I fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, nearly tearing it in my frustration. When it finally fell open, I planted both handson his chest, taking in the patterns of scars and runes carved into his skin. When I slid my fingers over one elaborate sigil, he sucked in a sharp breath.

“They respond to you,” he said, voice ragged.

He kissed me while he trailed his fingers up my inner thigh, and I almost forgot how to breathe. My muscles clenched involuntarily the moment his thumb brushed over my clit. The gentle swirl made me whimper, and I had the disorienting sense that most of my wrath had melted into unfiltered craving. When his fingers dipped lower into the slick heat between my legs to tease my entrance, I gasped.

“Kazimir,” I whispered, my voice husky.

“Yes?” he murmured at my throat just before his lips pressed firmly to the spot where my pulse thundered.

“Don’t stop,” I pleaded.

His next breath brushed heat over my collarbone. “I have no intention of stopping.” He pressed two fingers inside me, a slow, deliberate slide, while his thumb kept circling in that maddening rhythm. “Not until you’re screaming my name. And then I’ll keep going, just to hear you beg.”

He dropped to his knees in front of me. I couldn’t help the flare of surprise. Before I formed a coherent protest, he draped one of my legs over his shoulder and pressed open-mouthed kisses across my inner thigh. The kisses moved higher as he spread my legs wider.

I watched him, a flush of heat spreading across my cheeks that wasn’t entirely from pleasure. No one had ever?—

The first swipe of his tongue against my clit made me gasp. The second had me tangling my fingers in his hair. I felt his smug grin against me. But soon his confidence gave way to something more intense, as his mouth and fingers worked in tandem, driving me closer and closer to the precipice.

The intimacy of it was overwhelming at first—his dark head between my thighs, his complete focus on my pleasure. His gaze flicked up to mine, eyes burning an unearthly storm-gray. I realized the notorious Dark Lord was on his knees before me, worshipping me with his mouth, and it triggered a fresh jolt of power in my veins. My entire body tensed in anticipation, each swirl of his tongue stoking the magic swirling inside me.

“Kaz,” I moaned, the shortened name slipping out unbidden. He groaned against me in response, the vibration adding another layer to the building pleasure.

Through a haze of pleasure, I saw the runes on his skin glowing faintly. My own skin had taken on a golden shimmer. Where he touched me, the colors swirled together, creating eddies of power that spiraled outward.

He curled his fingers at just the right angle and sucked on my clit. My climax snapped through me, bending my spine and ripping a cry of pleasure from my throat. He didn’t stop until my legs trembled under his relentless mouth and I moaned for mercy, tugging at his hair.

Kazimir pushed to his feet, and I tried to slow my breathing. His lips were slick with my pleasure, his eyes black with desire, the runes glowing. He looked like a god of destruction. Beautiful, terrible, and entirely focused on me.

“That was…” I tried to speak, voice little more than a rasp.

“Just the beginning,” he promised, discarding his shirt. He reached for his trousers next, not taking his eyes off me. That hungry expression quickened my pulse all over again.

I watched as he freed his cock, allowing myself to openly appreciate its length and thickness, the head already glistening. Only after I’d finished my shameless look did I lift my gaze to his. He stood between my legs, pressing his hard length against my sensitive flesh that still thrummed with aftershocks. I braced ahand on his warm chest, that overabundance of magic humming along my skin.

“Wait,” I said, surprising myself with how steady my voice sounded.

He froze, concern cutting through the haze of lust in his eyes. “Having second thoughts?”

I shook my head. “No. Just... go slowly. It’s been a while.”

The shadows in the corners deepened, flickering in the edges of my vision. There was no mistaking the possessiveness in Kazimir’s eyes, no ignoring the raw intensity as he wrestled with his jealousy and buried fury at anyone who touched me before him.

“How long?” he asked, his voice deceptively soft.

“Years,” I admitted.

Relief and satisfaction crossed his face before he caught himself. His expression softened as he stroked my cheek with surprising tenderness.

“I’ll be careful,” he said, though his voice shook with the effort of controlling himself.

He pressed into me, gradually at first, letting me adjust to the exquisite shock of being filled. I released a shaky breath, one hand maintaining contact with his chest, the other bracing myself on the table. His jaw clenched, and he bit back a groan as he sank deeper.

When he halted, fully seated inside me, shockwaves of pleasure made my eyes flutter shut.

“Alright?” he asked, voice low against my ear.

I slid my hands up his chest to his shoulders, feeling the power thrumming beneath his skin. “Yes,” I murmured, the sound catching in my throat.