I gasp, but don't pull away.
Neither does he.
His hand covers mine, pressing it firmer against him.
"Careful, flower," he murmurs, darkness threading through his tone.
My eyes meet his again. "I think I'm done being careful."
20
AZRATHIEL
Her palm burns against my chest like a brand.
Lightning fractures through centuries of careful control. Every nerve ending ignites. The celestial chains binding me flare white-hot across my shoulders, responding to her touch—her choice—with something close to recognition.
I've existed for millennia. Negotiated countless contracts. Walked through realms mortal and infernal without flinching.
None of it prepared me for this.
Forher.
My thoughts scatter like ash in a windstorm. I want more. Need it with an urgency that borders on madness.
One hand keeps hers trapped against me while the other reaches up slowly, deliberately. My fingers trace the delicate line of her throat, feeling her pulse hammer wildly beneath the skin. The pendant rests warm between us—my mark, my claim.
"Bram will never touch you again."
The words emerge rougher than intended, edged with possession I no longer bother masking.
Her breath catches. Those dark eyes spark with challenge rather than fear.
"Are you jealous?"
The question lingers, daring me to deny what we both already know.
I lean closer, letting my thumb sweep along her jaw. "Violently."
Her lips part. Heat floods her cheeks.
The fragile restraint I've maintained shatters.
I grab her waist and pull her flush against me, capturing her mouth in a kiss that contains nothing gentle or courteous. She gasps against my lips and I swallow the sound, drinking it down like sacrament. Her hands fist in the shadowed fabric at my shoulders, clinging rather than pushing away.
When I finally break for air, she's trembling and flushed and beautifully undone.
"You're touching me now," she breathes, lips swollen.
Something possessive and primal coils tight in my chest.
I cup her face between both palms, forcing her to meet my gaze. The gold flecks in my eyes burn molten.
"No one but me, Ilyra." My voice drops to something barely human. "Only I can touch you. Only I can have you."
Her fingers tighten on my shoulders.
"Say it."