Istare up at my wife, her eyes brimming with uncertainty, like she can’t quite believe what she just said, either. “Our marriage isn’t valid until we consummate it,” she reminds me, her voice trembling. “Maybe that’s what the true union part of the curse relates to.”“You don’t want this,” I whisper, my eyes falling closed. Her hand is still pressed against my chest, and I struggle to let go of her wrist. She has no idea what she’s saying, what she’s asking for. I want her with a passion burning fiercer than the hottest of fires, but this isn’t what I wanted it to be like between us. I’d planned to tease her and draw out parts of her she’s always kept hidden, until she truly desires me.“I do,” she tells me, quiet confidence written all over her face. “While you were away, I tried to find out more about the curse and any potential powers I might have that could help, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like we have to try the obvious first.”I sigh as I reach for her and cup her face. I suppose this technically is a duty we both ought to fulfill, and perhaps I’m foolish for wanting it to be more.Arabella places her hand over mine. “Don’t make me get my brand-new dagger,” she warns, her eyes twinkling mischievously.I can’t help but chuckle, and I wonder if she realizes that I hadn’t laughed in years until she walked into my life, yet now it comes to me so easily. “Maybe you should,” I whisper. “Make me lose control in that way only you can.”“How do I make you lose control?” she asks, her voice soft. Arabella drags our joined hands down slowly, letting me explore her soft skin, until she reaches her collarbone. “Like this?”noveldramaI groan and grab her waist, flipping us both over so I’m on top of her. “Yes,” I all but growl. “Like that.”Arabella gasps when I part her legs with my knee, and I watch her carefully, looking for the smallest hint that she might not want this. “Felix,” she whispers, her breathing accelerating a touch as she caresses my temple with the tip of her fingers, our eyes locked. She hasn’t recoiled from me in some time, nor does she struggle to maintain eye contact the way so many others do. Every once in a while, it’s as if she really sees me, and those moments are addicting, maddening.I sigh as I lean in, my nose brushing against hers. “I could never resist you,” I whisper against her mouth. “I’ve never known a yearning so all-encompassing, until you.”Her hand slides into my hair just as I bridge the distance between our mouths to taste her. She kisses me back instantly, her spine arching slightly as she pushes herself against me, her grip tightening on my hair. I’d wondered if it’d been a charade, if it’d all fall apart the moment I touched her, but this passion is genuine, and it’s intoxicating.She’s panting as I drag my lips to her ear, her body restless underneath mine. “I’ve dreamed of this more times than I should admit,” I whisper into her ear before kissing her just below it. “I wondered how you’d sound if you were to whisper my name as though your body drips with a need only I can satisfy.”I snap my fingers, and our clothes disappear just as the sheets cover us, and the mere feel of her bare body against mine nearly sends me over the edge. I groan as my teeth graze over the soft curve of her shoulder, and I bite down softly, wishing to mark her yet knowing that I need to be gentle with her tonight.I push myself up on my forearms to look at her, my heart instantly beating faster at the sight of her. I draw a shaky breath as I take in the way her long dark hair is spread over my pillows and drag my eyes down, cataloging her collarbone and the curve of her chest. Somehow, she looks even more beautiful than she did on our wedding night, and I suspect it has everything to do with the way she looks at me.Our eyes remain locked as I slowly lower my mouth to her nipple, and a thrill runs down my spine when her lips part just as my tongue caresses the rapidly hardening bud. She arches her back, and I chuckle as I give in to her silent pleas, taking delight in the way she squirms underneath me, the way she moans.Arabella tightens her grip on my hair when I move lower, leaving a trail of kisses down her stomach. “Felix,” she whimpers uncertainly when I spread her legs and lift them over my shoulders.