CHAPTER ELEVEN
After running in the woods together until midnight, Raze carried Affina's shoes as they snuck back into the lodge close to one a.m. He swept her into the elevator, invigorated by their run and barely able to keep his hands off her. Knowing that under her slacks she wore nothing made him even hotter. He pushed the button and the doors closed. She tugged on his shirttails and pulled him back to her. She ran her hands over his abs and up his chest, pinching his nipples. He shivered and shoved his hands into her hair, smashing his lips into hers. The taste of her in his mouth, her scent clinging to his skin brought him a level of satisfaction he'd never experienced before.
She ran her hands down to his waistband and cupped his length. Raze moaned as the bell dinged and the elevator doors opened. He grasped her wrist and pulled it to his lips, nipping at it.
She brushed past him, linking her fingers in his and pulled him down the hall to their room. She reached into his front pocket and stroked him through the fabric. He pulled her ear to his lips and swirled his tongue around the outer rim.
"You better get that key out of my pocket quick or I'll take you here in this hallway," he growled.
She smiled and slid the key from his pocket.
They'd barely gotten the door closed before they ripped their clothes off and were on each other again. She pushed him down on the couch and straddled him. He licked across one breast and then the other, worshiping her with his mouth. He suckled her full breasts and bit her nipple making her shudder. The sight brought him pleasure like he'd never imagined. He'd wanted her for so long and now that he had her, he only wanted to please her more.
It was different than when he'd been her slave and yet still so much the same. The connection he had with her now made him want to please her not out of duty but out of need. He needed her.
She lifted up and guided him toward her core. He let go of her breast and looked deep into her eyes as she slid down on him like warm silk. He grabbed her hips, digging his fingers into her soft rear.
She let out a shuddered breath and pressed her forehead to his. Kissing her soft he fought every instinct to take her hard again. His saber fought for control but he forced his saber back by sheer will.
She kissed him again and rocked against him. Raze's mouth fell open and he tried to keep his wits about him as his fangs descended.
"I want you," she panted.
"You have me," he breathed. "You always have."
Their eyes connected again and her fangs descended. "No," she said. "I choose you."
His heart thundered. "Fina-"
"Don't say anything. I know we just haven't seen each other in a long time and-"
"Fina. I chose you the first time I saw you."
He kissed her, letting his tongue sweep into her soft mouth. His fangs tangled with hers. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and breathed her in. Her soft breasts smashed against his chest, making him want her all the more.
She broke the kiss and stared at him again, scared.
"I understand if you don't want to or need more time."
His saber broke his leash. He didn't need more time. Raze pulled her throat toward him and bit down deep just above her collarbone. She stiffened and then a ripple passed over her. She rocked her hips against him making him grab her again. His fangs retracted as his saber roared inside.
He grabbed her hips and thrust inside her hard. She moaned and her nails dug into his shoulders.
Raze couldn't hold back. She allowed him to guide her as he pulled their bodies together. Her mouth fell to his neck and she grabbed onto him, her nails piercing his skin, mixing pain with his pleasure.
The mating instincts took over and he slammed into her. She panted and called his name making him spiral closer to release. His mind numbed over and his need to release inside her, to fill her, took over. She grabbed onto the back of the couch and pulled her hips into him harder. Her body slid down on his, wrapping him in warmth. He wound tight like a coiled spring. She moaned again and whispered his name.
A wave of fear washed through him as the feeling of vulnerability rooted inside him. He'd never told a woman he cared for her before. Affina was the only one he'd ever wanted. And waiting to see if she would bite him back was a torture unlike any he'd known.
"Razor... Razor... Razor!" She screamed his name and then her fangs hit his shoulder deep and sharp.
His restraint broke and he exploded as her body clamped down tight over his. Her fangs retracted and she plunged her tongue in his mouth as together their bodies reached release. For a split second everything floated away and he and his saber were one. Their minds connected and she was there with her saber. All four of them. Together. Joining. One.
Then it was over. Aftershocks rocked their bodies as they kissed softly, their bodies blending, every fiber of his being rubbing against hers and more sensitive than ever.
He basked in the peaceful feeling of completeness. He finally belonged to someone. With someone. With her. All the years he'd spent building up walls and power and wealth meant nothing to him anymore. It was all her. Every last fiber of him was hers to command.
****
Affina lay her head on his chest, their bodies still joined. She'd never wanted a mate before. Now she knew why. Being in Razor's arms. Feeling their bodies together it all made sense. They'd been meant for each other the whole time.
"What are you thinking?" He couldn't keep the fear from his voice.
"It was always you," she said. "All those years. Never understanding why I never fit with anyone. Why I always said no. It was because of you."
He chuckled. "Took you long enough."
He pressed his palm just above her collarbone where two large holes oozed, then he leaned in and kissed the wounds gently.
She looked at the blood that dripped down his back from his own wounds. "You know I'm feeling pretty grimy. Maybe a shower would be nice."
His lips twisted into a cocky smile. "Warm and wet." He kissed down her throat. "Can get dangerous in there. Wouldn't want you to slip."
