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My eyes roll back into the back of my head.

By the end, we’re both completely sated. My lion is satisfied in a way he’s never been, and I feel whole for the first time in my life.

I don’t have to worry about finding my place.

My place is right here in this bed with Sibley. Her soft hands on my chest and her face buried in my side as she snores softly in her deep sleep.

I close my eyes, knowing that not even the best dreams could ever hold a candle to what this woman makes me feel.

Chapter

Nineteen

Sibley

It’s warm. Too warm.

I turn, trying to find a cooler spot on the bed, but the second I try to move, the steel band wraps around my midsection and pulls me back.

My eyes pop open, and it takes me a second to realize what’s going on. Why I felt so hot to begin with.

But it doesn’t take me longer than a second for everything to make sense. My body hums as a reminder of exactly what I did the previous night. The ache is deep and lingering but also somehow pleasant.

I finally did it.

I’ve given up my abilities and found my mate in the process.

To Primal of all people. This man is my mate, and I hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it, and yet, I’ve seemed to know it all along.

I slap a hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh. I just can’t believe it. I really did it.

A part of me wants to be upset that I’m no longer the seer I once was, but even though the ability has helped me more times than I care to admit, I’m willing to learn to live without it.

As long as I have Primal, I’m sure to be fine.

“So, how much do you hate me right now?” Primal grumbles from behind me, his arm tight around me, his front against my back, and his arousal, oh my, it slides between my thighs, causing a wetness pool at my apex.

“Hate you? Not much. I’m sure that, depending on what comes out of your mouth next, that could change, though,” I joke with him before he shifts us so I’m beneath him, his legs pushing mine apart. The position is intimate.

But even as the position sets my body on fire, it’s his eyes that hold me.

“I’m serious, Sibley. Why didn’t you say? If I’d known you were a virgin . . . wait . . .” His train of thought suddenly shifts. “How in the fuck were you still a virgin? You’ve been alive for over a thousand years.”

“You looking for a pat on the back or something?” I squint at him. “No one has ever interested me that way. Why have sex just to do it? I’m glad I waited. . . aren’t you?”

“Hell yes. I’m thrilled. I just wish I’d known ahead of time. I might have done things a little differently. Not taken you so hard on your first time.”

“No, it happened exactly as it was supposed to. I don’t regret it at all. Not one moment of it.”

“That’s good to hear. Neither do I. In fact, I’m already planning for the next time.”

I scoff and push him away playfully. “Next time? What makes you think you’ll get a next time? Don’t get all possessive on me now. I’m still my own woman.”

“Yes, you are, but you’re also my woman. My mate.” There was not a hint of humor on his face. “You realize that, don’t you? I mean, do you feel the same? I thought . . .”

I stop him before he can say anything else. I don’t want him to question anything. “Yes, I know, Primal. You’re my mate. I feel it too. I’m just playing with you. I’m not going anywhere.” I run my hands along his chest and curve my fingers around his neck, groaning at the ache I’m not used to. Still, it’s a pleasurable ache. I’d love to feel it again. “I think I’m just going to need a day before we do this again. I’m going to need to recuperate.”

Concern flashes across his face. “Recuperate. I hurt you. I fucking knew it. Sibley, I’m sorry.”