Page 331 of House Ignis

“We found a cave,” Zya’s voice slid through the bond.

“Finally,” I panted.

Asher slowed, silver eyes glinting. “You okay, firecracker? Or is my stamina too much for you?”

I arched a brow. "Just don't have the same energy you males do."

He leaned in, his voice a low rumble against my ear.

"You seem to have plenty of energy when you’re riding me, darling."

I nearly tripped. "Asher—"

He just smirked, all smug shadow and sin. "Just stating facts."

The cave was a small stone hollow, smelling of old ash, but it felt like sanctuary. Aether and Zya took the entrance, their eyes glowing like sentinels.

I didn't wait for Asher to start a fire. I snapped my fingers, and a concentrated orb of crimson-orange flame ignited in the center of the floor, casting long, dancing shadows against the jagged walls.

"Better?" I murmured, pulling him down with me.

The heat from the fire was nothing compared to the look in his eyes. I turned in his arms, my hands sliding up his leather-clad chest to the heat of his neck.

The exhaustion was there, but the hunger was a physical weight. I leaned in, my lips brushing the shell of his ear.

"My husband-to-be," I whispered, the words vibrating against his skin.

The effect was instantaneous.

Asher came undone. A low, guttural growl ripped from his throat, and he lunged, pinning me flat against the mossy floor.

His hands were frantic, tearing at the buckles of my leathers, his mouth crashing into mine with a starved, desperate intensity.

He didn't play.

He didn't wait.

He stripped the gear from my hips and his own, his skin burning hot against mine.

When he entered me, it was a hard, raw claim that sent a shockwave through the bond, making my toes curl into the moss.

I arched my back, my fingers digging into the heavy muscles of his shoulders as he drove into me with a rhythmic, punishing force.

"Ava," he gasped, his forehead pressed to mine, his eyes entirely black.

Every thrust was a silent vow, the firelight reflecting off the sweat on his back as he moved with a feral, unyielding power.

The bond roared between us until the world shattered into white heat and jagged shadows.

Afterward, as the fire I created settled into low, pulsing embers, he pulled me against his chest, his heartbeat a steady thud against my back.

“I love you, Ava,” he whispered through the bond, his breath warm against my neck. Safe in his arms, I finally let the darkness take me.

•••

Light filtered through the cracks in the cave wall—soft, golden, and far too gentle for what we’d just survived.

I blinked awake, still nestled against Asher’s chest, his arm heavy around my waist, his breathing slow and even.