“You are my life, my only reason for existence, my heart and my soul, the very air I breathe. I have lived without joy for nearly two thousand years, and in the short time we have been together, you have made every one of those dark, endless minutes worth it. There is no way for you to fully comprehend the depth of my feelings for you at this time—I understand that—but you will have to try. You belong with me. I know this absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt. And my feelings will only grow stronger with the passage of time.”
His fingertips moved over her beloved face, found their way to her hair to tangle in the silky strands. “I need you completely, Jaxon, for all time. I need you safe and protected so that I never wake again with the knowledge that you have placed your life in danger. And you would, over and over. It is not defiance; it is in your nature to protect others. And when I say I need you completely, you must know that I need your body desperately.”
There was fear in her eyes, in the telltale pounding of her heart. “I’ve never been with anyone, Lucian, and you’re very overwhelming.” She bit her lower lip, not wanting to fail him, wanting to be there to take away the terrible hunger building in his eyes, in his body. She had almost wanted to see him a little bit out of control, yet now she could see where that would lead. Lucian was going to have her. She wanted him, yet she was afraid of the dark intensity within him. He seemed so tranquil, yet the fires smoldering beneath the surface were dark and deadly. She sensed them, knew she was unleashing something powerful she could never stop.
Lucian’s dark eyes searched hers, held her gaze. “Before I do this thing, before you are mine for all eternity, I want you to know that I know I can make you happy in this existence, that there is no other who can do so, and that I will move heaven and earth for you if that is what I need to do.”
His black gaze found and captured hers. She saw the terrible hunger so strong in him, so stark and raw and alive with desperate need. The sane part of her knew he was saying something important, something she should analyze before she dared succumb to the dark, beckoning fire, but it was too late. Her arms were already sliding around his neck, and she was giving up her mouth to the sheer domination of his. Heat and fire. A volcano of such need rising seemingly out of nowhere. His need, her need—she couldn’t tell the difference. Couldn’t tell where he began and she left off.
Lucian’s skin was hot and sensitive, far too sensitive to feel fabric brush against it. He needed Jaxon’s soft skin pressed close to him, not the annoying cloth barrier between them. Nothing would ever be between them again.
His resolve was complete, total. She would never again be in such danger. She belonged to him, had been made for him, his miracle, his to love and protect. She was more than his life. She was his soul.
He thought away his shirt—an easy accomplishment. But it was his hands that caught the hem of her blouse and lifted it slowly over her head. She was so beautiful, she took his breath away. It was his breathing that was out of control, his heart that was racing so quickly. Or was it hers? He couldn’t tell anymore. Only that she was hot, silken fire, and he needed to burn. Was already burning. His hands found their way to her skin. So soft. So perfect. The feel of her was almost more than he could bear. He had waited so long, never once believing she existed for him. He had existed in that black, endless void without hope, without the thought of light. Without the possibility of Jaxon. Was she real?
His mouth fastened on hers, hot and hard and hungry, sweeping her into another world where there was only Lucian and his hard muscles, the touch of his hands, the aggression of his body. He was everywhere, swamping her, in her mind, in her heart. His hands were touching her intimately, exploring every inch of her. His mouth was sheer magic, so that her world narrowed to pure feeling, so that there was no way to think, only to feel.