Her words tore him in two, and it was hard to breathe.

He’d hoped she hadn’t picked up on the seriousness of the situation. That maybe he and Mina had managed to sell her on the idea that this would be hard, but they would surely prevail.

Obviously, she was even smarter than he’d given her credit for. She knew exactly how dire the situation was.

But one thing she didn’t realize?

There would be no him without her. If she didn’t make it out of this, neither would he.

Sure, he might last a day. Maybe even a week. However long it took to hunt down and tear every single being even peripherally responsible for her death—the assassins, the Council, hell, the entire wolf population of Montana—limb from limb.

But it would be a kamikaze mission.

No way any single shifter, sky king or not, would ever make it through to the end. Fuck if he wouldn’t relish every drop of blood he spilled in the process of avenging her, though.

He sucked in a steadying breath and shoved those thoughts aside, focusing instead on the sensation of Taya’s hands on his stomach, the feel of her full breasts against his back, her breath on his shoulder.

This was a gift that he wouldn’t refuse. He had betrayed her trust and she was giving him this—one more flight to heaven—in spite of the fact that he didn’t deserve it.

He tugged her arms from his waist and turned to face her, words catching in his throat as he gazed down at her beautiful face.

Her big brown eyes stared back at him from beneath thick lashes and he cupped her cheek gently, already overcome by the need to take her full bottom lip between his teeth. But before he got the chance, she was sinking to her knees in front of him, her slender hand tracing the contour of his inner thigh as she tugged his gym shorts down. His already swollen cock sprang forward, aching for her magic touch.

“I wanted to do this last night, and you didn’t let me,” she whispered.

He closed his eyes and let out a hiss at the sensation of her warm breath again his sensitive skin. He should stop her. Remind her that she was exhausted and likely too tired to make a decision like this, but then her firm, wet tongue swirled around the head of his cock and the protest died on his lips.

Instead, he speared his hands into her dark hair, tugging it gently as she took him in deeper, inch by maddening inch. Then, to add yet another layer to this torture, she wrapped one hand around his base, guiding him as she moved up and down in a maddeningly slow rhythm.

With every move, his cock pulsed and shuddered, and it was all he could to do not to pull her away and take her then and there. He might have done, and was on the brink, but when he'd pressed his palm against her shoulder, she'd looked up at him, and he could practically read her thoughts in those expressive eyes.

Not now. Not yet.

And so he waited, stifling a growl each time she dragged her molten tongue against his shaft and moaned against him, the vibrations of her lips frying his brain. But just when he thought she couldn't torment him any more, she increased the pace, sucking him so hard that his muffled groans became guttural pleas.

"Ah, fuck, chérie. Let me--" he ground out, wrapping his fist in her hair and pulling tighter. But when he looked down, he knew he was through asking. He'd let her have her way, but the time for play was over. If this truly was their last night, he was going to make sure he died with the taste of her on his lips.

Plus, if he had to stare at her gorgeous breasts bouncing as she fucked him with her mouth for even one more second?

He was going to spontaneously combust.

He yanked her hair sharply until she stilled and released his shaft, gazing up at him through lust-glazed eyes. His dragon roared its approval as he laid one palm on her shoulder to push her back onto the warm, tile floor beside the hot tub, only peripherally aware of the bubbling whirl of the jets.

She protested, her gaze drifting back to his cock. "But I-”

"Enough."

It had come out more harshly than he'd meant it to, but his dragon had scented its mate and was driving him hard to touch and taste, the need becoming an intense and grinding ache. She was his, and soon, she would know it. Feel the truth of it, and never have to question his feelings again.

Gentle, he reminded himself before his brain went offline completely. She was fragile and he had to be gentle.

Slowly, he guided her back until she was flush with the floor, his own body poised over hers as he yanked off his pants and threw them aside.

She'd left her legs bent, her knees splayed, but he called on the last reserves of self-discipline to stop himself from looking there. Not yet. First, he took in the soft contour of her cheek. The thickness of her lashes. The curve of that mouth.

He dipped down and took the bottom lip between his teeth and tugged softly, humming his approval as she swept out her tongue to greet him. She tasted as good as she always did--like cinnamon and spice--but this time he could taste himself there, too, and his cock grew painfully stiff with the realization.

She must have felt his reaction because she her hips fluttered against his, grinding her wet pussy against him in a circle, then moving up and down. Teasing him. Tempting him. Her nipples tightened against his chest, branding him and he groaned again, thinking how easy it would be to bury himself deep right here and now.

With a mental shake of the head, he pulled away from her, and then leaned back on his heels to take in the rest of her curvy form. He traced every part of her, committing each moment to memory.

The elegant column of her throat, the stiff pink nipples that pouted toward him, begging for his mouth, the gentle underside of her breasts.

