Mated to the Griffin (Elemental Mates 5)

Now her body was so needy that she could feel the tension thrumming beneath her skin, all of herself aching for his touch. Aching to be claimed, to feel him close again—and to feel how right they were together.

“Our first night in this house together,” he said as he sat down on the bed, then slowly moved towards her.

She couldn’t look away from him. His eyes were still gleaming with that otherworldly light—but his element wasn’t the only one who had chosen Jared. She had chosen Jared. And she’d never, ever let go of him again.

“The first night of many.” She reached out for him, trying to pull him closer.

With a soft laugh, he evaded her hand. Instead, he leaned down, lightly drawing a finger along her ankle, then pressed a kiss to the sensitive skin.

Slowly, so slowly that it was nearly unbearable, he worked his way up her leg, covering every inch of her skin with kisses. She allowed her thighs to splay open as he gently nudged her knee, letting him see how aroused she was. In response, he groaned softly, his teeth rasping against her skin.

But even now he didn’t speed up. If anything, he moved even more slowly, as if he was savoring each and every kiss.

Or as if he was savoring driving her utterly insane with desire.

She gasped and dug her fingers into the sheet when he finally moved further up her thigh. Between her fingers, she could feel the velvet-soft texture of rose petals. All around them, the candles flickered. She couldn’t even say if it was Jared’s arousal doing that to the light, or if she was too overwhelmed to keep her eyes open.

And it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered, because now at last he’d reached the crease of her thigh, and his hand began to slide further upward, curving around her hip.

Then his mouth was on her.

He explored her folds hungrily, the heat of his tongue making her moan almost desperately. It didn’t even take much this time—she’d already been pulsing with need for him before he’d even started to kiss his way up her body.

And now, at last, when he gently slid a finger into her, she found herself clenching around him with a surprised cry. Her climax came rushing through her the first moment the tip of his tongue touched her swollen clit.

He didn’t stop there. Even as she was still trembling through her orgasm, he kept caressing her, his finger crooking a little, slowly sliding in and out until his touch made a new wave of heat build up.

Teasingly, his tongue licked a circle around her clit, again and again while she gasped and arched against him.

Through the mate bond, she could feel his own desire. It wove around her seductively, mingling with her own need until it felt like they were tied together by strings of golden light.

And then he fastened his mouth over her, his tongue demanding as it caressed her clit with lick after lick, and she was lost.

Heat rushed through her body. Every pulse of it sent waves of ecstasy through her entire body, until she felt as if the golden light of their bond filled her from the roots of her hair down to her toes.

But still it wasn’t enough. Even as she gasped for breath, she knew that she needed more. She needed him.

This time, when she tugged at his arm, he didn’t resist.

His body was damp with sweat, gleaming in the light. She could feel the tension in him, every muscle in his body hard as stone as he moved over her.

And then, at last, he slid into her.

Another moan escaped her at the feeling. She felt nearly delirious, overwhelmed with sensation. He was rock-hard, filling her perfectly, and at every thrust, new heat flared up inside her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathlessly clinging to him as best she could.

This was what she’d always wanted.

Not just the sex—although the sex was perfect.

But the intimacy of it. The way she felt so close to him. There was nothing selfish about the way he made love—they were truly coming together.

And he saw her. He saw her, in a way no one else had ever seen her, and he loved and desired her despite it.

No—because of it.

She ran her hands down his back as his mouth trailed a path along her shoulder. The light of the mate bond was so brilliant now she could see nothing but golden light, feel nothing but the ecstasy of Jared claiming her, their bodies truly one.