Her breath caught. With a flick of his fingers, he turned off the lamp. Darkness descended over the room.

Sliding into bed, he drew her close, one arm under her nape, one on her belly. She curled into him, needful.

“Bane,” she said, and chewed on her bottom lip. Was her voice slurred, thanks to the potency of her desire?

His breath hitched, a telling reaction as wonderfully maddening as blistering heat. “You crave your man?”

“Yes!”

“More than you wish to see what happened at the assembly?”

“More than anything.”

He kissed her, softer and gentler than ever before. Dirtier, too.

“Your weight... I want it,” she pleaded. “Give it to me.”

“With pleasure.” He rolled her over and pinned her arms overhead, shackling her wrists to the mattress with a single hand. He kneaded her breasts, his touch softer and gentler, too, almost reverent. No, not almost. Definitely. He worshipped her, every caress conveying a message to her cells: you are adored.

He might actually...love me back. The possibility hit her like an injection of morphine.

Writhing in sublime pleasure, she kissed, lapped and caressed him right back, their hearts beating in perfect sync. But the hornier she got, the more she wondered what it would be like on top. One of the only positions they’d never tried.

“Want to try something,” she said between panting breaths. She gave him a little push, but he didn’t budge.

He lifted his head, savage desire crackling in his irises, lines of strain branching around his mouth. “You want to be on top.” A statement, not a question.

She chewed on her bottom lip some more and nodded. “I want to try everything with you.”

For a long while, he held her gaze, silent. Just when she began to squirm, he rubbed the tip of his nose against the tip of hers. “In Adwaeweth, the female is always on top.”

“Oh.” Disappointment surged. “So you have no interest in doing it with me?”

In lieu of an answer, he rolled to his back, allowing her to rise over him and straddle his waist. He rested his hands on her knees, groaning when she cupped her breasts.

“I might be topping, but you’re in charge,” she said. “You tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. To you...to myself. With us, nothing is off-limits.”

He tensed beneath her, his grip crushing. “Never diminish your strength to soothe my ego, dove. We are equals, yes?”

“Yes. But I’m not diminishing my strength, or soothing your ego. I’m experimenting, learning what I like.”

He grinned slow and sure. “Well, then. I’m happy to help.”

WHITE-HOT AROUSAL DEVOURED BANE. He had a gorgeous female perched on top of him, his to command.

Life did not get any better.