I glance to the side, and the air thickens with a charged stillness as I take in the sight of Kaebl lying next to me on the floor. His pinky reaches out, brushing against mine—barely a touch, but the contact has heated sparks dancing across my skin.

A small whimper pours from my lips, and Kaebl turns his head to the side, capturing me in his piercing golden gaze. His pupils expand, consuming the molten glow of his iris in a single heartbeat, concealing the ravenous hunger gleaming beneath. Quiet, little one. You’ll wake the others.

“What are you doing here? I thought… I thought you couldn’t stay?” I whisper, my eyes widening as his palm slides over the top of mine, enveloping it in his warmth. Instead of answering, his fingertips trail up my arm, following the gentle dip and peak of my collarbone and leaving a trail of tingling heat wherever he touches.

“Kaebl?” His name enters the air a breathless plea, a sound that has a growl building in the base of his throat and his abdomen shuddering with desire.

Syn slithers off my chest as Kaebl’s clawed hand snaps up, wrapping around my throat and squeezing my pulse points, cutting off the oxygen to my brain and filling my ears with a loud whooshing noise. Pleasure spreads through my veins, overpowering the niggling fear in the back of my mind as I get lost in the sensation of my mate’s touch. The loss of control is terrifying, but twice as exciting—and I have no doubt Kaebl feels the same way.

I can’t fight it anymore, he whispers into my mind, his tone a sinful hush. You consume every thought I have—every fractured piece of my soul, even the ones I didn’t know I possessed. I’m breaking, my heart—I’ve broken. For you. It could never be anyone but you.

Releasing my throat, he trails his hand down my center, his breathing turning ragged as he slides between the valley of my breasts, stopping for a deliberate moment before continuing his torturous exploration, leaving a trail of fire wherever his skin touches mine.

How I've missed this. Just touching you. Knowing you’re here. That you’re real. That you’re mine. His fingers splay across my stomach as a low growl builds in the base of his throat—possessive and animalistic and intoxicating—and the sound makes me forget all about why this is a terrible idea. I lose myself to the pleasure thrumming through the bond, the rush of blood in my ears, the ever-present, unyielding desire coursing through my veins, tearing at the threads of my soul.