Page 44 of Bryce

I rolled her onto her back, pinning her to the bed. I couldn’t control the need to conquer her.

She responded in kind.

I felt the heat between her thighs and smelled her excitement. It went to my head and just drove me further.

The sound of her soft, satisfied groan when I slid home was like music.

I leaned down to touch my lips to her neck as I thrust in and out.

Her sighs and whispers were my reward. The way her hands roamed over my back and shoulders, gripping and digging her nails into my skin. Her legs tightening around my hips, pulling me deeper, begging me for more.

Then, she surprised me by rolling me onto my back while I was still inside her. Her dragon was taking control.

She looked down at me with flushed cheeks and bright eyes, a sexy smile curving her lips. She was magnificent. She was everything she’d been on St. Lucia, but now she was so very much more. She was the love of my life. My mate. I’d never let her go.

I held her waist as she started moving up and down, watching her face as she worked her way to bliss. It was better than heaven, looking at her body, touching her in all the places she liked best. I was home again. Wherever she was would always be home.

I cupped her breasts and guided them to my mouth, licking and sucking, before sliding my hands over her sides and down her thighs. Her mouth fell open as she picked up speed, gasping every time our bodies came together. I thrust upward, holding her hips, doubling the intensity.

“Och, Bryce… aye…” She closed her eyes and rolled her head back, collapsing on top of me as she began to come undone.

I held her in place, thrusting faster and harder as my own finish came closer. I climaxed to the sound of her low roars in my ear, urging me on.

I bit her shoulder when the explosion hit, nipping the tender flesh while she continued to push me higher and higher.

This was forever, and we were taking the first steps together.

* * *

“You’re looking well.”Mary’s sharp eyes peered at me from the other side of the camera, halfway around the world. “I take it you’ve had time to rest and recuperate a bit since your return.”

“A bit,” I nodded, thinking back on the precious hours I’d just spent with my mate. “There was nothing I couldn’t handle, naturally. You trained us well.”

“I had little to do with your endurance,” she smiled. “You were already among the best of the best when we found each other, remember?”

“I couldn’t possibly forget. I would still be running without a pack if it weren’t for you.” Accepting money to perform missions too dangerous for humans was one thing. Being part of a larger group, a family? That was something I’d never trade for anything in the world. Thanks to her I knew what it meant to belong. I certainly hadn’t before.

Which was what made what I had to say so difficult. “I would never question your judgment unless I believed there was a good reason for it. I owe you everything. But I must ask. How long have you been aware of the presence of these so-called compounds in the area?”

She adjusted her glasses, touching the tips of three fingers to the outer edge of the frame. I had seen that gesture performed many times. A stall tactic. “Why would I be aware of them?”

“To start with, a description of the mansion we found sparked a memory in Cash and Carissa. They said the mansion in which Tommy was held captive was a lot like the one we just left. Which leads me to question whether the people who held him were also affiliated with the Gwydions.”

She sighed. “That is a very big stretch, and you know what a waste of time it can be to move forward on nothing more than supposition.”

“You sent us out there with nothing more than the awareness of a large volume of the communique from that location. If that isn’t supposition, I can’t imagine what is, unless it was not a supposition at all. Unless you’ve known more than you’ve let on for quite some time and have kept it to yourself.”

Her sigh was quiet. Defeated? Perhaps. Or simply irritated with me for questioning her methods. The lines over the bridge of her nose spoke of the strain my questions placed her under. I couldn’t find it in myself to pity her.

“Naturally, I asked myself whether the group was involved with the sorcerers after Harrison’s questioning. I regret that he wasn’t able to make it through that questioning. We might have found out more.”

I swallowed back my frustration. Yes, that questioning had gone awry. I wasn’t part of it, had I been, the man wouldn’t have lost his life. Not before we got all the information we were looking for. “He was an associate of yours.”

“We knew each other a long time ago, and I believed I could trust him.” She scowled full-on now. “You were here when I learned the truth about him. You know how it pained me. I cannot keep tabs on everyone I’ve ever known, on the off-chance they might have fallen in with the wrong crowd over the years.”

“No, but you might have spoken of the possible connection. No one here made it. What happens when we hold things back from each other?”

Her frown deepened. “You needn’t remind me.”

---