would take you as payment. And after everything you’d told me about Gyss…I should’ve listened. I’m so sorry, Leena.”
“I believe you.” She leaned her head into my hands, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased. “And you’re right—you should’ve listened.” She glanced up at me, the hint of a smile teasing her lips.
Just that glimmer of her old self broke me, and I slanted my mouth across hers. “Forgive me?”
“Always.” She trailed kisses along my neck, dug her hands into my back. “What kind of anam-cara would I be if I didn’t?”
The pattering of the water falling around us dulled in the wake of her words. Cupping her face in my hands, I begged her to meet my gaze. “Tell me what that means for Charmers.”
“It means I’ve chosen you. And I will continue to choose you every day of my life, through the good and the bad, because I can’t imagine loving anyone else but you.” Her eyes were full. Shining. “For Charmers, no bond is more cherished. It’s more revered and protected even than the connection we share with our beasts.”
Slowly, I brushed my knuckles over her cheek. She was so light. Pure. I couldn’t believe she’d honored me with her love. I didn’t seem worthy of such devotion, but I would spend my life trying to be the man she thought I was. I would devote myself to her like she did to me, because choosing her was the easiest decision I’d ever been faced with.
We still had so much to discuss, so much to learn about each other, but for perhaps the first time in decades, I wasn’t afraid.
“In Wilheim, two people who choose each other are called pair bonds. I’ll gladly be both your pair bond and your anam-cara—and anything else you need me to be—for the rest of our lives.” I ghosted her lips with mine. “You have no idea… Every day around you was a struggle. A constant battle between what I felt and what I didn’t want to admit. Saying it now, feeling this way… It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever been able to experience. And that’s all thanks to you.”
A beautiful look of relief washed over her face. “I love you, Noc. With everything that I have.”
A deep groan shattered my chest, and I buried my face in her neck. “I love you, too.” Gripping her waist, I pulled her close. Felt the steady beat of her heart against mine. To love and be loved, after I’d locked away my emotions for so long… The feeling shook my world and tied me to her. Forever.
Fire sparked between us as she trailed her hands down my back. Pressed herself close. Her lips skimmed my chest before she tilted her head up and sought out my mouth. Heat and longing uncoiled low in my stomach. After declaring our love, all I wanted was to be with her. Fully. But only if it wouldn’t break her further. She’d been through so much.
Pulling away for a moment, I brushed my thumb along her lips. “We don’t have to do anything here.”
“I want to be with you.”
There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in her hazel gaze, and I didn’t have the strength to deny her. Nor did I want to. Pressing her flush against the wall, I tasted her neck. She gasped, arching her back and leaning into my touch.
I hoisted her up against me and guided her legs around my waist. She hooked her ankles together to anchor herself in place. Desire rippled from her, a thick and heavy scent flirting with my nose, and wetness unrelated to the shower slicked across the base of my abdomen. I’d never grow tired of her smell. Still working the skin of her neck, I dropped my kiss lower toward her breasts.
Gentle. We could be frantic later, but not now. Not after what she’d been through. She needed soft touches and tender devotion. Feelings of true love to erase all that she’d suffered.
I laved her nipples with my tongue, and her grip tightened.
“Noc.” Her moan made me light-headed. She needed me as much as I needed her. Softly, she rocked her hips into me and rubbed her clit along the head of my cock. Wetness and heat and desire flooded from her to me, and I cursed at the feel of it all.
Intense hazel eyes locked with mine, and I was undone. Bit by bit, I sheathed myself inside her, and I slanted my lips