Page 92 of Storms of His Wrath

“Akoro.” She leaned forward, close enough to see the depths of his dark eyes, to catch the subtle shift in his scent as her proximity affected him. “I fell in love with you knowing exactly what you are. Knowing you carved this scar into my flesh, knowing you kidnapped me, knowing you’re possessive and ruthless and convinced that your judgment supersedes everyone else’s.”

He blinked, his brows drawing in.

“I know all that. But that same Alpha will sacrifice everything to protect what’s his,” she continued, their eyes locked. “He has the courage to make impossible decisions, he’s committed to his people and holds them above everything. I love the Alpha who claims me like I’m essential to his survival, not despite those traits but because of them.”

The silence that followed was electric, charged with recognition and desire and the dangerous hope neither of them had dared voice until now. Akoro’s scent deepened around them, earthy rich with a deeper musk—the complex blend of devotion and possession that marked him as unmistakably hers.

“Say it again,” he commanded softly, his Alpha dominance threading through the request in ways that made her core clench with involuntary response.

“Which part?” she whispered, though she could see in his eyes exactly what he needed to hear.

“That you love me.” His voice dropped to that rough register that made her stomach flutter with submission. “That you choose me.”

But instead of answering, Naya rose from the cushions and approached where he sat on the edge of the bed. Akoro’s eyes tracked her movement, his massive frame going perfectly still. Even seated, he was nearly at her eye level—this giant of a man who could command armies with a gesture, reduced to motionless anticipation by her proximity.

She moved between his spread thighs, close enough that his scent enveloped her completely, close enough to see the way his pupils dilated as her own scent shifted with decision. Her hands came up to frame his face, thumbs brushing across his beard as she studied him, his handsome face.

His hands gripped her hips tightly as though she might disappear.

She leaned down then, eliminating the last inches between them, and pressed her mouth to his with the same eager enthusiasm she’d shown during her heat. But this time, there was no hormonal haze clouding her judgment, no biological imperative driving her actions. This was pure choice, clear-minded desire, the deliberate claiming of her Alpha by an Omega who finally understood what she wanted.

The effect on him was immediate and devastating. A sound somewhere between a growl and a moan rumbled from deep in his chest as he kissed her back with desperate reverence, his control fracturing under the gift of her willing mouth. His hands tightened on her hips, pulling her closer until she was pressed against him from chest to thigh, her smaller frame fitting perfectly against his larger one.

Her tongue swept across his lower lip, and he opened for her immediately, letting her explore and claim and take what she needed. The taste of him—masculine and familiar and absolutelyhers—sent liquid fire through her veins. She kissed him like she was starving, like she was trying to pour every emotion she couldn’t voice into the connection between their mouths.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Akoro rested his forehead against hers. “You kissed me,” he said, voice gritty and full of wonder as though he couldn’t believe it had happened.

“I kissed you,” she confirmed, her lips curving in a smile that was equal parts satisfaction and promise. “And I’ll keep kissing you for as long as you’ll have me.”

The joy that transformed his expression was blinding in its intensity, brighter than the desert sun and twice as warming. “Forever,” he said simply. “I’ll have you forever,tmot zia.”

Naya drank in the beauty of seeing that expression on him. “Why do you call me that?” she asked. “Tmot zia. What does it mean?

“It means ‘my little queen,’” he said quietly.

Naya cocked her head. “As in, a translation of princess?”

“No.” Amusement bled into his gaze. “It means little queen.”

Naya stared at him, thinking back to when he chased her in her forest. “You’ve been calling me your queen all this time?”

The Alpha just stared back at her, his eyes trained on her mouth. She leaned in and kissed him again, lightly, but he grabbed the back of her head and deepened it. His mouth claimed hers with the same possessive intensity that had marked their first desperate coupling, but underneath the familiar dominance lay something new—reverence, devotion, the careful attention of a mate who understood exactly how precious the gift of her surrender truly was.

Akoro’s scent deepened to something rich and musky, saturated with hunger that made her pulse race. “Stay,” he said against her mouth, his voice dropping to that Alpha rumble that always made her knees weak. “Stay and rule with me.”

Naya pulled back slightly, drinking in the harsh beauty of his face—the fierce intelligence blazing in eyes dark as desert nights, the subtle tension that marked him as an Alpha completely consumed by his Omega. The same magnetic force that had drawn her to him during their chase through her forest still burned between them, electric and undeniable.

“But my empire needs me. My people trust me to return, to lead them through the challenges we’re facing. I can’t abandon them.” Images of her parents, her younger siblings, Uncle Torin and Aunt Victoya flooded her mind. She shook her head, even as her body responded to his proximity with shameless hunger. “You took me, Akoro. You almost started a war. I don’t think... my father...”

“I know I don’t deserve you,” he said, his voice roughening with vulnerability that made her keen with the need to comfort him. “I know the scars I carved into your skin will always remind you of what I’m capable of. But if you’ll give me the chance, I’ll spend every day proving that I can be the partner you need, the Alpha worthy of your strength.” His thumb brushed across her racing pulse. “Your father will come around, especially when he knows you’re safe here.”

Naya’s lips parted, the words escaping before conscious thought could stop them. “And especially when we give him his grandchildren.”

Fire blazed in Akoro’s dark eyes at the mention of children—possession and joy and fierce protectiveness combining into an expression that made her core clench with involuntary response. Her scent shifted immediately, in a way that made his nostrils flare in response.

She laughed, nervous energy crackling through her, but he lifted her with fluid grace, carrying her to the massive bed where their relationship had transformed through countless passionate nights. This time, instead of the desperate claiming that hadmarked their previous encounters, he set her down with reverent care, his hands moving to the fastenings of her ceremonial robes with deliberate slowness.

“Then we will make him some,” he said, the deep rumble in his voice sending shivers racing down her spine.

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