Page 32 of His Temptation

With a feral growl, he forcefully brushed her hair aside, revealing the vulnerable curve of her neck. His teeth sank into the tender flesh of her nape, a final, brutal thrust driving him deep within her, burying himself completely. He bit down hard, the sharpness of his bite breaking the skin. Blood welled up, its coppery scent rising in the air, a visceral testament to his claim and dominion over her. Holding her there, pinned beneath him, his body quaked as he reached his climax, his essence surging deep within her, marking her from the inside out. Her body convulsed around him, the contractions drawing out every lastdrop of his release. Slowly, he released her neck, his tongue soothing the wound as he licked it, sealing his mark permanently into her flesh.

He stayed buried within her, his body shaking with exertion, his breath ragged. As he finally withdrew, she could feel the mix of their essences dripping out of her, a raw, primal reminder of his claim. He pulled her against him, his arm a vice around her waist, hand cupping her sex possessively. Tears streaked down her face as the reality of it all crashed over her. She was his. Completely. Utterly. Irrevocably.

But the true torment lay in the chaos swirling within her, an unrelenting storm of uncertainty. She grappled with her tangled emotions, unable to discern how she truly felt or what any of this signified. The question reverberated through her mind like a haunting melody, lingering with an eerie persistence: What now?

CHAPTER 10

SIOBHAN

The morning sun painted the bedroom in soft, gilded light, filtering through the heavy curtains in slanted rays. Siobhan stirred, her body aching in ways she had never imagined—every muscle sated, every inch of her marked by Daragh’s possession. The scent of him clung to her skin, a reminder of everything that had happened the night before. The sheets beneath her felt too warm, too confining, and yet she didn’t move right away.

She was wrapped in his arms.

Daragh’s grip was firm even in sleep, his muscular arm draped over her waist, locking her against him. His bare chest pressed against her back, the steady rise and fall of his breathing the only thing that remained peaceful between them. The possessiveness in his embrace was unmistakable. Even unconscious, he refused to let her go.

Her throat tightened as the memories flooded back—his mouth at her neck, his hands claiming every part of her, the primal way he had taken her, broken her apart, and put her back together as his. She could still feel the burn of his bite at her nape, the bond seared into her very soul.

A shudder ran through her, equal parts rage and something far more dangerous.

I let this happen.

No. It was more than that, she had wanted it. That was the worst part. There had been no coercion, no force beyond the sheer, undeniable chemistry that had ignited between them from the moment she had first laid eyes on him. And last night, he had destroyed whatever illusions she’d had about escaping him—not just physically, but in every way that mattered.

Siobhan pressed her lips together, forcing her breathing steady. She needed space. Distance. Carefully, she shifted beneath his arm, trying to ease herself free without waking him. But the instant she moved, Daragh’s grip tightened like a steel vice, yanking her flush against him.

Siobhan let out a sharp breath as his stubble rasped against her bare shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going, kitten?" His voice was thick with sleep, low and husky in her ear. The sound sent a shiver down her spine, infuriatingly intimate.

"Let me up," she muttered, her hands pushing against the arm locked around her waist.

Daragh didn’t move. Instead, he pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck, directly over the bite he’d left the night before. His tongue flicked against the mark, sending heat pooling low in her belly.

"You belong here," he murmured against her skin. "With me."

Siobhan gritted her teeth. "That wasn't part of the deal."

Daragh chuckled, the vibration rumbling through her. "Oh? Which part did you think you could negotiate, kitten? The marriage? The claiming? The fact that your body is still aching from the way I fucked you into submission last night?"

Her cheeks burned. She hated how easily he could reduce her to this—how he could say things that made her breath catch and her thighs clench even as she wanted to claw his face off.

She twisted in his grip, facing him. His eyes were open now, dark and unreadable, watching her with a quiet intensity that sent something skittering through her chest.

"I never agreed to be yours, Daragh. Not like this."

His expression didn’t change, but she saw the flicker of something dangerous in his gaze. Amusement? Maybe. Possession? Definitely.

"You agreed the moment you let me inside you," he said simply. "And the moment I bit you, it became permanent. There’s no undoing it now, kitten. You know that."

Siobhan’s nails bit into her palms. Of course she knew. No matter what happened, no matter how far she ran, that bond would never break—it might weaken with distance, but she would never be free of it or him. She would always feel him. Want him. And if she was honest, that terrified her more than anything else.

“I thought we might maintain separate bedrooms.”

“Think again,” he purred. “You will sleep at my side every night for the rest of your life—naked and available to me.”

"You’re a monster," she said, her voice taut.

Daragh studied her for a long moment, then shrugged, rolling onto his back. He let his arm fall away, granting her the freedom she had fought for. But the way he watched her as she sat up, as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and planted her feet on the floor, told her exactly how much space he was allowing her.

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