Page 36 of Marked By the Bounty Hunter

The vulnerability in his eyes stole my retort. I pressed our foreheads together, breathing him in—spiced metal and ozone. “One more round?”

His growl vibrated through my bones. “On your back. Slowly.”

“Bossy.”

“You started it.”

“Funny.” I sank into the mattress, legs already parting. “I don’t recall stopping.”

His smirk promised retribution. The kind I’d gladly endure.

His palms pressed mine into the mattress, our fingers interlacing as he shifted us both. The emergency lights cast jagged shadows across his face, highlighting the tension in his jaw. “Look at me,” he demanded, hips pausing just inside me. “Really look.”

I swallowed against the ache of him not moving. “I see you.”

“See this.” He rolled his hips once, shallow, deliberate. “What you do to me.” Another torturous shift, his ridges dragging in a way that made my calves spasm. “What I’d burn worlds to keep.”

“Tyrix—”

His mouth crashed over mine, swallowing my gasp as he sheathed himself fully. The stretch bordered on painful, buthis hands cradled my face like something fragile. “Mine,” he growled against my lips. “Even if you’re hellbent on dying. Mine.”

I arched, needing friction. “Prove it.”

His laugh held an edge of desperation. He braced his forearms on either side of my head, horns grazing the pillow as he began a relentless rhythm. No teasing. No games. Just deep, claiming thrusts that stole coherent thought.

The heat built faster than I expected—a supernova behind my ribs. My nails found the twin scars on his back, the ones he’d earned shielding me from shrapnel. “Don’t stop. Don’t you dare?—”

“Come.” His command vibrated through my sternum. “Now.”

The orgasm tore through me with a violence that blurred vision. I barely registered his roar, the way his claws shredded the pillowcase as his hips stuttered. Then the heat—thick and liquid and impossibly alive—pulsing inside me.

I gasped at the sensation, the way each surge seemed to sear its way deeper. “So much... Tyrix...”

“Take it.” His forehead dropped to mine, breath ragged. “Take all of me.”

The overflow came as a slow trickle, warmth sliding down my thighs. His thumb followed the trail, smearing it across my skin. “Mine,” he repeated, softer now. “Even when you’re gone.”

I cupped his face, tasting salt on his cheek. His? Mine? “Still here,” I whispered.

His shudder rocked us both. For a heartbeat, he looked shattered. Then his mouth found the unmarked side of my neck, tongue soothing the spot his fangs would eventually claim. “Stubborn.”

“Yours,” I offered.

The sound he made could’ve been a laugh or a sob. He collapsed beside me, arm slung heavy over my waist. We lay there, sticky and silent, until the environmental systems kicked on with a whine.

The taste of his mouth, the heat of his hands, the promise in his touch - it made everything else fade away. His fangs scraped my throat again, and this time I didn’t pull back.

“I love you,” I whispered against his skin. “That’s why I have to finish this first. So we have a future to share.”

He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, his markings glowing with emotion. “I love you too.” His forehead pressed to mine. “Which is why I’ll wait. And why I’ll make sure you survive to claim that future.”

A knock at the door made us both freeze.

“I’ve found something.” Dr. Gondon’s voice carried through the metal. “The medical core... there’s more here than we thought. But we need to move quickly.”

I pulled back, trying to steady my breathing. Tyrix’s eyes burned as they met mine, promise and frustration and fear all mixed together.

Soon, I tried to tell him silently. Once this was finished. Once we’d stopped them.

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