Page 87 of House Ignis

"I just hope," he paused, jaw tightening, "I just hope you'll love me more."

A tear slipped down my cheek. "Jer… I will always love you."

His forehead fell against mine.

Then, his voice dropped to a primal growl. "I need to claim you. Now. I want him to smell me on you. Every inch of it."

Heat exploded in my gut. I reached for the buckle of his leathers, my fingers feverish. We stripped each other bare as steam rose in suffocating waves. When he stepped into the shower, the water cascading down his muscular frame, I nearly lost my footing.

He caught me, his mouth colliding with mine. He hoisted me up, my legs wrapping around his waist. He set me down just long enough to lather soap over my skin with slow, worshipful strokes. I gasped as his hands moved everywhere—possessive, heavy, and hot.

"Mine," he hissed against my neck.

He dropped to his knees in the spray. My hands tangled in his hair, grabbing the shower walls for leverage as he pulled my legs over his shoulders. He looked up at me, eyes burning. "All of you," he reminded me.

Then his tongue flicked against my clit. I screamed. He devoured me, relentless and frantic, until I was barely functioning. My body arched, wave after wave of ecstasy shattering my composure.

He lifted me off his shoulders, pinning me against the steamy tiles. I was wrapped around his waist again, shaking. He took his length—thick, gleaming, and heavy with need—and pressed the tip to my entrance. I sobbed at the contact.

"Gods, Ava," he groaned.

He lunged forward, burying himself inside me in one deep, staggering thrust. My head fell back against the tiles. He moved with a violent, rhythmic intensity, each thrust claiming territory, marking me.

My thoughts scattered. Pleasure rolled through me like crashing waves until I was unraveling in his arms. He followed soon after, a low, animalistic roar escaping him as he spent himself inside me.

He had claimed me. Every inch of me was marked by the earth, even as the shadows waited for the sun to set.

After Jeremy finally pulled away, his kiss possessive and lingering, he pressed his forehead to mine, his breath still ragged.

"I'll come find you after. Tonight."

He was gone before I could even find my voice, leaving the room a humid, chaotic wreckage of discarded clothes, drifting steam, and my own frantic heartbeat. I was barely hauling my robe over my sensitised skin when the bathroom door flew open. The girl squad burst in like a fae hurricane.

"Holy shit," Ember gasped, her eyes scanning my flushed face and the heavy, kiss-bitten look of my mouth. "You two totally did it."

"Of course they did," Maddy groaned, throwing herself dramatically onto the bed. "The walls were practically vibrating."

I flopped down next to her, burying my face in a pillow to hide the heat crawling up my neck. "You won't believe what he told me…"

They hovered over me like predators scenting fresh gossip.

"He said… because I'm the future Queen, the blood bond means I could basically use Asher like a godsdamn sex toy if I wanted. Spiritually. Physically. Any way I want."

Ember let out an ear-piercing squeal, fanning herself with both hands. "By Veyros' crooked grin, I have never been more jealous! A fae-sanctioned loyalty kink? With him?"

"No strings attached?" Maddy's jaw dropped.

Darcy sprawled across the chaise and barked out a laugh. "This is going to be absolute carnage."

Jules looked mildly horrified, clutching her skirts. "I… feel like I shouldn't be here for this conversation."

"Nonsense!" Ember clapped her hands, her eyes glittering with mischief. "Let's get you ready for the most scandalous ceremony this Academy has ever seen. Who are your witnesses?"

I groaned into the mattress. "Fine. You and Maddy. My ladies-in-waiting. Happy?"

They squealed in unison, already moving toward my vanity like a pit crew. Jules and Darcy headed off to fetch the ritual garments, leaving me with the two most chaotic fae in the west wing.

"Guys, stop it," I snapped as I dropped into my chair. "I am not going to use Asher like that."