She obeyed him, opening her body to him, pressing her heels hard against the arm of the couch as his fingers slid into her slick heat. She nearly came off his lap. Her eyes met his with a kind of shock. That dazed look, so hungry and needy, nearly pushed him over the edge of his control. He wanted her to know that he was her true mate.

“We belong, Saria. I’m the one who makes you feel like this. So good, baby. And you’re made for me. Your body was made for mine.” He couldn’t wait another moment. He moved her quickly, positioning her arms above her head, pulling her legs apart so he could kneel between her legs. Her entire body shuddered with a helpless need.

He waited a heartbeat. Two. Until her eyes met his. His fingers brushed over her wet entrance. She moaned and twisted, her hips bucking, following his fingers.

“Say it, Saria. I want to hear the words.”

She thrashed under him, her eyes glittering with gold. “Please, Drake, please.”

“That’s not what I want. Say it.”

She took a deep breath to steady herself. “I love you, damn it. There. Is that what you want to hear?”

“And it’s forever. We’re forever.” He pressed his fingers into her, one shallow fiery inch and she gasped, her body gripping at him, desperate to draw him deeper.

“Yes.” Her head tossed from side to side and she lifted her hips, trying to impale herself on his fingers. “Just please do something.”

He took her with his mouth, his tongue replacing his finger, stabbing deep, drinking at her, licking, sucking, devouring her. She tasted like sweet candy, yet with a tangy bite of cinnamon and he wanted every drop. He lapped at her, holding her legs apart with strong hands, starving for every drop of liquid he could extract with his greedy mouth. Again and again he brought her to the brink while her body thrashed and bucked against his mouth, but he refused to allow her relief.

When she was mindlessly pleading, nearly sobbing, he lifted his head. “Get on your hands and knees.”

His voice had ge to a deep growl. Heat ran like a tidal wave through his veins. She complied, her soft skin covered in that fine sheen that made her feel like silk. He didn’t wait for her to settle but pressed one hand firmly on her neck, forcing her head down and her buttocks up. He slammed his cock into that fiery inferno, driving through her tight folds almost savagely.

She screamed, the sound vibrating through his body. His thick length stretched the walls of her sheath until he could feel her every heartbeat. She writhed around him, twisting, shoving back when he withdrew and plunged again and again. His hands tightened and he drove into her heat. The position allowed the deep penetration he craved as well as allowing his cock to create a tremendous friction over her sensitive bud.

Her moans rose to a wailing crescendo. Her pleas grew into a mindless, desperate chant of his name and oh-please—oh-please—oh-please. He gripped her hips and surged deep, over and over, driving through her tight, hot sheath. Each hard thrust stole her breath, rocked her body and sent her into another frenzy of gasping chanting.

Her muscles clamped down on him, gripped like a vise, scalding hot, sending ripples of pleasure through him as her orgasm tore through her, taking him with her. Her back arched, her eyes widened and she cried out as the sensation rolled over her like a tidal wave. Her tight sheath dragged his own release from him, a series of powerful contractions that seemed never-ending, pulsing around him, drowning him in pleasure.

Drake stared down at her. Both of them fought for breath. He could barely comprehend what had just happened. The explosive passion between them was unimaginable. He could feel her body still gripping his, pulsing around him. Saria seemed to be drifting, barely aware, definitely uncomprehending. He eased his body from hers, appreciating her small cry of protest.

“I’m heavy, baby,” he whispered. He brushed kisses over her chin, the corner of her mouth, her temple. “I don’t want to crush you.”

“Don’t leave me,” she murmured.

“It won’t ever happen, Saria. I’m very much in love with you. As soon as I have the strength, I’m putting you in bed.”

“I could crawl,” she offered.

“I don’t think that will be necessary. Just give me a minute to catch my breath.” He managed to get a hand up to rub the strands of her damp hair between his fingers. She always felt like silk to him. Her skin. Her hair. “Is it so damned hard to admit you love me?”

Her lashes lifted and she stared at him with eyes wide with shock. “Of course not. I’m crazy about you. I just have never said that to anyone. Maybe Pauline—once. Recently. Never as a child. And I don’t think anyone ever said it to me.”

He suppressed a groan and buried his face against her neck. He should have thought of that. Saying “I love you” had not been a drunken man’s priority. When he was sober enough, he taught her to survive, he hadn’t taught her how to love. Pauline, maybe, had fulfilled that role in Saria’s life, but she’d been careful of being too demonstrative in case Saria’s father had stopped the child from coming to see her. Drake hid a smile against her delicious skin. He doubted Saria’s father could have stopped her from doing anything she wanted to do.

He pressed a kiss into her throat and lifted his head to look ather again. “I love you. I’m saying it to you. Over and over. And when we have children, both of us will be saying it to them.”

“Okay.”

She smiled, a slow, beautiful, Saria smile that made his heart stutter and his cock pulse with life in spite of how tired he was. She made him feel alive, in the moment, every second in her company. He kissed his way up her throat to her chin and then to the corners of her mouth. “You’re so beautiful, Saria,” he whispered before his mouth settled over hers. He meant the inside of her, her character, her soul, her heart. He wasn’t a man to give flowery speeches, but she inspired them.