Free Taken By Desire by LeTeisha Newton Page A

in there for a while yet. Laius has given us our own area of the east wing until then.”
    “Laius, Pietr’s brother. How is everyone?”
    “Worried. But it will be fine. The first three days were touch and go, but after that we knew you were in the clear, we just had to wait for you to wake up.” His lips were amazing. How had she never noticed that before? Every nuisance as they moved had her mesmerized. She waited on bated breath for a glimpse of his sharp teeth. She wanted to feel his bite again, feel him against her. What was wrong with her?
    “I’m sorry I worried you,” Sasha said, trying to break through the fog of desire fast engulfing her.
    “Don’t be. I’m sorry that I—”
    “Don’t say it. You did what you had to do to save me. Never regret that. I’m alive, thanks to you.”
    “Sasha,” Cirro began.
    “No. I’m alive. That’s all that matters.” Cirro swallowed hard and then nodded his head. He was magnificent, even in a rumpled shirt with blood splatter all over it. His guns and blades were on the nightstand next to the bed, and he’d removed his tactical belt. His harness hung on him haphazardly, his hair tousled as if he’d run his fingers through them multiple times. She purred.
    Wait, did I just freaking purr?
    “It’s a natural reaction of your cat. When you’re happy, satisfied, or afraid, you will purr.”
    “Afraid?”
    “The sound will sooth you. At birth a cat’s mother purrs at them and makes a sound only for them so they recognize her. It’s a throwback to the animal inside of us.”
    “I’ve never heard you purr,” Sasha commented.
    “Then you weren’t listening. Every time you touch me, I purr,” he answered matter-of-factly, and suddenly she wanted her hands on him. She slinked toward him on her hands and knees, stretching, luxuriating in the fact that she was alive. Cirro inhaled roughly, his eyes flickering gold. She saw his nostrils flare and she grew wet. He was so sexy. Her Cirro. Her asfaleia. She wanted him. Now. She ran her fingers up his thighs and listened. She felt his purr before she heard it. It thrummed through her like a pulse. It grew louder as her hands traveled over his rock hard thighs and abdomen. His purr rolled over her like lava, heating her flesh and making her nipples go hard. Cool air kissed her skin and she realized she was naked.
    “You were holding it in,” Sasha said, realizing it at that moment.
    “I tried. Lord knows I tried.”
    “Don’t fight it now. Show me,” she whispered, leaning forward and rubbing her face against his chest. She inhaled and took his scent deep into her lungs. She didn’t understand what she was doing, but it felt right. She wanted their scents intertwined, wanted to stamp him as surely as he stamped her. She wanted to bite him. Sink her teeth into his neck so everyone knew he belonged to her. His warm palms cradled her face, forcing her to look at him. His golden eyes watched her with an unblinking stare.
    “There will be some changes. I will teach you. But first, do you need anything?” Cirro asked, and the heat in his gaze awakened something in her. A rolling force stretched deep inside of her. She could feel it under her skin like living fur.
    “It’s your cat,” Cirro said. “She needs her mate when she wakes. She knew I was on the other side.”
    “Want is not the word, Cirro,” Sasha gasped, her body going liquid.
    “As my mate desires, so shall I provide,” Cirro whispered.

Chapter Eleven
     
    He came to her with a clash, their teeth hitting as he devoured her mouth. There was nothing soft and easy in his touch. She groaned, her fists bunching into his hair. He tasted so good. Her mate, her man. The love of her life. She wanted this, wanted him. They’d survived the realm of hell together, and had come out the other side. She wanted them to celebrate it, fight for the pleasure that only they could give each other. She needed the sting of his possession, the roughness that her body