Page 6 of Forbidden Moon

He gave one final thrust and moaned, burying his head in her neck as he came. He sucked her flesh at the side of her neck into his mouth and then licked the bruise, scraping his teeth against the sensitive spot. She shivered, her wolf eager for the teeth but the woman not yet ready to yield. “No, not yet, Garrett.”

She was not ready for a mating mark.

He sighed, licked the spot again, then levered his weight above her so he wouldn’t crush her.

Maya laughed softly and stroked his back. “Are you done?”

He pulled out of her, and his cock slipped from her body. She winced, and he looked at her in alarm. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

“No. I’m fine. It’s been a while and you’re a big boy.”

He grinned. “I’m trying to be sorry about that, but I’m failing.”

She shoved him jokingly. “You’re such a jerk.”

He just laughed and settled on the bed, rolling onto his back and pulling her against his side. He gathered the covers over them to ward off the chill now that they were relaxing. They laid there quietly for a few minutes, lost in thought, while their breathing settled. Reality crashed over Maya after a few minutes and panic set in.

His arms tightened around her as if he could feel her tension rising. “What is it?”

She sighed and propped her chin on his chest. “What are we doing, Garrett?”

“If you have to ask that, clearly I did something wrong,” he joked, but then he sobered. “I think we’re still figuring this out, Maya. We both feel the mating bond, but we know that it’s not final. We have to explore it to see if this is something we want.”

“And we explore it by jumping into bed together?”

He shrugged. “We’re wolves. If this is a true mate bond, the goddess has already decided we fit together in all ways. But our human side needs to know we’re compatible, and that means in all ways. So yeah, we jump into bed. The mating urge is overwhelming in newly mated wolves. You should know this from your training.”

She sighed. She had heard this was how it could go. You meet your potential mate and felt that instant attraction that overwhelmed your senses, demanded satisfaction, which usually led to several days in bed. “I didn’t expect it to be right away. I thought we would build up to it or something.”

He laughed, his chest rumbling under her. “We won’t be stuck in bed for the next several days right now. The mating urge is there but not demanding. We haven’t given in to it completely. We’re just exploring.” He paused, uncertainty in his gaze. “You could still walk away, Maya.”

“We both could,” she whispered, not sure why the thought caused her stomach to drop and her heart to stutter in her chest.

“Is that what you want?”

“No, I want to explore this, but I don’t want anyone to know.” She knew that much anyway. She was a private person and wasn’t ready to share this news with anyone.

His arm tightened around her. “Me too. We can trust Caleb. He won’t say anything until I give the word. And I agree. Let’s keep our packs out of it for now.”

“Oh Goddess. Our packs.” Horror dawned on her at the thought of telling their packs. “How will we manage that?”

He pulled her over him and hugged her close, stroking over her back, soothing her. “Don’t worry about that for now. Let’s focus on ourselves. We can deal with everyone else later.”

“I can’t help it. They’re too much a part of us.” Maya sighed and rolled onto her back, staring at the white spackled ceiling.

He shifted to his side and stared down at her, his expression serious and tinged with regret. “I know. But we can’t deal with it tonight. It’s getting late. Do you want to stay or have me walk you back to your rooms?”

The walk of shame, though she felt no shame, not really. But the last thing she wanted was to have to explain to anyone where she had been and with whom. Like Garrett had said, they were wolves. It wouldn’t be questioned if she spent the night with someone as long as she wasn’t on duty. Since Caleb made her excuses, as long as she showed up tomorrow for her Luna, she was fine.

“Mmm. It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

He settled next to her and hugged her tight. “Good. Night, Maya.”

She just smiled and kissed him and then her eyes drifted shut, as did his.

* * *

Garrett laid awake long after Maya’s breathing had evened out in sleep. Sex with her had been amazing, even better than he had expected. But the mood had soured when he brought up reality and their packs.

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