“Let me,” I plead, my whisper caressing her skin as I kiss her inner thigh. “I’m desperate for another taste.”She relaxes slightly, only for her head to fall back when my tongue parts her folds. She moans my name as I circle her clit with my tongue, and I groan against her skin, my cock throbbing painfully at the sound of her. Her nails scrape over my scalp as I take my time to torture her, bringing her to the edge and keeping her there, only to gently push two fingers in and stimulate her further with teasing come-hither motions.Her legs begin to tremble, and I grin as I indulge myself, lapping her up until she’s panting my name over and over. She’s the sweetest poison. Each little sigh, each touch just corrupts me further, until all reason is lost and I’m left at her mercy. Arabella does not realize the hold she has over me, for if she did, she’d keep me trapped between her legs, hers to command as she pleases.“Please,” she begs. “Please, Felix.”I tighten my grip on her thighs and give her what she wants, driven to near delirium by her moans. Her muscles tighten, and I groan in delight when she tightens her legs around me. There’s nothing more beautiful than watching the way she loses control—because of me.I lay my head on her stomach as she comes down from her high, my heart overflowing with satisfaction as I make the sheets disappear, sweat coating both of our bodies. I could have sworn the room got hotter as she came, and I can’t help but wonder if her air powers might have fueled the fire subconsciously.“That was… I…”Her breathlessness only further fills my chest with delight, and I grin as I move up, until my cock is lined up perfectly. “That was what?” I inquire as I push against her, not quite entering her just yet.Arabella looks up at me from lowered lashes, her eyes brimming with desire. She’s a vision, with a rosy blush that extends down to her chest, her entire body on display for me. “It was perfect,” she whispers, almost as though she didn’t want me to hear her answer.I draw a shaky breath, unable to make sense of the way my heart reacts to her words. “Tell me you can take a little more.”She nods, her gaze filled with certainty. I grin as I call my shadow to me so she’ll feel my tongue against her swollen clit even as I push into her a fraction. Arabella moans and bites down on her lip, her hips tilting in a silent demand for more, and I obey dutifully, ensuring she continues to feel languid soft strokes as I cup her face.“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” I whisper, pushing in a little deeper. “How many nights I’ve slept beside you, fantasizing about doing this one day.”Her breath hitches when I push halfway into her, and she whimpers a little. “It’s too much,” she tells me, her hand wrapping around the back of my neck.I hold still and lean in to press a soft kiss to her cheek. “You’re doing so well,” I promise her. She’s soaking wet, and I know she can take me. “You’re taking my cock like it was made for you.” I didn’t think it possible, but she flushes a deeper shade of red, and I stare at her in wonder. “Can you take a little more for me, beloved?”Arabella nods, and I take a deep breath before pushing fully into her, tearing a pained moan from her beautiful throat. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, kissing her neck. Remorse rushes through me as I hold still and drop my forehead to her shoulder. I’d hoped it wouldn’t hurt at all, given how wet she is, and if I’d known, I’d have taken it even slower.“I’m okay, Felix,” my wife tells me as she caresses my back with the tip of her fingers, her touch soothing, reassuring. “It only hurt for a moment.”I push myself up on my forearms and look into her eyes, finding nothing but reassurance. She cups my face, our eyes locking, and something about this moment seems to stretch indefinitely, searing itself into my memories. A thousand years could pass, and I’d still remember this moment with her. I’m certain of it.“How is this?” I whisper, rocking back and forth gently.A soft, needy sound escapes her lips, and she turns her face away, almost as though she’s embarrassed of her own desire. I chuckle and nip at her exposed neck. “Don’t hide from me like that,” I murmur, my strokes becoming a little deeper, a little faster. “Show me that I’m pleasing you, Arabella, I beg of you.”She looks back at me, her gaze roaming over my face hungrily as the feeling of my tongue lapping at her intensifies in line with my thrusts, and though she tries to bite them back, the most beautiful moans leave her lips.“Yes,” I groan when her pants come a little faster just as my own movements begin to become more erratic. “Show me, beloved. Let me watch you fall apart for me.”I can’t help but moan when her muscles contract around me, and just like that, she involuntarily takes me over the edge with her, wave after wave of overflowing desire unlike anything I’ve ever known taking control of me. “Arabella,” I moan as I collapse on top of her, my mind filled with nothing but her.She hugs me tightly, and I sigh happily as I kiss her neck again and again, my complete satiation in contrast with the knowledge that I’ll never get enough of her.