"I'm begging already.”

He purred deep in his throat, the sound low and stirring. "Not enough. Not yet.”

He lowered his head, replacing the tormenting dance of his hand with the seductive heat of his mouth. His tongue stroked, hot and wet, deep, long laving strokes that made her groan, tiny, flickering strokes that made her shudder and gasp.

"Rain … oh, gods save me ... Rain! Please!”

«Not yet ... » It was a thrill like no other to make her fly apart in his arms, even if only through Spirit. She was so open, so responsive, an alluring mix of innocence and sensuality. Again and again he brought her to shattering release, wiping out every remnant of fear from her nightmares, replacing each doubt and dread with passion and glorious sensation until there was no room in her mind for anything but him and the feelings he wove upon her.

Only then, only when no hint of fear remained in her eyes, did he draw upon every erotic thought and dream he'd had since her soul first called to him, spin them into each thread of the weave and slide his Spirit body deep into her waiting warmth. He poured his thoughts, his strength, his emotion, his very soul into the weave, fashioning touch, taste, smell, until she could feel his body moving on hers, in hers, until he could feel the tight, wet clasp of her muscles closing around him, pulling him deep. The tendons in his neck drew tight, the muscles in his arms clenched and shook. Part of him was aware of her wide, stunned eyes, her shallow, gasping breaths, the other part was only aware of the naked, sweat-glistening bodies of Spirit that mated in his mind and hers.

"I want to be inside you like this. I would crawl inside your soul and live there if I could. Ver reisa ku'chae. Kern surah, shei'tani.”

"Rain," she gasped. "Shei'tan!”

He pulled her to his chest and plundered her mouth, as the bodies in his weave arched against each other in screaming, shuddering release. He felt her quake in his arms, felt his own body give itself over to a powerful orgasm that ripped through him with stunning force.

The weave dissolved. The images of his shellaba faded into mist, leaving only Rain and his mate, still fully clothed and lying boneless as sated cats on the bed in her tiny room in the woodcarver's house.

Much later, when he rose to leave, Ellysetta's hand curled around his wrist. "Don't go," she whispered. "Stay with me. At least until I go back to sleep.”

The glow in his eyes warmed to tenderness. Green Earth swirled in a fresh mist, smelling of springtime and blossoming life. His leather tunic dropped neatly beside the blades and weapons belts on her nightstand. Warm, pale flesh lay beneath her palms, strong arms wrapped tight around her, and the aching beauty of tairen song purred across the newly-forged first thread of their bond, singing a stirring vow.

Rain kissed her with exquisite care and smiled into her eyes. "I will stay with you for eternity, if you allow it, shei'tani."