have to carry any of the past with you if you do not want to. You can be Mrs. Brady or a freak as you wish.” He paused briefly, letting that sink in, and then said, “And you are not alone anymore. I am not like the others in your past. I will never harm you as your father did. I will not turn from you like Bethany and her brother. I will not abandon you as your mother and Stella did. You are my life mate, and my life. I will spend however long I live cherishing you, adoring you, and keeping you safe and happy, because your very existence makes me happy.”
Allie was staring at him wide-eyed, his words still rolling through her head, when he suddenly stepped back. Her thoughts immediately scattered as he slid out of her, and she gasped in alarm and tried to pull him back, but he simply caught her hand and tugged her off the dresser, then led her to the bed.
“Magnus,” she groaned unhappily. “Now I’m going to heal and—”
“The half hour is up,” he interrupted gently as he paused next to the bed and turned toward her.
“Oh,” she said with surprise, and then glanced at the bed and back before asking uncertainly, “What are we doing?”
“I’m going to show you some of that cherishing now,” he said, his voice a deep rumble that sent shivers through her as he lowered his head to kiss her.
Allie kissed him back and let her arms creep up around his neck as he began to run his hands over her back and sides. She tried to move closer then, but his hands slid between them, preventing it so that he could caress her breasts, and she eased her hold and moaned into his mouth in response, and then gasped when he tweaked her nipples.
Breaking their kiss then, he nuzzled her ear and murmured, “Put one knee on the bed.”
The request confused her, but she did it, realizing why he’d wanted her to when his hand slid between her now open legs and found her core.
“Oh,” she gasped, and clutched at his shoulders as he began to caress her, his fingers moving in tantalizing circles that soon had her pressing forward into the caress and moaning with need. When his mouth found hers again, Allie kissed him eagerly, almost desperately, and reached down to cover his hand, urging him on. Even so she was caught by surprise when his finger suddenly shifted and thrust into her in concert with his tongue thrusting into her mouth.
Her cry of pleasure was echoed by his, but both were muffled by the kiss they shared, and then he eased his finger out and broke the kiss. Breathing heavily, he urged her onto the bed, and came down on top of her, but then raised himself up slightly to look at her.
When Allie merely stared back uncertainly, he smiled.
“You are beautiful.”
Flushing, she shook her head, quite sure she probably wasn’t at that moment, but he nodded solemnly.
“You are,” he insisted, shifting onto one arm beside her so that he could run his hand up and down her side as he looked her over. “Your lips are swollen from my kisses, your cheeks flushed, and your eyes are molten silver right now with desire.”
That startled her and her eyes widened. “Really?”
She hadn’t looked at her eyes in the mirror. Not in the bathroom, and not on the dresser. She’d been busy looking at other things and now wondered what her eyes looked like.
“Really,” he assured her. “It tells me you want me as much as I want you.”
Allie felt her face heat up and knew she was blushing, but didn’t deny it.
“But I want to taste you this time if that is all right with you?” His hand drifted down and slid between her legs again, leaving her in no doubt about what he meant.
The very idea of experiencing that left Allie a mass of confusion. She’d read books that suggested it was awesome, but the idea of being open to him that way— Her thoughts died abruptly as he suddenly shifted away, moving down her body and urging her legs apart so that he could rest between them.
Allie clenched her hands, and bit her lip as he positioned himself, but then he raised his head to meet her gaze and her heart stopped when she saw that his eyes were glowing pure silver.