and admired the view.
He stood there for long moments just staring at her, and then in his gruff voice said, “Open for me, mate. Let me see what I’ll be claiming, marking tonight.”
It took her a moment to comply, but he scented her arousal, so he knew she was right here with him.
When her thighs were open and her pussy was on clear display, a harsh groan left him. He was on his knees before her seconds later, the beast in him that demanded he claim, mate, and breed his female, rising up like an impatient bastard.
Styx smoothed his hands up her legs, over her thighs, and curled his fingers into her soft flesh. He pulled her thighs apart even farther. He leaned in until there was only an inch separating their mouths, and his cock, covered still in his leathers, was pressed against her inner thigh.
“Gods, Styx,” she whispered, her mouth brushing against his as she spoke. “I want this so badly I can taste it.”
He leaned back just an inch and lowered his gaze to her chest, saw her breasts rise and fall violently with her increased breathing, and felt his mouth water. “I crave your surrender, but also get harder because of your strength.”
A small noise of need left her.
“Do you want to give yourself to me right now?” He needed to hear her say it, to beg for it.
“Yes,” she whispered, and he looked at her face, gauging her reaction. “And I think that frightens me most of all, Styx.”
He loved it when she said his name.
“How wet are you for me, my female?”
She licked her lips and breathed out slowly. “So wet,” she said almost inaudibly.
“And it’s all for me?”
She nodded.
“Tell me.”
“It’s all for you. Only for you.”
He made a low, pleased sound in the back of his throat. Styx slipped his hand between her legs while still staring at her. But he didn’t touch her pussy right away, just kept his fingers poised right on her inner thigh, right by that crease where her leg met the tight, hot little part of her. Styx felt the heat from her cunt instantly and didn’t stop the animalistic sound that left him because of it.
Pulling her leg even farther out with his other hand, he didn’t deny either of them. He touched her pussy.
She opened her mouth and gasped.
He spread his fingers through her wet, soaked slit, and grunted in arousal.
“Yeah, you want this, mate.”
“Gods, Styx,” she whispered.
“Tell me, beg me, wife.”
She didn’t speak for long seconds, but finally licked her lips and nodded. “I want this, want you, Styx.”
He growled, because that’s all he needed to hear to finally claim his mate.
Chapter Nine
Am I really doing this?
Right now she was trying to only think about what they were doing, and not about if she should or shouldn’t be so submissive and willing.
But I want to be this way. I want this with him.
Styx tempted her darkest desires, made her question what she’d ever wanted out of life. Before him and this situation she’d never thought about what she wanted for a future. It had been about surviving, spending time with her mother and brother, and doing the same thing the next day.
Now isn’t the time to let that grief overtake you. They wouldn’t want your life to revolve around that.
It was hard to ignore, of course. They consumed her thoughts, the memories having her thinking about the happy times. Death wasn’t something her social status was unaccustomed to, but the way it had gone down, and the fact she’d never see them again, hurt her heart.
“Your thoughts are elsewhere, troubled,” Styx said, stopping right away, concern in his voice.
She swallowed, not wanting to think about the depressing stuff right now, because this wasn’t the time or place. She’d grieved for her family, for the loss, for what she’d never share with them again.
“I was thinking about my family.”
He lifted a brow. “At a time like this?” he asked, the seriousness and curiosity clear in his voice.
She shook her