Page 88 of Blood Marked

Selene stepped into the space like she belonged there. Like she had always belonged there. Her veil-thin gown clung to the curve of her spine, her bare feet silent against the stone floor, her black hair a living thing in the moonlight. She glanced over her shoulder once, lips parted, breath catching when she saw him standing there, still at the threshold.

He was still in armor. Still holding onto the idea that this wasn’t real. Until she reached for him.

“Kael,” she said, soft but sure.

His name had never sounded like that before. Not from her. Not from anyone.

He shut the door.

The softthunkof it closing was the sound of the world falling away.

She met him in the center of the room, her fingers finding the clasp of his cloak. He let her undo it, let her tug the leather from his shoulders, every piece of steel and cloth falling away like weight he hadn’t realized he was still carrying.

“You don’t have to—” he started, but she silenced him with a look.

“I’m not doing this because I have to,” she whispered. “I’m doing this because I wantyou.All of you.”

Kael’s throat worked.

She slid her hands up his chest, over the fresh linen undershirt, then under it. He shivered.

Not because of cold. Because he’d never felt like this before. Like his body belonged to someone else and himself at the same time.

She pressed a kiss over his heart.

He made a sound, low and reverent, and cupped the back of her head.

Her mouth moved to his jaw, then his throat, then lower. Every inch she kissed felt claimed, blessed, ruined.

And then he stopped her. Not with resistance. Withneed.

He picked her up like she weighed nothing and laid her down across the fur-draped bed. Her eyes were wide, lips parted, and she watched him like he was something sacred. She was bare already—gown pooled at her waist—and he drank her in like the first sunrise after years of night.

“Are you sure?” he asked, voice rough.

She reached for him, eyes never leaving his.

“I’m already yours,” she said.

But he shook his head.

“Not just mine.”

She blinked.

“I’m yours too,” he whispered. “And if we do this—ifI mark you tonight—it’s forever.”

“I want forever,” she said without hesitation.

That did him in.

He kissed her then—slow, deep, like he wanted to memorize the taste of this promise. He let his hand trail down her side,her thigh, back up to her ribs where her heart raced like a drum beneath skin.

She moaned softly into his mouth, arching toward him.

“Please, Kael…”

He didn’t make her beg twice.

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