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chest and patted him roughly on the shoulder. “Look!”

“Very good, dove.”

The ancestors save him, he’d never seen anything more beautiful

than the smile on his chosen’s face. His self-control dangled by a fraying

thread, his cock rock hard and throbbing.

“I want to do it again.”

Covering her palm with his own, he extinguished the flare. “Later.”

He slid his hands beneath her backside, lifting her from his lap to place

her atop his desk. “Much later.”

Settling between her thighs, he wound and arm around her waist,

splaying his fingers against the small of her back to pull her to him. Ivy

stared back at him, her green eyes darkening with desire as she reached

up to caress the curve of his jaw.

“Say yes.” It sounded more like a demand than the plea he meant it

as, but he was too far gone, too lost in her already. “Say yes, Ivy.”

The smirk she gave him was downright wicked as she stretched up

to draw her tongue across his lips. “I never said no.”

Soft and pliable, she leaned into him, her lips slanting over his as she

released a deep, throaty moan that made his cock ache from within the

confines of his pants. Sliding his free hand through her long, silky hair,

he cradled the back of her head, holding her immobile as he delved

inside her mouth, caressing every inch with his tongue. Her arms came

around his neck, pulling him closer, her tongue sliding and twisting

around his, dueling in an erotic struggle for dominance.

When breathing became imperative, he broke the kiss, panting for

breath as he skimmed his lips along the delicate curve of her jaw. “You

are so beautiful,” he breathed against the shell of her ear before nipping

the lobe between his teeth. “You can’t imagine how much I want you.”

The sweet scent of hollygrass filled his airways and made his head

spin. He’d always enjoyed the smell, but he’d never found it particularly

erotic until now. The oils from her recent bath saturated her hair, her

skin, mixing with her own, unique scent, and each inhalation flooded

him with desire.

He needed her. Not just in that moment, not just for the pleasure her

body could bring him. He needed her in a way that scared him. Not

many of his race, not even the elders, had been granted the gift of a

soulmate, and Kai had never expected to be one of the lucky few. When

Ivy had walked into his life, she’d made him believe all over again in

fate, love, and happy endings. She’d given him purpose, direction, and

he’d spend eternity proving himself worthy of her.

Sliding her off the desk, he spun her quickly, pressing her hips into

the edge of the wood as he blanketed her from behind. “I’ve waited so

very long for you, Ivy Dalton.” Brushing her hair to the side, he

whispered his lips across her nape. “It’s your choice, but tell me now. Do

you want this?”

“Yes,” she breathed, her lithe body shuddering as she splayed her

hands out across the desk. “Yes, Kai.”

He could live another ten thousand years and never tire of hearing

his name on her lips. She’d never want for anything, not if it was within

his power to give it to her. Whatever she asked for, whatever she desired,

he’d make it his duty to provide it. If she told him she wanted an island

all to herself, he’d raze the mountains of the north to give it to her.

Driven by instinct and lust, Kai slipped his hands beneath her tunic,

caressing the skin that stretched across her belly. “So soft.” One hand slid

higher, cupping the heavy swell of her breast as he leaned into his mate,

grinding his erection against her backside. “So incredibly soft. So warm.”

He guided his other hand lower, dipping inside the waistband of her

tights, and teased his fingers over her hairless mound. Ivy trembled

against him, her head tossed back on his shoulder, whimpers and moans

spilling from her lips. Kai had never heard a sound so sweet, and

knowing they were only for him almost dropped him to his knees.

Her fingers gripped at the flat surface of the desk, and she arched her

hips, encouraging his exploration. Never in four thousand years had he

wanted someone as much as he did Ivy. His cock throbbed painfully, and

his balls squeezed tight with pressure, but all he could think about was

bringing his mate as much pleasure as possible.

Gripping her jaw, he turned her head to the side, claiming her mouth

in a feral kiss as he lowered his hand deeper into the stretchy fabric of

her tights. “Make no mistake,” he said, his voice filled with gravel. “One

night with you will never enough for me. You are mine, dove, and I

protect what is mine.”

A sweet moan bubbled through her lips when he rolled her pebbled

nipple between thumb and forefinger, pinching the hard nub with

increasing pressure. Bucking in his arms, she rubbed her ass against his

aching groin, her skin flushed with excitement and pleasure. Arching

one arm around his neck, she gripped his hair, pulling him into another

heated kiss, biting, sucking, and licking at his mouth. Her eager

response, the undulation of her lithe body, snapped any remaining

semblance of his self-control.

Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead against her temple, his

breaths coming in short bursts as he fingered the soft, bare flesh of her

crease. Sliding his finger down her cleft, he parted her folds, cursing

when slick, wet heat surrounded his digit, his index finger gliding easily

along the folds of her drenched pussy. The scent of her arousal filled the

air, invading his senses and making his mouth water.

Removing his hand, he fisted the fabric of her tights in both hands,

jerking them down her thighs so that they bunched around her knees.

He could have used his magic, had them both naked in a matter of

seconds, but he wanted to take his time with her, savor every moment.

Nudging her shoulder, he eased her around to face him, lifting her

easily onto the desk again. Slowly, letting the tension build, he unlaced

her boots and slid them off her feet, dropping each one to the floor where

they landed with muffled thuds.

“Kai.” She murmured his name, squirming on the desktop to pull her

tunic off over her head. “Kai, please.”

Kai shook his head, still moving with painstaking slowness as he

peeled her leggings off and tossed him over his shoulder. May the

ancestors have mercy on him. He wanted to sink into her welcoming

heat, fill her so completely that it drove the thought of every other male

from her mind until only he remained.

