Grayson
The fire had died down to glowing coals, but the heat between us only burned hotter.
Amara lay curled against my chest, her breathing shallow, heart fluttering like a hummingbird against my ribs. Her skin was still flushed from our earlier kiss—her scent all over me, tangled with pine smoke, arousal, and moonlight. Kael prowled beneath my skin, possessive, restless, urging me to take her. To claim her.
Not yet, I warned him. She needs time.
But time was a luxury I didn't want. Not when she looked at me like that. Not when she moaned into my mouth like she had earlier—hot, desperate, open. Her body had melted into mine, legs parted as if begging for more. Her arousal soaked my jeans, and even now I could still feel the sticky heat of her against my thigh.
Kael growled. She wants us. She's ready. Why wait?
Because if I took her now—touched her the way I wanted to—I might never let her go.
I watched the rise and fall of her chest. Her lips were parted, her lashes fluttering as if in a dream. Sera must be stirring. I could feel her wolf brushing against mine, playful and eager.
I lowered my head, brushing my nose along her temple, just breathing her in. She whimpered softly, shifting closer. Her thigh slid between mine. I hissed through my teeth.
She's not Cassian's. Never was.
I'd known it the second I saw her on that stone. Cassian's mark hadn't taken. He'd rejected her—but the bond was already fraying before then. Fated mates didn't feel like that. Not like obligation. Not like pain.
But with Amara? Even from a distance, the bond sang.
And when our eyes met—
It roared.
I traced the length of her spine through the hoodie—my hoodie—feeling the tremble that lingered just beneath her skin. She was soft and strong, vulnerable and volatile. She made me feel alive. Like the darkness inside me could be turned into something sacred just by touching her.
I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly, steadying the war raging within me. Don't rush her, I reminded myself. Don't destroy what you haven't even had the chance to build.
But Goddess… the things I wanted to do to her.
Amara
I woke to warmth. A low, grounding hum. My cheek pressed against his chest, his arm draped possessively over my waist.
Grayson.
For a moment, I didn't move. Just… let myself feel. The soft brush of his thumb over my hip. The rise and fall of his chest beneath my palm. The scent of him—earth and ember and something wholly male. My thighs were slick with want, my core throbbing with the memory of his hands, his voice, his tongue tracing filthy promises across my skin.
Sera was practically purring.
Wake him. Taste him. Ride him until neither of you can breathe.
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at her brazenness.
But I wasn't far behind.
I tilted my face up, just enough to see him. His dark lashes fanned across his cheeks, and his mouth—Goddess, that mouth—was parted slightly, lips full, pink, and soft. My eyes trailed down to the sharp edge of his jaw, the tattoos peeking out from beneath the collar of his hoodie.
He was still hard. Pressed against my stomach. I could feel the outline of him. Thick. Hot. Pulsing.
I swallowed.
Could I…?
My fingers drifted under the hem of his hoodie—his hoodie that now hung loosely on his frame—and traced over the ridges of his abs, feeling the heat of his bare skin. He didn't stir. I lowered my mouth to his throat, brushing my lips along his skin. A low growl rumbled from his chest.
"Careful," he rasped, voice wrecked from sleep. "You're playing with fire, little Luna."
I smirked. "Maybe I want to get burned."
His eyes snapped open—silver and shadow. And in a blur, I was beneath him, wrists pinned above my head, his hips wedged between my thighs. His cock pressed hot and heavy against my core through the fabric.
"You don't know what you're asking for," he growled, his nose brushing mine.
"I think I do."
Grayson stared down at me, chest rising and falling in short, controlled bursts. Then he leaned in, dragging his lips over my jaw, to my throat, over the pulse fluttering beneath my skin.
"You want me to mark you?" he whispered. "Make you mine? You think you're ready for that?"
"Yes," I breathed.
His teeth grazed my skin. "Not yet. But soon. And when I do, Amara…" He met my eyes, deadly serious. "You'll beg for mercy—and I won't give it."
I shuddered. And I smiled.
Because I didn't want mercy.
I wanted him.
Grayson
Her smile undid me.
I dove into her lips again, letting Kael howl in triumph in the back of my mind. My hands were greedy, mapping every inch of her beneath the hoodie. She arched against me, hips grinding, body pleading. But I didn't give in.
Not yet.
Instead, I licked into her mouth slowly, deliberately, coaxing moans and gasps that echoed through the cave like prayers. My fingers teased the edge of her thighs, brushing the wet heat between them. I growled at the sensation—she was soaked for me.
"You have no idea how hard it is not to take you right now," I breathed against her neck. "How badly I want to taste every inch of you. Worship you. Ruin you."
Her hips bucked.
"Then do it," she whispered. "Make me forget his name."
My chest tightened. There was no Cassian in this cave. Only me. Only us.
"I already have," I said, kissing her forehead.
And I would again. Over and over. Until my name was the only one she ever moaned.
We lay together in the quiet, but the tension between us burned like wildfire. Soon, I knew.
Soon, she'd be mine in every way.
And the world would know it.