The room was thick with heat, and it wasn’t only from the fire still simmering beneath Adriana’s skin. Devon had dismissed the last of the warriors after training, leaving them alone in the silence of his private chambers. She could still feel the spark tingling in her veins, licking at her bones as if she might combust at any second.
“Addy…” Devon’s voice was rough, torn between command and surrender. His eyes were locked on her, pupils dilated, chest rising and falling too fast for a man who had just spent hours drilling his warriors.
Her lips curved, daring. “What?”
“You know what,” he growled, closing the space between them in three strides. His hand cupped her jaw, thumb pressing against the corner of her mouth, tilting her head back. “You’re driving me insane.”
“I thought you said I needed control,” she whispered, though her voice shook with the fire humming in her belly.
“Control has its limits.” His mouth crushed against hers before she could breathe another word.
The kiss was nothing like their stolen ones before it was demanding, hot, desperate. Adriana gasped into him, her body arching as his other hand gripped her hip, pulling her against the hard line of his body. She could feel him hard, ready, straining against the thin barrier of clothes that suddenly felt unbearable.
Devon lifted her without breaking the kiss, her legs wrapped around his waist . The heat between them sparked, literal flames licking across her skin. , but he didn’t let go. If anything, he pressed harder, his teeth tugging her bottom lip before he carried her across the room and slammed her back gently against the wall.
“Devon,” she gasped, nails digging into his shoulders. “I— I can’t”
“You can. You will.” His hand slipped under her shirt, fingers sliding over hot skin, tracing the curve of her ribs until she trembled. “You’re mine, Addy. Every inch. And I’ll take you until there’s no doubt left in that stubborn head of yours.”
He peeled the shirt away, baring her to his hungry gaze. His mouth trailed down her throat, biting and sucking until marks bloomed across her pale skin marks that screamed claimed. Adriana’s head fell back, a moan spilling from her lips when his hand tugged down the waistband of her leggings and slipped beneath the lace of her panties.
“Devon!” Her body jolted as his fingers found her slick heat, stroking slow at first, then faster, teasing until her thighs shook around his waist.
“You’re dripping for me,” he growled into her ear, voice thick with hunger. “Say it. Say you need me.”
“I… I need you,” she breathed, her voice breaking as the pressure built.
That was all he needed. He ripped the rest of her clothes away, his own following in a frenzy of movement and discarded fabric. The sight of him broad, powerful, every muscle taut and straining stole her breath. And when he pressed his thick length against her entrance, she nearly shattered from the anticipation alone.
“Look at me,” he demanded, holding her face as he slid into her, inch by inch, stretching her until she cried out his name.
The bond snapped tighter. The fire inside her roared to life, not painful but powerful, glowing beneath her skin. Devon groaned, forehead pressed to hers. “f**k, Addy… you’re burning me alive.”
“Then burn with me,” she whispered.
And he did.
He thrust into her with a rhythm that left her gasping, her back scraping against the wall, her nails clawing down his back hard enough to draw blood. He didn’t care. He wanted her mark, her fire, her everything. Each time he sank deeper, she cried out louder, the sound echoing through the chambers.
Devon shifted, pulling her away from the wall and carrying her to the bed, slamming her down onto the sheets without losing rhythm. He pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, his other gripping her hip as he drove into her, faster, harder, until the bed shook beneath them.
Adriana’s fire licked across her skin, her body glowing faintly with the intensity of it. Devon kissed her through it, biting her lips, swallowing every moan. He angled his hips, hitting the spot that had her screaming, writhing, begging for more.
“Devon, please”
“Not yet,” he growled, pulling out just enough to leave her trembling on the edge. His eyes were wild, darkened with primal hunger. “You’ll take every damn second I give you.”
He flipped her onto her knees, dragging her back onto him in one brutal thrust that made her scream into the pillows. His hand tangled in her hair, yanking her head back so he could bite down on the curve of her neck as he pounded into her from behind. Her body arched, flames sparking over her skin.
“You were made for me,” he rasped, voice breaking with the force of his thrusts. “Say it, Addy.”
“I— I was made for you!” she cried, tears pricking her eyes from the intensity of it all.
Her release tore through her like an inferno, flames bursting around her body as she screamed his name. Devon followed with a roar, spilling into her, grinding deep as though he could brand her from the inside out.
When it was over, he collapsed against her back, both of them slick with sweat, their breaths ragged. Adriana trembled beneath him, but for the first time, she didn’t feel broken. She felt whole.
Devon kissed her shoulder softly, voice a low rumble. “You’re mine, Addy. Always.”
And in the bond that pulsed between them, she felt the truth unshakable, undeniable.