Beneath him, he felt Regan tremble, her moan of pleasure echoing through the room.

“Jagr.” Her nails bit into his back, her voice ragged. “I need you.”

Eager and willing to fulfill her every desire, Jagr unlatched from her throat, gently licking closed the two small puncture wounds before scattering kisses down her collarbone and over the swell of her breast.

“Your every wish is my command, my love,” he assured her as he shifted to settle between her legs. “For now and always.”

Her hands clutched his lips, her creamy skin flushed with need. “A dangerous promise, chief.”

He gazed deep into the slumberous emerald eyes, capable of feeling the sharp ache of her desire.

“You don’t scare me, Were.”

“No? Maybe you should…”

Her words broke off with a low groan as he surged into her damp heat. Pure sensation jolted through him, clenching his muscles and heating him to the very marrow. For a moment he halted to simply relish being so intimately bound together.

“I should do this?” he breathed as he lowered his head to plunder her soft lips. “And maybe this?” Slowly he pulled back his hips and once again thrust deep inside her.

“Oh, yes,” she breathed.

A growl was wrenched from his throat as she lifted her hips and his cock sank to the heart of her. So close to perfect.

So. Very. Close.

“Regan.”

Her eyes were clenched shut as he steadily pumped himself into her. “Mmmm?”

He traced the tip of one breast his tongue. “It’s time to complete the ceremony.”

“Christ.” With obvious effort, she lifted her heavy lids. “Does it have to be now?”

With a soft chuckle he brushed his lips over her cheeks and gently nipped at her earlobe.

“You are a part of me, little one. Now I want to be a part of you.”

Her beautiful face softened with a heartrending tenderness. “You’ll always be a part of me, Jagr.” Her hands moved to frame his face. “Now and forever.”

With a soft kiss, Jagr cupped the back of Regan’s head and pressed her mouth to the side of his neck.

“Bite,” he commanded softly.

There was a moment of hesitation before he felt her lips part and she dug her teeth deep into his skin.

Jagr shouted in raw pleasure as she gently sucked at the wound, taking his blood into her.

He’d never willingly allowed anyone to feed from him. He hadn’t realized just how intimate the exchange could be.

A primitive passion surged through him. This was his woman.

His mate.

Urging her to drink even deeper, he rocked his hips, pumping in and out of her with a growingly desperate pace.

This was it.

This was perfection.

Wrenching her mouth from his neck, Regan cried out in fulfillment, her nails raking down his back with a blissful sting of pain.

Jagr had never seen anything more beautiful than the sight of Regan reaching her peak, and with one last thrust, his climax slammed into him.

Arching his back, Jagr gloried in the sheer power of the explosion.

Nothing ever had felt so good.

Regan struggled to catch her breath.

Yow.

That just gave a whole new meaning to “bringing down the house.”

Certainly she felt as if the roof had collapsed on top of her.

In the best possible way.

Sighing as Jagr rolled to the side and gathered her in his arms, Regan readily snuggled against his cool body. She felt sated to the very tips of her toes.

And more than that, she felt…

Jagr.

Christ, it was amazing.

He was like a low hum in the back of her mind.

She sensed his glow of peaceful contentment, his stark need to protect her, and overall the fierce love that shimmered through his soul like threads of gold.

Awed by the sensation of being so closely bound to another, Regan stroked an absent finger down a puckered scar on Jagr’s chest. Instantly she was aware of his heated response to her touch. And unexpectedly, a hint of vulnerability as she caressed the flesh he’d kept hidden for so long.

Her heart melted.

How could she have wasted even a moment with her stupid fears?

Culligan and the damn curs had made her a captive, but it had very nearly been her own choice to remain a prisoner.

“It’s strange,” she murmured.

Dropping a kiss on top of her head, Jagr pulled back to study her with a lift of his brows.

“Strange? That’s not exactly what a virile vampire wants to hear after making love with his mate.”

“I meant it’s strange that I can feel you.” Grasping his hand, she pressed it directly over her heart. “Here.”

The brilliant blue eyes flared with a heat that he reserved only for her.

“The mating bond.” His hand shifted to curve possessively around her breast. “From now on you will always know where I am, what I’m feeling, if I have need of you.”

“Need of me, eh?”

He teased the sensitive tip of her nipple, his body hardening with an eagerness that made her chuckle.

“Which will be always,” he husked.

Regan deliberately glanced down at the full erection pressing against her hip.

“So I see.”

The words had barely left her lips when she found herself flat on her back with a smug vampire perched on top of her.

“Would you like to do more than just see?”

Oh, yeah, she wanted more.

She wanted to lick him from head to toe, pausing to nibble at all the most interesting places. She wanted to spend hours exploring the hard planes and angles of his body. She wanted to forget the world and…

Almost as if the mere thought of the world allowed it to intrude, her lovely fantasies were suddenly distracted.

“Holy crap,” she muttered.

A ghost of a smile played about his lips. “Again, not what a virile vampire wants to hear.” His fingers brushed her cheek. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t believe I forgot to ask about Levet. Have you heard from him?”

Jagr snorted, lowering his head to sprinkle light, tormenting kisses over her face and down the line of her throat.

“That’s a story for later.” He easily evaded her question and set about distracting her with delicious strokes of his tongue that were leading lower and lower.

She tried to hang onto a shred of sanity. “But…”

“Later, little one.” He tugged her legs apart and smiled with wicked intent. “Much later.”

And it was.