by Celia Kyle
The party broke out in earnest, and Aurora was swallowed up in a warm sea of hugs, pats and congratulations. Somehow, she found herself with wine in her hand, surrounded by Dane and her brothers.
“One little detail has been bugging me,” Dane said.
“Just one?” Duval laughed.
“Yeah, well.” Dane raised his eyebrows at the myriad of things that could be puzzling him but turned to Aurora. “What do you think Abernathy was trying to tell you? What were those gestures about.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. He kept pointing to me, and then the sky. The best I can guess is that he was trying to tell me the culprits were above me. It’s the closest I can make out.”
“Makes about as much sense as anything,” Onyx said, reaching out to top off her glass.
“Anyway, after resurrecting Finch, it seems to make sense. It fits with his testimony, anyway.”
“I’m glad you brought that up, actually.” Rhys reached behind him and picked up a white box from the table. “A party thrown by Kelly Holloway might be a bit much for Mom and Dad, but she did send this for you.”
Aurora’s heart stopped. The box was light in her hand, and she passed her wine to Dane so she could hold it with proper reverence. Even knowing what was inside, she was afraid to open it. She shook lightly and then summoned up the courage to tug away the ribbon.
Inside, under a note in her mother’s beautiful script, was her great-grandmother’s shawl. The fine black lacework looked every bit as tight and fine as the day it had come into being. With trembling fingers, she picked up the note.
“Read it out loud,” Lock said.
Aurora tried but her voice seized in her throat. Her eyes were so wet, the words blurred. She handed it to Dane, who cleared his throat.
“To my Darling Pet,
To say that you have earned this wouldn’t do you full credit. Your road to this moment has been a long one, but it has been yours. The power for all this and more has been living inside you, waiting for permission to be free. You needed something bigger than this heirloom to call it forth. A reason to conjure that benefited others besides yourself. You are generous and bright, and you have made all the women in our line proud.
Mom.”
First one tear came, then another. Her brothers crowded around her and wrapped her in a tangle of affectionate arms. When they drew back, she was so overwhelmed with it all, she found herself charging up the steps to her room, shawl in hand. Only there, in her little haven, did she give over to crying in earnest.
“Tell me those are happy tears,” Dane said, pressing the door shut behind him.
“They are,” she sniffled.
He came very close to her, spreading the shawl wide between his fingertips. “This is beautiful.”
“I’ve always thought so.” They stood in a moment of admiration, and then he found her eyes.
“May I?”
With a nod, she turned toward the full-length mirror by her wardrobe and stood as straight as she could. As if placing ermine on the shoulders of a newly-throned queen, Dane settled the hallowed garment on Aurora’s waiting shoulders. It was the only article of black clothing she owned, and her red hair blazed against it.
“You look incredible,” he said.
“Thank you,” she mouthed, still at odds with her voice.
“You are incredible.”
His hands remained on her shoulders, and their eyes locked in the mirror. Reaching up, she brushed the hair back over her shoulder and offered her neck up to him. Bending until his breath warmed the perfect softness of her skin, his lips grazed along in a lingering line of kisses.
Her breath swelled inside her and she turned until their mouths found each other. What began gently soon gave way to a fuller passion. They hadn’t been together since that day on the beach, and so much had transpired to deepen what they shared.
Winding her arms up around his neck, she ran her fingers through the sandy blond field of his hair and deepened the kiss. His hands were firm on her back, and one slid up along her ribs, asking for an invitation with every brush. At last, it came to rest on her breast, and he began to knead her on to greater heights. Their mouths parted just enough for her to let out a whimper at his touch.
“Is this all right?”
“Yes,” she breathed. Then, just before his mouth could find hers again, she pulled back. “Dane, I need to tell you something.”
“Anything.”
“That night, when you got between me and all those daggers?”
“I vaguely remember,” he said with an ironic little smile.
“When the first one hit you, I felt it.” He shifted under her hands, and she made sure to hold his gaze. “I felt the knife in you like it had gotten me.”
Hope danced in his eyes, yet he waited for her to finish, to come to it on her own.
“Dane, it’s the bond. I’ve been hiding it from myself, but you were right from the first moment. I’m yours, and you’re mine. This is fate.”
“What are you saying, my love?”
“I’m saying I’m ready. Claim me. I want to be yours forever.”
“Are you sure?” That sweet hesitation lingered in his eyes. He was letting her take the lead, the way he always did, and it only made her more certain.