She ran her hands over his broad chest. "Maybe I'll find a big strong saber to keep me safe."
His smile broadened and his length hardened inside her once more. "I'll do more than keep you safe."
"Oh really?"
He grazed his teeth over her nipple. "I'll keep you satisfied."
An hour later they lay tangled in bed, clean and sated. Razor ran his fingertips over her memorial scars. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over the largest of them, back and forth.
"Is this your mother's?"
She kissed his chest. "No." The silence stretched out for a moment. "It's yours."
His fingers stopped.
"That night was chaos. People running and screaming. Dead sabers everywhere." She stopped as a flood of painful memories and emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
"After we regrouped you weren't there. I thought you were dead, and then... I lost it," she whispered. "I was desperate to go back for your body and bury it, but my father wouldn't let me. I fought him but he finally knocked me out and carried me away."
"But he knew I wasn't dead."
The thought angered her to the point of blindness. She tucked her face into his shoulder.
"There was something about you. I don't know what it was but after the attack that killed my mother the mere mention of you was enough to set my father off."
She remembered the time after they'd left the palace and gone on the run. Her begging him to go back, to see if anyone had survived. The anger in his face over her despair for Razor.
"I don't know why he didn't just tell me he'd sent you here. Your death pushed a wedge between us. As much as I love my father, we just never seemed to be able to move past it."
Razor pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry I caused you such pain."
"I just wish I knew why. Not that it matters now but when I see him again I'm going to make him give answers."
If she saw him again.
Razor turned her head and kissed her. "You are so much stronger than I ever thought possible. Losing your mother, your home, everything you knew and yet, here you are."
"What choice did I have? I am the princess of the Saber Mountain Clan. Even if that clan is just the two of us now."
He kissed her again. "You and me is all I need."
She rolled over, their bodies lining up in perfect sync. "And you are all I want."
She rubbed her palm over his cheek and raked her fingers into his soft hair, the same softness of his mane.
"But we have a duty," she said. "A duty to rebuild our clan. To not allow it to die out with us."
A slight smile curled up the corner of his mouth. "I am happy to practice again." He kissed her. "And again." He kissed down her throat. "And again." He licked between her breasts and over her abdomen. "And again."
He kissed down the inside of her thigh and Affina arched against him. His tongue swirled against her sensitive nub and she grabbed onto his hair.
"And again."
She gasped his name as heat swirled inside her. "That's... not exactly how that works," she panted.
"Do you want me to stop?"
She pushed his face deeper between her thighs. "Never."
****
Raze held Affina in his arms. Having her was all he'd ever wanted and though they'd made their mark and she was his, fear twisted in his gut that she would be taken from him.
He'd lost everyone who'd ever meant something to him. His father, taken when he was just five. His mother taken shortly there after. Being forced into slavery by the man who had killed both for their treason. Now that Affina was his he couldn't rid himself of the worry that she would be taken as well. He draped his arm over her and splayed his hand on her abdomen. When they had children he would never stop worrying that they would be stolen from him.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand and he slid his arm from under her and picked it up.
"This is Raze."
"Mr. Edge, it's Amelia. Mr. Jenkins has vacated his suite and is ready to meet with you this morning."
"I'll be down in a minute." He hung up the phone and Affina stirred.
"Are we leaving?"
He slid back under the covers. "Not yet. But I need to finish up some paperwork. I'll be back soon."
She ran her firm hand down the length of his body, making him purr. She kissed his chest and rubbed her cheek on him. "You need a shower again."
"I suppose I do."
Her hand travelled to his hip and then rubbed down the length of him, making him hard. "Maybe I can help you get clean."
He twisted his fingers in her long hair and pulled her lips to his. She kissed him fiercely as she cupped him tight in her palms. She rolled atop him and straddled him. Without waiting she slid down on him, tight and warm.
Razor sat up with her on his lap and licked her throat. She moaned and he helped rock her hips against his.
"Razor?"
"Yes, my princess?"
"Gentle this time."
His eyes connected with hers and he smiled. "As you wish."
An hour and a half later Raze walked back to his room. The deal was done. The lodge was his and Affina was his. He stopped outside his door and stared at it. He'd done it. He'd done exactly what he had been sent by her father to do. And he'd gotten exactly what he wanted in the process.
He had everything. The girl. The money. Freedom. Happiness threatened to root inside him, but he refused to allow it to fully overtake him as a lingering fear scratched at his mind.
His phone buzzed.
"The is Raze."
"Razor? It's Gerri." Her voice came out agitated.
A tickle raced up his spine. "Hey."
"Where are you?"
"Uh... I'm in Oregon closing a business deal. Is something wrong?"
"Is Affina with you?"
Fear skittered over his skin. "What's happened?"
"You need to get back here. Now. And you need to bring her as well."
Razor swallowed hard. "Is it her father?"
"Yes. Now get back here."
The phone went dead and Razor stared at it. Her father was alive. That... was not good.