Page 104 of The Crowned Queen

Araya’s breath hitched, her hips rolling against the press of his other hand against her lower belly. He curled his fingers, nibbling the soft flesh of her inner thigh when he found a spot that made sparks dance across her vision, a broken moan spilling from her lips.

“There?” he asked.

Araya jerked her head in a frantic nod as he did it again, his thumb sliding through her to find that taut bundle of nerves. Her thighs trembled, her fingers clenching on nothing above her head as the pressure built into something that would smash her into a hundred pieces when it finally broke⁠—

He stopped.

“Loren!” Araya hissed, twisting against the shadows holding her in place.

“Mm.” He pressed another kiss to her thigh. “Is there something you want?”

“You know what I want!”

She was on fire. The shadows were bands of ice around her arms, his hand a molten weight on her stomach. She dragged her heel across his back, her foot catching on the fabric of his shirt. He hadn’t even undressed yet⁠—

He used three fingers this time, dragging her back up toward that peak. Araya chased it, trembling and gasping as she bucked against his fingers and mouth.

Only for him to pull back at the last moment.

Araya sobbed, the climax she’d been chasing slipping through her grasp. Even without the bond, he somehow knew exactly when to ease back and slow down, turning to pepper kisses across her legs and hips instead of where she needed him most.

“Please—” The word ripped out of her. Her hands shook, her entire body trembling with need so sharp it almost crossed the line into pain. “Loren, please⁠—”

“I hear you.” His thumb found the spot that made her hips buck, circling with the same lazy patience that was going to kill her. “But you’re going to have to be more specific.”

“I want—” She broke off with a sob as he curled his fingers, her whole body arching against the shadows. “That⁠—”

“This?” He did it again, watching her face with dark, burning focus.

“More.” The word scraped out of her, raw and shameless. She’d left dignity behind somewhere around the third time he’d pulled her back from the edge. “I want you—all of you—please⁠—”

Something shifted in his expression. The controlled satisfaction cracked, his breath coming harder as he rose slowly to his feet.

“Ask me properly,” he ordered, dragging his shirt over his head.

“Please, Lorendrael—” her voice came out in a whine, so breathless and needy she barely recognized herself. “I need you. I need you to fuck me⁠—”

He groaned, shoving his pants down his legs. Araya keened as he leaned over her, but he just laughed, easily evading her attempt to pull him in. His nimble fingers found the buttons of her shirt instead, working his way down until it fell open, baring her to the heat of his stare.

Araya froze, holding her breath as Loren’s gaze traced over the mark Jaxon had left between her breasts. She’d gotten good at ignoring it with no mirrors to remind her, but the feel of her mate’s eyes on it made her desperate to cover it back up and pretend it didn’t exist again.

At least until Loren pressed his palm flat against her sternum, directly over Jaxon’s mark and her pounding heart.

His hand slid down the center of her body—a claiming in its own right—tracing the divots of her ribs, the soft, trembling skin below her navel. Her hips rolled helplessly when he dragged his fingers through her slick heat, a broken sound spilling from her lips, but he didn’t linger to give her what she needed so desperately.

“So fucking beautiful,” Loren said.

Araya watched, her mouth dry, as he wrapped that same hand around himself, using her slickness to stroke his cock. His jaw tightened, a low hiss escaping between his clenched teeth before he leaned over her, finally notching the head of his cock against her heat.

“And so fucking mine.”

Chapter

Thirty-Nine

Mine.

The word echoed in Loren’s mind as he finally slammed into her, the hot grip of her body erasing every other thought he’d ever had. He’d meant to tell her that none of it mattered. That Shaw’s claim on her meant nothing, because she was here and his in every way that counted.