Page 38 of Tall, Dark & Horny

She blinked up at me with wet eyes. “There’s more.”

“Yes, baby. The most important part.” I cradled her cheeks in my palms. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

One of the tears spilled down her cheek, and I swept it away with my thumb.

Hearing those three words from her was everything. My demon surged inside me, greedy and exultant. I curled my hand around her waist and pulled her closer.

“More than I ever thought I could love anything. You’re mine.”

Her breath caught, lips parting, and I knew she felt the shift between us. This was no longer just fate. Loving each other was a choice we’d both made.

And I was done waiting.

With one arm around her waist and the other beneath her thighs, I lifted her easily, holding Calliope against my chest like the treasure she was. Her breath caught, but she didn’t protest.

Curling into me, her fingers rested lightly at the base of my neck. “I can walk, you know.”

“Too slow,” I growled, already moving.

We stepped through the ruins of the atrium. The scent of scorched stone and lingering ozone still hung in the air, but The Abyss had already begun to repair itself. Wards shimmered faintly along the edges of the damage, weaving threads of healing magic through the cracked floor and shattered glass.

Kastiel passed us near the southern arch, his sleeves rolled up and blood still drying along his knuckles. He gave us a once-over, nodded, and went back to barking orders at the cleanup crew. Lyra stood farther back, overseeing the movement of a massive shard of glass that had embedded in one of the columns. Her eyes met mine briefly, then shifted to Calliope and softened.

Neither of them said a word. They knew I was at the edge of my control and beyond ready to fully bond with my fated mate.

Calliope buried her face against my collarbone, her voice barely a murmur. “They all know what we’re about to do, don’t they?”

I didn’t slow my pace as I answered, “They know not to interrupt.”

The hallway darkened slightly as we reached the tenth floor. The wards pulsed once, acknowledging me and the precious woman in my arms. As I reached the door to my private quarters, it swung open without a sound.

I carried her inside.

And this time, I wasn’t letting Calliope go until she was fully mine.

I laid her on our bed, my demon pushing to go faster while I paused to savor the sight of her beauty spread out before me.

I was desperate to have her, to solidify the bond between us. My mate clearly felt the same because she stripped out of her clothing as quickly as I did.

But before we lost ourselves to our passion, I needed to make sure she was fully on board with what I had planned. “I know you enjoyed my phantom touch when I used it before, but I’m not sure how you’d feel about me using it to claim every part of you.”

She blinked those bright green eyes, her cheeks already flushed as she whispered, “What does ‘every part’ mean?”

While stroking her jaw with my fingertips, I used my phantom touch to send a slight flutter against her puckered asshole.

She moaned, her eyes widening. “Oh.”

Even though Calliope knew I loved her and that she was mine, I still had a beastly desire to claim her. To fill all of her. “I’ll be gentle, baby, I promise. And you can tell me to stop at any time.”

She answered by pressing her lips to mine as she took my hands in hers, trailing them lower to cup her breasts.

This woman drove me crazy and knew exactly what to do to get my inner demon going wild. I growled, deepening our kiss as I tasted her sweetness.

“Turn over,” I murmured into her mouth, gripping her waist as she wiggled against me, flipping her so she was on her stomach, ass in the air.

And what a beautiful ass it was. I let my phantom touch give her a squeeze that had her yelping in a pleasant surprise before she spread her legs farther, giving me access to that tight little hole.

---