“He knows that Irina sent you. He may suspect that it wasn’t just to give Masha what’s rightfully hers, that she sent you as an offering to me.”

“I think you’re reading into things. She created you long before I ever met her and long before Nikolai became a threat to her. She sent me because she didn’t have anyone else to send.”

“Shh, my little flower.” He drags his thumb across my bottom lip, making my insides quiver. “You have no need to worry.”

Easy for him to say. “You just said Nikolai will be back and implied he’ll try to kill me.” I pull away and feel panic rise within me. Why does his proximity calm me?

“I implied that you are my intended mate.” He draws me back to him.

“But—” He grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger. Tilting my head up, he swipes his tongue across my lips before devouring my mouth.

I mewl in response as my body goes slack in his arms. All my worries melt away. Em’s hand slips down the neck of my dress and ghosts over my skin. He works his way under the cup of my bra to my breast. I suck in a breath at the feel of his cool fingers on my overheated skin. My nipple hardens under his touch as he elongates and pinches it.

Not getting full satisfaction earlier, my sexual hunger for him crashes over me like a tidal wave. I need more than petting and intimate touching. My body yearns for penetration, no matter how impossible it may be due to his size. I shift my body and lift the dress over my head while we continue to kiss.

Tossing the dress to the side, I straddle his lap, wearing nothing but my bra. His eyes, no longer green but a vibrant gold, lick my body with invisible flames, scorching my skin in their wake. With a guttural growl, he rips my bra in two, surprising me and pressing his foot on my sexual accelerator. The need is unbearable.

“You have no more need for this. You have no need of clothes except—”

I cut him off with a kiss. I hate that this neanderthal side of him turns me on so much. We can argue over clothing later. Now, there are more important things to attend to, like convincing Em to use the giant club he carries between his legs to make me cum.

He nuzzles his mouth against the crook of my neck. With every kiss, every stroke of his tongue against my skin, I burn hotter. My hips rock back and forth over his ever-growing erection. I enjoy the friction of his jeans against my pussy as I rub against him.

Em closes his eyes and moans as I lean in and kiss his neck. I’m so lost in my quest for satisfaction, I barely notice that his skin has an aftertaste of mint. His hands knead my breasts while leafy vines creep up my legs, making me tingle with goosebumps and burn with longing.

“This works a lot better if you’re out of your clothes, too,” I tease.

Ignoring me, he reaches down and rubs his cool fingers along my damp seam, working them between my folds until he finds the bundle of nerves between my legs. I breathe hard, moaning, whispering Em’s name as he rubs and pinches it.

“Louder, flower.”

Doing as he asks, my fingers fumble as I unbutton his pants. He lifts his hips, allowing me to pull them down; all the while, my body climbs higher, seeking the peak of my impending climax. This will feel good, but not good enough.

“Fuck me!” I plead.

“You’re so tempting, My Flower.”

“I want to feel you inside me.”

“You tease my control.” He flips me onto my back and hovers over me. Grinding his hips against my opening, I wonder how he has so much self-control. With my legs wrapped around his waist, I pull him closer, hoping his tip will penetrate me.

I thread my fingers through his hair and grip tight as his mouth voyages to my swollen breasts yearning to be teased and sucked. He surprises me by impaling my womanhood with his long, large finger.

Vines wind around my arms and wrists, guiding them over my head.

“It’s so much better when you can’t do anything but lay back and enjoy it.” He says with a shit-eating grin. He removes his finger, spreading my wetness around my opening. His tip pokes between my lips but makes no attempt to enter my heat. I plead for him to push inside, but he doesn’t. Instead, he pulls back and holds his cock, rubbing it against my clit, eliciting cries of frustration and exclamations of pleasure.

“I can’t enter you until I rightfully claim you.”

“Isn’t that what fucking me will do?” I’m not sure if he’s trying to keep me pure, but if that’s the case, he’s going to be disappointed. I don’t have sex with every guy I date, and my dating life is as active as a nun’s these days, but he won’t be my first.

“It needs to be official. A ceremony, then I carry you into my cave as a symbol that I take you into my life. And then I promise, we’ll fuck for days, nights, and seasons.”

His words push me over the top. I’m about to cum. As if he can sense it, Em gasps loudly. He stops moving. Stops speaking. I’m happy and satisfied that he’s experiencing his first orgasm, but it doesn’t seem pleasurable. Or maybe he didn’t orgasm, and this is a case of blue balls or whatever that translates into for Leshies.

Em roars so loud and ferociously, the ground shakes. It’s the opposite of what I expect. Fear creeps to the surface and bristles my skin.

A male voice speaks. I can’t breathe. It’s not deep or rumbly. It’s not Em. How did Nikolai get in here? What happened to the backup for the backup?