Page 141 of Unravelled
Ren didn’t speak as he placed her on the ground. He didn’t need to. His gaze found hers in the hush, and the look he gave her said everything his voice couldn’t quite hold yet.
She was breathtaking in this light. Barefoot, glowing, eyes wide and steady. He let out a quiet breath, then leaned in, his lips brushing the curve of her ear.
“You’re mine,” he whispered. Not as a claim, but a confession. Mira’s breath caught, her body giving the smallest shiver in his arms. He felt the way her heartbeat stuttered, how her hands tightened just slightly at his shoulders, the bond between them fluttering like wings caught in a breeze.
Ren smiled, soft and stunned, wonder curling around the edges of his voice. Mira tilted her chin, a spark in her eyes. He looked at her for a long moment, memorizing everything. The rise and fall of her breath. The curve of her mouth. Then he lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her throat, slow and earnest, right where her pulse beat strong beneath the skin.
“I’ve never wanted anything more,” he murmured.
Her fingers slipped into his hair, gentle and curious, like she was trying to remember a song she hadn’t heard in years. The bond pulsed between them, steady and real, an ache that was no longer painful.
She gasped softly when his tongue found her throat. His fingers traced the constellations embroidered into her dress, following the paths of stars that had led him to her again and again. Then, with one smooth motion, he pulled the ribbon loose. Letting it slide from her shoulders, pooling at her feet in a whisper of silk.
Mira. Bare before him in the soft glow of the moon. It took everything in him not to rush. Her breath hitched as his hands trailed down to her waist. As he let his fingertips memorize the shape of her, the warmth of her. He’d thought she might shy away, but no. He knew her better than that.
She smirked at him, bold and teasing, and dragged a single finger down his chest. “You’re staring.”
He reached for her wrist before she could go lower, pinning it against his chest. “And you’re teasing me.”
Her smirk only widened. “That's a problem, why Kalren?”
The bond pulsed, the way he felt her, undid him. It wasn’t just her touch, wasn’t just the way she looked at him, wasn’t just the way her lips parted as she whispered his name, it was her love, her hunger, her desire crashing into him through the bond, unfiltered, undeniable.
Ren exhaled sharply, forcing himself to breathe. “And if you keep looking at me like that, I’ll forget how to be gentle.”
A slow blink. “When did I say I wanted gentle?”
The last thread of restraint inside him broke. His hands cupped her jaw, tilting her head as he kissed her deeper, as he swallowed every gasp, every soft sound she made, every whispered plea. He let his hands roam, memorizing every curve, every soft shiver of her skin beneath his touch. She met him with equal fire, fingers working at the fastenings of his tunic, his pants, tearing them from his legs, desperate to feel him. He pressed her back into the sheets, the weight of him above her, his body caging hers.
Her lips trailed down his jaw, her breath warm against his skin, before she bit gently at his pulse point. He shuddered against her, a low growl rumbling from deep in his chest as his fingers gripped her thigh.
“I need you,” she whispered, and the bond echoed it back, filling his thought with everything he wanted to do to her, with her, on her.
Ren pinned her wrists above her head, his weight pressing her into the mattress. He traced the side of her neck with his tongue, feeling the wild, erratic pulse beneath.
“I know,” he murmured, lips brushing over her skin, his grip tightening just slightly. “I can feel you.”
He felt her need, sharp and electric, crackling beneath her skin like a live wire. It set fire to his own, sending heat curling low, making it impossible to think of anything but her, her breathless gasps, her trembling limbs, the way she opened to him with absolute surrender. Her breath hitched. He let go of one wrist, trailing his palm down the length of her arm, down her side, gripping her thigh and pulling her flush against him.
"I will never get enough of this," Mira whispered, her voice breathless, edged with something wicked. "Feeling you through the bond is addictive"
Ren groaned, rolling his hips against hers, the friction pulling a sharp gasp from both of them. Navigators, she was right. And right now he wanted to drown in her pleasure. He wanted to take his time. To savor her. To worship her. But she had other plans.
Mira moved suddenly, a wicked glint in her eyes as she shifted, flipping them with a burst of strength that sent Ren onto his back. A breath of surprise left him, but it turned into a low, approving chuckle as she straddled him, her knees bracketing his hips, her body warm and commanding against his own.
Desire. That teasing, taunting satisfaction that she had caught him off guard. Ren felt it all, her amusement at his surprise, the satisfaction curling like smoke, the way the heat between them had turned from simmering to a sharper, more desperate fire.
It sent a shudder through him, his pulse roaring, his control slipping further from his grasp. With a slow, deliberate motion, she slid her hands down his chest, the light scrape of her nails making his muscles tensing beneath her touch. Her fingers tracing along his ribs, the scars on his back, mapping every inch of him like he was something to be studied, memorized. Possession. Affection. Awe.
Mira loved this. Loved feeling him, knowing he was hers in every way that mattered. And, Navigators, Ren could feel every moment. Her hands moved over him, soft, teasing, like she was memorizing every inch of his skin, every muscle that tensed beneath her fingertips. Her lips curved as she leaned down, pressing her mouth to his jaw, his neck, his collarbone.
She hummed against his skin, her voice a sultry whisper. “Is my bonded already falling apart?”
Ren shuddered, tilting his head back, baring his throat to her. "Mira, please." His fingers dug into her skin, his breath coming in short, uneven bursts. "I need you."
She trailed her lips lower, letting her teeth scrape lightly over his pulse, feeling the way it leaped beneath her mouth. "I know," echoing his earlier tease. "I can feel just how much.”
She moved her hips, grinding on him. She shifted, slowly, deliberately, rolling her hips against him in a way that sent pleasure through his veins. Ren’s breath left him in a sharp hiss, his fingers tightening where they gripped her waist. His jaw clenched, his control hanging by a thread.
