Page 65 of Panther in the Shadows
He works the clasp of my bra, slides the straps down my shoulders. Cool air hits my bare skin for a heartbeat before his mouth follows, hot and wet, and I arch into him with a gasp.
"You taste of salt water," he murmurs against my skin. "Ocean and magic."
"And you taste of shadows and secrets." I pull him up for another kiss, deep and claiming. "Midnight and danger."
He lifts his head, eyes gone dark with desire. "Danger?"
"The good kind." My fingers slide into his hair, holding him to me as pleasure sparks through my system. "The kind I want more of."
He moves to the waistband of my pants. "Tell me if I should stop."
"Don't stop." I lift my hips, helping him peel away the fabric. "Don't you dare stop."
The rest of our clothing disappears in fumbling movements and breathless laughter. Then we're skin to skin, nothing between us but heat and need and the magic that sparks and flares with every touch.
Rafe's mouth traces a path down my throat, across my collarbone, lower. He worships every inch of exposed skin with focused intensity. When he slides between my thighs, finding heat and wetness, I cry out.
"Beautiful," he murmurs against my breast. "So perfect."
He moves with maddening skill, building pressure and pleasure until I'm trembling beneath him. The magic in my blood rises with the sensation, ocean tides responding to lunar pull. Water and shadow twine together, amplifying every touch until I can barely breathe.
"Rafe." His name comes out as a plea. "Please."
He pulls back slightly, his eyes finding mine. Gold bleeds through the brown, his panther rising to the surface.
"Moira." His voice carries a rough edge. "I want to claim you. Before the battle. Before everything." His hand cups the back of my neck, thumb stroking the vulnerable skin there. "But you need to understand what that means."
My breath catches. I know what he's asking. Every shifter knows about claiming bites. The bond they create. The transformation they trigger.
"I'll become a panther." The words come steady despite my racing heart. "The bite will change me. Turn me into what you are."
"Yes." His thumb continues its gentle stroke. "Sea witch and shifter both. Your magic won't disappear, but you'll gain the panther. The shift. The instincts. Everything that comes with it." His eyes search mine. "The shifter DNA will enhance your sea witch abilities, not diminish them. You'll be stronger. More powerful. But it's permanent, Moira. Once I bite you, once the bond forms, there's no going back."
I should be terrified. Should hesitate. This is my humanity he's asking me to alter. My very nature.
But I think of Catalina rising from the deep. Of the battle coming at dawn. Of how many ways we could lose each other in the hours ahead.
I think of Eliza telling me to live. To be happy. To love him.
"I know." My hand covers his at the back of my neck. "I want this. I want you. I want the bond in every way possible." I arch my neck, exposing the vulnerable skin. The ultimate sign of trust. "Claim me, Rafe. Make me yours."
His growl vibrates through both of us. He shifts our positions in one fluid movement, turning me onto my stomach, his body covering mine from behind. His hand slides into my hair, gathering it up and away, baring the back of my neck completely.
"Last chance," he rumbles against my ear. "Once I bite, you're mine. My mate. My panther. Forever."
"Promise?" I press back against him, feeling him hard and ready. "Because forever sounds perfect."
His teeth sink into the back of my neck.
The pain is sharp and immediate, transforming into something else almost instantly. Power floods through the bite, seeking, binding, changing. The bond snaps into place with devastating force—not just between us, but within me.
His panther recognizes its mate. My magic recognizes its complement. And something new awakens in my blood. Something wild and feline and fierce.
The transformation begins at once. Not the full shift—that will come later—but I feel the panther taking root in my DNA. Altering. Enhancing. Making me more.
Our powers surge together. Shadow and water. Predator and ocean. Death-touched darkness and life-giving sea magic. The combination should be impossible, but it's perfect. We're perfect.
"Mine," he growls against my neck, tongue soothing the mark even as he maintains his grip. Holding me in place. Claiming me completely. "My mate. My sea witch. My panther."
