Relief bathed his expression. He smiled at her, baring those beautiful dimples.

Now, to go in for the kill. “But,” she added, and he stiffened again. “I get to decorate this room, as well.”

He opened his mouth, probably to protest.

“I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time in here, and I want to be comfortable.” She was already comfortable, but she was beginning to think he would put her needs, and even her wants, above his own.

The thought...charmed her. Humbled her. Terrified her.

How was she supposed to deal with something like that?

After a few minutes of clear internal debate, he nodded. “Very well. Both rooms.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

THANE WAS UTTERLY ENTHRALLED.

Elin took her role as decorator very seriously. She’d made him find a notepad and a pen to keep track of her ideas and plans. Now, as she prowled through the massive chamber, her brow furrowed with concentration. Sometimes she paused to chew on the end of the pen and ponder, sometimes to write down instructions. She seemed to be on a life-and-death mission, and even had conversations with herself.

Should I put this here? Or there?

Neither. I like the dresser with the stained glass better.

Dang it, what would the Property Brothers pick?

His eyes narrowed. Who were the Property Brothers to her?

Surrounded as she was by untold wealth, priceless and colorful jewels, and precious antiques, all while wearing his white robe, she was like a queen of old.

One hour passed. Two.

He said not a word. He wasn’t interested in rushing her. There was joy and peace in watching her.

Another hour passed.

“Thane,” she said, her voice husky with promise—the same tone she used whenever he was inside her.

He shook his wings. “Yes, Elin.”

With her back to him, dark hair flowing freely, she glanced over her shoulder and grinned slowly...wickedly. The strength of his reaction to her no longer shocked him. His muscles knotted. His blood heated. His need grew. She’s made for me. Mine.

“I won’t know if this is the bed of my dreams until I test it.” As she spoke, she brushed the robe from her shoulders.... The material pooled on the floor, leaving her gloriously naked.

The sight of her proved to be his undoing. Need raged as he drank her in. The elegant line of her back. The two indentations above her buttocks. The graceful length of her legs.

She turned, facing him fully, and he was treated to a full-frontal assault.

His mouth went dry.

She eased onto the mattress, sitting, planting her feet on the floor—and widening her knees.

She was a seductress. A temptress.

“Come to me,” she beseeched.

He walked toward her, as if in a daze, discarding his robe along the way. When he reached her, he made to drop to his knees. She placed her hands on his hips, stopping him.

“Stay just...like...this.” She flashed him another wicked smile as she dropped to her knees.

He was already hard as steel but stiffened further with anticipation. Then her mouth descended on him. Searing heat. Dizzying suction. He almost spilled but managed to hold back—have to have more of this. He leaned over and braced his hands on the bed. Over and over she worked him. Up and down. Up and down. Taking him deep, deeper, so amazingly deep.

When he realized her fingers were playing between her legs, revving up her own desires, he began to rock into her, and couldn’t stop himself. Control? Ceded to her or shredded—he wasn’t sure which. Though he tried to be gentle, so gentle, not wanting to gag her or hurt her. But the gentleness didn’t last long. Her tongue stroked him, and he rocked harder. Harder still. But even that wasn’t enough. He had to have more.

Muscles knotted further.... The heat...oh, the heat..bined with the suction and tongue swirls and the knowledge of just who was responsible for his pleasure... The pressure inside him broke, opening the floodgates. He roared, loud and long, his climax shooting through him. He straightened to cup Elin’s cheeks, to hold her to him as he gave her every drop.

She shuddered with the force of her own climax. And when she stilled, had to swallow a groan. He was sensitive now, every sensation almost too much. Their eyes met.

Shaking, he helped her stand.

“I was out of practice, but good, yeah?” she said with a grin. Her eyes sparkled, like stars in a night-dark sky.

“No words,” he croaked, and felt her grin widen against his chest. “Wait. Maybe one. Grateful.”

“To me or to Bay?”

The husband had taught her that nifty little skill? “Both.” Thane couldn’t manage a single thrum of jealousy this time. Elin might have learned from the male, but for the rest of her life, Thane would be the one to reap the benefits.

Two words snagged his attention. Her life.

How much longer did she have?

He’d told her not to worry. Worry did no good. Ultimately, it helped nothing and destroyed everything. But it never hurt to be prepared. How could he ensure an eternity with Elin? By making her fully immortal.

How could he make her fully immortal?

Thane knew a little about the ways of the Phoenix. Immortality came with the first death. However old the warrior was when he—or she—died the first time. That was the age the warrior forever stayed. Babies, toddlers and preteens rarely regenerated.

Elin was twenty-one. She was still a little young. And the fact that she was diluted with human blood...

He would have given anything for her to be a full-Phoenix, he realized. Absolutely anything.

He helped her dress before tugging a robe over his head. “We never actually tested the bed.”

“Close enough.” She wagged her eyebrows at him, then her shoulders. “I now know I gots to have it.”

Humor restored, he said, “You have what you need from here?”

“Yes. But be warned. You are going to be so completely gobsmacked when you see the finished rooms.”

He had no doubt. She thrived at everything she did. “There are errands I must run, but Adrian will be at your disposal, and he will make sure all of your selections are moved wherever you want them.”

She pouted for a moment. “I’m not thrilled with the idea of forcing Adrian to do my bidding. Why can’t you do it? Where are you going?”

“I have a meeting with my leader.”

“The Most High?”