Soraya felt weightless…no…that wasn’t quite right…

  She needed a body to feel weightless…and she no longer had one.

  Yet her consciousness remained.

  She couldn’t move, hear, taste, or see…everything was just blank. It wasn’t dark nor was it light…it just was. She couldn’t tell if she was being pulled in every direction at once or standing perfectly still in whatever form she now took.

  It was as though a loud emptiness had engulfed her entire soul.

  If she didn’t have a body, and her mind was still aware, did she still exist as herself? Did she exist at all? Or did she now belong to this infinite void—a void she intrinsically knew had no beginning or end? Did that make her nothing? How would she know if she was nothing?

  It was terrifying.

  Panic gripped what was left of her before a presence—no, several presences—wrapped themselves around her very being, and the panic vanished. This new awareness settled around her like a comforting blanket, and for the first time since entering the void, she could feel her existence solidify. Her senses trickled back to her as the scent of a sea breeze carrying notes of citrus slammed her fully back into her body.

  Her eyes were wide open and unseeing as a buzzing noise filled her ears.

  “That’s it, breathe for me,” a voice, cool as silk, coaxed above the static.

  Soraya sucked in a gasping breath of air that hadn’t existed a moment before.

  “Good girl,” the voice praised.

  The oxygen inflated her lungs, mingling with the seductive scent of that salty citrus that made her mind spin.

  Her eyes fluttered closed. Breathing in and out, she grounded herself in that wonderful scent as she tried to understand what had just happened to her.

  As her soul settled back inside her body, she became aware of the fact that she was now sitting atop a solid surface with a hand wrapped around her throat—the only thing keeping her upright. Fuck. She hoped whoever was holding her didn’t let go; otherwise, she might float away and never return.

  Slowly, Soraya collected the final pieces that made her whole again, and her body twitched when she felt a warm breath fan across her mouth.

  “Was that your first time syfting, my mate?” the cool voice asked, sending a shiver down her spine. “Syfting can be hard, especially between the two worlds. You have my apologies.”

  Her tongue darted out to lick at her dry lips and the taste of something salty and sweet lingering on the air made her mouth water. She swallowed that taste and moaned.

  The hand on her neck flexed, its rough palm warm and getting warmer the longer it stayed against her increasingly sensitive skin. Her hips shifted on the desk, and shit—she was sitting in something wet. She squeezed her legs together, and her inner thighs slipped against one another. Double shit—the wetness was coming from her soaked-through panties. That realization was like a switch flipping on, and she became hyper-aware that her whole body felt raw. Soraya began to tremble. She needed release—she needed it fast.

  What the hell is happening to me? She thought sluggishly.

  A whimper escaped her lips as a searing heat flared throughout her body, robbing her of thought. She could feel her nipples hardening into tight, painful points, and she desperately began to rock her hips to generate any type of friction, but it wasn’t enough.

  Hands. She had hands.

  Spreading her numb legs, her equally numb fingers traveled to her heated center when a hand clamped down around her wrist, stopping her pursuit of release.

  She bit back a scream of frustration, but air hissed through her teeth as she tried to rip free from the iron grip. The hand raised hers to rest against something hard. The callused palm covered the top of her hand, and the skin-on-skin contact only inflamed her further.

  Wait. She had two hands. Just as her left hand began to reach for her center, something cool and watery wrapped around her wrist, effectively restraining her. She let out a string of pathetic sounds at the denial of her own self-pleasure.

  “Shh, I have you beautiful,” the cool, silky voice whispered roughly. “I never would have imagined the mating scent to be so—” The voice broke off as the sound of someone taking a deep inhale filled the space. The hand around her neck and on top of her right hand squeezed, causing her hips to jerk.

  Breathless, Soraya opened her eyes, and a small, needy gasp escaped her as she came face to face with the man from the street. Except now, he looked…different. His savage beauty had her pinned in place. She’d never seen a human being who looked like him before. His features were too sharp, too even, too…perfect—right down to his full, plush lips and dark brows that were furrowed in concentration. His short, wavy hair was so dark it looked almost blue. It was as though his features were designed to captivate her, to ensnare her into giving him whatever he wanted. And she would. She would fucking give it all to him.

  Even his eyes. Her unfocused gaze locked onto his, which was the color of blue iris flowers—an impossible color. He was—

  “Beautiful,” he whispered hoarsely as his long, slender fingers released her right hand and came up to push back her sweat-dampened hair. Her fingers dug into his chest, and she whimpered again at the simple touch that made certain parts of her throb.

  She didn’t have it in her to feel ashamed of the way her body was responding to him or to be embarrassed by the pathetic noises escaping her. As long as he kept his hands on her, she would do anything for him—anything to relieve the burning inferno spiraling out of control inside her.

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  His thumb stroked a path down her neck, making her shiver at the light touch. Her lips parted as he pulled her closer, one hand on her neck and the other gripping her right thigh. His full lips brushed against hers in a featherlight touch that had her moaning softly before he sealed their lips together and took her breath away.

  Then he groaned into her hot mouth. “Fuck,” he breathed.

  The tip of his tongue slipped along the seam of her lips, and she opened wider for him. A growl rumbled low in his chest, a second before his grip around her neck tightened even more, pushing her back against the hard surface—and she went willingly.

  In the time it took him to press her down and hold her in place, a faint thought broke through the lust-filled fog, telling her there was something important she was supposed to remember. But it evaporated when his left hand dragged down to her knee, gripping the back of it and spreading her wide open so he could settle his body fully between her thighs. Then he ground down against her center.

  The fire in her spiraled to her pulsing clit, and her body felt too hot, too tight, causing a gasping scream to erupt from her.

  His lips crashed against hers to silence her. The hand around her neck kept her anchored as he slicked his tongue into her panting mouth.

