In that moment, he truly believed she was his. Her submission an indisputable truth between them as her body surrendered to his.
She was his first and she would be his last. His only.
She was his existence, his survival. His beginning and his end. His ainsicht.
And as her body fully opened to him, his soul settled in. He swallowed her emotions, drinking them in with pure euphoria. Her shock, her pleasure, her desire to know every carnal secret he had, it was all there, pouring from her soul to his. Stroking the beast inside.
With a growl of ecstasy, his head flung back, and he poured his seed into her. Her channel gripped his pulsing cock, milking his very essence from his veins as her own release ricocheted back to him, multiplying the pleasure and driving him to another plane.
Color sparked behind his eyes and he thrust, still pulling her onto him, not ready to let her go. Her tight, hot sex choked him the more she felt. A roar of satisfaction ripped from his chest and fearful his last sliver of control would slip, he turned his face away from her and bit into his upper arm before he lost control. The next time he fed from Anna, it would come after her invitation to do so.
Spent. Strength depleted. He licked away the puncture wound at his bicep and softly lowered her trembling body to the bed.
His breath shook out of him as she moaned and turned her cheek to the pillow. Her eyes were closed, but she wore a smile on her lips—very much awake, though drowsy.
He carefully pulled out of her body and they both groaned. The world was cold and the second he left her warmth he wanted back inside. But he sensed her exhaustion.
He climbed beside her and curled his body around hers, not leaving a speck of space between them. Pulling the covers over them, he pressed his lips to her shoulder and breathed her in. Every inch of her wore his scent and he purred.
“Sleep, my beautiful one. I’ll watch over you.”
She sighed and a wave of contentment radiated from her. His hand closed over hers, as he cradled her to him.
“I’ll watch over you always,” he whispered. “Ewichkeit.”
She owned his soul. His heart. His body. All of him was now eternally hers.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sunlight gathered on the windowsill as it seeped past the curtain with the waking of day. Annalise lay nestled in the crook of Adam’s arm, her hair draped over his skin like a silken ripple of ruby and gold.
Protectiveness surged through him every time he looked at her, followed by a gratified peace. She belonged to him. He’d found her. And they were almost out of the dark.
Sharp angst spiked along his spine as he thought about yesterday, about his brother’s betrayal and unforgivable transgression. Laying a hand on another male’s mate was an inexcusable offense.
When he saw his brother—his very own flesh and blood—touching Annalise, a rage unleashed, unbridling the beast within. His only instinct, to slaughter the threat to his future.
It took every bit of his fraying restraint not to claim her when he entered the room last night. Not driven by salvation, but by masculine possessiveness, he needed to sink his teeth and cock into her, claim her, mark her, and bond with his mate. But as he barged into the room and saw her sit up in a hurry, her concern washed over him. It soothed him when he’d assumed nothing could tame the beast within. And, like the sea, when the clouds reclaim the wind and everything stills, the storm calmed, and his rage receded.
He hadn’t expected her to hold such power over him. It nearly knocked him to his knees. How could anyone, with only a look, transform his emotions so completely?
He was not a fool. He understood that as the sky mirrored the earth, and the sun balanced the moon. There were always two sides to God’s power, and for as easily as Annalise could soothe him, she could antagonize him as well. Every bit of joy they shared risked the counterbalance of pain.
As if his eyes saw love for the first time, he now understood the cost of caring so deeply for someone. The price he might pay for trust, should she turn her back on him. It was a terrifying risk, but one he saw no other choice but to take.
As he stroked her hair, he studied her still features. She appeared to sleep peacefully. His grandfather had no advice regarding her nightmares. He said the idea that someone else might be trespassing on her shared dreams with him was an improbability he’d never heard of before. Adam had no choice but to assume these dreams were only dreams, and nothing more.
While immortals required little sleep and could go lifetimes without ever dreaming once, humans were different. They dreamed regularly. Adam only had the experiences of those who had been called before him to reference. According to the Order’s records, none of the bonded males or females on the farm had nightmares during the calling.