Monique unlocked the door. Erik followed in reluctantly. Her nerves ratcheted up and desperation to prove she wanted all of him set in.
He turned to her as she slid to her knees, opening his belt as she went. She looked up at him, silently begging him to keep his mouth shut and go with her on this journey.
“Monique, what are you doing?”
“Told you I planned to prove you’re all I want.” She pulled his zipper down.
He slipped his fingers into her hair and pulled her head back. “Not like this, Mon. I want all of you.”
She rose to her feet, pushing him back to her room. A smirk stretched across her lips. “You have me, Erik. All of me. Now, forever, and into the afterlife.”
Erik caught her under her ass and hauled her up, against him. “I want to forget the past, the heartache, the chase. I just want you.”
Her legs and arms wrapped around his body as she grinned. “Take me, any way you’ll have me. Brand yourself into my soul, burn away the memories of my stupidity. Remind me why you’re the only one to make me whole.”
His mouth collided with hers, his tongue slipping into her mouth, taking possession, owning her. No one else could wipe away the world and fill up all the emptiness that expanded when he wasn’t there.
She was pinned against the wall, his hands traveling up her body to capture her face as he deepened the kiss. The impending threat to Erik, the Silver Council, everything, fell away as their connection flared and grew.
Monique pulled at his shirt, trying to get it free as she writhed against him, needing more.
His hands went around her waist as he swung her around and tossed her on the bed. He stripped his clothes off while she hurried out of her own. Then he was on her, taking her hands, pinning them above her head.
“Mine,” he whispered against her ear. “You want me to brand myself into you, then I do this my way.”
“I trust you, Raven. Do what you will.”
He smiled against her skin before kissing along her neck. He reached away from her, and she heard the slide of the drawer. Anticipation made her wetter, if that was even possible.
“What are you doing?”
“Shh. No questions. You said any way I’d have you.”
“Any and every way,” she promised.
“If you don’t want something, you only have to say stop.”
“Won’t need to.”
A low chuckle rippled along her senses. “Don’t promise that. You have no idea what I plan to do.”
She whimpered, squirming beneath him. Then silk was wound tight around her wrists before they were pulled farther above her head and secured to the headboard. He whispered a spell, his magic dancing over her.
“I want you to remember who owns your heart. I want to see it in your eyes when you come apart. I want my name on your lips when I push you over the edge.”
She caught his ear between her lips and sucked. “I love you, Erik.”
“Show me. Give yourself to me,” he answered.
He kissed down her body, and she closed her eyes, missing his heartbeat thumping with hers.
“You wouldn’t let me taste you,” she protested.
“Later, perhaps. Right now I need to know you’re mine.”
“Anything,” she whispered as his mouth left a wet trail of nips and sucks to one tight peak he teased, flicking his tongue over it until she started to pant. He nipped, pleasure/pain elevating the high he gave her.
“Like that?” he murmured.
“Mmhmm.”
“More?”
“Mmhmm.”
He nipped again before sucking and licking. He caressed down her body while paying the same homage to the neglected nipple. His fingers trailed through her heat, his thumb pressing her clit as he sank two fingers into her.
She tried to reach for him, but the silk scarf held her tight. Whatever magic he worked reinforced the flimsy cloth. All she wanted was to sink her fingers into his dark hair.
His rhythm drove her higher, pushing her closer to release. Begging entered her mind, but she didn’t waste her time. Erik was on a mission, and she didn’t have a clue what he hoped to prove.
Her heart belonged to him, always had. She needed to prove that to him, not the other way around. He hadn’t given up on her until recently. And she couldn’t blame him for losing hope.
Pleasure overflowed, release rushing through her as sensation sparked through every cell. Her legs quaked as he crawled up her body.
“Look at me, Monique.”
She managed to open her eyes and latched onto his glistening lips. “Hmm?”
A smile pulled at his lips as he stared into her eyes. “What do you feel?”
“Love. Stronger than ever. No more barriers. Just you and me.”
He dipped his head, his tongue slipping into her mouth. She responded, arching her back to feel more of him.
His crown pushed into her and she could swear she felt his soul expand through her as hers expanded, twisting with his. His emotions bled into hers. Love with a swath of fear.
She pushed pure love at him. It was all there was in her heart.
“Monique, love,” he murmured against her ear as he rocked in and out of her. One hand dipped the bed, while his other caressed her side, teasing her senses as he kissed her neck.
“Take all of me,” she pleaded, moving with him, wishing she could tangle her fingers in his hair and touch him the same way he touched her.
Erik kept his pace steady, building her back up. Then he lifted her legs over his shoulders and grabbed her hips, pulling her ass off the bed as he drove into her even harder than before.
He hit so deep his magic resonated through her with every stroke, pleasure punching through the sensual haze he’d created. She pushed on the headboard to keep her shoulders from scooting up the bed.
His rhythm faltered as orgasm crashed over her. He cried out her name as he pushed through her climax, driving deeper, pushing her toward sensation overload.
Then he erupted, jerking inside her as she followed him over the edge again. He fell beside her, reaching up with rasped words to free the silk. She wrapped around him, breathing in his scent, not caring that they were slick with sweat.
“Don’t forget who you belong to.” He kissed behind her ear.
“You,” she whispered, letting sleep take her away.