“Yes. Do you mind?”
“At the moment, yes.”
He pulled the shirt over her head, then took a moment just to look at her. His eyes had gone that impossible, brilliant aquamarine. “You're so beautiful.”
“So are you.” She traced the planes of his chest, careful around the bruised ribs. “Does this hurt?”
“I don't feel anything but you.” He caught her hand and pressed a kiss onto her palm. “But if you want to slow down?—”
“Brandon.” She pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips, and his hands came up to span her waist instinctively. “Please stop talking.”
His laugh was breathless. “When did you become so bossy?”
“I already told you—when I realized how close I came to losing you.”
His eyes softened, his gaze penetrating her very soul. She wanted him to look at her like that forever.
“I love you.”
The words made her chest ache in the best way. She leaned down and kissed him, slow and deep, feeling the bond thrum between them, connecting, amplifying, making every touch feel like it was echoing through both of them.
Brandon's hands slid up her sides, thumbs brushingthe underside of her breasts, and Muriel gasped into his mouth. Through the bond, she felt his pleasure at her reaction, felt it feed back to her and double.
“It’s the bond,” he said between kisses. “No more walls between us. We can feel what the other feels.”
“I feel your pleasure. You feel mine.”
“Yeah.”
His hands were everywhere now—her waist, her hips, the curve of her back.
All at the same time.
Magic swirled around them and pulsed between them, each touch magnifying and multiplying. She scraped her nails against his scalp, imagining all the places she wanted to touch, and just that quickly, it was if she was.
“Quick learner,” Brandon murmured against her lips.
She rocked against him experimentally, and his answering growl was deeply satisfying. She could feel exactly what that did to him. His control was hanging by a thread.
“Muriel.” His voice was strained. “If you keep doing that, I'm not going to last.”
“Then don't.” She did it again, and his hands tightened on her hips. “No more holding back. We’re mated, remember?”
Something in his expression shifted. Restraint gave way to need. He flipped them smoothly, settlingbetween her thighs. The kiss that followed was pure heat.
His hand found its way between them, his eyes shining with approval when he found her slick and ready. He used those talented, truly magical fingers to bring her to an embarrassingly quick climax.
Before she’d even come down, he slid smoothly inside her, seating himself so deep it was impossible to tell where he left off and she began.
Muriel gasped. Not just at the physical sensation of exquisite fullness, but at the rush of raw, unfiltered emotion that flooded her at the same time. The bond blazed so bright Muriel felt it like a living fire wrapped around them both.
He really had been holding back, keeping his magic in check.
“Okay?” Brandon's voice was rough, his control clearly barely holding.
“More than okay.” She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper. “Move. Please.”
He did.