62

“Be my bride,” I murmured. “I love you, stay with me.”

She stilled, and even my heart paused as I waited for her reply.

“Be with me.” I tried again. “Let me turn you. Say you’ll stay. It’s the greatest thing I can ever offer you. The only gift I have to give. And I want to give it to you.”

Fear that she might refuse seized me, and I kissed her with fervor, stroking my hands over her warm skin, luxuriating in the softness of her.

Her gaze met mine, her eyes gleaming.

“I’m human,” she whispered. “And there are so many things I don’t want to forget. My mother, not least of them.” She shook her head then focused on me again. “But I’ll be okay. And we have this. We have now.”

She tugged me back toward her and took my mouth again, her kiss almost painful as she pressed her blunt teeth against my lip.

My heart was heavy in my chest, but I could try again. I could show her my love this way. Prove myself, and I could talk to her properly after. Explain it all. Make it more than a desperate man blurting declarations in the midst of passion.

I reached underneath her and unhooked her bra before pushing it over her breasts and out of the way. I took one of her nipples in my mouth, then the other, sucking gently until I elicited soft sounds of pleasure from her. Her thighs moved beneath me, like she was trying to create the friction she needed all by herself.

“What are you doing?” I murmured as I cupped my hand between her legs.

“Making it feel nice,” she whispered back.

“Getting a head start?” I lifted an eyebrow. “Two can play at that game.”

I lifted myself away from her so she was aware of all of my movements, and I stroked my palm over the length of my shaft. It almost hurt. I wanted her touch, her hand, but her eyes widened as I teased us both.

I slipped my button free and unfastened the zipper, groaning as my cock had room to thicken and grow.

Leia pushed at me. “On your back, Nic.”

I rolled over, my hands clasped beneath my head, and she settled between my thighs. “Hmm. I like this view.” I looked down my body and met her gaze before she pushed my pants down my thighs and freed my cock completely.

“I quite like this view too.” She bent over me, her soft hair tickling my skin where it touched me, and I held my breath in my chest as her tongue flicked out, drifting over the tip of my cock. She licked the head a little, and I fought not to lift my hips toward her, not to tug on her hair, not to beg for more.

Instead, I hissed my satisfaction and murmured soft words of encouragement. I wanted this. She made me feel worshiped as she ran her tongue up my shaft and cupped my balls in her palms.

“Please, Leia.” I lifted my hips a fraction—an offering, not a demand.

She looked at me again, meeting my gaze as she opened her mouth, and I released a groan as she took my cock inside it. So slowly it was the most exquisite torture. She bobbed her head, taking more of me.

This woman could make me lose control. I reached down and tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear. Such soft hair. Soft skin, too. And she was mine.

“I want to touch you. I want to be inside you, Leia.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but it was more difficult than I’d anticipated as I continued to watch her lips on me.

She drew away and I closed my eyes to listen to the rustle of fabric as she removed her pants, the removal of sight making the anticipation even sweeter. Then she placed a hand on my chest and bent forward, her hair tickling against my face and neck this time before she kissed me.

I flicked my tongue against her lips and lifted my hips toward her, not offering anymore. Begging. My cock nudged against her entrance, and she was wet for me. Ready.

My mate was wet for me, and I’d never felt more alive, more powerful. She rested back just a little, and her body stretched around me, welcoming me inside her. I held still, letting her set the pace, waiting as she lifted up and lowered back down, taking more of me each time.

She closed her eyes, her face radiant as she turned it toward the sky like she was seeking a moonbeam. I pressed my palms over her breasts, strumming over her nipples with my thumbs, and she sank lower on me, until I was buried in her.

Then she rose up and sank back down, grinding against me, finding her pleasure, and I met her, stroking the inside of her until she moaned and increased her speed, searching for something only I could give her—something that only I had ever given her.

I grasped her hips to help her, lifting her up and down my length until her mouth dropped open and I wanted to swallow her moans. Her warm body pulsed around me, and her movements froze as she held herself, shuddering through her orgasm.

“Come for me, Nic,” she whispered, and I began to move again, faster and faster until she clenched around me again and my balls tightened, drawing up to my body before I cried out my release.

She flopped forward against my chest, and I stroked her hair away from her face as her breathing slowed. I stayed inside her because I liked to be there, joined to her.

“We have now, right?” Her words were soft, and I nodded.

We had now, but I wanted so much more.