“Open your eyes, Aria,” I command softly. “Look at me.”

Her eyes flutter open, meeting mine. The connection between us intensifies, and the air crackles with heat and desire. I pick up my pace, my thrusts becoming harder and faster. Aria’s breath quickens, her chest heaving, her skin flushed.

“Zane,” she whispers. “More.”

A growl rumbles in my chest at her demand. Releasing her wrists, I grip her hips, change the angle, and drive deeper. She cries out, digging her fingers into my arms. I feel her body tensing, her inner muscles clenching around me.

“That’s it, Aria,” I growl. “Take me. Take all of me.”

Leaning down, I scrape my teeth against her pulse point, then I soothe it with my tongue. She tastes sweet and salty, her scent like a drug, filling my senses and driving me wild. I feel my knot start to swell, my body ready to lock into hers.

Fuck, I want to bite her, mark her, and bond to her.

Aria wraps her legs tighter around me, urging me on. The scent of her slick fills the air, intoxicating me. “Zane,” she pleads, a whisper of submission that sends a shiver down my spine. “Bite me, alpha. Make me yours.”

I pause, buried deep in her wet heat, and grip her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Baby girl, you can’t say shit like that,” I growl, my voice thick with lust. “You’re playing with fire.”

She licks her lips, her eyes filled with hungry desperation. “I want to get burned, Zane. I want you to mark me, claim me, and fuck me like I’m yours.”

A primal groan escapes me, and I force her head to the side, licking her neck right where I want to bite her.

Fuck me, I want to, but she has no idea what she’s saying.

Releasing her chin, I grip her thigh firmly, digging my fingers into her soft flesh, then I hitch her leg higher around my hip, the angle allowing me to sink even deeper into her tight, wet heat. She cries out, digging her nails into my shoulders, the sharp pain mixing with the overwhelming pleasure, pushing me closer to the edge.

“You feel so good, Aria,” I rasp, my voice hoarse with desire. “So hot, so tight around me. You’re driving me crazy.”

“Please, alpha, bite me.” This time, she grips my chin and forces me to look at her, and this time, I see complete clarity in her hazel eyes. “You think I wouldn’t ask you if you weren’t buried deep inside me?” Holy fuck, that’s hot. She leans up and bites my lip with her tiny little canines hard enough to draw blood. My cock twitches inside her. “Make. Me. Yours.”

I look back and forth between her eyes, nerves rumbling in my stomach. “Are you?—”

“Yes.” She eases the bite with a kiss, and when she lies back down, there’s blood on her lips. My blood.

I lean down, finding the tender spot where her neck meets her shoulder, then I bite hard enough to leave a mark and claim her as mine. She moans, her inner muscles clenching around me in response to the primal act.

“That’s it, baby,” I whisper, my breath hot on her ear. “Milk my cock. Show me how much you want this… how much you want me.”

Her moans echo in the dojo, bouncing all around us.

“Let go, Aria,” I growl, my voice rough with desire, my own control hanging by a thread. “Let me feel you come. Let me feel you submit to me, to us. Come all over my cock, baby. Show me how much you love this.”

I can taste the faint metallic tang of her blood as I lick the bite mark, sealing our bond. Her body responds to mine, her orgasm crashing over her as she screams my name, and her pleasure sends me spiraling closer to my own release.

“Fuck, Aria, you’re squeezing me so tightly,” I say, my hips moving faster, pumping my cock in and out of her convulsing heat. “I can’t hold back much longer. I’m going to fill you up, baby. I’m going to fill you with my cum.”

As if on command, her body trembles, her orgasm ripping through her. She screams my name, her channel clamping down on my length, and I fall over the edge with her. My knot swells,locking us together as I spill into her, wave after wave of pleasure crashing over me.

“Take it, Aria,” I demand, my body shaking with the force of my release. “Take every last drop. You’re mine now, baby. All mine.”

We stay locked together, our bodies slick with sweat, our hearts pounding in sync. I bury my face in her neck, inhaling her scent deeply, committing this moment to memory. This is more than just sex, more than just physical release. It’s a claiming, a promise. She’s mine, and I’m hers.

Eventually, our heartbeats slow and our bodies cool. I roll us onto our sides, still locked together, not ready to let her go just yet. She snuggles into me, her head fitting perfectly into the crook of my shoulder.

“That was…” She trails off, as if words fail her.

I smile, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “Yeah, it was. It was fucking incredible.”

We lie in silence for a while, just holding each other, basking in the afterglow, but reality eventually starts to creep back in. There’s still so much to deal with, so much to figure out, but for now, in this moment, everything is perfect.