Page 76 of Blood Freed

His smile is breathtaking in the morning light. “Because of you. Your blood, your love – they changed everything.”

“Gran said the prophecy spoke of this.” I trace the line of his jaw, still amazed that I can touch him like this. “A vampire who could walk in daylight, marked by witch blood.”

“I never believed the old stories.” His hands slide down my back, pulling me closer. “About blood matches, about the Bloodbane being more than just a curse.”

“And now?”

“Now I believe in you.” He kisses me again, deeper this time. The dark magic pulses in response, but it feels different – less hungry, more sensual.

I lose myself in his kiss, in the solid reality of him. Here, in the sunlight I never thought we’d share, everything else falls away. The violence, the fear, the lurking darkness – none of it matters when he holds me like this.

His mouth trails down my neck, finding the spot where he bit me in our dream. The memory makes us both shiver. “I can still taste you,” he murmurs against my skin. “Still feel how the blood bond changed us both.”

“Do you regret it?” I ask softly.

He pulls back to meet my eyes. “Never. Even if it hadn’t saved my life, I would never regret being bound to you.”

The conviction in his voice makes my heart ache. I press closer, needing to feel his strength, his certainty. The dark magic rises again, but this time, it feels almost…protective. Like it recognizes him as mine.

“I love you,” I whisper against his mouth. “Even when the darkness was strongest, that never changed.”

His response is a kiss that steals my breath. We stumble toward my bedroom, stripping off our clothing as we go. The sunlight paints patterns across his bare skin, making him look otherworldly and perfect as he backs up against the bed and guides me down onto it. I gaze up at him hovering over me, committing this moment to memory.

“God, you’re so damned perfect,” I whisper, tracing his lines with my eyes.

“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.” He smiles before he dips his head and captures my mouth with his own.

I shouldn’t be here in his arms, in this bed. I should be dealing with the echoes of violence and magic still thrumming through my veins, trying to make sense of the terrible choice I made in the Chamber of Dawn.

But Soren is warm and solid against me, his lips soft as they brush mine. After so much darkness, his kiss offers the promiseof something bright and beautiful. I hold onto him like a lifeline, afraid the magic might take this away, too.

I can taste his relief in the salt of our kisses, the musky scent of his desire. His body moves over mine with a strength that has nothing to do with hunger. It’s possessive and protective, as if he wants to keep the rest of the world away.

We shouldn’t do this. The wounds of our pasts still sting, the present is fraught with uncertainty, and the future… We can’t know what comes next, not when darkness coils within me, and I don’t know if I can control it.

But right now, there’s only this. The clean scent of his skin as I trail kisses down his neck, the tremble of his muscles under my hands, the sharp intake of his breath as I slide my fingers through his.

His cock hardens as I touch him, and I feel his control slipping – his hips thrusting gently against my hand, his fangs grazing my shoulder. I own him in these moments, and he lets me. It’s both power and responsibility, making my own body respond with an urgency I can’t control.

When his lips find my breast, I arch into him. Our moans mix as his tongue traces lazy circles around my nipple, his fangs scraping it lightly. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he grinds against me, his erection sliding along the slick line of my pussy. We’re both hot and wanting, and I mewl.

God! I need this…I need this to happen now.

But he pulls away, his lips trailing soft kisses across my stomach, down my thighs. His breath fans the sensitive skin between my legs. I bite my lip as his tongue teases me, his fingers parting my lips and sliding in. I’m drowning in sensation, my hips moving to meet his mouth.

“Please, Soren,” I beg, tangling my fingers through his hair.

He hums his response, sending vibrations through me. One hand finds my breast while his mouth feasts on my pussy. Hisfingers, his lips, everywhere at once. I’m spiraling out of control, my skin too tight, my breaths too short.

“Oh God, yes…fuck, yes!” I choke out as the sensations peak. I come apart with a cry, his name torn from my throat. The sound of my pleasure seems to unleash something within him. With a growl, he’s back over me, pressing into me in one smooth stroke. We’re still for a moment, our bodies adjusting to the feeling of being joined.

“I thought it was over for us,” he says, as if admitting some terrible secret.

“I never doubted that we’d get here.” I stroke a dark curl from his forehead. “Not once.” I smile, a little breathless as I feel my core muscles tightening around him.

“That is because you, Mia Blackwood, are a force of nature.” His mouth finds mine, his hips begin to move, and the rhythm of our kisses matches the rhythm of our bodies. It’s urgent, uncontrolled, our cries echoing in the sunlit room.

Just as I feel myself slipping toward oblivion again, Soren stills above me, his fangs sharp against my neck. “Look at me,” he whispers. “I want to see you.”

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