How had he ever thought this woman unsuitable for him? How had he ever thought her weak?

Of the two of them, she was stronger. By far. She had tamed the beast. She had walked away from a bargain with Lucifer. She had won the allegiance of a hellhound pack. There was nothing she couldn’t do.

And there was one thing Baden couldn’t do: stay still. Not any longer.

“Rina.” He flashed her to their bed, because there, with her, was home. He pinned her underneath him, his shaft still buried hilt-deep. “Will you wrap your legs around me?”

The moment she complied, he gripped the headboard and pulled out, farther and farther, until he almost slid free—then he slammed back in. He repeated the action again and again...moving in and out of her. My woman. Mine to pleasure.

Every thrust of his hips was a promise. Every gasp of his name was a new tie between them. A new bond: a man and his woman...a man and his greatest treasure.

Over the years, Baden had experienced the worst life—and death—had to offer. She had made everything better. She had made every trial, every battle, worth fighting.

Control slipping, he pinned her hands over her head. Their fingers wove together. He slowed...slowed his thrusts...until every inward glide lasted an endless eternity, her hips lifting as high as she could get them to greet him. Sweat slicked their bodies and her nipples teased his chest, the friction delicious, like running matches over a hard surface. Flames sparked.

He held her gaze, letting the tenderness only she elicited shine bright and true, without hindrance. “There will always be something, some reason we shouldn’t be together, but there will never be a good time to live without you. I will cherish you, Rina. I will never hurt you, not again. And I will show you the world—my world. Our world.”

Tears welled in her eyes, wrecking him. He settled on his haunches and pulled out of her.

Moaning, she reached for him. “Empty, come back.”

He fell to his back and lifted her above him. When she straddled him, he leaned against the headboard and clasped his length. “Taste me. Taste your honeyed sweetness on me. See how good we are together.”

She eyed his shaft as if he’d just presented a starving woman with a banquet. “You are naughty, but lucky, lucky you, I am, too. I’m thrilled to give you your reward.”

Slowly she lowered her head. With her gaze locked on his, she sucked his shaft into her mouth and moved her tongue under the crown. The light scrape of her teeth had him hissing in agony...and rapture.

“Hurt you?” she asked.

“Only hurts when you stop.”

“Like for like,” she said and chuckled softly when he cursed. With another suck, she took him into her mouth and slid down, down until she had him at the back of her throat.

He cupped her nape, his fingers tangling in her hair. “Been so long since I’ve had this,” he managed to croak. “But never this good.”

A happy purr vibrated along his length. His sac drew up tight.

“Harder, Rina. Faster. Please.”

She obeyed, her hand coming into play, squeezing his base as her mouth slid up and down, again and again, leaving wet and heat and aches behind.

“Sucking me so good,” he praised. The beast purred in the back of his mind.

Her free hand sank under him, her nails digging into his ass. Going to come...

No. Not without her.

Baden pinched her chin and lifted her head. She was panting, her lips swollen, red and damp.

“Want more,” she said, wrenching free of his hold with every intention of fitting her mouth over his cock once again.

My woman. My prize. Craves my taste. Was there anything hotter?

“I’ll give you more.” He sat up, gripping her hips and turning her around. As he leaned against the pillows, he took her with him, dragging her hips higher and higher up his chest, leaving a path of liquid fire in her wake.

When her sweet, honeyed core was positioned directly over his face, he rasped, “We do this together.”

Understanding, she braced her hands outside his thighs and sucked his shaft back into her greedy mouth. At the same time, he pierced her opening with his tongue. Her teeth clenched on his shaft, pleasure racing through him.

Urgency filled him, and passion drove him. He licked at her, sucked on her. The sweetest candy, the finest wine.

“Baden.” Tremors in her voice. “I’m close.”

“Hold on, Rina. I’m not done with you.” Will never be done.

She set upon his length in a maddened frenzy, every motion hard and dirty. He wanted to last, wanted this—her—forever, but in seconds, she pushed him over the edge of satisfaction. As he jetted into her mouth, roaring his satisfaction, he pierced her core with two fingers and pressed his tongue against her swollen little core. When he sucked, hard, her scream of pleasure filled the room. They shattered and shuddered together.

When he was tapped out, she licked him lazily, as if she couldn’t get enough. He picked her up and fit her against his side. His heart had yet to slow. Content in every way. He doubted he would ever recover from this.

A soft snore rose from Destruction, drawing a laugh from Baden.

“Ashlyn told me how she and Maddox got together,” Katarina said, tracing her fingertip over his chest. “I know how all your friends got together with their women, actually.”

Baden gently smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“Well, at the center of every story, there’s one thing in common. They sacrificed something for each other.”

He’d had the same thought once. Love sacrificed.

Katarina peered up at him. “Baden...I want you to know... I love you. I really do.”

He went still, the ability to breathe abandoning him. He’d once thought he and Katarina had no real foundation. Which, he realized now, was absurd. She was his foundation. His only foundation. “Krásavica—”

But she wasn’t done. “I’m not sure how it happened or even when. All I know is that it should have been impossible. My captor became my life raft.”

“I lo—”

“No. Don’t say anything. Let me get this out.”

He frowned but nodded. He loved her, too. Loved her with all his heart—the very heart she’d revived from the dead. He should have realized sooner. His possessiveness. His desire to be with her. His connection to her.