Page 54 of The Right to Bear Claws
"Every single part," he confirmed, and then he was kissing her with a desperate tenderness that made her knees weak.
This kiss was different from the ones they'd shared by the lake. This carried the weight of everything they'd endured to get here, all the terror and doubt and hard-won understanding. It tasted like hope reclaimed, like choosing love in the face of darkness.
"I need you," she whispered against his mouth. "Here, now. I need to feel something real in this place of nightmares."
"Are you sure? We're still in the dream realm?—"
"I'm sure." She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. "I need to remember pleasure instead of fear, love instead of isolation. I need you to remind me who I am when I'm not running from shadows."
Something primal flashed in his silver gaze, and she felt rather than saw his bear responding to her words. His hands moved to frame her waist, the touch gentle but possessive.
"Tell me what you need," he said, voice rougher now with want.
"Everything," she said simply. "All of you."
The clearing around them seemed to shimmer in response to their shared desire, the golden light growing warmer, moreintimate. Soft grass appeared beneath their feet, and when Elias guided her down to it, the ground felt like silk against her skin.
"You're so beautiful," he murmured, his hands mapping the curves of her body through the ethereal fabric of her dream-clothes. "So strong and brave and perfect."
"I don't feel strong right now," she admitted, arching into his touch. "I feel like I'm falling apart and the only thing holding me together is you."
"Then let me hold you together," he said, pressing soft kisses along her throat. "Let me love you until you remember who you really are."
His hands worked at the fastenings of her dress with dream-logic ease, the fabric dissolving under his touch to leave her bare beneath the golden light. Instead of feeling exposed, she felt radiant, beautiful in a way she'd never experienced before.
"God, Kaia," he breathed, his gaze drinking her in like she was something sacred. "You're incredible."
She reached for his shirt, needing to feel his skin against hers, and it vanished at her touch just as her dress had. The sight of his broad chest, all muscle and scars and dark hair, made heat pool low in her belly.
"Touch me," she pleaded, guiding his hands to her breasts.
He did, with reverent fingers that traced every curve and hollow until she was gasping his name. His mouth followed the path his hands had mapped, lips and tongue and gentle teeth working her sensitive skin until she was trembling with need.
"I love the sounds you make," he said against her collarbone. "The way you respond to me, the way your body tells me exactly what you need."
"What do I need?" she asked breathlessly.
"This," he said, his hand sliding down to cup her between her legs, finding her already slick and ready. "You need to rememberwhat pleasure feels like. You need to know that not everything in your dreams has to hurt."
His fingers worked her with skilled precision, stroking and circling until she was writhing beneath him. But it was more than physical pleasure—it was the emotional intimacy of being completely known, completely accepted, that had her coming apart.
"Elias," she gasped, her hands fisting in his hair. "Please, I need?—"
"I know what you need," he said, positioning himself above her. His cock was hard and thick, the head already slick with desire, and when he slowly pressed inside her, she cried out at the perfect stretch of it.
"You feel so good," she moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist to pull him deeper. "So right. Like you belong inside me."
"I do belong here," he agreed, his voice strained with the effort of moving slowly, gently. "This is where I'm meant to be. With you, loving you, protecting you from the inside out."
They moved together in the golden light, their bodies finding a rhythm. But this wasn't just physical—it was spiritual, emotional, a joining of souls as much as flesh. Every thrust sent waves of pleasure through her, but more than that, it sent waves of belonging, of home, of finally being exactly where she was meant to be.
"I can feel how much you love me," she whispered, tears threatening her vision though she wasn't sad. "I can feel it in every touch, every kiss. How did I ever think I didn't deserve this?"
"Because someone taught you that love had to be earned instead of given freely," he said, his forehead pressed against hers as they moved together. "But that's not true, beautiful. You deserve love just because you exist. Just because you're you."
The words, combined with the deep thrust of his cock inside her pussy, sent her spiraling toward climax. But even as the pleasure built to impossible heights, she could feel something else building too—understanding, acceptance, a fundamental shift in how she saw herself and her place in the world.
"I'm not broken," she gasped, the realization hitting her with the force of revelation.
