Page 77 of Primal Bonds

“No.” His fingers curled on his thighs. “Fuck. Maybe. It’s hard for a fada to say no to his alpha. And our alpha then was the mother of all bastards. He might’ve dragged it out of me—I was younger then, not much older than Kyler.”

“That has to be it. It’s the only reason that makes sense. She didn’t hide Merry from you—you knew her up until she was four. If your sister ran without telling you, it was to protect all of you, not because she didn’t trust you.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Maybe you’re right. I guess I’ll never know.” He pulled her toward him. “I want you, Evie. Come back to bed—please?”

That please arrowed straight to her heart. She cupped his face. The kiss they shared was soft, special. She knew he wouldn’t want pity, but she ached for him. “All right. Just give me a minute.” She pulled on her sleepshirt and headed to the bathroom.

When she returned, the room was awash with early morning light. Looking up, she realized that the ceiling had slits reaching all the way to the surface. An air circulation system was running as well, but the slits let in sunlight and additional fresh air.

Jace had used the other bathroom, but he’d beat her back to the room and was reclined against the headboard, an arm behind his head. Even at rest, his biceps bulged. His stomach was ridged, the scars thin pink lines that somehow made him even sexier. Nearly hidden beneath black chest hair were flat brown nipples, and lower down, his cock nestled in another patch of dark hair. It was already at half-mast, but as she watched, it lengthened into a full erection.

She swallowed, her mouth literally watering.

His hazel eyes gleamed in the dawn light. “Come here.” He beckoned with one hand.

She pulled off the sleepshirt and climbed on top of him. His thighs were large and hairy between hers, his penis a hard stalk between their bellies. She set her hands on his shoulders and gave him a long kiss. Pouring all the understanding in her heart into him.

Because sometimes sex was just sex, and sometimes it was more—a way to share your deepest self with someone. To say, You’re not alone.

The kiss transformed, went from compassionate to heated.

She raised her head and looked down at him through lowered lids.

Jace’s mouth quirked. The sadness in his eyes had retreated, replaced by something hot and a little wicked. He rocked his hips, his meaning clear.

She began to move, sliding up and down on his erection, not taking him inside, just teasing them both as the underside rubbed against her pussy.

Jace’s fingers tightened on her hips but he allowed her to take the lead. When she stopped, he cupped her breasts, pinching the nipples into sensitized points before reaching between their bodies to swirl his thumb over her swollen little nub. Unhurried, tantalizing strokes.

She closed her eyes and let him tease her. Tiny shocks reverberated up and down her spine, and her inner thighs tightened as she began the slow spiral to climax.

But she didn’t want to hurry things, so she moved his hand away and leaned forward to rub her lips over his. He tasted of mint and morning. She gave him a leisurely kiss and then started to move down his body.

He went to roll her onto her back but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Stay there. I want to taste you.”

His indrawn breath was all the answer she needed. She moved down his hard, flat stomach and circled his erection with her fingers. He was long and thick and a little sticky from her juices.

She lapped at him. Delicate licks that made his thighs go rock-hard.

“Fuck, you look hot,” he said, and slipped a hand around her nape. “Take me, Evie,” he said in a stern voice that made her insides melt. “Now.”

She tightened her grip on him and obeyed. He tasted dark, salty.

She glanced up to see him watching her with smoky eyes. She smiled and sucked him deep into the pocket of her cheek.

“Yes,” he said between gritted teeth. He tightened his grip on her nape, guiding her to please him. She continued working her mouth up and down him, loving that she could excite him like this. When she got tired, she scraped her teeth lightly over the cap, and his groan told her how much he liked it.

She palmed his balls. They were cool and tight. She rolled the sacs between her fingers.

He let her suck him a few more times, and then stopped her, saying, “I want to be inside you.”

“Mm.” She licked him one more time—a leisurely slide of her tongue up and down his heavily veined erection that had him muttering a curse.

When she lifted her head, he reached for her. “Give me a kiss.”

She straddled him again and fitted her mouth to his. He framed her face with his hands and stroked his tongue over hers, firm and self-assured. A man preparing to take his woman.

He kissed her until she was panting for breath and squirming against him, and then he lifted her away from him. She gave a groan of protest and his mouth quirked.

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