EXCERPT

The song slowly faded. "Find your partner," the DJ announced as the tune they'd been dancing to ended. "We're going to slow things down."

Runa had gone through a music phase in her teens, exploring bands from every decade. Her eighties' enlightenment had lasted the longest. He'd spent hours scouring the internet, the realms, and checking specialty shops for the records she wanted as he enjoyed indulging her. Although CDs were easier to obtain, or digital files, she scowled when he'd provided them, informing him the crackle of the needle added something essential to older music.  

For that reason, he placed the intro immediately.

The tune had been one of his sister's favorites.

Scorpions "Still Loving You."

"If you let me, I'll give this to you from sunup until sundown, until neither of us knows where creation starts and we end.” He kept her close while he changed their movements. "I'll make sure my scent covers you from top to bottom as a warning. Other males will know you're taken. They'll know you belong to me and to stay the fuck away. Otherwise, I'll kill them."

The scent of her arousal slammed into his nostrils.

Her breathing changed yet again, each inhale ragged.

Not only was she turned on, he thought she might climax.

He didn't back away completely, but he did ease the pressure on her sex. "Let's get one thing straight." While he would have preferred to meet her eyes while making the confession, he kept his mouth by her ear, ensuring she heard him but no one else. "I want you to define the parameters of our relationship because I am not a bastard who takes advantage of females. I didn't ask you to come to me because the idea of taking you turns me off. Or because I want to upset you or put you in your place. I asked because when it comes to you, I will not share. Ever. There’s also something else. Once I have you, no one else will. I’ll never let you go, and there'll be no getting rid of me. You need to know and understand that."

Possessiveness slithered through him.

The thought of another man touching her had him seeing red.

Son of a bitch.

Nox had been right. This wasn't a coincidence.

He didn't merely want the woman; he had to have her.

She was part of him he hadn't known was missing.

Aware of it for the first time, accepting it as truth, he cautioned, "I want all of you. Every single inch, inside and out. There won't be a single thing I won't know or find." After taking a deep breath, trying to control and steady himself, he continued, "So if you decide you want me in the same way, I'm all fucking yours. In exactly the same way. You'll get me, Elsa. Warts and all. But you have to accept the entire package. I'm not an easy man to handle, and I'm no prize. But I'd belong to you. Only you."