Page 70 of Primal Bonds

His pulse pounded beneath her lips. “God’s cat, I want you—since the minute I first saw you.” He gave a short laugh. “Even when I thought you were going to bash my head in with that damn rock.”

Her mouth curved. “Really?”

“Yeah. I thought I was dying and you were a fucking angel. But what about you?” He leaned back so he could meet her eyes. “I’m an animal, Evie. The jaguar’s part of me. Can you handle that? Because if not, tell me to get the hell out of here.”

She fisted a hand in his tank. “Jace?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

He blinked, and then his cheek creased in a smile. “Yes, ma’am.”

Powerful arms enfolded her. His mouth came to hers in a slow, bone-melting kiss. First, warm lips slid over hers. Then he teased the seam of her mouth with his tongue. When she opened to him, he slid his tongue inside, tasting her in leisurely sweeps that had heat licking through her.

She moaned and rose onto the balls of her feet to get closer. Big hands gripped her hips, urging her up against his erection. He dragged up the hem of the sleepshirt and then stilled as he palmed her ass.

“No panties?”

She ran her lips over the stubbled edge of his jaw. “I never wear panties to bed.”

He squeezed her bottom, his mouth a wicked curve. “I like how you think, woman.” A long finger delved between her cheeks, stroking into her cleft from behind.

He touched her clit from below and pleasure stabbed through her. She tightened her grip on his shoulders and rested her forehead against his chest while he played with her—sliding his finger into her, stroking over her most sensitive flesh. Her arousal ratcheted up, became an aching need.

She wriggled against his hand. “Jace.”

“Mm?” He brought his hand to his mouth and sucked her cream from his finger, his gaze locked on hers.

She shook her head. “I—”

“I know.” He traced his lips over each of her eyebrows. “I know.” And somehow, she felt that he did. They were in this together, each of them helpless against the other.

He took her mouth in another hard kiss. His tongue swept between her lips, demanding a response. Heat curled through her belly and lower, between her thighs. A pulse beat deep in her core. She sucked his tongue deeper and twined a leg around his hip, pressing her bare flesh against him.

He groaned low in his throat and ground himself against her. Electricity danced up and down her spine: hot, bright pricks that stoked her desire even higher. His hands moved to her breasts, now pinching her nipples, now caressing them.

He dragged his mouth from hers and regarded her from beneath thick black lashes. A flush painted his broad cheekbones, and the hazel of his irises was spiked a brilliant jade.

She curved a hand around his cheek. “That green in your eyes—”

“That’s my cat.”

“That’s what I thought. When you’re a jaguar, your eyes are green.”

“The jag wants you too.” His voice was guttural, and she knew both cat and man were present at this moment. His lids lowered, and he studied her warily, as if expecting her to change her mind and send him away.

She stroked his neck, his shoulders. “I’m not afraid of your cat. He’s beautiful.”

His jaguar had fascinated her from the first night. After Jace and Adric had left, she’d googled black panthers and found out that they could be either jaguars or leopards. A black panther still had the jaguar or leopard markings, but they were hidden by the extra black pigment. Even when Adric had first accused her of being fae and the jaguar had snarled at her, she’d still found the cat gorgeous in a savage, primal way. But even then, Jace’s cat had seemed to want to protect her—he’d put himself between her and his alpha, and she guessed that for a shifter, that was a huge deal.

“He thinks you’re beautiful, too. And sexy as hell.” Jace angled his head against her palm, inviting her to stroke him more deeply. She obliged, combing her fingers through the short strands of hair on his nape.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t come to me,” she confessed.

Teeth scraped over her throat, sending dizzying waves of delight through her. Her fingers dug into his shoulders.

“I couldn’t stay away.”

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