'I want to make you mine for now and always,' he explained.
Her brow crinkled. 'Do you mean… get married?'
'More than that. Life mates.'
'There is a difference?'
'One that cannot be explained. One that must be shown.'
'And you want to do this here?' Her eyes widened. 'Now?'
He nodded.
Grace gulped. Surely he wasn't serious. He had to be teasing her. But the lines of his face stretched, determined, and an air of vulnerability clung to his shoulders. He refused to relinquish his hold on her gaze.
He meant every word.
And she didn't know how to react.
Grace en Kragin , her mind whispered.
Though she didn't understand what had brought him to this decision, the thought tempted her on every level, and a great need welled inside her. She'd already admitted that she loved him. Why deny her feelings in this? I want to be his wife . She did. Now and always, like he'd said.
How wonderful to be the one who snuggled in bed with him each night, the one he pulled tightly to his side, his breath on the back of her neck, his whispers of love in her ears. How wonderful to be the one who gave him children. Her mind easily supplied the image of a plump baby. Their baby. A boy as strong as Darius, or a girl as intense and focused.
'You saw the violence of my past,' he said, mistaking her silence. 'You know the things I've done and can guess the things I will do. I'm asking you to accept me regardless. If you can do this, I will give you my life, my riches and my vow to always protect you.' The last words left his lips with all the desperation inside him. With all the longing. With all the need.
Her expression softened; her lashes dipped to half-mast. 'I don't need your riches,' she said. 'Only you.'
At her words, the possessiveness Darius had always felt for Grace raged to the surface. Raw, primal arousal burned inside him, hotter than ever before. Everything inside him cried for her. Not just part of her, but her entire essence.
He joined their hands, palm to palm.
Not pausing for a moment, lest she change her mind, he uttered, 'To you I belong. My heart beats only for you.' He held her gaze with the strength of his own. 'No other will tempt me, from this day and beyond. To you I belong.'
As he spoke, the places where his body touched hers warmed, became blistering, and a strange swirling unfurled in the pit of Grace's stomach, sweeping through her from head to toe.
'Say the words back to me,' he intoned harshly.
Yes. Yes . 'To you I belong. My heart beats only for you.' As she spoke, he inched his lips closer to hers. 'No other will tempt me, from this day and beyond. To you I belong.'
The moment the last word left her mouth, he fit his lips directly over hers. She cried out, and he caught the sound. His eyes tightly closed as his entire body clenched and bowed.
A part of her soul ripped out of her body and into his. Instantly the void filled with his essence, sweeping through her like wildfire. The exchange was powerful, wholly erotic. Her stomach heated and tingled, and she lay there, panting. The fine hairs on her body clamored for him.
'What happened?' she asked between breaths.
'Our joining.'
No more needed to be said because she understood. They were joined, not physically-not yet-but joined in a way that was even more tangible. Undeniable. She didn't understand the implications or mechanics of it. They were not two separate entities. They were one. She'd needed him before, but now she would die without him. She sensed it, knew it in the deepest part of her being.
'I am nothing without you,' he said, echoing her thoughts. 'Do you feel how much I hunger for you?'
She did. God, she did. His hunger mingled with her own, purring within her veins.
'You are more important to me than air,' he said. 'More important than water. You, Grace, are my only necessity.'
'I love you,' she said, at last giving him the words in her heart. As she spoke, the contentment that had always remained elusively out of reach was suddenly there and hers for the taking. So grasp it she did, holding Darius closer. He encompassed everything missing from her life: danger, excitement, passion.
Fire flashed in his eyes. Reaching back, he peeled his shirt over his head. 'I'm going to give you everything you crave, sweet Grace. Slow and tender now.' His lips lifted in a fleeting smile. 'Hard and fast later.'
Anticipation shivered through her. She threaded her palms up the strength of his chest, over his ribs and nipples, over his tattoos. He sucked in a breath. His tattoos were slightly faded, not as red and angry as before, but still there. Still sexy and warm. Her mouth watered for a taste of them, and she rolled him onto his back. Leaning down, she licked a path along the colorful dragon wings, savoring the salty taste. His muscles jumped at the first stroke of her tongue.
He slithered his hand between her legs and played; the fabric of her jeans created a dizzying friction. She moaned, arched her neck, and became lost in the breath-takingly sensual caress. Everything within her sprang to life, even places she hadn't known existed, starved for more of his attentions. She ached to be filled. By Darius. Only Darius.
He claimed he had done horrible things, but deep down she hungered for that fiercest part of him. For the wildness. The danger. She might have tried to deny it upon occasion, but she'd always known the truth. He was her every fantasy; his presence alone offered her more excitement than any challenge or adventure. When she was with him, she felt whole. She felt alive.
She felt vital.
'I want you naked.' Darius didn't wait for her response, couldn't, impatient for her as always, he did exactly what he'd done before. He gripped the neck of her shirt and ripped. Underneath he found lacy green fabric, her sexy belly ring and a light outline of a dragon tattoo.
He traced the edges with his fingertip. 'Look,' he told her.
Lost in sensation as she was, a moment passed before she obeyed. When she did, she gasped. 'What the-I don't understand. I have a tattoo.' Shock dripped from her tone, and her stunned gaze went from the tattoo, to him, to the tattoo. 'I've never gotten a tattoo in my life.'
'You bear my mark,' he said, rolling them over once again and easing her down. 'I am a part of you forever.'
He tore the green material in half, just as he'd done to her shirt. Her breasts were lush and lovely, and the sight of them made him tremble. Tremble like a boy. He palmed one then the other, loving the way her eyes closed and her back arched, a silent entreaty for him to continue. He moved down her body and sucked a nipple into the hotness of his mouth. She gasped his name like a reverent prayer.
He sucked harder.
'Oh, God,' she groaned.
Her knees clenched around his waist; her hands gripped his hair. He continued to knead one glorious breast, abrading the pearled nipple between his fingers while he laved and sucked the other. Like raspberries, they were, pink and rosy, sweet and delicate. One of his hands gravitated to her belly, fingering the delicate silver loop.
All the while he teased himself between her legs. She moved wildly against him, then with him. When she was gasping incoherently, he jerked at her shoes, then her pants, tugging them down and kicking them from her ankles with his foot. The sight of her, lying under him in only a pair of lacy emerald panties, nearly made his heart stop. Such beauty. His beauty.
He drove his fingers past the delicate lace and found the silken heat of her. She was wet and hot. Ready. But he wanted her beyond ready. He wanted her desperate. Using the tip of one finger, he smoothed her moisture over her soft folds, gently grazing the center of her desire.
'Yes,' she said, curving into his touch. 'Yes. Touch me there.'
'You need to be filled, Grace.'
'Yes. Please.'
