Suddenly his hand was at her throat, his mouth over hers, his knees braced against the window to support the thrusts of his hand.
Give me what I want.
The melding of his thoughts with hers was all the impetus she needed. Part of the taming was his ability to read her thoughts, but for her to know his meant the connection ran both ways.
The tension fled her body. Her sex spasmed with want, clutching greedily for what it needed . . .
“Please,” she breathed, aching to hold him. “I need you.”
Max tilted Victoria’s head back a split second before the collar appeared. The thin black ribbon looked so innocuous, but it bound her more than chains ever could. It would fade when she was paired with a warlock, become a part of her, just as her new master would.
The sight of the collar and the submission it signified made cum dribble from the head of Max’s aching cock, every cell in his body flaring with masculine triumph. He yanked the dildo free and tossed it away, releasing her from his spell, catching her limp, willing body in a protective embrace.
He’d almost given in, he had wanted her so badly. Feeling her body grasping for him, hungry for him, had driven him crazy. The only thing that held him back was concern for her. If he failed to bring her back from the edge, They would kill her. And that would kill him.
Clutching her close, Max used his powers to take them home—his home. There he lowered her gently to his velvetcovered bed and then cupped her thigh, spreading her wide. The sight of the glistening lips of her sex and tiny pu**y made his balls draw up. The look in her eyes made his heart ache.
Hours. That’s all they had left.
He climbed over her, admiring the new curves she’d acquired with careful tending. Under his care, she’d lost the signs of neglect. As he caught one of her wrists and pulled it over her head, he never took his eyes from her, using magic to pull the velvet rope from the bedpost and bind her.
“Max.” A whisper, no more than that, as she lifted her other arm without urging and used her own power to restrain herself.
Victoria was the most powerful woman he’d ever known, both in their world and the world they shared with humans. Her submission of that power to his demands was a gift of such magnitude it captured his heart. His eyes burned, his throat clenched tight.
His kitten. His.
He took her then, in a swift sure thrust that joined them so tightly there was no separation. A raw sound tore from his throat as she climaxed instantly, sucking his c**k with ripples of pleasure, luring him to come in her with hard, fierce spurts. Holding her shivering body tightly to his, Max pumped gently, draining his seed while prolonging her pleasure, absorbing her cries with pure infatuation.
Later, he laced his fingers with hers and rode her bound body again. Harder this time, releasing his passion in a brutal taking, his hips battering hers, his c**k plunging deep.
Victoria accepted his lust with such beauty, her voice hoarse, her words barely audible over his labored breathing.
“Yes . . . yes . . . yes . . . ”
Taking all that he was, blossoming like a flower beneath him, lush with such promise. The places he could take her, the things he could teach her, the freedom he could give her . . .
But he was a Hunter groomed to join the Council, and They didn’t keep Familiars.
So Max took what he could, his tongue and lips working at her breast, drawing on her with hungry pulls, worrying the hard nipple against the roof of his mouth. His hands pinned her down, kept her still for the steady rise and fall of his hips, his c**k working her into endless pleasure, giving her no rest, afraid to stop touching her. Afraid to lose her.
Keep her.
The compulsion rose up so unexpectedly that his rhythm faltered, suspending him at the deepest point of a downward plunge, his c**k scalded by the hot clasp of her cunt.
“No!” she cried, struggling beneath him. “Don’t stop. Please . . . ”
How could he walk away? She’d sacrificed the life she’d built for herself to reenter his.
He would do the same for her. He needed to do the same for her.
“Never.” He growled and crushed her to him, resuming his claiming, his flushed cheek pressed to hers. “I’ll never stop. You’re mine. Mine.”
Victoria summoned the black robe Familiars wore when facing the Council and dressed silently. She’d preserved the garment all these years, saving it for the day she would face Them and exact her revenge. Now she donned it with a different purpose in mind.
As she prepared to leave, her eyes never strayed from the sleeping form on the bed. Max’s powerful body sprawled facedown, the red satin sheets riding low on his hips. Gorgeous.
She ached to touch him, to wake him, to look into those molten silver eyes one last time.
How dangerous he was, even in slumber.
Tears fell unchecked.
Lost in her, his mind had lowered its guards, his thoughts and feelings pouring into her in a flood of longing and affection that destroyed. He was willing to give up all that he’d worked for to keep her, and she couldn’t let him do it.
She couldn’t lose him like she lost Darius. The Council would be furious at being thwarted a second time. Their spite had cost her one love. She refused to let it cost her another.
Better to lose him to a life apart from her than to death.
So she covered her mouth to muffle her pain, and left him.
Four
The moment Max woke from the depths of sheer physical exhaustion, he knew she was gone. Their connection was such that he had felt Victoria inside him ever since the collar had appeared. Now the warmth she gave him was no longer there, leaving him cold.
But he wasn’t alone.
Once again, you exceeded our expectations, the Council said, in a tone laced with satisfaction. The Familiar is returned to the fold, a result she says would not have been possible without your power and expertise. We are pleased.
Rolling out of bed, Max tugged on a pair of loose-fitting trousers, his heart racing in near panic. “Where is she?”
She is preparing for the joining ceremony.
“What?” He paused and glanced at the clock by his bed, his fists clenching. Two hours ago he’d been balls deep inside her. Now she was bonding forever to another man? “What’s the goddamned rush? I just collared her! The training wasn’t finished.”
How could she?
Black rage rolled over him.
We felt it would be safest, and most effective, to partner her quickly. Her warlock will train her to suit him.
“Who is he?”
Gabriel was selected. He was the only warlock strong enough, aside from you.