Page 61 of Ira

I’d never been so grateful for my dick before. I’d missed it the past couple of days.

“Someone might come looking for us,” I reminded Meera again, worried about the possibility of her being seen in a compromising position. I didn’t want to share my Meera. And I suspected she’d hate to be seen that way by anyone too.

“I’ll keep my clothes on.”

I grunted in acknowledgment of the very sensible compromise, hating that I wouldn’t get to see her spread out naked for me again. Not this time, at least.

In the future, most certainly. Meera seemed to be under the impression that she wasn’t going to be my mate someday, that she wasn’t going to be my wife and the mother of my children. The idea of that person being anyone else was patently absurd.

Meera thought she was too difficult to love, but nothing could be further from the truth. Getting past her defenses had been difficult. Loving her was easy.

She undid the fastenings on our trousers, sliding one hand into her panties, the scent of her desire already perfuming the air around us. After a beat of hesitation, she wrapped the other hand around my aching cock, giving the base of it a squeeze.

Almost immediately, I began feeling better. Feeding from Meera was as addictive as talking to her. As caring about her. As loving her.

“Is it working?” she whispered, staring into my eyes as she circled her clit with her finger. Her grip on my cock was tight and proprietary—she wasn’t necessarily doing it to give me pleasure. She was holding my cock because she owned it and we both knew it.

In all ways, Meera’s confidence was growing and it was beautiful to witness. Usually, she struggled to maintain eye contact for more than a few seconds, and now she was staring into my soul. She was handling me like she had every right to, because I was hers to handle.

“It’s working, my love.”

Her cheeks flamed red as she scraped her lower lip with her teeth. I wanted to taste it for myself. I wanted to try our kiss again, now that I knew it was a gesture of intimacy. Whether or not I would be any good at it was still to be determined, but I wanted to tryeverythingwhen it came to her.

“I missed your eyes so much,” Meera whispered. “And your smile. And your voice.”

“The next time we go into the human realm, you’ll be able to hear it,” I promised, making her blush all over again. I didn’t understand the ins and outs of what had occurred between Meera and the human woman, but I’d gathered enough to know that it wasn’t over. That Meera might need to go back someday,and that she was involved in something far bigger than herself. But we weren’t going back there unless I could communicate with her, because that had been terrifying.

“If you keep talking sweet to me, I’m going to come,” Meera whispered. I couldn’t tell if it was a warning or a promise.

“I want you to come, my love.”

“And what about what I want?” Meera asked breathily. I groaned, thrusting into her hand. The moments where she fully embraced how sexy and powerful she really was were lethal to my self-control.

“You can have anything you want,” I promised her.

“I want to come. Better tell me something nice.” She was already moving her hand faster, rocking her hips gently with each movement as my claws dug into her trousers, desperate to get to the skin beneath.

I’m in love with you.

As much as I wanted to say that, I managed to hold myself back. Those words probably wouldn’t have the impact I wanted. Not yet.

“You are my everything, Meera. You’re my light. You’re my peace. You’re my home. I’m going to be all those things for you too, when you’re ready to let me, and not a single moment earlier.”

It had been the exact reassurance she needed, and I prided myself on getting it right this time. She came with a soft cry, and the ebbs of power that had been flowing my way turned to a wave before slowing again. No wonder the mated Shades were always having to siphon off their extra energy if this was how much Meera’s desire had filled me up with us barely touching one another.

She released me and pulled her hand out of her pants, bashfully wiping her arousal on the leg of her trousers before doing them up and making herself presentable.

“Do I smell like a horny ex-Hunter?” she asked with a shy laugh.

I hummed in agreement, still holding her ass. “You do, yes. It’s quite enchanting.”

“You say that now. What about when we have to walk out of here and bump into somebody?”

My fingers flexed slightly. Some Shades seem to like to parade their mates around smelling like sex—the king being one of them. Perhaps I was more possessive than I realized, because I wanted to hoard Meera’s desire entirely to myself.

“Mm, I didn’t think you’d like that,” Meera observed, apparently reading the nuances of my body language. She leaned forward, resting her head on my shoulder and snuggling into my front. It was such an intimate, trusting gesture from such a distrusting woman that I almost wept in gratitude for it. “I’m glad. I’m only like this with you. It’s not something I want to… to share with the world.”

“You don’t have to,” I murmured, banding my arms around her back and holding her close.

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