Especial y since there were no more secrets between them. Not anymore. Amun knew she could now read him as easily as he could read her, and knew why she was doing this. She had felt his fear, his determination never to touch her like this again, and even though he had felt her fear, she was wil ing to risk herself. To try this again.

But more than he wanted the exquisite pleasure he could find in her body, the utter bliss of feeling her inner wal s clamp around him, holding him close, the thril of sliding inside of her, retreating, then sliding back in, he wanted her safe.

Secrets, he gritted out. Do you know what wil happen to her if we...if I...take her again?

His demon was stil lost in her mind, soaking everything in.

d.a.m.n this! Haidee hadn't moved since her announcement.

She merely sat there, his shaft buried deep inside her, giving him time to adjust to her plans. If he'd been a stronger man, he would have shoved her off. But he wasn't.

He was a warrior who had final y found his woman. A warrior who wanted to possess her, body and soul. A warrior who needed to stake his claim, to warn every other man away.

"I'l go slow, al right? Just release my hips and I'l rock us both to paradise."

No, he managed to growl into her mind. He'd grabbed her again? Yep. He had. I wil protect you. Even from myself.

"You want me to go fast, then?" she asked, ignoring the other things he'd said.

No! G.o.ds, yes.

"Wel , what do I have to say to change your mind? I need your fire, Amun. Your heat." As she spoke, she leaned down, shifting the slant of his erection inside her and making him groan. She braced her hands beside his head, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s meshing into his chest, her nipples stabbing at him, her wanton mouth poised about his. "And I think, maybe, you need my chil ?"

That slight hesitation revealed something her thoughts and tone hadn't. Uncertainty. She was afraid she couldn't please him s.e.xual y. That she was too cold for him, that she would hurt him.

He couldn't al ow her to find fault with herself. To question her power over him. Some men might not like their women knowing just how badly they were whipped, but Amun wasn't one of them. The better she understood the depths of his feelings, the more confident she would be. He wanted her confident.

As she nipped at his lower lip, he released her hips, slid his hands under hers, beside his temples, and twined their fingers. She peered down at him, those pearl-gray eyes luminous-and confused, as if she didn't understand what he was offering.

I'm not wearing a condom this time, either, he said.

Her pupils expanded as she realized what his comment meant. Surrender. He was giving in, giving her what she wanted. Risking her, the most important part of his life, to share this moment with her.

"Do you mind?" she asked, her radiant expression lighting her up from the inside out.

No. He imagined her pregnant with his child, as radiant as Ashlyn was with Maddox's twins, and almost came inside her without a single thrust. Do you? His voice was choked now.

"No," she whispered.

Then move on me, sweetheart. Let me give you fire, while I luxuriate in that ice. When she tried to rise, to ride him, he squeezed her hands, holding her in place. Just like this.

"Yes." She used her knees as leverage and glided up his length, making both of them gasp.

Now kiss me.

On the downward slide, she pressed her mouth into his.

Immediately he opened, welcoming her tongue. Cool, wet, just the way he liked her. She tasted of his wildest fantasies and unending pa.s.sion, both of which wiped his thoughts, his concerns, and left only need. He fought the urge to hammer at her, hard and fast, driving them both to the sweetest insanity.

They would go slowly this time. If, at any point, she seemed to be in pain, he would find the strength to pul from her.

Up and down she moved on him, savoring. Savoring until they were panting in each other's mouth, silently gasping each other's names, her nipples rasping against his chest, creating a decadent friction. His blood was heating, and that heat was seeping into her. Her blood must have been cooling because that chil seeped into him, wrapping them both in fire and ice, one sensation feeding off the other.

Too fast, he said, even though they were moving at such a leisurely, languid pace, hips rol ing together, her c.l.i.toris grinding against him, her desire providing such a tight, perfect glide. Hurting?

"So...good..."

He licked his way to her jaw. Her ear. He nibbled on the outer shel , then dove inside. A shiver raked her spine and her lower body jerked against his. Another nibble and then he was licking down her neck.

He stopped at the wild thump of her pulse and sucked, drawing the blood higher, just under his tongue.

That earned another shiver from her.

"Amun?"

Yes, sweetheart. G.o.ds, he would never tire of hearing his name on her lips. Tilt your head farther to the right.

She obeyed, and he sucked at the tendon between nape and shoulder. Her movements quickened, but the thrusts became shal ow, her body riding him only part of the way.

Sweetest. Torture. Ever. She kept him in a state of unwavering desire, his skin so sensitized even the caress of air stoked him higher.

"I-I love you," she said.

W-what? Dare he hope she'd said- "I love you."

Oh, sweetheart. She was everything to him. Simply everything. After her declaration, there was no holding back. No going slowly, no taking their time, playing it safe, easing their way to climax. Amun rol ed her over, releasing her hands to grip her knees and shove them as far apart as they would go. Tel me again.

"I love you."

He pul ed nearly al the way out before slamming home.

Again.

A cry spil ed from her lips. "I love you."

Again. In, out. In, out. Hard, fast. The heat spreading, the ice consuming. He stared into her eyes, so deep, losing himself, glad.

"I love you." Her nails dug into his back, drawing blood. Her head thrashed from side to side.

In, out. In, out. He released one of her legs and placed it between his own, his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es suddenly rubbing against her thigh. The new position diminished the s.p.a.ce between her core and his hammering erection, the rounded, weeping head sc.r.a.ping against her c.l.i.toris with every insistent inward pounding.

