Page 15 of The Firefighter's Claim
She arches beneath me, offering her throat in a gesture of submission that makes my cock throb painfully. I drag my mouth down to her breasts, taking one nipple between my teeth, biting just hard enough to make her cry out—a sound of pleasure edged with pain.
"Dagger, please," she begs, her hands clutching at my shoulders, nails digging into my skin.
"Please what?" I demand, moving to her other breast, lavishing it with the same attention. "Tell me what you need."
"You," she gasps. "Inside me. Now."
I should go slow. Should make sure she's ready. But the animal inside me won't be denied. I position myself at her entrance, finding her already wet, already wanting.
"Look at me," I command, waiting until her eyes lock with mine. "Who do you belong to?"
"You," she whispers without hesitation. "Only you."
I thrust into her in one powerful movement, burying myself to the hilt. She cries out, her back arching, her inner walls clamping around me in a vise grip of pleasure. I give her no time to adjust, setting a punishing rhythm that has the headboard slamming against the wall.
"Say it again," I demand, driving into her harder, deeper. "Who do you belong to?"
"You, Dagger," she gasps, meeting each thrust with perfect counterpoint. "I'm yours. All yours."
Her words feed my frenzy. I hook my arms under her knees, pushing them toward her chest, changing the angle to hit the spot that makes her scream. Her eyes roll back, her mouth falls open, her body tightening around mine with impending release.
"Come for me," I command. "Show me who makes you feel this way. Who owns this perfect body."
She shatters with a cry of my name, her inner muscles spasming around me, milking me toward my own climax. I follow her over the edge with a roar, emptying myself inside her, marking her in the most primal way possible.
As the haze of possession recedes, I become aware of how roughly I've taken her. Concern floods me as I carefully lower her legs and gather her against my chest, pressing gentle kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, her swollen lips.
"Did I hurt you?" I ask, sudden fear replacing the jealous rage.
She smiles lazily, her eyes heavy-lidded with satisfaction. "No. That was... intense."
Relief washes through me. I roll to my side, keeping her close, one hand stroking down her back in soothing motions.
"I'm sorry," I murmur against her hair. "I don't usually lose control like that."
"Don't apologize," she says, pressing a kiss to my chest, right over my heart. "I liked it. I like knowing how much you want me."
Her easy acceptance of my possessiveness, of my darker needs, makes my throat tighten with emotion. I tilt her face up, needing to see her eyes, to make sure she's really okay.
"You're everything," I tell her, the words inadequate but all I have. "Everything I never knew I needed until I found you."
She smiles, soft and sweet, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest. "I'm not going anywhere," she says. "You don't need to worry about Patrick or anyone else."
"I know." But I don't, not really. How could someone like her want to stay with someone like me? A man with nothing to offer but protection and an obsessive need to possess?
I cradle her against my chest, breathing in the scent of her hair, feeling the soft curves of her body molded to mine.
"You're not going back to that apartment," I say quietly. "You're staying right here. With me. Forever."
It's not a question. Not even a suggestion. It's a declaration of intent, a promise, a vow.
She doesn't argue. Instead, she nestles closer, her breath warm against my skin. "Forever is a long time," she murmurs, but there's no resistance in her voice. Just wonder.
"Not long enough," I reply, meaning it with every fiber of my being. "Not nearly long enough for all the things I want to do with you. To you. For you."
As she drifts toward sleep in my arms, I hold her with a gentleness that belies the possessive fury of minutes before. Thiswoman—this soft, perfect, kind woman—has somehow become the center of my universe in less than a week.
And I will burn the world to ashes before I let anyone take her from me.
