The afternoon sun filtered through the forest canopy, casting dappled shadows across Valerius's face as he held my gaze. My body trembled with need, pressed against his hard frame, our naked skin still flushed from our earlier shifts.
"Show me," I whispered, my voice husky with desire and something darker—a need for vengeance that pulsed alongside my arousal.
Without a word, Valerius backed me against a nearby oak tree. The rough bark pressed into my bare skin, a delicious counterpoint to the smooth heat of his body. His amber eyes had darkened to molten gold, pupils dilated with naked hunger.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked, his voice strained with restraint. "Because once I start, Seraphina..."
I nodded, hands sliding up his muscular chest. "I want this. I want you." And I did—both for myself and for the exquisite torture it would inflict on my so-called mates through our bond.
