I nodded, unable to speak as my body was set ablaze. I needed him in ways I had been resistant to admit.

Chrome pulled back and grabbed my chin between his forefinger and thumb, making me meet his eyes. “No matter what happens to me, I’ll always find you. In every lifetime. In every realm. Because it’s always been you for me—ever since I was ten years old.”

“I’m yours,” I whispered, and I meant it. I could no longer deny the powerful nature of our bond and the ways we complemented each other. The way he understood me and my needs on a level that not even Slate had. It was like he lived inside my soul and knew it intimately. And I could no longer deny the effect he had on my body, even since the night in the speakeasy. My will to fight my feelings for him was officially dead.

Chrome rose to his feet, my legs wrapped around his waist, and his hands cupped under my ass.

I assumed he planned to carry me all the way back to the lodge, but my assumption was proven wrong when my back hit a tree trunk, and his lips found mine once again. I was no longer cold despite the bitter chill sending goose bumps down my skin.

“I’m gonna have to ask you again, Gray. Are you sure you want this? You’re vulnerable, and I refuse to…”

I grabbed his cheekbones in my palms, noticing the anxious doubt weaving into his gaze. As if he didn’t believe that I could actually want this with him. “Chrome Freyr, I’m yours. Now, fuck me.”

Pure, unadulterated hunger roiled in his eyes. “Yes, My Queen.” Grabbing the hem of my sweater, he lifted it above my head, stripping me bare before him. “Fuck, you’re so beautiful.”

He dipped his head of chromatic hair, taking a peaked nipple into the warmth of his mouth. It was a delicious contrast to the cold air. I gasped, a moan slipping from my throat as I locked my fingers in the tree’s roots.

With a growl rumbling in his chest, he pulled away, slipping a hand into the waistband of my leggings. “Always so wet for me, little savage.” His fingers grazed the sensitive skin along my inner thigh en route to the apex. It was slow and teasing, making me yearn for more as my core tightened in anticipation of his touch.

My back arched, the bark of the tree biting into my shoulder blades, but I could care less. “Chrome…” I whimpered, not giving a single fuck how desperate I appeared.

With two fingers, he swirled the moisture around my opening before dipping them inside, earning a gasp from me. He groaned, “I’m gonna bury myself so deep inside you that you’ll feel like you’re magic itself.”

My lower stomach did a little flip, heat radiating through my body at his words.

He pushed his fingers in and out, stretching me. I cried out as he picked up speed, pumping harder with precision to hit that spot that made it so hard to breathe. “I’m gonna…”

Chrome withdrew his fingers and continued pinning me to the tree with his waist. My heart was ready to pound from my chest when he held my gaze with pure hunger and adoration shining in his eyes as he brought his fingers to wrap his lips and tongue around them. A growl emanated from him, deep and low. “I can’t get the taste of you out of my mind. My oblivion.”

He grabbed my waist and stepped back, easing me to the ground on unstable legs. I didn’t hesitate to drop to my knees. I needed to taste him and bring him tohisknees. I grabbed the waistband and pulled him closer as I worked the button on his black cargos.

I pushed his pants and boxers down from his hips to his ankles, leaving him long and stiff before me. I leaned a few inches closer and licked his shaft from base to tip, absorbing his bliss.

An animalistic groan came from his diaphragm, sending more shocks of need through my core. I gripped the base of his cock in my fist and slowly wrapped my mouth around the swollen head. My tongue swirled lazily around it as I grew eager to take as much of him as I could. He hit the back of my throat with an uncontrolled thrust. I moaned before continuing to massage the silky skin with my mouth. His eyes rolled back in his head, which spurred me on further.

I ravished him, wanting to consume him in every way I could.

He retreated, erratic breaths coming from his nose. “Have I told you how much I love that dirty mouth of yours?”

“Show me.”

Chrome’s nostrils flared, and the challenge gleamed in his eyes. He kicked off his pants that clung to his ankles, then knelt before me, tangling his fingers in my hair and bringing me in for a hard kiss, tasting himself on my lips. Slowly, he guided my back to the hard earth, where he hovered above me. Removing my pants, he lined himself up with me.

His harsh breaths clashed against my own. Our lips grazed one another as he bore the weight of his emotions onto me through our bond. Tears sprang to my eyes at their intensity. My heart couldn’t contain it all.

I knew the word for it. It flashed big and bold in my mind’s eye, but I wouldn’t dare say it out loud. His eyes said it all, though, even if he didn’t voice it either. “Stay with me,” he whispered.

Another piece of my soul split open for him. I nodded, giving myself freely to the man I once swore to kill. I choked on the emotions, unable to speak.

The head of his shaft pushed against my wetness. My nails dug into his biceps as he entered me, his width stretching me more than I’d expected. We both groaned as he seated himself to the base, waiting for me to adjust to his size before he started to move.

It was slow, torturous. I needed more of him. I needed him to let go, to take me in ways our bodies craved.

“I want to hear you, Princess,” he said through clenched teeth, working to leash his restraint for my sake. But I wasn’t made of glass.

“I want you to stop holding back. I’m not fucking fragile.”

Something snapped in his eyes. He withdrew from me and snatched both my legs in the air to prop against his shoulders. “You’re right.” He curled his fingers around my ankles, bracing his weight as he slammed into me. I cried out, clawing at his legs while I no longer felt corporeal. I was lost—I wasn’t even on Earth as he continuously hit that spot from the angle he held me.