It sounded like a line, something he’d never fed her before. But his eyes were blazing with desire. His fangs were enormous, filling his mouth as he spoke. Need had turned his deep voice to gravel.

Whatever shadows she had thought she’d seen in his eyes out in the arena were gone now, burned away by the twin glowing embers that locked on her now.

“But back there, in the cage . . .”

He drew her close, his large hands framing her face. “This is where I want you right now, Carys. In my arms. In my bed.” He bent his head and let his lips brush against her ear. “I want you on my tongue. On my cock.”

The words cleaved into her senses, conjuring mental images of the two of them naked and sweating and wild for each other. Whether he had planned to distract her like that, she didn’t know, but it was damn hard to hold on to doubts and misgivings when Rune was whispering wicked promises in her ear.

“The club is empty, just you and me now,” he murmured, his hands moving down to her shoulders, then around to grasp her backside. “So tonight, I plan to take my time.”

As if to prove his point, he dragged her into a slow, bone-melting kiss. Her pulse kicked into a faster beat. Her blood raced¸ sending rivers of fire through her veins.

He drew back, and her gaze fell to the bulge of his erection where it pushed against his leather shorts. She knew well enough that Rune’s cock was as impressive as the rest of him, but the thick outline of his shaft made her mouth water and her fangs erupt further out of her gums.

“Christ, the way you look at me,” he rasped. “Those eyes could ash a man in seconds.”

She smiled, meeting his own hot gaze. As he unfastened her slacks, she ran her fingers through his thick brown waves, gasping at the rush of cool air against her bare legs. Her skin was hypersensitive, eager for his touch.

Her panties went next. As he slid them off her hips, he ran his hands along her thighs, then slid his fingers into the slick wetness of her sex. She sucked in a sharp breath as he teased her sensitive flesh, then moaned in protest an instant later when he took his wicked touch away.

“So responsive,” he uttered, his voice thick with desire. His hooded eyes crackled with carnal intent. “Sit down on the bed and I’ll give you some more.”

Oh, God. She couldn’t obey him fast enough.

With her perched on the edge of the mattress, he came over and took off her blouse. His hands were gentle, but shaking with barely restrained desire as he pushed her bra straps down her arms. A kiss warmed the crest of each shoulder, his mouth tender, breath hot against her skin.

It was slow torture, but she loved it. Couldn’t wait for him to ease the impossible ache that was blooming in her core.

With deft fingers, he unfastened the clasp of her bra, freeing her breasts and revealing the dermaglyphs that hid beneath the lacy cups.

He growled, his broad mouth curving in a smile as he looked at her. “So pretty. I don’t know what’s more perfect, your breasts or these sexy-as-fuck glyphs that decorate them.”

His praise quickened her blood even more. But then he crouched onto his haunches to kiss her breasts and the tremors of arousal began to vibrate through her.

She wrapped her arms around him, her head dropping back in pleasure as he suckled her nipples. The suction of his mouth and tongue sent streaks of fire into her veins. The fleeting graze of his teeth and fangs put the heat inside her on a boil.

Need raked her, made her writhe and squirm for more.

And as Rune promised, she could tell that he meant to give it to her.

He drew back and placed his palms on her inner thighs. He spread her wide, baring her to his fevered gaze as he lowered his head toward her sex. A low purr rumbled deep in his throat even before his lips touched her.

“I love the scent of you, Carys. Sweet, honeyed nectar and exotic spice twined together.” He glanced up at her then, his eyes hot and his sharp fangs gleaming. “And I know you taste even better.”

His dark head dipped between her parted legs. His mouth closed over her, his tongue cleaving her folds. When he found the aching knot of nerves nestled between them, she cried out at the sudden, searing pleasure.

He licked and suckled her without mercy. It didn’t take long before she shattered against his tongue, wave after rippling wave coursing through her.

Rune kept his eyes on hers as she came, his mouth still working its wicked magic, sending her spiraling toward another peak. She couldn’t bear any more. She needed to feel him filling her. She wanted to feel him coming with her now.

“Rune,” she gasped, her hands clutching at him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, into his hair, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to stop or give her more.

“I’m addicted to the taste of you.” He groaned against her, lapping up all of her juices. “But my cock’s addicted to you too.”

He rose and yanked the ties of his leather shorts. They fell away, unveiling the heavy spear of his erection. If he thought she was beautiful, that was the only word she could use for him too.

No matter how many times she saw him naked and fully aroused, Carys marveled at the sheer size and power of her formidable lover. Like the man himself, his cock was breathtaking.

His veined shaft and the glistening plum at its crown jutted long and thick from a nest of dark hair. Glyphs tangled around the base and curled like admiring fingers around his girth. Those Breed skin markings were dark with pulsating color, as were the others that tracked over the rest of his body.

He pushed her back onto the bed. But instead of following her as her body was dying for him to do, he advanced slowly, delaying long enough to kiss her hip bones and belly, his hands roaming over her, driving her wild. He followed the pattern of her glyphs with his lips and tongue, tracing each arc and swirl.

Carys writhed beneath him, that unbearable pool of heat building between her thighs, reaching for its crest again. She arched up as he stroked her slick cleft. No teasing touches now. He played her masterfully, knowing just what she liked, just what she needed.

She hadn’t been a virgin when she’d fallen into his bed the first time, but having been with Rune all this time made the handful of her other sexual experiences blow away like dust.

When she thought she couldn’t take another second of agony, he stretched out alongside her and took her mouth in a deep kiss while fluttering his fingertip against her clit, making her quiver and snarl with a pleasure that bordered on savage.

“I can’t take any more,” she panted. “I need you to stop this ache. I need you to fill me, Rune. And I need it now.”

He made a low, approving sound in the back of his throat. His fangs were bared and enormous, his eyes searing her with amber heat as he positioned himself between her parted thighs.

Her body was drenched, starving for him. “Now, Rune. Please.”

He moved into place and she felt the delicious pressure of his blunt head at her body’s opening. Hunger and desire raking her, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down for a hard kiss as she shifted her hips to seat him more fully at her core.

He pushed inside, stretching her tight, and—oh, God, yes—driving in all the way to the hilt. She cried out in pleasure and relief at the overwhelming invasion. Her fingers clawed his shoulders as he plunged deep, then withdrew with achingly perfect slowness.

“You’re so hot and wet,” he ground out, pushing their rhythm to a more urgent tempo. “Fucking you feels so damn good.”