“My head has been telling me that a wolf and a necromancer can’t be fated, but my gut is saying it’s you. And I’m learning to trust my gut.”
They fell into each other like an open well. Knowing that the whole of their lives lay before them to enjoy each other, they were able to embrace without the hasty rush of clandestine lovers. Each article of clothing was gently pulled away as light fingers and tender lips explored the new territory.
At last, they settled on the bed. Curled in his arms, Aurora gasped lightly as Dane’s fingers began to fret around the edges of her. That warm, welcome tingle began to whir, and she pushed back against his hand, welcoming more of him into her. Every move stirred something new.
Reaching down, she felt how hard he was, and ran her hand along him, marveling that every inch of this belonged to her. Only her.
“Dane,” she whispered, “I want to lead.”
“Please.”
He lay on his back, offering himself up to her. She straddled him, drinking in the sight of his glorious body and guiding him to the very brink of her. How had she done this before? He was so big. Surely it would be too much.
As she settled down over him, she discovered how well they fit. Taking him into her was intense, but she took her time, savoring each new twinge and pressure. When he touched the point where she was deepest, she reached down and put her hands on his chest.
“Dane,” she said, ready to drown in the rich brown of his eyes. “I love you. More than I ever thought possible.”
“I’ve never had any choice but to love you,” he answered.
He rocked his hips up, pushing everything from her mind except the feel of him. Her breath hissed in and out of her, and she began to rock her own hips, slowly at first but then gaining speed. Her body took over and she gave way.
His hands shot up, seizing her breasts and steadying their frantic swing. As he worked her nipples, she let out a low growl, begging for more. The frisson was almost unbearable. An electric sizzle started at the tender peaks of her breasts and seemed to consolidate in the core of her being.
All the while, she ground down on him with hungry hips, using the power of his hardness to drive herself further. Her legs began to tremble and she felt that marvelous release beginning to prickle in the center of every cell.
“Now,” she grunted. “Now, Dane. Take me. Claim me. Please.”
He surged up to meet her, sealing the words in her throat with a passionate kiss. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her tightly against him and began to trail his teeth along the line of her jaw.
“Oh god,” she wailed as the climax built inside of her. “Dane, please. I’m so close.”
She was riding him wi
th full abandon, heedless of anything but the demands of her insistent body. He was tightening inside her, throbbing as she slid around him, and it only forced her in further.
“Now!” The word fired out of her throat in a wrenching scream. “I’m going to…”
And her body shattered.
She clutched and writhed around him, each new move driving her deeper into pleasure. Just as she was reaching the highest peak of her life, Dane sank his fangs into her neck, binding them together forever.
It was an explosion. Her body evaporated and a thousand stars sparkled behind her eyelids. The walls rang with her animal cries, and a pure, dazzling ecstasy raked through her. Dane tipped as well, and the pulsing inside her increased as he pumped his seed into her receiving core. Each hot spurt rocketed her further.
It was unlike anything she had ever imagined. To call it perfect would be a disservice.
“I love you, Aurora,” he hissed in her ear, his voice rough with the power of his own climax. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
He repeated it until well after they had slumped back on the bed, slick with the sheen of their exertion. She was breathing as hard as if she had run ten miles and could feel his heart echoing hers in his chest.
They beat exactly in time.
“Holy shit,” she said.
Dane laughed a little, then harder, his still-firm manhood nudging inside her as he did.
“What’s so funny?”
He brushed her hair back from her forehead, looked her in the eyes, and breathed a single word.
“Language.”
About the Authors
Celia Kyle
Ex-dance teacher, former accountant and erstwhile collectible doll salesperson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Celia Kyle now writes paranormal romances. It goes without saying that there’s always a happily-ever-after for her characters, even if there are a few road bumps along the way. Today she lives in central Florida and writes full-time with the support of her loving husband and two finicky cats.
Website – https://celiakyle.com
Facebook – https://facebook.com/authorceliakyle
Marina Maddix
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Marina Maddix is a romantic at heart, but hates closing the bedroom door on her readers. Her stories are sweet, with just enough spice to make your mother blush. She lives with her husband and cat near the Pacific Ocean, and loves to hear from her fans.
Website – https://marinamaddix.com
Facebook – https://facebook.com/authormarinamaddix
Copyright © 2020 by Celia Kyle & Marina Maddix
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.