"I am yours," she said, pumping her sweet hips in a faster tempo. "And you are mine."
He curled his hands around her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh. "Yes, Sienna. Show me."
The air resonated with a quivering energy. The same he'd felt among the standing stones in the heart of Silvane Forest. Sienna's eyes glimmered, the green shimmering with ethereal sparks of gold, a fiery aura licking around her. She seemed unaware, for she continued to stare at him and pounded her hips, the energy building and vibrating through him. He gripped her harder and lifted his pelvis, thrusting up on each downward plunge of her perfect ass.
Lifting to a sitting position, he took one pink nipple into his mouth and suckled on a groan. She clenched her fingers in his hair, stinging his scalp, and screamed, her inner walls pulsing while she rocked her pelvis in little circles. He banded his arms around her waist to keep her still and drove his cock with one final thrust, groaning as he spilled his seed inside of her.
He found the punctures in her throat which he hadn't yet sealed and opened his mouth to suck her essence inside of him again. Like honey from the gods. He wanted more of this woman, so much more. She mewled little moans as she came down, and he licked the puncture to seal the wound closed.
Her blood coursed and mingled with his, lighting him up inside, filling him with potent energy and strength. He reveled in the euphoric sensation, his heart so full, as she looked down and swept her mouth across his, lips trembling.
"What is it, sweetheart?" he whispered. The emotions shattering across her face spoke of too much at once. He couldn't make out their meaning.
"I'm afraid to lose you again."
He frowned, then raised up and rolled with her, flipping her to her back. Caging her face between his palms, he settled his weight on top of her.
"Afraid to lose me?" he asked with a questioning smile. "I think you have that the other way around."
A tear slipped down one cheek. "I didn't want to leave you behind. Not when I'd just found you."
"Found me?" He brushed a thumb high across her cheekbone, soothing.
She stared at him, her emotions still running high, flitting across her face too fast for him to decipher. But one he knew well, and that was fear. He swept in, ghosting his lips over hers then settling deeper, melting her resolve in one, heart-stealing kiss. When he pulled away, her eyes had softened.
"Now tell me what you mean. Found me how?"
She licked her lips, her lashes dropping to brush cream-white cheeks.
"Tell me," he commanded in the voice he'd used during sex, the one that made her obey him.
She licked her lips again then finally spoke, the words rolling out fast. "Remember when I told you I used to dream about you?"
"Yes."
"That wasn't an exaggeration. From the night after I met you, you've been haunting me. Or I should say, the image of you. I thought it just a fancy. Nothing more than an infatuation. But it was a lie."
All the while she spoke, Nikolai moved one hand down her shoulder and trailed his fingers lightly up and down the side of her ribcage, comforting strokes to keep her going. But he did not interrupt her. And she did not look at him. Taking a deep breath, she went on.
"But then you showed up in the flesh, and suddenly my world changed. No, that's not right either. I changed. After the first time you drank from me, I wanted something I'd never wanted before. I'd been content to live here by myself with the hart wolves-and now I don't know what to think of them-but regardless I wanted more. And you were the ‘more' I wanted … that I still want. Not just a lover for now or for a few months, but for always." Having said her piece, she let out a trembling breath, still avoiding eye contact.
"Sienna," he said gently, "look at me."
She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Look at me," he commanded again.
She relented. The vulnerability shining back at him-soft and fragile and precious-stole what was left of his heart.
"Now it's my turn," he informed her in similar fashion that she'd done earlier before she climbed on top of him and rode him like a seasoned seductress. "Firstly, we're going to need to have a talk about your hart wolves. For they aren't just wolves now, are they?" She opened her mouth to speak, but he laid a finger on her lips with a short shake of the head. "I know they've been your protectors for some time."
He moved his trailing fingers to her throat, gliding the pads of his fingers softly over her delicate collarbone, lingering at her pulse. His fingers were gentle but he knew the look in his eyes was not, for putting her safety in the hands of anyone but himself made him want to snarl and bite.