Page 100 of Shielded Heart 1
Samantha wrapped her legs around his waist and bit her lip as he filled her. Shivers wracked her, and she moaned in unison with him as he drew back and pushed in, again and again, with slow, measured thrusts that made her aware of every individual nodule along his shaft, that made her feel his tendrils’ every tiny movement.
She tried to dig her heels into his back to pull him against her harder, faster, but he only solidified his hold, maintaining his deliberate pace. She whimpered and thrashed as another orgasm built slowly within her. Each slide of his shaft pushed her infinitesimally closer to a new peak.
When she reached for him, he caught her arms and pinned her wrists on the desk over her head with one hand, leaning over her to block out the room’s scant light. All that remained was the glow of his eyes andqal.
“You have no idea how difficult this is, Samantha,” he rasped. “No idea how much I want to ravage your delectable little body. But you need to feel this. To feeleverything.” He thrust deep, making her gasp. “Feelme.”
The tips of his tendrils shifted within Samantha, stroking her core, and her inner walls pulsed with the beginnings of her impending climax. She clenched her fists as her breath hitched and her eyelids fluttered, but she kept them locked with Arcanthus’s.
He shuddered and sagged forward for a moment, settling more of his weight atop her. His lips parted with a ragged exhalation, and his previously steady pace faltered.
“Come with me,” Samantha begged. “Let go, Arcanthus. With me.”
Arc’s lips peeled back to bare his teeth. “Ah, my precious flower… You are my undoing.”
His grip on her wrists tightened slightly as he forced himself up again. He drew back and slammed his hips forward, burying himself deep inside her, only to draw back and repeat it again and again, increasing his speed and force with each thrust. Feral grunts and growls escaped him, mingling with her soft cries. He took her hard.
She reveled in it and begged for more.
The pressure that had built inside her throughout his slow, deliberate seduction was suddenly too much; Samantha shattered. In that same instant, Arc’s tendrils spread wide and pressed against her inner walls. Their bodies tensed in unison, and they both released strained, desperate cries as they climaxed. His seed gushed into her with enough force to send her into another crest.
Arcanthus released Sam’s wrists to gather her close, pressing his mouth to hers as their bodies spasmed in the throes of ecstasy. The pleasure coursing through Sam was pure andexplosive. His deep kiss swallowed her cries, and she clung to him as though he were the only thing holding her together.
His lips moved from hers to trail along her jaw. She felt his warm breath against her ear as he released a low moan. Faint tremors flowed through their bodies as they drifted down from the heights of their passion, and, even when his tendrils reluctantly eased their pressure, Arcanthus did not withdraw from her body.
He affectionately nuzzled her neck and whispered, “Even when I was a slave, I never belonged so wholly to anyone as I do you.”
Samantha’s breath hitched. Her heart, hammering against her ribs, swelled. She could barely breathe with the emotion welling within her.
She turned her face toward him and looked into his eyes, but he kissed her again before she could speak. In that moment, Samantha realized she didn’tneedwords—she poured everything he made her feel into that kiss.
I love you, Arc.
I love you.
TWENTY-TWO
Six days passed without incident—no attempted communications from Vaund, no run-ins with the Syndicate, no sign of them taking action through any of the channels Arcanthus was monitoring. As grateful as he was for the quiet, he refused to grow complacent.
Somethingwas going to happen. Some move would be made. He often reminded himself that his home was safe, secure, and well-hidden, but he found no reassurance in those thoughts. He had too much on the line, now. Too much to lose.
It was only Samantha’s steady presence that prevented him from being consumed by dread.
And you’re not going to give in to it now, Arc.
Only one thing mattered in this moment—finding Samantha. His core crew had taken quite a liking to her, and she’d spent a lot of time with them while he worked. Arc hadn’t fully shaken his jealousy. The possessive, instinctual side of him wanted her all to himself, even though that would’ve meant locking her away in his bedroom, alone, for hours-long stretches, but he’d come to terms with it because she washappy.
Samantha had flourished during her stay here, faster than he’d ever thought possible.
The night after he’d spoken with Vaund, as he and Samantha had lain together in the dark of his bedroom, he’d turned his mind toward doing something just for her. They couldn’t leave—the Syndicate could access surveillance feeds from around the city as easily as Arcanthus could, and Vaund knew Sam’s face—so he wanted to give her something special to make up for it.
Though he couldn’t deny that part of him wanted to give her a gift to makehimselffeel better, to assuage some of his guilt for her being trapped here, he just wanted to see her smile that big smile—the one that made her eyes sparkle—more than anything.
With the boxed gift tucked beneath one arm, he strode through the corridors, heading to the place where she seemed to spend most of her time when she wasn’t with him—the lounge. His heart quickened with each step closer to his destination.
He knew their mating bond had something to do with her endlessly strengthening pull on him, but he knew, also, that this was something far deeper. Each time they were apart—even knowing that she was in the same building, never more than a few minutes’ walk away—he found himself longing to get back to her side. The more time he spent with her, the more time hewantedto spend with her.
Arcanthus was finding it increasingly difficult to focus on his work, and increasingly difficult to care. He knew it should’ve alarmed him, but…why? They’d find a new normal eventually, despite Vaund and the Syndicate, and Arc had credits enough to maintain his lifestyle indefinitely thanks to several passive income streams he’d established over the years.