“Quiet now, dove” he whispered, urging her knees wider to reveal

the soft, glistening flesh between her thighs.

Ivy cried out, her voice raw and raspy when he pressed the pad of his

thumb to her swollen clit, drawing small, languid circles. She called his

name again, louder this time, reaching for him with her right hand. Her

needful moans quieted into frustrated whimpers when he caught her

wrist, pressing her arm back down to the surface of the desk.

“Damn it, Kai!”

With a strangled laugh, he bent over her, sucking her bottom lip

between his teeth and tugging at it until she groaned. With his thumb

still pressed against the bundle of nerves between the apex of her thighs,

he inserted two digits into her quivering entrance, entering her in slow

increments.

“Is this what you want, dove?”

In answer, Ivy rocked her hips, bowing up from the shiny wood to

press closer to his hand. She was so responsive, so beautiful in her

passion. He didn’t deserve her, probably never would, but he couldn’t

let her go. He needed her too much.

“Yes,” she hissed. “More.”

Kai pushed deeper, driving his fingers faster while he nibbled across

her collarbones and up the smooth curve of her throat. He brushed his

lips against her jaw, then over her flushed cheek before finally claiming

her panting mouth. Thrusting his tongue between her lips, he mimicked

the glide of his fingers, seeking and exploring.

Breaking the kiss, he trailed his lips down the column of her neck and

back down to her heaving breasts. Catching her small, copper-colored

nipple between his teeth, he tugged gently, groaning when she cried out

his name. His dick ached, throbbing painfully against the hard edge of

the desk, and his pulse sped, pounding up into his throat.

“Let go,” he urged. “Give me everything, dove.”

Her curvy frame tensed and quivered as she clenched around his

fingers. Her mouth opened and closed, working soundlessly, and she

arched her neck as a rush of moisture slicked Kai’s hand.

Carefully, Kai removed his fingers and lifted her from the desk,

gathering her against his chest where she rested limply. “Thank you,” he

whispered humbly, nuzzling against her temple.

“I think that’s my line.” She purred, a sexy hum in the back of her

throat, and bowed up to scrape her teeth down the side of his neck.

“We’re not finished.”

Catching her hand when she reached for his erection, he brought it to

his lips and brushed a kiss over her fingertips. “I don’t think I’ll ever be

finished with you, dove.”

With his mate sated and his dick throbbing, he couldn’t wait any

longer. Mumbling a few carefully chosen words, he removed his own

clothing and transported them back to his quarters, rolling beneath Ivy

when they landed in the center of his bed.

Her quick intake of breath turned into a husky moan when his naked

length slid between her folds. Straddling his hips, she hovered over him,

reaching between their sweat-dampened bodies to grip his cock. Without

words, she positioned the crown at her quivering entrance and lowered

over him.

As her warm, wet walls surrounded him, gripping his rigid flesh, Kai

fisted his hands in the sheets and groaned. She burned him from the

inside out, searing away the man he’d been and rebuilding him into

someone new, someone better. Planting her hands on his chest, she

stared down at him, her hair falling around her face in golden sheets.

Held captive by the intensity of her stare, Kai couldn’t close his eyes,

couldn’t look away.

Rising and falling, Ivy moved in long, unhurried glides, but each

sensual roll of her hips drove him closer to the brink. Kai stroked her

arms, her hips, the tops of her thighs, touching every inch of bare skin he

could reach. As her tempo increased, so did his need for her, and he

reared up from the mattress, wrapping her in his arms as he drove up

into her welcoming heat.

Electricity zipped along his spine, and his muscles tightened,

heralding his impending climax. Ivy’s cries swelled in volume, ringing

throughout the room, and she clutched his shoulders, meeting him

thrust for thrust.

His orgasm took him by surprise, pitching him under a wave of

intense pleasure, and he chanted his mate’s name as he spent himself

within her clenching depths.

They clung to each other for a long time, neither of them speaking as

they struggled to catch their breath. Closing his eyes, Kai buried his face

against the side of Ivy’s neck, breathing in her sweet scent as she combed

her fingers through his hair.

“We should probably get cleaned up,” she said after a while, but she

made no attempt to move.

“Would you like me to start the bath water?”

“Only if you’ll join me.”

The smile in her voice brought a contented sigh to his lips, and he

held her a little tighter. “Wherever you lead, I will follow.”

The next morning dawned gray and dreary. Winds blew in from the

north, and dark clouds gathered across the sky to blot out the sun. Rain

battered against the windowpanes, obscuring the view into the

courtyard below.

With only a silken gray sheet wrapped around her torso, Ivy leaned

against the wall in Kai’s bedroom, smiling to herself as she watched the

storm outside rage through the city. She hadn’t meant to fall into bed

with him so soon, but she didn’t regret it. Stars, she’d never be able to

look at any library the same way again.

A warm wall of muscle pressed against her back, and strong,

protective arms slipped around her waist. “Good morning, dove,” Kai

whispered against the shell of her ear. “Are you hungry?”

Snuggling deeper into his embrace, she rested her head against his

shoulder and sighed contentedly. She felt weightless, completely

satisfied to stay there in his arms for the rest of the day.

“Not really.”

The pull to be near her mate had intensified during the night,

morphing into an almost painful need. She’d never been that kind of

person, never needed a man for more than a single night of mutual

release. Hell, she’d been so focused on her career, she hadn’t even
wanted