Soon she was gasping, incoherent. So was he. From pleasure, no hint of pain. And if he'd thought their first time intense, he learned the error of such a mind-set. She loved him. He owned her heart, just as she owned his. They were melded by more than their bodies. They were melded in spirit, part of each other forevermore.

Relief and ecstasy poured off him, enveloped them both, and without thought he closed his teeth over that wel - sucked tendon. Immediately she gasped, went rigid. Her back bowed, her hips lifted, forcing him as deep as he could go, her inner wal s clenching on him, milking him.

Amun erupted. He gave her every drop, fil ing her up, branding her, staking that claim.

Mine, mine, mine. No secret. Not to him, and not to his demon, and not to Haidee.

Final y, when he had nothing left, he col apsed atop her.

She didn't complain. She sagged to the ground, as depleted as he was. He barely managed to angle his body so that he wouldn't crush her, but he didn't move off her al the way, didn't pul out of her. He was where he belonged, and he was loath to lose the connection.

Hurting?

Her eyes were closed, the long length of her lashes creating a fan of shadows over her cheeks. "No.

Dead." He chuckled. Then my woman is pleased? Even though she had to do most of the work herself?

She blinked open those pearl-grays. "So I am your woman?"

His humor drained in the face of her doubt. Now. Always.

"Wil you-?" She licked her swol en, wel -kissed lips. "Wil you say the words, then?"

He smoothed his hands over her brow, not surprised to note that he was shaking. He had needed the words, so it stood to reason that she did, as wel . He was ashamed he hadn't said them before now. Had been so selfish, enjoying her declaration but not offering his own. I love you, Haidee. I love you so much I ache.

Tension seemed to drain from her, though he'd never felt her stiffen. "Do you forgive me for what I did?

Al those centuries ago?"

Sweetheart. What is there to forgive? You were as consumed by your demon as I was by mine.

Tears sprinkled from the corners of her eyes, then rained down her cheeks, streaking down her lovely skin. "My demon. I don't think I'l ever get used to hearing those words in conjunction with myself."

But it's true. You took a piece of Hate, but didn't know to purge it. That piece bonded with you, became a part of you.

That piece drove you.

She placed her palm over his heart. "Your friends wil never understand that. They'l never accept me."

He cupped her jaw and angled her head, forcing her to peer up at him. You're first with me. They'l accept that or they'l lose me.

"But I don't want you to lose them. You need them."

I need you.

"What if I accidently take their demons?"

You won't.

"How can you be sure?"

Just like with me, you won't want to. Therefore you won't.

"You trust me that much?"

Yes.

Her arms banded around his neck and drew him down, al owing her to bury her face in the hol ow of his neck. The tears continued to flow, icy crystals that broke his heart. Her lithe body rocked against him as she sobbed.

What's wrong, sweetheart? I wanted to make you happy, not sad.

"I am happy. I've never been first before. I mean, for a while, with my parents, I was. After they'd decided to keep me, I guess, and before my sister was born. But then, when Hate tortured them, they begged him to take me, and that hurt me. Here, now, I know you'l always put me first and I shouldn't let you do that. Not for me. Not for anyone, and I'm babbling, I know, but if I let you do this, you'l just be unhappy later on."

He rol ed to his back, fitting her atop him like a wel -placed puzzle piece. Unhappy? Why, are you planning to leave me?

"No, you deliberately obtuse man. I'm too greedy."

He found himself chuckling again. As long as I've got you, I can never be unhappy.

"Your friends-"

Wil accept you. Or else, he thought.

Secrets remained quiet. Perhaps the demon knew the truth of their reactions, perhaps not. Either way, Amun planned to do everything in his power to ensure his friends did, in fact, accept his woman.

If they couldn't, fine. He'd go. He'd miss them, always love them, but he'd go. If they threatened her, he'd go-but he'd hurt them before he did. If they tried to make him choose between them and Haidee, they'd lose. No question.

His heart beat for this woman. He lived for this woman.

She'd endured travesty after travesty when she only deserved pleasure. He would now provide that pleasure.

Nothing would stand in his way.

She was amazing. She had survived the only way she'd known how, with grit, courage and determination, never realizing she was battling herself as wel as the forces poised against her. With Hate a part of her, she probably shouldn't have been able to love-by her own admission, loving wasn't easy for her-but again she had proven just how amazing she was. Her love was stronger than the darkness inside her.

He held her until she settled, caressing her and whispering to her, then kissed her temple. I want you to know that I'm not going away, sweetheart, and I'm not going to regret choosing you. I'm with you, now and always, just like I said.

"How can you love me?" she asked between hiccups.

How can you love me?

"I just do. You're a part of me."

Exactly.

Her arms squeezed at him again, and he felt her chil y sigh.

"The demons have been purged from you," she said sleepily. "We don't have to stay down here anymore."

She was right. He should have realized. He'd already planned to leave, but now their mission was actual y completed. Funny, but he found he wasn't quite ready to abandon their cave. He wanted his woman al to himself for just a little longer. Let's get some rest, and when we wake up, we'l find a way to summon Zacharel. He brought us here, so he can return us to the fortress. If he didn't, wel , they would simply find another way.

Nothing was impossible. He knew that now.

"Al right," she said.

Before we go, though, we're going to use the pack to summon the proper tools to tattoo you. He wanted Micah's name erased and his own added. Al over. On every limb, finger and toe, so that she would always know the name of the man she belonged with.