"We can have s.e.x, and before you met me, that wasn't supposed to be possible, either. We won't know until we try."

True. But it was a huge step.

Beyond huge.

And it was a no-brainer.

Raze had been waiting all his life for Slake, and now that he had him, he wasn't letting him go.

He stood and held out his hand to the magnificent male who had given him so much. Slake's hand closed around his, and together they made their way to the bedroom. They peeled off their shorts, and in a rare moment of awkwardness, they faced each other, naked in more ways than one.

"How does this work?" Slake asked, his voice deep and eager, and Raze's body responded with a rush of endorphins that said this was right. Everything about this was right.

"I don't know . . ." Actually, Raze did know. His instincts were rising in him, telling him what to do next, and without thinking, he reached for the blade Slake always kept on the nightstand.

"Your eyes," Slake breathed. "They're pure gold. I know they get that way when you're turned on, but this . . . Wow."

Raze stepped into him so they were chest to chest, and with a desperation he couldn't explain, he took Slake's mouth, licking at the seam of his lips until Slake let him in.

As they fell to the bed, Raze slashed the sharp edge of the blade across his chest. The pain was sharp but fleeting, dulled by the antic.i.p.ation of what was coming next.

"You need to drink," he murmured against Slake's mouth. "Now."

Slake didn't hesitate. The scent of his arousal drifted up to Raze, kicking his own arousal up a notch as Slake kissed his way down Raze's neck, lingering only to nip his collarbone and make Raze growl with pleasure. But the moment Slake's mouth closed on the cut he'd made, the pleasure became so intense that he didn't think he'd survive it.

"Raze," Slake whispered against his skin. "d.a.m.n, you taste . . . good." He dragged his tongue along the length of the cut as Raze reached for the lube.

"Now," Raze moaned. "I need to be inside you now. But you have to do it. You have to be willing."

Slake looked up, confused, but a heartbeat later, he was drizzling a cool stream of lube on Raze's hard c.o.c.k with one hand and fondling his b.a.l.l.s with the other. Sweet, sweet agony rippled upward from Raze's groin. As always, Slake's touch was magic. He intuitively knew what Raze wanted and how he wanted it, how hard, how fast, how deep, and Raze could only imagine that if the bonding worked, they'd be even more in sync. The possibilities were endless and almost incomprehensible.

Every muscle in Slake's arms rippled under his supple skin as he crawled up Raze's body, kissing and licking along every inch of the journey. His dark eyes glowed with need as he gazed down at Raze, and d.a.m.ned if Raze didn't swell with emotion. He loved Slake with every cell in his body, and if that wasn't good enough for a bond, he didn't know what was.

Slowly, gently, Slake eased back onto Raze's erection. Ecstasy engulfed Raze as Slake seated himself fully and began to move, his hot, tight a.s.s clenching with every stroke.

Raze barely had the presence of mind to lift the dagger off the mattress. "You need to cut yourself. Right wrist. I have to drink."

If Raze thought Slake would balk, he'd been dead wrong. In a single, smooth motion, Slake slashed the blade across his wrist and held it to Raze's mouth.

Warm, silky blood dripped onto Raze's tongue, and holy s.h.i.t, he might as well have plugged into an electrical socket, because his body began to spark and tingle. He'd become a live wire, connected to Slake in a way he couldn't have antic.i.p.ated. Couldn't have even hoped for because he hadn't known such a feeling existed.

On the verge of o.r.g.a.s.m, he twined his fingers with Slake's, Raze's right hand with Slake's left. As he drew on Slake's vein, a current cycled through them, and Raze felt everything Slake was feeling. There was affection, warmth, respect, love. They were connected in so many ways, and it was so . . . right.

"Raze," Slake gasped. "Aw, d.a.m.n, I can . . . feel you." He rocked against Raze, his entire body turning into a storm of s.e.x and pa.s.sion that couldn't be contained.

Raze took a deep pull on Slake's wrist as ecstasy launched him over the edge. He threw his head back and arched into Slake, slamming him forward so hard he had to brace himself against the wall. Plaster rained down on Raze's head, but he barely noticed, too lost in the full-body o.r.g.a.s.m that wouldn't end.

Distantly, he heard Slake shout as Raze pumped into him. Hot, wet splashes struck his chest, his neck, his chin. The musky scent of Slake's c.u.m coated his skin and drove Raze to new heights.

He lost track of time and o.r.g.a.s.ms. Eventually, maybe a month later, if his exhaustion was any indication, he reached full awareness and found himself on top of Slake, their hot, damp skin plastering them together. At some point he'd flipped Slake onto his back, their hands linked, their mouths locked.

Slake was half-gone, his drowsy eyes barely cracked as he looked up at Raze. "I think," he breathed, "that I'm dead."

"I know I am," he groaned. G.o.ds, his entire body felt like rubber, and yet, a new, strange energy infused him. Slake, he thought. The new energy was Slake. Raze could feel him everywhere. Inside. Outside. In his head.

Right now, Slake was happy. Content. As Raze gazed down at the best thing that ever happened to him, Slake smiled. "You're happy."

"We're bonded."

As if Slake's arm weighed half a ton, he hefted it up. "Holy s.h.i.t," he breathed. "Look."

Raze struggled to focus his eyes, and when they finally went 20/20, he grinned. Black lines were beginning to appear on Slake's hand and spread up his arm, solidifying in a perfect copy of Raze's dermoire.

"It's amazing." Raze stared in awe. "Beautiful."

Slake reached out and brushed his finger over Raze's throat. His skin tingled under Slake's fingertip and spread like erotic h.e.l.lfire around his neck. "It's happening," he murmured. "You're getting the mate rings. We just made history."

Raze would have laughed if he'd had the energy. "Eidolon is going to f.u.c.king come in his pants when I tell him. He loves anomalies."

"I love you."

Rolling to one side, Raze twined their fingers and brought Slake with him. They were messy and sweaty and needed to shower, but they could do that in a minute. Right now, all Raze wanted was to enjoy the one thing he never thought he could have. To say the one thing he never thought he'd say.

"I love you too."

Dear Reader, Thank you for reading Larissa Ione's Base Instincts!

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I just want to send a quick thank-you to all my established readers who followed me to Raze and Slake's story. Thank you for your support and faith. You keep me going! And to all my new readers, thank you for giving me a shot. I hope you enjoyed your first foray into my Demonica world!

And a special thanks to Riptide Publishing, especially Sarah Frantz Lyons, for giving me a chance to expand my Demonica universe. I appreciate everything you've done to help make this book the best it can be!

Demonica/Lords of Deliverance Series.

Pleasure Unbound.

Desire Unchained.

Pa.s.sion Unleashed Ecstasy Unveiled Sin Undone.

Eternal Rider Vampire Fight Club (part of the Supernatural anthology).

Immortal Rider.

Lethal Rider Rogue Rider.

Reaver Azagoth Revenant.

Hades Moonbound Clan Vampires Series.

Bound by Night Chained by Night.

Cowriting as Sydney Croft Riding the Storm.

Unleashing the Storm Seduced by the Storm Taming the Fire.

Tempting the Fire Taken by Fire.

Three the Hard Way.

Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her pa.s.sion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been nominated for a RITA award. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything and would never be caught without a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge . . . just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her US Coast Guard husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own h.e.l.lhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.

You can find out more about Larissa and her works here:.

Website: larissaIone.com.

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