She would always crave this man. She knew that in her bones, in her blood.
She’d meant it when she’d said she was his. Only his.
When their kiss broke, Carys reached up to hold his handsome face in her hands. “God, I love you, Rune. So much it hurts.”
His head swiveled slowly, but there was raw emotion in his stark, midnight blue gaze. “And I love you. More than you can know. More than I should.”
He drew her into his embrace and kissed her again, deeply this time. With a need that drenched her senses and left no doubt that he’d meant every word.
Yet a small, insidious whisper seeped through the bliss, reminding her of the hunger she’d seen on Rune’s face earlier tonight when he’d been caught in the throes of release and his fevered amber eyes had been locked on her throat.
This was a truth he hadn’t shared with her yet. His rejection of her blood. His torment and denial that he wanted that kind of bond with her. With anyone.
It seemed to have taken all of his will to resist, but he had. And for the first time, she’d glimpsed fear in Rune’s eyes.
Fear that he would regret binding himself to her? Or fear that she would one day?
As desperate as she was to have that answer, she couldn’t work up the courage to spoil what they had right now.
She was afraid to know the answer. She, who had never backed down from a challenge in her life. Who had never allowed any obstacle to stand in the way of something she wanted.
But this was too important. Too consequential. Because she knew that if his answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear, she might never recover.
So she kept her doubts to herself, too entranced by the feel of Rune’s hands moving over her soap-slickened body, his kisses making her delirious with desire.
He guided her farther under the spray, his palm skating down the underside of her thigh, toward her knee. He lifted her leg up, settling her foot on the marble bench built into the wall of the large shower.
“Put your arms around my neck, love. Hold on to me.”
She obliged, draping herself against him as he continued his sensual assault on her mouth. She gasped against his tongue an instant later, when his fingers delved into the sensitive cleft of her sex.
“Just for you now,” he murmured against her lips as her hips began a faint rotation with his caress. “That’s it. All for you, baby.”
She moaned as her pleasure raced up on her and sent her reeling. Rune’s mouth took her possessively, kissing her so deeply and passionately she could have come from that alone. Combined with his touch, the ecstasy was electric, overwhelming. He stroked her relentlessly, masterfully, until the need for release was so intense, she couldn’t hold back for another second.
She came on a cry, shattering in his arms. Rune held her with one arm, while his other hand slowly brought her back down to earth with gentling strokes of her blissfully spent flesh.
Then he soaped her all over again, taking his time, even washing her hair. She felt revered, worshipped. Safe, protected. And so deeply loved by this dangerous, powerfully lethal male.
Rune cut off the water and they stepped out of the shower together, kissing some more. He wrapped her in a fluffy towel and helped her dry off, smoothing her wet hair off her face, his amber-flecked gaze lit with tenderness and desire.
He groaned as though weighing a difficult decision. “I want to take you back to bed, but I should get you home. Your family will be concerned.”
“They would’ve been,” she said. “But I called before I left the museum tonight and told them I was going out on a date and they shouldn’t wait up.”
Rune drew back, a sardonic look on his face. “They know you’re with me?”
“Of course.”
He smirked and playfully smacked her bare backside. “In that case, we’d better get dressed before Nathan or your brother comes beating on the penthouse door to rescue you.”
Carys laughed and shook her head. “Things are different at home now. Better since I went back. My father even told me I should bring you around sometime to meet him.”
Rune nearly choked. “He said that?”
“Not his exact words, but the point is, he’s open to it.” Leaning against him, she arched a brow. “I’m not sure which of you is more opposed to the thought of being in the same room together. Does meeting my family sound so awful to you?”
“A male like me, walking into the Order’s command center to meet your parents? Not exactly my idea of a good time.” He exhaled a short breath. “Wouldn’t be your father or brother’s idea of a good time, either.”
“Why don’t you let them be the judge of that?” When he started to dismiss the idea with a chuckle and a shake of his head, she reached up to touch the side of his stubble-shadowed cheek. No teasing or laughter now, but utterly serious. “What if I asked you to? Would you do it for me?”
He didn’t speak for a long moment. His dark eyes studied her. Contemplative, conflicted. “That’s what you want?”
“You’re what I want, Rune. And I need my family to understand that. I want them to see what I see in you.”
That silence fell over him again, and the pensive look in his gaze went distant, almost unreachable. She resisted the urge to bring him back to her, but only barely. She was so prepared to hear his refusal, that when he finally spoke, it took her a moment to register the word.
“When?”
“You mean it?”
“Tell me when,” he said again, his voice gruff. “Before I
