I allowed myself to be drawn to him, almost like the mating bond pulling me closer. This went deeper though than any magic the Sun Witches could use on us. I wanted more than anything to bridge that gap between us, to pull him closer and say fuck it, I'm yours.
I couldn't do that though. Kaden jabbed out again, and I brought my hand up just in time to catch his forearm against mine, parrying the blow. I used the contact to whip my arm under his, and shove him bodily to the side. Kaden took a few steps back, and then the process began again.
“Move back into the penthouse with me,” he said.
“I can't do that."
“I want you back,” Kaden said, in that same no-nonsense tone that sounded like a demand. But then he added, "I miss you."
“I miss you too,” I admitted, as a tiny part of my armor softened to him. More than anything, I just wanted everything to be all right between us again.
"What's the issue then?" Kaden asked as he circled around me. "I'm finally getting things done and preparing the Zodiac Wolves to fight the Sun Witches. Isn't this what you wanted?”
“Yes,” I said, drawing the word out. I went in for another attack, but Kaden parried me effortlessly.
“I hear a ‘but' in there,” Kaden said.
I aimed for his head, but Kaden blocked it. “But I'm worried you're going down a dark path and becoming the very thing we're trying to stop.”
"I'm doing what I said I'd do." He grabbed my arm and pinned it behind me. "What I always said I'd do."
I used a move he'd taught me to escape his grasp and dart away. Stubborn alpha male, I thought, and kicked out at him. Kaden caught my foot and tried to drag me onto the ground, but I pulled it back with a heave and took a few steps back before settling back into the fighting stance.
But then Kaden managed to pin both my arms behind me, his grip so tight it was impossible for me to escape this time. His breath trailed across my ear as he held me from behind. "You know what I think? I think you enjoyed watching me destroy the gazebo, and I think you secretly enjoyed watching me kill all those Leos, even if you won't admit it. Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing in my place, if those had been Sun Witches instead."
I opened my mouth to argue, but realized he might be right—there was darkness in my heart too. I condemned what he did, while secretly thrilling in his brutality. Gods, was I no better than him?
He spun me around before I could answer, still holding my wrists in place, and before I knew it, his lips were on mine. It felt like drinking water after being parched for days, even though this wasn't a nice kiss, not in the slightest. It was desperate, angry, rough, and full of emotions that flooded me.
"Tell me to stop," he said, as his fingers traced a trail down my neck, to circle my rock-hard nipples. "Tell me you don't want me."
I couldn't and he knew it. I wanted him so bad I was practically dripping for him. Heat simmered between my thighs, a pounding second pulse of desire. He released one of my wrists to slide two fingers into my pussy, and let out an appreciative noise.
“That's what I thought," he said.
I tilted my chin up and didn't say anything. I felt the hard line of his cock against my ass, so close to where I needed him, but I couldn't stand to answer him.
I still wanted him, despite everything that had happened between us, and there was nothing that would change that. No matter how dark Kaden went, he was still mine, and I was still his. We were too entangled, unable to resist the pull we had over each other. It was worse, in a way, than the mating bond, because it was completely us. There were no Sun Witches to blame, and nothing but our own desire fueling us into this frenzy.
Kaden released me and spun me around, and then his hands were all over, his teeth caught in the soft skin below my neck. I tilted my head up, allowing him better access, and he growled. The sound was low, animalistic, and I shivered when I heard it. I loved it when he growled like that, like he couldn't control himself when it came to me.
Kaden circled one nipple with his hand, and then the other. I ran my fingers across the hot skin on his back, the strong muscles shifting under my hands as he continued his exploration downward along my belly and across my hips. It was like we were relearning each other's bodies, even though we knew every part of each other intimately at this point. We were in the middle of the garden, where anyone could walk by at any moment or watch us from the bushes, but neither of us cared. We were too wrapped up in each other.
Foreplay was out of the question this time—the need was too intense. Kaden gripped one of my thighs, and I lifted my leg to let him get easier access. His hands came up around my ass, and he pulled me onto his cock in one movement, sliding in and bottoming out.
I let out a sigh of relief as he paused. My eyes fluttered shut. This is where he belongs, my brain whispered. I shoved the thought back. It could say whatever it wanted, but I knew that there was a lot between us we had to figure out. But right now, I just wanted to feel Kaden. It had been too long since I'd had him like this, and I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in his body.
So I did.
Kaden thrust hard, and I met him. We built a rhythm together, our breaths coming quick and hard, the slap of flesh echoing around the empty garden. I found myself saying his name, over and over again, and he grunted as the pleasure built.
He kissed me again, his cock dragging against that perfect place inside of me. I shifted slightly to get a better angle and Kaden growled, tightening his hold around my ass, his fingers digging into my skin. The pleasure increased, but I didn't want to come yet. I was afraid that if we stopped, the real world would come crashing back in, and I wasn't ready for that.
But there was no holding it back, not when Kaden bounced me up and down on his cock with his strong arms, like I weighed nothing to him. He pumped into me relentlessly, his pace almost punishing, and I could barely catch my breath between each thrust. My eyes fluttered shut as waves of pleasure crashed over me, higher and higher until I was shuddering against Kaden, hands sliding against his skin, seeking more contact, a deeper connection.
“Yes,” Kaden groaned, as his seed filled me. “You are mine. Now and forever.”
When Kaden called me mine it always sent pleasure through me, but when he was thrusting into me, hands possessive on my skin, breathing those words while his cock was buried as deep inside of me as it could go, it made it all the more real. I truly believed that I was his, that I could be his forever, and that nothing could ever get in the way of that.
Our orgasms seemed to go on for an eternity, and I shuddered, still riding my own high, as Kaden claimed my lips again. The clear ownership in his kiss sent another ripple of pleasure through me, one that I never wanted to end.
But like all things, it did have to end. The echoes of pleasure faded away, leaving us both weak and boneless, and Kaden set me down on my feet again. No matter how good it was to touch Kaden again, to have his skin on mine the way it should be, it didn't change the fact that I was worried about him and about what he was doing. I shored myself up for what I had to do, even as my body and heart screamed at me to just leave it, to give in, to pretend everything was fine for a little while longer. But if I didn't do this now, Kaden would keep pushing, and he needed to know now that I wasn't going to give in, no matter how many times he brought me to orgasm.