incisors pierced my skin, breaking flesh and finding the sap that was my life's blood. I expected pain from his bite, and there was some. But it was muted next to the overwhelming pleasure. My channel clenched as he pulled at the place he marked me. I pressed my thighs together but got no relief as my body vibrated from his claiming.

“You’re mine now,” he said, his voice a low, satisfied rumble.

My fingers tangled in the fur of his mane. “And you’re mine.”

We stayed like that, tangled in each other, the world, the suns and the moons beyond the room fading away.