His gaze caught and held hers, brimming with concern and molten heat.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered.

“I’m not.” She framed his face with both hands and looked deeply into his eyes. “I want this more than anything.”

Slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers. Her entire body quivered with anticipation as his mouth touched her lips. Even though she’d just had a world-class cl**ax, she raised her hips, seeking his possession.

“Shh,” he murmured. “Almost.” Outwardly, he was calm, in control, but the slight tremor in his voice gave him away. He was as affected by this as she was.

She opened up to him . . . her mouth, her legs, her entire being. Tenderly, carefully, his tongue breached her lips, stroking, penetrating and retreating. She became lost in the rhythm, so lost that she barely noticed the head of his penis pushing past her entrance.

“So . . . tight . . .” His voice was gravelly, strained, and she knew he was struggling for control. “Am I hurting you?”

“Not even close.” Grabbing onto his powerful shoulders, she dug her nails in, loving the way it made him hiss with approval and push deeper inside her.

“The shift . . .” He buried his face in her neck and shuddered, his big body heaving, as though the effort to remain motionless was killing him.

“It broke my hymen.” His penis twitched inside her, hitting something sensitive that made her pant. “Please, Nate. Now.”

His h*ps punched forward, seating him all the way inside her. She gasped at the sensation of being so full and stretched, but it definitely wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. Just the opposite, and as he began to move, slowly at first, and then with more urgency, erotic energy lapped at her, the waves growing larger, building with every thrust.

She arched into him, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist to ride his rhythm. He lifted his head to watch her through slitted lids, the blue of his eyes glowing behind them. In the dancing light from the fire, his hard-cut muscles bunched and flexed, the taut layers rolling beneath perfect skin.

This was so beautiful, more so than she’d ever imagined. Even his weight was wonderful, a counter to her femininity that made her feel so protected.

The speed of his thrusts increased, and his body trembled. Ah . . . yes. Right . . . there. Throwing her head back, she gasped at the sudden, hot ecstasy that coiled in her core. He made a desperate sound deep in his chest, sending a surge of passion roaring through her. She ground against him with an untamed urgency he seemed to call forth from her with sinful ease.

Her orgasm hovered close, searingly hot, and when he lowered his mouth to her throat, the tips of his fangs resting on her skin, she practically begged him to bite her. Eidolon had ordered him to feed, after all.

“Thank you,” he rasped, but instead of a bite, he swirled his tongue over her vein. “Oh, gods, Lena . . . we were . . . made for each other.”

She believed it with all her heart. They fit together perfectly, and she wanted to do a lot more fitting together. Often.

Finally, he sank his teeth into her flesh. Heat swamped her, a fever of pleasure that blistered her skin and set fire to her insides. The cl**ax swept her up and away, so she could feel only Nate. His release was as powerful as hers, if the way he pounded into her with hard, uncontrolled bursts was any indication. It went on long enough for her to come again, her h*ps coming off the rug and his name coming off her lips.

Abruptly, he sagged on top of her, though he shifted his weight to prevent her from taking it all. She would have, gladly. But this was good, too. He was still inside her, and she got to stroke his muscular back and thank him without saying a word.

After a moment, he rolled onto his side and adjusted her so they were facing each other, bathed in the warm glow of the fire. He touched her face, his thumb brushing over her cheekbone in lazy, soothing strokes. “Did I hurt you?”

“Not even close.”

Possessive eyes focused on her. “Work for me.”

Whoa. Okay. Not words she’d expected to hear. “What? You mean like, at Thirst?”

“It’s mine now. That was the deal with Fade. Thirst, Gladius, it’s all mine.”

An anvil dropped onto her chest. “Gladius.”

He smiled. “Dismantling it will be the first thing I do. But I’ve put a lot of work into the club. It’s a decent place, and I want you there. I want you in charge of the medic station.”

She couldn’t deny that the offer was tempting. To have autonomy . . . something for herself . . . it was what she’d always wanted. But she owed Underworld General so much, and with the way the underworld was spinning out of control, they couldn’t afford to lose her.

“I have a job already,” she sighed.

“You don’t have to choose. Work at UG, but oversee the medic station and personnel at Thirst. You can hire your colleagues at the hospital to fill in or moonlight. You can use Thirst for training. I don’t care. It would be yours to do what you want with it.”

Closing her eyes, she thanked whoever was listening that she’d found this male. The canine instincts she hadn’t even known she possessed had somehow sensed that behind his hard outer shell there’d been a caring, loving vampire in there even when he was being a jerk. And now she understood the reason he’d been such a bastard at times.

But that didn’t mean she was going to let him walk all over her.

“Well?” He swept his lips tenderly over hers. “What do you say?”

She opened her eyes. “I’ll do it, but on one condition.”

He cocked a black eyebrow. “And that would be?”

“I don’t work for you. I work with you. The medic stuff will be entirely mine.”

“Woman,” he said, pressing a series of kisses along her jaw, “you can have anything you want. I owe you.”

“For what?” She tilted her head to give him better access, because that felt so . . . damned . . . good.

“For saving my life.” His voice lowered to a husky, mesmerizing purr, and against her hip, she felt his shaft stir. “For giving me life. I was dead before. You brought me back, Nurse Lena.”

She shifted so she could nuzzle his ear. “You did the same for me. So where do we go from here?”

“If you’ll have me, all the way.”

“To the end?”

He pushed up on his elbows and rolled to mount her. As she accepted him into her body, he locked gazes with her, his eyes glittering with passion and promise. “To the end.”