Burning Under His Touch

Kael’s POV

She was trembling.

Not from cold — the suite was warm, almost too warm. No, this was something deeper. The mate bond was already sinking its claws into her, just like it was tearing through me. I could smell it on her. That sweet, slick arousal mixing with the sharp edge of fear. It made my mouth water and my cock throb so hard I had to grit my teeth to keep from rutting into her like a mindless animal.

My hand stayed on her hip, fingers digging into soft flesh. I knew I was leaving marks. Good. I wanted her to feel me for days.

“Easy, little one,” I murmured, my voice rougher than I intended. “Breathe.”

Elara’s back arched slightly at the sound of my voice. She didn’t turn her head, but I saw the way her fingers curled into the black silk sheets. Her dark hair spilled over one shoulder like ink, the ends brushing the curve of her waist. Every inch of her was perfect. Untouched. Mine.

I had never believed in the Goddess’s gifts. Not after what she took from me. But here she was — my mate — offered up on her hands and knees in a brothel I had come to for a cheap distraction.

The irony tasted like blood.

I ran my palm slowly up her spine, feeling every shiver, every hitch in her breathing. Her skin was fever-hot. When I reached the nape of her neck, I wrapped my fingers gently but firmly around it, not squeezing, just holding. Claiming.

She gasped.

“Tell me your name,” I said against her ear. I needed to hear it from her lips.

“Elara,” she whispered. Her voice shook, but there was steel underneath it. “Elara Quinn.”

Elara. It suited her. Sharp and beautiful at the same time.

I pressed my hips forward, letting her feel the hard length of me through my pants. She tensed, but didn’t pull away. The bond wouldn’t let her. Not completely.

“Good girl,” I praised, and felt her pussy clench visibly between her thighs. Fuck. She was soaked already. The scent of her was driving me insane.

I reached around and slid two fingers between her legs, stroking her slick folds. She cried out, hips jerking. I groaned at how wet she was. How ready. My thumb found her clit and circled slowly, teasing.

“You’re dripping for me already,” I growled. “Your body knows who it belongs to, even if your mind is still fighting.”

She whimpered. The sound went straight to my cock.

I pushed one thick finger inside her. Tight. So fucking tight. She was a virgin, after all. The thought made something primal roar inside me. No one else had ever touched her. No one else ever would.

Elara moaned, pushing back against my hand despite herself. I added a second finger, stretching her carefully. I wanted this to feel good. I needed her to crave it. To crave me.

My thumb kept working her clit in slow, firm circles while I pumped my fingers deeper. Her walls fluttered around me. She was close already.

“Come for me,” I ordered, voice low and dark. “Let me feel it.”

She shattered with a broken cry, her whole body shaking as her orgasm ripped through her. Her pussy clamped down on my fingers, soaking them. I kept stroking her through it, drawing it out until she was whimpering and oversensitive.

I pulled my hand away and brought my fingers to my mouth, tasting her. Sweet. Addictive. Mine.

Elara collapsed forward onto her elbows, breathing hard. I gave her only a few seconds before I was undoing my belt. The sound of the zipper seemed loud in the quiet room.

She looked back at me over her shoulder, eyes wide. “Wait—”

I gripped her hips and pulled her back against me. The head of my cock nudged her entrance. Thick. Hot. Ready.

“I’ve waited long enough,” I said. My voice was barely human now. “You’re mine, Elara. Say it.”

She hesitated. I could feel the war inside her — the fear, the pull of the bond, the defiance that made me want to break her in the best way possible.

I pushed forward, just the tip slipping inside her. She gasped sharply.

“Say it,” I repeated, holding perfectly still even though every instinct screamed to thrust deep.

“I… I’m yours,” she whispered, voice breaking.

That was all I needed.

I drove into her in one long, powerful stroke.

She cried out, half pain, half pleasure. So tight. So perfect. Her walls stretched around me, gripping like a vice. I groaned loudly, burying my face against her neck. The scent of her skin, the feel of her around me — it was better than anything I had ever known.

I stayed still for a moment, letting her adjust. My hand slid around to rub her clit again, slow and gentle. She moaned, pushing back against me.

“That’s it,” I praised. “Take me. All of me.”

Then I started to move.

Long, deep thrusts that rocked her entire body. The sound of skin slapping skin filled the room. Her moans grew louder, needier. I fucked her harder, one hand on her hip, the other tangled in her hair, pulling her head back so I could kiss and bite along her neck.

The bond flared brighter with every thrust. Golden threads wrapping tighter around our souls. I could feel her pleasure echoing inside me. Her fear slowly melting into something hotter.

My knot was already starting to swell at the base of my cock. I wanted to bury it inside her. Lock us together. Fill her until she was dripping with me.

But I held back. Barely.

Not yet.

I reached around and pinched her nipple, rolling it between my fingers. She cried out, clenching around me. Another orgasm crashed over her. Her pussy milked my cock so perfectly I almost lost it.

“Fuck, Elara,” I growled. “You feel so good. So fucking perfect for me.”

I thrust harder, chasing my own release. My balls tightened. The knot swelled bigger.

When I finally came, it was with a roar that shook the windows. I buried myself as deep as I could, knot popping inside her, locking us together. Pulse after pulse of hot cum flooded her. So much it leaked out around my knot, dripping down her thighs.

She came again from the feeling of being stretched and filled so completely. Her body shook violently in my arms.

We stayed locked like that for long minutes, both of us panting. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. My face pressed against her neck. I could feel her pulse racing against my lips.

The bond hummed between us, satisfied for now.

But the glowing mark on her wrist hadn’t stopped pulsing.

And deep inside me, the beast whispered a warning I couldn’t ignore.

She was the key to the darkness I had hunted for years.

And I had just knotted her.

Claimed her.

Made her mine in every possible way.

If the monster inside her ever woke up fully… I might have to kill the only woman the Goddess had ever given me.

I tightened my arms around her as the terrifying thought settled in my chest.

This wasn’t over.

It had only just begun.