And then, when his hands had finished their work, his tongue followed suit. Slowly, he licked his way from the shell of her ear, to her collarbone, and lower as she arched against him.

"Please..." Her plea was little more than a breathy whisper, and it only drove him to continue on.

Taking each nipple into his mouth in turn, he sucked gently until she let out a gasp as she writhed beneath him, her back arching into his every touch. And with each little twitch and moan, the need inside him surged stronger and hotter than ever.

Blood thundered in his ears, and his head swam. He tried to focus taking his time, making it last, but his dragon was insistent. He needed more.

To feel her pulse and shudder around his cock over and over again.

To hear that little gasp as he pushed in and out of her.

To see her face when she exploded around him.

Gliding the pads of his fingers down her thigh, he spread her legs wide as she shivered and arched.

“I want my mouth on you, chérie.”

* * *

Her head was so muzzy with need, the words fell on deaf ears, but when the wet heat of his tongue flickered inside her like a flame, she had no doubt of their meaning.

At first it was shocking, the intensity of it as he lowered his mouth between her legs, and part of her wanted to pull away. Retreat and hide from the tidal wave of sensations and emotions flooding her all at once. But as he went on, moving up and down against her, flicking over her tight, aching bud before circling her sex again, that heat coiled in her belly and radiated outward.

The heat of it, of him, made every nerve stand on end, begging for more.

She wanted to give it all.

To be totally consumed.

To be Etienne’s.

She strained for air, but her lungs were like a pair of steel traps, making her work for every breath as she tried to focus on every stolen moment. The prickle of his bristly jaw against her thighs, the way his fingers dug into her hips, using them to anchor her, the way his golden eyes captured hers when she looked down to watch him.

Her pussy quivered, and she nearly begged him for more. Almost as if in answer to her prayer, he pressed a finger into her throbbing sex, and she let out a long, shuddering gasp.

"Good?" he asked, pushed his finger still deeper before retreating slowly.

"I--I--" she choked, but she couldn't get the words out to tell him that he shouldn't stop. That he should never, ever stop.

"What are you doing?" She blinked, her heart tumbling into her stomach as he turned and stepped into the tub until he was submerged to the hips beneath the foaming water.

He turned back to face her and for a minute she'd nearly forgotten what she was saying. She was too distracted by him—the cut of his jaw, the marble-like contour of his chest, the trail of golden hair beneath his belly button, and finally, to the smooth head of his cock that just cleared the surface, stiff and proud.

She ran her tongue over her top lip. She couldn't help it. Just seeing him hard, waiting, and wanting was enough to send her so close to the edge, she was shaking with it. His nostrils flared and he reached a hand between his legs, working his massive cock in one, firm stroke.

Jesus, if he'd kept that up for a little longer, added to the memory of his hard length gliding over her tongue, she might--

“Chérie?" He raised his eyebrows. "Aren't you going to join me?"

He released his cock and held out a hand. She swallowed hard before swinging her legs over the side of the tub. It felt hotter now that she’d been out for so long--so hot that it stung her calves, her waist, her breasts, but all that was nothing compared to the feel of Etienne's skin against hers.

He kept her crushed against him, skin to skin, as he backed up until he reached the bench seat, and lowered himself to sit, pulling her with him.

The breath died in her chest as she did something she'd wanted to do since the first night they’d kissed. She straddled his thighs, at first only brushing against him and then lowering herself, closing her eyes as his thick cock ground against her slit, and her wet breasts slid against his chest.

"I need you, Etienne," she whispered, but before he had the chance to respond, she gripped him in her hands and impaled herself on his rigid shaft.

For an instant, she couldn't move. She could only close her eyes and shudder as her body expanded around his girth, struggling for air as her muscles quaked.

They stayed like that for a long moment, the only sound their labored breath, as her body grew accustomed to him.

It felt so right, she was nearly incapacitated with sorrow as she realized she’d finally found home only to wind up in very real danger of losing it already.

It was his words that brought her back to him. To now.

“There is only you for me, chérie. If you know nothing else, know this,” he muttered through clenched teeth. “And if we make it past these assassins, no Council will keep me from you.

She looped her arms around his neck and began to move, letting his body inflame her even as his words soothed her. It was a slow, rhythmic pace. The same kind he'd used to torment her with, but it didn’t last long. The knife’s edge of desire grew sharper, and she began to move more quickly, her thigh muscles straining. And with every heart-rending thrust, he gripped her hips tighter, worked her over him faster, until they were moving as one, hurtling toward the finish line.

Every little quake or quiver shot through her like a lighting bolt, sizzling its way up her spine until she was so wild with it, that she felt as hot as the water itself. With his hands on her skin, his lips caressing her breasts, she could barely contain the scream building in her chest.

