Page 67 of Panther in the Shadows
Her breathing turns ragged. Power surges through her blood, and suddenly water from the ceramic bowls rises into the air. Thin streams spiral around us, glowing with the same blue light as the salt crystals on our skin. The water moves in time with our bodies, responding to Moira's pleasure like an extension of herself.
Extraordinary. Terrifying in its beauty.
I slow my rhythm deliberately, drawing out each thrust until she whimpers beneath me. Her nails rake down my back, leaving marks that will last for days. The slight sting only heightens everything else.
"Please." The word breaks from her lips. "Rafe, please."
"Please what?" I withdraw almost completely, holding myself at her entrance. Watching her pupils dilate with need.
"More. Harder. I need—" She can't finish the sentence because I drive back into her with enough force to make the headboard strike the wall.
Her cry echoes through the room, raw and unrestrained. The sound goes straight to my cock, makes me harder than I thought possible. I set a punishing pace now, each thrust deep and deliberate. The wet sounds of our joining fill the space between her gasps and my groaned curses.
Moira arches beneath me, taking everything I give her and demanding more. Her legs wrap higher around my waist, changing the angle until I'm hitting that spot inside her that makes her entire body shudder.
"There. God, right there. Don't stop."
"Never stopping." My hand fists in her hair, tilting her head back to expose the long line of her throat. I set my teeth against the pulse point there, not quite biting but applying enough pressure to make her clench around me. "Mine."
"Yours." Her agreement comes out breathless, desperate. "All yours."
The possessive claim should probably concern me. The intensity of what I feel for this woman borders on dangerous. But with her beneath me, around me, magic sparking between us like lightning—I can't bring myself to care about dangerous.
My free hand slides between our sweat-slicked bodies again, finding her clit. The bundle of nerves is swollen and slick under my touch. I circle it with firm pressure, matching the rhythm of my thrusts.
"Rafe." Her fingers dig into my shoulders hard enough to bruise. "I'm close."
"Show me." My thumb presses harder against her clit, and she shatters.
The orgasm tears through her with visible force. Her back arches off the bed, head thrown back, throat exposed. A cry rips from her chest. The water streams around us explode into fine mist that coats our skin, and power in the air peaks until it feels like lightning about to strike.
Watching her fall apart pushes me over the edge. Pleasure slams through me with devastating intensity. My hips jerk against hers as I empty myself inside her, shadows in the room pulsing with each wave of release.
Our combined magic flares one final time, then settles. Slowly fading to a warm glow beneath skin and bone.
We stay locked together, both of us shaking. Her heart pounds against my chest, matching the frantic rhythm of my own. The salt crystals on our skin dissolve, leaving behind only damp warmth and the lingering scent of ocean.
Finally, I find enough strength to shift my weight, careful not to crush her. She makes a soft sound of protest when I start to pull away.
"Stay." Her arms tighten around me. "Just for a moment."
So I stay. Pressed against her, still inside her, memorizing the feel of her body beneath mine. The way her breath gradually slows. The small aftershocks that make her tremble.
This impossible woman makes me believe in things I thought died with Catalina's betrayal.
Eventually, I ease out of her and roll to the side. Pull her with me so she's tucked against my chest, her head resting over my heart. My hand traces idle patterns on her shoulder, following the curve of her arm down to her wrist.
"That was..." She trails off, clearly searching for words.
"Intense." I press a kiss to the top of her head. "Overwhelming. Perfect."
"All of that." She tilts her face up to meet my eyes. "The magic. Did you feel it too? The way our powers connected?"
"Yes." The memory of it makes my chest tight. "Shadow and water. I've never experienced anything like that."
"Neither have I." Her palm splays over my ribs. "Gran mentioned something once about compatible magics. How certain types of power recognize each other. Respond to each other. I thought it was just theory."
"Apparently not." I cover her hand with mine, holding it against my skin. "What does that mean for us?"