  She wrapped her legs around his hips and squeezed, rocking against him. Another desperate, needy moan erupted from the back of her throat when she realized just how hard he was for her.

  His lips crashed against hers to silence her. The hand around her neck kept her anchored as he slicked his tongue into her panting mouth. She wrapped her legs around his hips and squeezed before rocking against him. Another desperate, needy moan erupted from the back of her throat when she realized just how hard he was for her.

  He ripped himself away from her lips to bury his head into the side of her neck. “Fuck. Just like that, beautiful.” He started to rock with her, his hot breaths warming her skin to a fever pitch. “Fuck,” he growled, his voice rough with desire as she picked up speed.

  The momentary relief she felt was dwindling fast as another flash of heat caused her legs to spasm and her core clench around nothing. She felt her own wetness slipping out of her, and before she could process what was happening, something wrapped around her ankle, forcing her to unhook from his hips. Before she could voice her frustration, he lifted his hips, shoving his hand down the front of her leggings, and slipped into her underwear.

  A breath punched out of his chest, and he began to pant as his fingers slipped through her folds, pushing the slick dripping out of her back inside her pussy. There was no teasing, no waiting, as his fingers came back up to circle her swollen clit and pressed down. She bucked into him as her climax hit her hard and fast. Her body spasmed, but before she could come down from the sudden high, his fingers found her opening and pushed into her. Two of his long fingers slipped into her easily, and his palm ground down on her clit.

  Soraya screamed as her pussy spasmed around his fingers, clenching down as they tunneled in and out.

  He ripped himself away from her and yanked her trembling body to the edge of the surface. With impossible efficiency, he hooked his thumbs into her leggings and pulled them halfway down her thighs in one motion. Wrapping his muscled arm around her knees, he pulled her again until her ass hung off the edge of the surface, and he bent her knees toward her chest.

  The leggings wrapped around her quivering thighs limited her ability to move, but she didn’t care as his fingers grazed the underside of her exposed legs. Trailing down, down until they roughly shoved aside her completely soaked panties, exposing her dripping wet pussy to him.

  An animalistic growl filled the space, but Soraya was too far gone to care where it came from—especially as his fingers dragged up her wet seam, making her legs shake again before they disappeared from her hot flesh.

  She heard the rustling of clothes, and then she felt something unbearably hot at her entrance. It was his cock. The scent of that salty citrus exploded throughout the room, and she wiggled her ass, trying to guide him exactly where she wanted him.

  There were no words, only understanding. He lined himself up and pushed the tip slowly into her. She strained against her leggings, trying to spread her legs as far as the restricting fabric would allow. He chuckled before gripping her trembling thighs in his hands, pushing her legs closed together, and resting her ankles on his shoulder. Without making her wait a second longer, he snapped his hips forward, burying himself to the hilt inside her.

  She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound made it past her lips as the pleasure consumed her. Fuck her, he didn’t stop there. With long, rolling strokes, he entered her and pushed deep into her slippery dripping hole, hitting the spot that made her see stars. Again. And again. And again.

  She forgot how to breathe as his hips snapped forward, filling her over and over. Half dressed, on her back and her feet on his shoulder, he had his way with her. It was too much. Way too much. Her body was stiffening, her blood pounded in her ears, making her dizzy, and her lungs screamed for air as the pressure within her built higher and higher.

  His thumb forced its way to her clit and pressed down. She screamed as the tidal wave crashed and broke something inside of her. Her vision blacked out, and air rushed down her throat as her hips rode the waves of her orgasm.

  She spasmed around his length even as he chased his own release, pounding into her with erratic thrusts, prolonging the sweet pleasure as wave after wave of back-arching ecstasy crashed through her.

  His hips stuttered against hers, his body quaking before he finally stilled. The only sound that filled the room was their panting breaths. Soraya fought to collect herself, reeling down from her orgasmic high. As her trembling legs steadied, clarity seeped into her mind.

  After a moment, he heaved out a sigh and slipped out of her, causing her body to jerk at the sudden loss. He stepped away, lowering her legs back down. Propping herself on trembling arms, she watched as he tucked himself back into his black pants, while her own leggings and panties remained rolled around her quivering thighs.

  Emotions swirled inside her—too many for her to feel at once. Thoughts of Jesmine, Alkimos, flying men, and monstrous frog-bush creatures raced through her mind in rapid succession.

  How the hell did she forget all that, she had no clue. It was all too much for her to compute. And the worse offense of all, she just had desk-shaking sex with a complete fucking stranger while Jesmine was left in the middle of that chaos. What if she was dead?

  Tears pricked behind her eyes, and a flash of concern crossed his face.

  Makoto. That’s what Alkimos had called him before he kidnapped her.

  Makoto opened his mouth to speak when blinding, white-hot rage shot through her. Before she could stop herself, her hand flew across his face. The slap echoed in her ears, sending her blood pounding wildly—but for an entirely different reason this time.

  Slowly, Makoto turned his head back toward her, his chest rising and falling with controlled breaths. Soraya sucked in a sharp breath when her eyes landed on his ear.

  They were not rounded like they should be.

  They arched up into delicate points.

  And when he looked at her, a truly lupine face peered out from behind the strands of hair that had fallen across his features. He bared his teeth, and her gaze darted to the sharp incisors resting against his bottom lip.

  That wasn’t human.

  He…he couldn’t be human.

  Closing his eyes, he straightened himself before rolling his head back along his shoulders.

  When he snapped his gaze toward her, a shiver ran down her spine. His iris eyes seemed to glow in the dark room, and a slow, wicked smile spread across his lips.

  “Well, aren’t you just lovely,” he murmured, ice lacing every word.

  Soraya didn’t feel so safe anymore.