"Taya," he ground out, but she could hardly hear what he'd said next. It was like her ears had been filled with cotton and all she could focus on was the rush of her blood and the hard swell of his cock as she drove him in and out, over and over and--

"Taya," his silky voice filled her head, but this time she could hear the command. "Come for me, love.”

And she did.

Like a summer storm, the lightning inside her was only a slow build to the thunderous, all-consuming explosion. It swelled and grew, coiling around her in a rush of sensation. Every muscle seemed to pulse with the energy of it, and only when she'd reached the precipice did she notice that Etienne had joined her, pulling her even deeper into the swells of her release.

“I love you,” she cried, as his cock pulsed and spurted inside her.

His responding roar was like the song of her heart and she clutched his shoulders, reveling in the way the muscle bunched beneath this skin as he jerked and quaked.

They stayed wrapped together that way for a long moment, until her tremors subsided, until his breath slowed, until the world stopped spinning.

She slumped forward onto his chest, body still humming in the aftermath.

“I love you too,” he murmured softly in her ear as he curled his arms around her bottom and stood, lifting her with ease.

His words settled around her like an embrace and the last of the hurt melted away. Deep down, she’s already known that. As improbable as it was, it seemed like some part of her had always known, from the moment he’d saved her that night in the woods.

Why else would he have been willing to risk so very much for her?

She pushed aside that thought, knowing it was a slippery slope that only lead to fear and anxiety, as he climbed the stairs of the hot tub. The air, though warm, was cooler than the water, and she shivered, nestling closer to him.

He set her down on her feet and proceeded to dry her off with a fluffy, white towel before drying himself and scooping her back in his arms again. Then, he carried her up the stairs through the dark and now silent house. Her body felt light and boneless and the sway of his as he moved lulled her into near sleep.

When he laid her onto the cool sheets and pulled a soft comforter over her, she let out a contented sigh.

“Sleep, love,” he whispered.

She forced her eyes open and held out a hand. “Not without you.”

He rounded the bed and climbed in next to her. “I’ve got to stay up for a couple more hours but I’ll lay with you until you fall asleep, and I promise I’ll be back once Mina’s awake and on watch, all right?”

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her mouth before pulling her close, tucking her head in the crook of his arm.

For a while, she just soaked it all in. The feel of his body, the head-to-toe humming satisfaction after their lovemaking. But before long, the tendrils of warmth and joy that had been wrapped around her like a cocoon began to fray again in the darkness and she burrowed more deeply into him, wishing she could hold onto that feeling just a little longer.

Stop it, her subconscious blared.

Thinking about tomorrow would only ruin the little time she had left with him, and she wasn’t about to do that. Instead, she let her mind replay every touch, every kiss, and it was then that she finally allowed herself to nod off.

There it was.

The nightmare again.

Flying and joy and the wind on her face. Etienne beneath her as they cut through the skies. And again, the dread as they began a downward descent. The murder of distorted, black crows surrounded them and Etienne slowly turned to stone.

Her heart pounded with terror, only this time, she knew it was a dream.

And, this time, instead of smashing into the ground, a burst of power snaked through her body. What was it? A jolt of strength like she’d never felt before, and then?

An awakening.

Her body felt as if it might split in two as sapphire wings sprouted from her back. She released her hold on Etienne’s plummeting form and as soon as she did, the stone broke away, revealing him in his dragon form. Massive, hard and fierce.

Fly.

He didn’t speak the words, but she heard them nonetheless and she didn’t hesitate. She flapped her wings once and again, and suddenly, she was aloft, with Etienne gliding beside her.

It was a miracle. A revelation. Now that she could carry her own weight, he didn’t need to die in an effort to save her.

She could save herself.

She awoke with a start, as if a bucket of icy water had been dumped over her head, but this time, instead of heartache and dread, she was filled with something else entirely.

Hope.

It filled her chest, and spread outward, all the way to her fingertips as she tried not to let it overcome her.

Maybe it was folklore. Something born of myth and legend and Hollywood magic. But if there was even a chance…

She turned to see Etienne’s empty but dented pillow and realized he was probably trading shifts with Mina. Even better. She definitely wanted to hear the other woman’s take on this possible solution to all of their problems.

She leapt to her feet and scurried across the room to Etienne’s dresser, riffling through until she found a sweatshirt and a pair of boxer shorts that she donned with trembling fingers.

She all but flew down the hallway, calling his name. “Etienne!”

“Taya?” his voice called back to her, full of concern.

She rounded the corner and barreled into the living room, chest heaving, legs like spaghetti. Mina stood in front of the fireplace, concern knitting her brow as Etienne cut a path across the room and took Taya’s hands in his.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes! No. I don’t know.” She swallowed hard and said a silent prayer for calm as she met and held his gaze.

“What would happen if you bit me?”