There.

He seemed to know exactly what she craved without her uttering a single word or request. It was so wrong, this delirious sensation. And yet, so, so right.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and let her head fall back against the chair.

This man—this being—had changed a fundamental part of her. Her kind would be appalled. She should be appalled.

But how could she despise something that set her bloodstream on fire?

“Sethios,” she managed to whisper, unable to breathe. Her heart lodged in her throat as her limbs locked in place. It felt like death. Or rebirth. She couldn’t discern between the two. A precipice of greatness, shrouded in foreign sensation that teetered her right on the edge of a cliff.

And then she was flying, soaring through the clouds of ecstasy. Pins and needles mingled with shocks, scouring her soul and catapulting her high into the sky and beyond.

Totally different this time.

So much more intense.

Almost as if she’d held back during every orgasm with him before. And now that she’d accepted the inevitable, it took her to a state of being she didn’t know existed.

“Again,” she whispered as reality began to surface. “Please.”

His green eyes grinned up at her. “Only because you asked so sweetly.” He licked her deep, sending vibrations of lust through her veins. “You’re mine, Caro.”

She shook her head even as his claim latched onto her heart.

“You are, sweetheart,” he insisted softly. “I warned you before, and I’ll warn you again. I’m keeping you.”

She wanted so badly to argue, but he silenced her protest with another hypnotizing move of his tongue.

“You have my vow of protection,” he whispered, almost reverently. “My vow of partnership.”

She shuddered as his words settled somewhere deep inside her, in a sacred place occupied by her soul. Such intensity, spoken as a heartfelt promise she couldn’t deny.

They barely knew each other, and yet, that sacred place inside her recognized him. It bloomed and welcomed his pledge and reciprocated in kind.

Whatever the Fates had seen, whatever they believed could happen, had nothing on the power of the bond forming between them.

A part of Caro longed to hate Sethios, while the other part—the part she revered most—started to open to the possibility of a future. A forbidden blood bond.

“All right.” She barely recognized the rasp in her voice or the words falling from her lips. But he needed to hear them. Just as she needed to say them. “We’ll work together. As a team.”

His gaze captured hers as he lifted his head from between her legs. “Then I’m yours, Caro. Whatever you need.”

Her pulse raced as she nodded, agreeing to whatever pact they’d just formed between them. For the future of their child. For their future.

He cupped her face and brushed his lips over hers, finalizing their agreement. And she realized with a start that this was their first kiss.

Sethios had done unspeakable things to her body, but not this, making it a far more affectionate moment than everything else. Especially as his tongue gently entered her mouth to mate with hers.