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n*****

n~ LHARS ~

nLhars grasped at her, pulling her tight against him—too rough, he told himself. Be gentle. Show more than just the instinct to own her.

nBut… holy **… he wanted to possess her, to paint her with his scent, to declare her his to anyone—especially any male—who might ever so much as lay eyes on her.

nHis fingers dug into her soft skin and muscle with his desperation. But when he forced himself to release her, began to draw back, she whimpered and clutched at him, pulling him closer.

n”Don’t. Don’t let me go,” she whispered, clinging to his neck and pulling herself up to kiss his neck and whisper in his ear. “Please, Lhars. I need you.”

nA shudder rocked him from head to toe and that low, resonant call broke in his throat again. Kyelle gave a happy sob and took his mouth, and he was lost.

n”Please,” she whispered into his mouth. “Please, Lhars. I can’t wait.”

nHis control was already shredded, but when she arched her back as he rolled against her and he almost took her, his entire body went rigid.

n”Please.”

nShe trusted him, he realized suddenly.

nNo one had ever trusted him before.

n”Kyelle?” he breathed, pulling back just far enough to meet her eyes.

nShe hesitated, locking eyes with him, searching his gaze. “What is it?”

n”Are you certain? Absolutely certain?” he whispered, as vulnerable and open as a pup who’d lost his mother. He pleaded with her. Knew there was no strength in it. Hated himself for it. But… he had to ask. He needed her to quell the fear that kept rising in his throat to compete with his desire.

nHer brows pinched over her nose and she put both hands to his face. “Lhars… there isn’t a moment of doubt, not a whisper of it, in my mind. When I thought you weren’t coming back it threatened to break me. I cursed myself for a fool. I’m so sorry. I’m so s—!”

nBut Lhars could see the truth in her and his leash snapped. Fingers fisted in her hair, he pulled her head back and opened his mouth over her throat and Kyelle made that joyful laugh again, her hands sliding into his hair to hold him there as he sucked at her skin, his teeth a hairsbreadth from making her bleed.

nAnd he marveled because, far from shrinking away, Kyelle’s breath picked up and the raw musk of her desire peaked and she urged him on, bumping her hips into his, curling one leg around his waist to pull him closer.

n”Are you ready?” he rasped into the kiss, then danced with her tongue before she could answer.

n”Yes!” she gasped when he finally let her breathe.

nLhars groaned and his world imploded as he took hold of her throat with gentle teeth, then he slid one hand down to her lower back to adjust the angle of where they met, tilted his hips, and cried her name against her neck as he found her.

nHer nails pierced the skin of his back as he pressed into her, his entire body alive with sensation and joy as they arched and rolled—Kyelle’s skin pebbling—until he was seated in her to the hilt.

nShe cried out when he reached the limits within her, and he nearly came. He froze, one hand curled over her head, the other still at her back.

nHe forced himself to let go of her, kissing the indentations on her skin to soothe them as they lay there together, unmoving, twin breaths wheezing.

n”Are you okay?” he rasped, his voice ragged with desire and fear in equal measure.

n”Lhars… I’ve never been better,” she said and her voice broke.

nHe smelled her tears and pulled his head back, heart thumping. But he found her staring at him, tears in her eyes that searched his back and forth.

nShe put a hand to his face and shook her head. “I was so blind,” she breathed. “So blind. I’m so sorry I hurt you. I wish… I wish I could go back, Lhars. You’re mine. You’re mine!” She was fierce and sad and her words broke something open inside him.

nThe flames that had been roaring through his blood turned to lava—glittering hot and cold, churning and reaching.

n”Shit, Kyelle,” Lhars said through his teeth as he began to move within her again, but his eyes locked on hers.

nHer mouth dropped open, and she gripped his neck and shoulder, but her eyes were wide and never left his.

nLhars shook with inexpressible joy and with the overwhelming sensation of being one with her. As his thrusts became frantic and he began to call to her, she sobbed his name, gasping for air, clinging to him, pulling him closer.

n”Kyelle, I—”

n”Don’t stop, Lhars, please… Please!”

nHe gritted his teeth, holding on by a thread as her eyes rolled back in her head and she began to keen, her body tightening around him until he was certain he couldn’t hold back another second.

nOne fist gripping the furs next to her head, his arm became an iron bar. She curled her hand around it and held on. And yet, her skin was softer and more liquid with every second that his body turned to steel.

n”Mine!” he snarled and thrust into her, arching his back.

nKyelle half-sobbed, half-laughed his name. “Yes, Lhars—”

n”Only mine, Kyelle! You’re mine!”

n”Yes! I…” then her voice dissolved into wordless calls, each higher and more desperate than the one before until her fingers dug into his shoulders so her nails pierced his skin and she cried his name, her calls echoing from the chamber walls and ceiling. A heartbeat later, Lhars’ tumbled over the edge of that cliff with her.

nAnd as he did, something within him unfurled, an explosive flower opening to the sun of her. A piece of his heart broke free, twisting and curling, slicing its way out of his chest, but the flash of pain was immediately soothed because it found her and entwined with the piece of her that barreled out of her to find him.

nAs their bodies thrummed and shuddered, their hearts danced. Until the moment Lhars breathed her name again, then slumped over her, one hand curled over her head, his body covering hers as he panted into her neck.

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