Page 103 of Shielded Heart

Samantha suddenly pulled her mouth away and stood, shoving her leggings down and kicking them aside. She pulled her shirt off over her head before crawling onto the bed, and—on hands and knees—presented her curvy ass and glistening sex to him.

Arcanthus shuddered, clamped a hand around the base of his shaft, and swiftly crossed the space separating them. He placed his free hand on her hip, positioned the tip of his cock against her center, and thrust into her.

Samantha gasped and pushed back against him, her sex clamping around his shaft. Her heat nearly undid him; he bent forward, bracing himself with one hand on the bed, and drew in a deep breath. The air was perfumed with her intoxicating scent.

Keeping one hand on her hip, he straightened and ran the other up her spine, twining his fingers in her hair. He grasped the strands and pulled her head back as he gyrated his hips. He used his hold on Sam to tug her into his thrusts, slamming their flesh together, burying himself ever deeper. The tightness of her sex was amplified by the new position; before long, the pressure in him had risen to impossible heights, and his breath was ragged.

He pushed himself faster, harder, his eyes fixed on the sensuous flare of her hips, on the graceful curve of her spine, on the quivering flesh of her ass—on the erotic way his cock glided in and out of her, glistening with her slick.

Her body suddenly tensed. She gasped, her breathy moans rising in volume as she came; the tremors running through her sex were more than he could resist.

Arching his back, Arcanthus roared. His tendrils split apart and grabbed hold of her soft inner flesh, spreading her open inside, and his seed flowed into her in great spurts that coincided with the waves of pleasure blasting through him. He snarled, baring his teeth and grinding against his mate, unable to get close enough to her.

When the waves finally faded, leaving him shuddering, he eased his hold on her hair. Samantha sagged down and laid her cheek on the blanket. Arcanthus leaned over her, gently kissing her ear, her neck, her back and shoulders, sampling that enticing, salty taste, worshipping her with his lips. Unwilling to move away, he remained in that position even after his tendrils released her.

Panting, she reached up and brushed her fingers along his horn and into his hair. She hummed softly, lips curving into a smile as he rained kisses upon her.

“You, by far, surpass my standards,” Samantha murmured.

Arcanthus grinned against her shoulder. “Was there ever any question?”

She wiggled her ass, sending another pulse of ecstasy through him. “I had my doubts.”

“You shouldn’t tell lies, little terran.”

“The truth is…you’re the most wonderful thing to have ever happened to me. And I…” Something had changed in her tone, and her body stiffened; her playful air had vanished in an instant.

Arcanthus gently withdrew from Samantha and rolled onto the bed, lying on his side next to her to look her in the eyes. There was a tightness in his chest, a heat that had nothing to do with their joining, a cloying sense of uncertainty and anticipation. “You what, Samantha?”

She glanced away briefly before turning onto her side to face him fully. She looked worried, looked vulnerable, like she was bracing herself for coming pain.

“I love you,” she said quickly.

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected her to say—anythingelse, perhaps. Anything but those words.

And yet heknewthey were the right words. They somehow encompassed all of it—everything he felt from her, everything he feltforher—despite their simplicity. Those words sank deep into his core, into his heart, and radiated warmth throughout his body, even into the flesh of limbs he no longer possessed. He’d been foolish to think having his mate was the pinnacle of satisfaction, the peak of happiness.

Because having his mate’slovelifted him to heights that shouldn’t have been possible.

Arcanthus smoothed the hair back from her face, staring into the unfathomable depths of her eyes. “I love you too, Samantha.”

She smiled, and it was so bright, so joyous, so beautiful that he almost couldn’t believe it was real. She leaned toward him and pressed her mouth to his, cupping his face between her hands.

Arcanthus looped his arm around her waist and tugged her flush against him.

It didn’t matter that they’d just joined; he needed her again. He rolled onto his back, pulling her atop him without breaking the kiss, and ran his hands up and down her back, over her ass and thighs, and along her arms before taking hold of his shaft.

Samantha lifted her hips, and he positioned himself at her entrance.

“I love you,” he whispered against her mouth as he slid into her, raising his hips to push deep.

She exhaled softly and repeated the words back to him breathlessly.

He kept her within his embrace, sharing her breath through their kisses. Together they found a tempo that allowed the flames of their passion to flow freely until they were both consumed from within by a raging inferno.

Well after their desire had been spent—as Samantha lay against him, sleeping—Arcanthus looked upon his beautiful mate, and his heart swelled.

He had everything he could ever want, everything he could ever need, right here in his arms. And he would destroyanyonewho tried to take it from him.

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