No fear shone in those devious burgundy eyes.

The next moment, a blast of black slammed into my chest, knocking me off balance.

A low, ominous laugh rumbled in my chest. “You have no idea what you just started, little imposter.”

She shook off my power like it was nothing, so strong she had grown in her own.

“Oh, I think I do,” she teased. And then, she was off, racing between thick boughs.

With a growl, I spun on my heel and chased her. My veins heated as I caught sight of her long, ebony hair flashing into some bushes. Kicking fallen fruit out of my way, I pivoted and followed her into the maze.

Her laugh surrounded me, and I halted, listening for her panted breaths or footsteps. I shut off access to our bond, not wanting to sense her location, or for her to sense mine.

It was no fun when it led me straight to her.

The barest whisper through the leaves had me setting off again.

Our paths crossed, and I snatched for her arm. But she was ready for the move and spun out of my grip.

She bolted through another row, and I pounded the earth to reach her.

We burst into a clear spot in the orchard, sunlight flitting through the trees. I ate up the distance, my stride so much longer than hers. And when we collided, I snapped out my magic just in time to cushion our fall.

But with my arm banded around her stomach, she was trapped against me.

“Got you, little imposter.”

Still, she did not relent. Nails digging into my flesh, she shoved and tore. The fight only made me harder. I rolled my hips into her backside, letting her feel exactly what she did to me. “I can’t wait to be deep inside you. I can’t wait to hear you scream my name.”

Shadows swept more fruit out of the way as I flipped her and laid her out beneath me. Pinning her body with mine, I captured her lips. Her teeth nipped at my lower lip, flooding our mouths with metallic tang. I growled, pressing my hardness into her center.

That elicited the whimper I was wanting.

Her fingers flew over the laces at the sides of my leather armor. I shucked it over my head, along with the sweat-soaked tunic beneath it. In that same moment, she stripped off hers, revealing her heaving breasts. I ducked down and raked my teeth over her peaked nipples.

“Rokath,” she panted.

I ripped the bind away. Nothing was going to separate me from Assyria.

Feral need reared inside me. I stripped us both out of our remaining clothes and angled her hips so they were in the perfect position.

“Who protects you?” I growled, my dripping cock hovering at her entrance.

“You,” she breathed, wiggling beneath me. I smacked her pussy, drawing a gasp from her pretty lips.

“Who do you belong to?”

“You,” she swore, eyes shining with so much adoration that it squeezed my ribs.

“That’s right.” I seated myself in one powerful thrust. Her cunt opened for me, molded to be mine long before we ever met.

And she was fucking soaked.

A groan, long and low, rumbled in my chest.

“Fuck me, Rokath,” Assyria demanded.

I tsked and didn’t move. Her core pulsed around me, needy and desperate. “You are not in control here.”

She pouted, and I captured her lower lip between my fingers. Forced her to open wider so I could stick my fingers in her mouth. The sharp bite of her bottom teeth only served to heighten the desire coursing through my veins.

I held her in that position while I pulled out. Slammed into her again with more force than before. She couldn’t smother her cry.

So I did it again and again, drool spilling out the sides of her mouth.

Only when her lashes began to flutter did I surrender my grip. But she wasn’t getting off that easy. Instead, I wrapped my fingers around her throat and cut off sips of air.

I fucked her harder, faster, into the ground like we were wild animals.

Assyria’s nails dug into my lower back, pulling me deeper, like no matter how close we were it would never be enough.

Sweat slicked both our skin.

The world fell away as we stared into one another’s eyes—into our souls, laid bare with our bond.

We were infinite, like the circles between our shoulder blades.

Our love knew no bounds. No time. No limits.

For with our power, there was none.

Not even the Fates could destroy what we shared.

A flush rose to her cheeks. Her chest. Her cunt tightened around me, and I knew she was close.

“That’s it, Assyria. Come for me. I want to feel you choking my cock.”

Her breath hitched. Her spine arched like a whip.

And she shattered.

I surrendered my hold on her neck, allowing her lungs to flood with air.

And then, all we knew was ecstasy.

My dick pulsed, sending waves of pleasure from the base of my spine to the top of my head.

“Rokath.” Assyria whimpered my name like it was both pain and pleasure.

“Fuck, Assyria,” I ground out, hips stilling and finally coming to a halt.

I dropped my forehead to hers, staring into her soul so my words might imprint themselves there permanently.

“I swear, every day in this life and all the rest, I will protect you, mate. You are mine. Now. Forever. Always.”