Midnight Truth (Shifter Island #4) - Leia Stone Page 0,28
I pulled him tighter to me as instinct drove us to a fervor. In my core, a coil of tension built with exquisite agony.
This … what Rage did … how he made me feel… “Rage…” I panted. “Rage…”
The swirl of magic danced over my skin, but I felt it inside me, too. It pushed through barriers and then…
I could feel Rage. Not just his sweat-slicked body, or his taut muscles, but his emotions … his desire—his hunger—for me.
“Mate…” he growled, his claim searing through me as he thrust us to the edge of ecstasy.
‘Mate…’ I repeated, the only word left. The only word sufficient for all I felt for him … for all he was to me.
My body clenched … tightening as if to cling to this extraordinary pleasure … and then, every muscle seized as a dam of ecstasy exploded within me. My back arched, and my head fell deeper into the pillow as pure bliss—mine and Rage’s—coursed through me, pouring into every corner and fiber of my being. I fisted the sheets as the feeling filled me, sealing me to him and him to me … mates … forever.
The intensity waned, ebbing slowly, and in its wake, it left me blissfully languid and full of joy. I blinked up at Rage to find him staring at me with a wide-eyed look of wonder.
“Uh … is it always like that?” I asked.
I mean, this was my first time, so I had no idea, but if that was what I could expect for the rest of our lives, then sign me up.
He didn’t answer right away. Rather, he swallowed hard and rolled off me.
A million butterflies danced in my chest, and I nibbled at my lip nervously. “Or was that better for me than for you?”
He propped himself up on his elbow and shook his head. “I … I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
Tentatively, I smiled and then poked him in the chest. “Which is good, right?”
“Very good,” he said. Grinning, he pulled me close and then flopped onto his back before tucking me to his side. “I didn’t even know sex could be that good…” He chuckled. “So, yeah.”
I reached out and laced my hand with his, staring at our fated mate marks. “Do you feel like you got to choose me? Or that you had no control?”
“Woman…” He raised his head and smiled. “Don’t you know by now I’d do anything for you? It’s nice that fate marked you as mine, but I chose to love you. How could I not? Your strength, your loyalty, your courage … I may’ve been in denial at first, but now … I love you more than anyone or anything. You have my whole heart, Nai, and I give that to you willingly.”
Swoon.
That was the sweetest thing to say, and yet … my tongue burned with the words I needed to speak—even if it ruined the mood.
“Rage, I—”
“You’re leaving me again.” He swallowed hard and stared at the ceiling, seemingly unable to look into my eyes. But through our bond, I could feel his disappointment.
“Only temporarily,” I rushed to say. “Because my grandpa is dying, and I need to figure out what all I’m supposed to do and know about spirit magic, and then … I’ll come back.”
He was quiet a long time, just breathing in and out. Through our bond, I felt his internal struggle, but I couldn’t tell what exactly he was wrestling with…
“You’re going to become the high mage of spirit”—he turned his head to look at me—“and yet live with me here, in Alpha Castle?”
I narrowed my eyes, defiance swelling within me. If the high mages ever thought they’d force me to live away from my mate…
“Of course, Rage. Is there some law that says I can’t handle high mage affairs from Alpha Island?”
“Shifter Island.” A twinkle gleaned in Rage’s green eyes, and I froze.
“What?”
Rage rolled onto his elbow and faced me. “I wanted you to be here to see it, but I—”
I crashed into him, throwing myself over him in a giant naked hug as the memory of what he’d done resurfaced. The high mages had spoken about it in the library, but I hadn’t processed it. “Oh, Rage! You united the shifters!”
He chuckled, his chest rumbling under me. “I tried. Some have committed to returning, but not all…”
“I’m so proud of you.” I sighed, thinking of him making that decision—without me—and emotion clogged my throat. “I’m sorry … I wish I’d been here.”