The estate bedroom was all dark wood and floor-to-ceiling glass that looked out over the private forest. Morning light poured in, soft and gold, turning the sheets on Damien’s massive bed into something almost peaceful.
I woke with his arm locked around my waist, his body curled behind mine like a shield. The bond thrummed steady between us — warm, whole, still humming from the claiming the night before. Every place he had touched me last night still felt marked: the bite on my throat, the fingerprints on my hips, the deep ache between my thighs that reminded me exactly how completely he had taken me.
I shifted, and his grip tightened instantly.
“Stay,” he murmured against my neck, voice rough with sleep and possession. His lips brushed the fresh mark he’d left there. “The Council can w
