My breath stops. My underthings are already damp from River’s sheer presence. Prove. Prove it. Now. Stars. But . . . “But what about Daz?” I blurt, unable to stop either the question or the flash of pain that her name sends through me. I take a breath, struggling to banish the damn stinging in my eyes. “You love her. Not . . . I thought . . .”

River’s eyes widen for a moment before something fierce, almost desperate, settles over his features. “You are wrong.” The certainty in his voice is hard as steel. Taking my face in his hands, he forces me to look at him even as a single tear I can’t stop spills down my cheek. “Leralynn. Listen to me.” He takes a deep breath, his broad chest rising and settling again. “I loved Daz. And a part of me will always continue to cherish the time we had together. But she and I, we were never right for each other. Not now and not back all those centuries ago. Until I met you, I didn’t know what right even felt like. And now I do. I love you, Leralynn.”

My breath catches. I stare at him, his words ricocheting around my mind, taking a moment to make sense. River loves me. I feel right to him. I . . . I shift in his lap, my body suddenly needing to be closer to him, even as my mind struggles to catch up.

River shudders as my small motion brushes against his cock, his body’s reactions lending weight to his claim. He pulls my face closer to his, nostrils flaring delicately. “Stars, I smell you,” he growls. “At least some part of you believes me, then. Before I’m done, I promise that the rest of you shall have no doubts as well.”

With a warrior’s preternatural speed, River spins me onto the bed, his muscled body looming over me. Reaching behind him, he pulls the shirt off his back and chucks it into a corner. Muscles coil and flex beneath his broad chest, which expands with every hungry breath.

“But . . .” My words fight through the dryness in my mouth. The cuts from Jawrar’s invisible whip are barely closed, the tender skin unlikely to be happy with this plan. “You are hurt. This will—”

“Yes, it will,” River says, his eyes blazing with need. Intertwining his fingers with mine, he spreads my arms out wide until our bodies are flush. His warm lips graze my ear. “And I can’t tell you just how little I care about getting the sheets messy.”

River’s body roared with pain, coming from his back, yes, but mostly from the pressure building so intensely in his balls that he wanted to howl to the skies for release.

But he wouldn’t. No, he would keep himself in check however long it took to correct one of the worst damn lies of his life. Before he was through, Leralynn would know—would believe in every fiber of her being—just how badly he wanted her.

A shiver pierced River’s spine, the intensity of his desire feeling raw to scrutiny. The last time Leralynn had let him into her bed, he had hurt her. Made her feel unwanted while he . . . Stars take him. He’d intended to keep the coupling purely practical, but one look at Leralynn’s full breasts, one moment of her wicked tightness around him, and all of River’s intentions had burned up in a blaze.

And now it was happening again.

With Leralynn’s lilac scent filling his nose, thinking was quickly becoming impossible. But he had to think. He had to figure out a plan before he hurt her again. The girl might not like being taken the way he wished to take her. Intensely. Fully. Her body, her sex, her soul.

River drew in a ragged breath, his cock twitching painfully. Which way to go? Rein himself in hard, or let go completely? Be true or be safe? River teetered on a cliff’s edge, no ground in sight.

“What are you thinking?” Leralynn whispered.

“That I’m afraid,” River heard himself say. Bracing himself on his arms, he hovered over her, breathing in her intoxicating arousal. Her rich auburn hair spread in shining waves across the pillow, her pale skin flushed with desire, her melted-chocolate eyes showing every thought, every emotion. She hid nothing from him, and he loved her for it. So much it hurt. River groaned. He’d never let himself go before—certainly not with Daz, and that female had been fae. What if—

“Trust me, River,” Leralynn whispered, as if reading his thoughts, her gaze penetrating right through to his soul and stripping it bare. “Show me who you are.”

With a roar, River grabbed Leralynn’s shirt, ripping the fabric with a single jerk. One more slide of his hand freed her breasts. Grasping both of her wrists in one hand, River stretched her arms over her head, his other hand brushing down her perfect body. Leralynn’s full breasts, firm and ripe in his palm, sent a shiver all the way down to his twitching cock.

“You are gorgeous,” he whispered, grazing his thumb over a rosy nipple, watching it tighten and spring up like he wanted another part of Leralynn’s body to be doing. He dipped his free hand into her loose silk pants, brushing across the curls of her sex. Stars, she was wet already. For him.

Fingers pressed against her moist mound, River took Leralynn’s mouth again, hard and deep.

She moaned, rolling her hips to rub against his hand, the scent of her arousal filling River’s nose like the wildest of wines. Oh, he wanted more of it. He wanted that scent so heavy that it would fill his room for days to come. And stars, he would tease it out of her body, the throbbing pain in his own cock be damned.

Leralynn’s hips came up again, her slickness covering his palm. Her moans of need and frustration only a prelude to what he knew he’d do. Sliding his fingers between her folds, River found Leralynn’s opening and thrust one finger deep into her. Hard and fast. Stars, she was tight, and the way her sex closed around his hand . . .

River pulled his mouth away, his eyes flashing when she tried to protest his hand withdrawing as well. “Stay still,” he ordered, sliding his hands along her smooth body, hooking his fingers into the waistband of her loose pants. With a quick motion, he had Leralynn’s hips in the air, her pants and underthings sliding off until she was naked for him.

He swallowed a groan at the sight, the perfect flare of her hips and thighs, the glistening curls between them that were the same fiery brown as her hair.

Leralynn whimpered and reached for his neck, her back rising from the bed.

“I said be still.” He snapped the words, enjoying watching the female’s eyes widen, her hips undulate of their own accord. Yes, she liked his command, even as she disliked liking it. Stars take him, but Leralynn was perfect.

Her breaths ragged, she returned her upper body to the bed, sinking into the soft coverlet.

“Good.” Fisting his hand in her hair, River held her as he bent to claim her swollen lips. She melted beneath him, the most cock-hardening moan of pleasure River had ever heard escaping her luscious mouth. He sucked on her bottom lip, enjoying her sweetness, before pulling away to capture her gaze.

Her heart beat so quickly that River could see her pulse vibrating in the soft hollow of her neck. Beneath him, her body trembled with need, the slickness between her thighs shimmering in the light and spilling over the sheets.

River made his voice low. Undeniable in its dominance. “Stretch your hands over your head.”

When she did, her potent mix of craving and trepidation saturating the room, River wrapped the silk fabric of her pants around her wrists. Holding her gaze, his attention focused on nothing but Leralynn, River tied the loose ends of the fabric to one of the bedposts.

She tested the restraints. Discovered there was no give. Gasped.

With a soft growl, River lifted her hips, spreading her wide open for his pleasure. More beads of delicious slickness spilled as he set Leralynn’s legs on his shoulders and brushed his thumb over her swollen bud.

Leralynn sucked in a breath, bucking so violently that River nearly found his release then and there.

Instead, he hoisted her legs higher on his shoulders and, gripping the insides of her wet thighs, spread her further. He plunged two fingers into her opening this time, in and out, in and out, as his mouth closed around her clit and sucked.