His hand in mine was solid and warm and real. And he grasped me back.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Grayson

The party was winding down as I made the rounds as fast as possible, stopping to chat quickly or saying goodnight to those leaving. When I spotted Charlotte chatting animatedly with José's family, I smiled and nodded at them, then asked if I could borrow Charlotte for a moment. When she stepped aside, I said, "Sorry, Charlotte, I'm retiring for the night. Will you encourage the guests to stay and enjoy the music and the food? If they ask, make Kira's and my excuses?" My wife is waiting upstairs in our bedroom.

"Excuses? Are you sure? There's still—"

"Yes, Charlotte, very sure." I winked at her and strode away before she could say anything else. I made it past a few guests who were deeply engaged in conversation and turned the corner to the stairs. I took them two at a time. It might have even been three.

When I opened the door to my bedroom, Kira was sitting at the small writing desk brushing her hair, a towel tucked around her. At the sound of the door locking, she turned and smiled softly at me. The makeup she'd worn earlier had been washed from her face, her hair hung soft and long down her back. She looked beautifully innocent and just a tad shy. She stood and stepped around the chair she'd been sitting on, facing me as I approached her.

"Hi, little witch," I murmured, stepping right up to her.

"Hi, dragon," she breathed, reaching up to undo the bow tie knotted at my neck. Though she seemed anxious to undress me, I noticed the shaking in her hands, and when I reached up to help her, she laughed self-consciously. "I feel like a new bride." She delivered the words with a hint of humor, but her eyes were wide and vulnerable.

"You are. That's what you are." My bride. Suddenly I felt on strange ground, too. The air in the room seemed to close around us, so only she and I existed within it.

My hands dropped to my sides, and I let her finish with my bow tie, finally tossing it aside, and unbuttoned the top two buttons of my shirt. She leaned in and kissed the bare skin of my throat and my breath hitched at the feel of her soft, warm lips. Her tongue darted out to taste me and then she kissed the spot again, leaning back to undo the rest of my buttons. I watched her, her eyes on what she was doing with her hands. This woman is mine. No one else will ever have her, I thought, my gaze drinking in the dark shadow her lashes made on her cheeks, the way her lips were slightly parted, the bottom one fuller than the top, the very tiny beauty mark to the side of her right eyebrow, and the exact spot on her cheek where I knew her dimple would appear if she smiled.

"You are so beautiful," I said reverently.

Her eyes met mine, large and full of wonder, as green as grassy rolling hills in some misty, mythical land. My beautiful little witch—there was magic within her, and I wanted to bathe in its light. I'd never again look at that maze and not think about her walking toward me in the moonlight with a look of love on her face as she reached out her hand.

She brought my jacket down my shoulders and let it fall to the floor, and then did the same with my now-unbuttoned shirt, her hands trailing down my bare biceps. "You are so beautiful," she said. Her eyes trained on mine, she loosened the towel wrapped around her and let it drop to the floor. I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of her naked beauty, so lush and sweetly curved. Taking her face in my hands, I leaned in to kiss her, a deep moan coming up my throat. I felt weak with wanting, my cock surging fully to life within the tight confines of my pants. I kicked off my shoes, as I sucked at her bottom lip, and brought my hands down to undo my belt, tossing it aside. We continued kissing as I unbuttoned my pants and let them, along with my boxers, fall to the floor, kicking them both off and bending momentarily to remove my socks. When I, too, stood naked before her, her eyes roamed down my body, stopping on my swollen erection. Her eyes shot to mine, the flush on her cheeks deepening. "Can I touch you?"

"Yes, God yes," I choked. "I'm yours. Please touch me." I had waited decades to feel her hands on me. Centuries. Eons.

She reached down and took my testicles delicately in her palm, testing their weight. I groaned, forced myself to remain still while she explored. My breath came out in a ragged exhale when she gripped my length, sliding her hand from base to tip, where she used her thumb to swirl around the head. God, it felt good. "Kira," I groaned, placing my hand over hers and drawing it away. I wanted this to last.

Her lips parted as she gazed at our linked hands, and I watched her throat move as she swallowed. I brought my thumb to it, wanting to feel every reaction her body had to me. I moved my thumb up and down her neck, slowly for only a moment before I cupped the back of her head and leaned in again to taste her mouth. I shuddered at the feel of her silky smooth skin against my own, relished the feel of her softness melding against my hardness. Giving. Yielding. I leaned back to look into her face, desperately needing to see what was in her expression—did this mean as much to her as it did to me? Was this new for her? Different? I didn't know the words to ask, how to pose the questions, and so I looked for answers in her eyes. I became caught in the spell of her gaze before her lashes lowered, and she took my hand to lead me to the bed.

When she sat down on it and lay back, I moved over her, keeping my weight on one knee as my other parted her thighs. I pressed against the spot where the warmest of her heat emanated and she moaned softly.

"Here we are," I murmured, repeating the words she'd said to me at the maze. Finally. Finally. As the word echoed in my head, it felt bigger than just the wait I'd endured to make Kira mine. It felt as if it summed up something I'd waited to feel for so very long. All my life.