Page 27 of Warrior

“It’s rare, but with you newly changed, you need to be aware of it.”

“It won’t happen,” I said quickly, though I wasn’t entirely convinced.Crap.It better not.The short hair that covered my body when I shifted would take “I must shave my legs to be with a guy” to a horrifying new level.No snouts, no big teeth, and definitely no all-over body hair.

Then something clicked in my thick, lust-addled brain.

“Are you afraid of me, King?”I asked, narrowing my eyes.

His gaze raked over me, taking in every inch of my clothed body.His blue eyes were so intense they almost seemed to shift to a new color.They also made it clear that King wasn’t afraid of anything.

“There’s no coming back from this, Marinah,” he said.Our gazes stayed locked.“Fear can’t be anywhere in this mix.”

“Prove it,” I whispered, the husky edge to my voice surprising even me.

King stepped forward, and I spread my knees to make room for him.He tugged at the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it somewhere unimportant.What was important was the solid wall of rippling muscle inches from my tongue.I’d wanted to taste him for so long.Every time I tried when we kissed, he’d back off.I was done holding back the physical ache in my body, the need to touch him everywhere and taste him in the same places.

Lifting my hands, I placed them flat against his abs and watched as he inhaled sharply while my fingers slid across the muscled ridges.I let them roam higher, circling his pecs and noticing how his nipples pebbled under my touch.His breath hitched, and then he reached for the bottom of my shirt, pulling it off in one fluid motion.Before I could react, he unclipped my bra and tossed it aside like it was nothing.

His eyes smoldered, their intensity making my heart race to the point of explosion.

He took my hands and pulled me up so I was standing.He unzipped my pants and quickly stripped them off.I watched as he removed his own clothes.

Finally, we stood gloriously naked.

My gaze swept his body, taking in every inch of flesh I’d wanted to explore.He was beautiful, each line and flow of muscle speaking to the raw power his body held.

His hand came up, grasping my shoulder, and he pulled me against him.His mouth crashed down on mine.

This kiss was different.It spoke of need, and there would be no stopping.He held nothing back as I drank him in, savoring his taste while needing more.

I ended up on my back, pressed into the bed as King’s lips moved along my neck.Each small nip made me arch against him, my body begging for more, needing all of him.His lips trailed to my breasts, my belly, even further.I writhed beneath him, gasping for each breath.

The world around me stopped.No thoughts of the Federation, shifting right now, or even Maylin’s baby slipped past the feel of what King was doing to me.I’d craved this and at the same time had no idea whatthisentailed.It was everything.Our bodies syncing with our beasts as we did our mating dance of love, lust, and perfection.

He worshiped me with his hands and lips, a nip here, a gentle caress there.Every part of me loved it, loved him, and then, suddenly, I was impatient for so much more.

Our thoughts aligned.He moved my body into position to accept his, leaning over me with a look of pure need.Our gazes locked, the moment stretching into something timeless.

“You’re mine, Marinah,” he said, possession and promise woven into the words.

“And you’re mine,” I choked out as he slowly slid inside my body.

I’d ached for this.It had invaded all my dreams, and those dreams didn’t come close.

His powerful rhythm stayed slow until I could no longer take it.My nails dug into his back.

“Harder,” I whispered, needing a faster pace.Needing him untamed.

King’s restraint disintegrated.The power of his beast and mine took me to a place I’d never been.His body slammed into me, filling me to the point of no return.

The tension built, keeping me on the precipice for endless moments, locking in the taste of our combined scents, the power of two Shadow Warriors, giving us the balance that made us whole.Then, the world shattered around me.I didn’t see stars; I saw galaxies forming in my mind.Their explosions took me with them.I shattered into small pieces and reformed into King’s mate.

Wave after wave of bliss wrecked my flesh, my peace, my mind.

Mate.

Chapter Nine

King

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