Yes, Samuel was still on the run, and the Sons were likely just in remission. Saint was still on the hunt for his twin and Olivia was due soon to have her and Ransom’s first youngling. Things were changing in our world, evolving into something new and unexpected, but no less priceless. I embraced each and every one, knowing that with my mate at my side, we created an unmatched force to be reckoned with. I had no doubt we would win the upcoming battles ahead of us, because we’d already survived the worst—almost losing each other.
The memory of that loss clanged through me, and I shifted out of his embrace to meet his gaze.
“I think we’ve been at this party long enough, Prince,” I said.
A growl tore through him as I uttered the nickname that would be my damning, and before I could blink, he’d wended us straight out of the party.
My high heels hit the floor of his penthouse in the city, and I trembled from the look in his eyes.
“You like being punished, do you?” he asked, his voice sensual and dripping authority.
“Only when it’s my mate doling it out.” I tipped my chin up to him in challenge.
A delicious smirk shaped his lips as he took a step away from me, his eyes trailing the length of my body and back up again.
“What are you waiting for, husband?”
“I’m deciding if I want you to keep that dress on,” he said, and I held my breath as tension coiled tight between us. His grin deepened, and he reached for one of his blades, the silver winking in the light where we stood near Hawke’s bed. “Lay down,” he demanded.
I obeyed, stretching out on his bed as he stalked over me, that blade expertly poised in his hand. “Before, I might’ve asked you if you wanted to keep this gown, but since you wanted to be a brat and call me that name, there is no asking.”
Heat licked up my spine as he settled over me.
“Hold very still, mate,” he said, lowering the sharp edge toward the fabric clinging to my body.
I held my breath as he ran that dagger down the seam of my dress, the fabric giving like a hot knife through butter. It slipped off my body, leaving me in the matching red lace bra and panties I’d picked out just for him.
He paused to take me in, wetting his lips as he shook his head. “You’re so damn beautiful,” he said, sheathing the blade. “Don’t move,” he said, stepping off the bed and shedding all of his clothes.
I didn’t dare move, only watched him with heat in my eyes as he stood there, delightfully naked, every inch of his muscled body on display. I wanted to run my fingers over the ridged muscles, wanted to pump that hard cock until he couldn’t stand to be outside of me a second longer. Everything in my being thrilled at the idea, but I waited.
He grinned down at me, grabbing my calves and hauling me to the edge of the bed. “Good girl,” he said, and I whimpered when his knees hit the floor before me.
Slowly, he guided my lace panties down my legs and to the floor, now leaving me in nothing but my heels and bra. He situated one of my legs over his broad shoulder, the other he pressed out with his hand, baring my aching center.
“I think you’ve earned a kiss,” he said, then lowered his mouth.
I bowed off the bed at the first lick, his tongue teasing right where I wanted him. “Hawke,” I groaned, and he growled appreciatively against my heat.
He swiped his tongue against me again, then swirled it around my clit before plunging inside me. Working me up so fast I could barely catch my breath from the pleasure racing through my body.
“Your mouth,” I breathed the words, my head buzzing from the electricity crackling over my skin, pushing me closer and closer to that sweet edge.
“You like my mouth on you, mate?” he asked against my heat, the vibrations making my thighs clench.
“Yes.” My hips bowed off the bed again as I chased my pleasure, arching into every lap, every thrust of his tongue.
“How much?” he asked, upping his pace, eating me like a starving man.
“So much,” I groaned, fisting the sheets.
“Fuck, you’re already there, aren’t you?”
“Yes!”
He pulled back, lifting his head to look up at me from between my thighs. I whimpered at the loss of contact, at the way my body buzzed and ached with need. That dangerous, beautiful smile that I loved so much shaped his lips.
“All it would take is one tiny push, and you’d go tumbling over the edge, beautiful,” he said, and I bit my lip, nodding as I held his gaze. He lowered his head, turning it to the left to plant an almost chaste kiss on my inner thigh. Nowhere near where I needed him most.