The sound deepened, vibrating along her jaw just before a spark of warmth flooded her chest, and a gravelly chuckle echoed out from above her.

“As much as I’ve loved waking to the feel of your ass beneath me, I think I might like this even more.”

Forcing herself to raise her head, she arched her neck back and met a pair of heavy-lidded, emerald eyes. His lips, still busted and swollen, twitched as he stared down at her, affection and humor warring in his gaze. Brushing her wild curls out of her face, he dropped his hand to her hip, sliding it down along her thigh to hook behind her knee and yank it up over his own.

Neither of them had bothered to dress after their night together, and she flushed as he pulled her center hard against his leg, sending a dull ache pulsing through her lower half. If she hadn’t already known she was going to be sore today, she did now.

After giving her more orgasms than she’d even known she could have, Jaren’s entire demeanor had changed. His touches lost their bite, and he’d gotten up to wet a rag and had patiently cleaned her up, leaving gentle nips and kisses along her body as he did.

By the time he’d finished, she hadn’t even remembered curling up and falling asleep, let alone him climbing in and pulling her into his arms.

She couldn’t help the small smile that pulled at her mouth. She’d slept better than she ever had.

Something had irrevocably changed between them now that their bond had completely snapped into place, but she couldn’t quite find the words to describe what, exactly, was different.

Her sense of him was stronger, more potent than before, but it was more than that. Her entire life, she’d felt like something was missing. She’d always thought it’d stemmed from her desire to leave the armory and see the world, but it hadn’t been that at all.

It had always been him.

She wasn’t sure how long they laid there, neither in a hurry to move as he ran a hand up and down her leg, massaging her muscles in ways that had her biting back a moan.

“Why have you never asked me about us?”

His question startled her out of her thoughts, and she frowned. “What do you mean?” They talked about their bond all the time, it was literally his favorite topic.

He shook his head, moving to her other leg and kneading her calf. “Not us now. I meant our childhood.”

“I don’t know. We were so young, I guess I just assumed you didn’t remember much more than I did,” she said, but it was only partly true. She also worried about him, about what those memories would do if he lingered on them.

“I remember every second.”

Her breath stuttered at the way he looked at her. Like she was the last remaining star in a deserted night sky. “Let me guess, I was a complete pain in the ass, little kid,” she joked, her skin heating under his stare.