Page 155 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

They both panted as she shrugged off the torn pieces, standing half bare before him, with heat pooling in her core—heat as she’d never felt before—which she was sure he could smell from the way his eyes sparked as they roved over her.

“Fuck, Lessia,” he breathed, and she squirmed until their chests heaved against each other and Merrick’s eyes darkened so much she could barely make out any silver.

“If you don’t tell me to stop, I am going to fuck you until your screams echo so loudly within the castle walls that his damned soldiers might try to tear the door down,” Merrick rasped, his gravelly voice melting her core until a fire burned so bright there, she thought she’d never have to worry about darkness again.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please don’t stop.”

Merrick’s eyes flitted between hers as he swore again.

Then his hands moved to her bare shoulders and slowly—so fucking slowly—down her arms.

When Merrick reached the traitor’s brand, he pulled off his tunic—as if he couldn’t stand seeing hers on its own—and, dropping to his knees, he kissed every single letter, his teeth gently scraping against them, eliciting another moan from her.

Looking up at her, Merrick growled softly, “Do you want me to tell you every instinct inside me is telling me to kill him? Not because he loved you or because you loved him. But because he fucking hurt you?”

His kisses moved from the brand to her stomach as he helped her out of her trousers, and Lessia’s head fell back against the wall, her eyes closing as his tongue traced a path from her navel up across her breasts to her neck, where he lingered, sucking on the sensitive skin, before drawing higher, stopping right at her mouth.

“Do you want me to tell you I’ve loved you since you stood up to Rioner and me on that cliff?”

Merrick’s hot breath hit her mouth, and she opened her eyes to the darkest night ones she’d ever seen.

“Do you want me to tell you I’ve fallen more in love with you every day, watching you fucking fight for your life?”

His hands came up to cup her face, and she didn’t think her heartbeat could quicken any further, but what Merrick said next nearly brought her to her knees.

“Do you want me to tell you no one—mate or not—has loved anyone the way I love you? That I would laugh as the world fell apart as long as you stood by my side? That even if I could only have one fucking night—one night pretending you’re mine—I’d take it?”

His lips brushed hers with the most infuriating featherlight touch.

“Because I would. That’s how fucking bad I want you. How bad I need you.”

Lessia crashed her lips against his, grinning when Merrick growled against her mouth, and the sense of falling she’d had ever since she’d looked into his eyes for the first time shifted into a complete free fall—as if she’d walked right out from a cliff and the sea wasn’t there to catch her.

And she didn’t care.

“I love you,” she breathed back when she came up for air, the heat within her becoming almost unbearable as it rushed through her blood. “And one night is not nearly enough. I told you. I wanteverything. I want to be your fucking mate, and I don’t know the right words, but I accept our bond—I welcome it—I’m proud of it.”

Merrick blinked at her before he let out a shocked laugh that sent another wave of fire through her. “You…”

His words clipped when she wrapped her palm around his smooth hardness, gliding her hand from his base to the tip.

She had no idea when his clothing had disappeared…

But she wasn’t complaining.

“I need you,” she whispered as her hand traveled the length of him again, her core clenching at his size.

The solidness.

The silky skin.

“No.” Merrick’s arms wrapped around her, and when he lifted her, she hooked her feet around his back, her entire body quivering as he fused them together. “I’m the one who needs you.”

She squeezed his base in response, and the sound that left Merrick was nothing short of feral.

“Fuck.” His forehead fell against her own as he stormed toward the bed, and she cried out in pleasure when he somehow managed to rip her undergarments to threads while doing it.

Merrick didn’t allow a single inch between them as he laid her down, himself on top, and the air thickened with anticipation as he rose on his elbows, his eyes drinking her in as if he was committing every part of her body to memory.

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