Page 227 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

I held in a groan as I imagined yet again the way I planned to lay my claim on her tonight. Flashes of her body and predictions of the sounds she’d make for me played in my mind, and I picked up my pace, making my strides longer as we made our way home.

“Slow down, Wes!” Haven laughed, her legs working double time to keep up with me. “We have all night,” she said, stopping in her tracks and ducking out from under my arm.

“Exactly,” I growled, turning around and stalking towards her. I stopped with my chest just inches away from her and dipped my mouth down to her ear. “And I plan to make excellent use of every minute of it.”

Her eyes closed, and her body shivered. I ran my nose along the shell of her ear, inhaling her jasmine and plum scent and her lips parted as I placed a little kiss beside her ear.

I chuckled and smiled to myself as I scooped her up into my arms and ran the very short distance back to our house, and she squealed in surprise, her laughter trailing after us.

I entered the house and kicked the door shut behind me, then raced down the hall, where I placed her on her feet facing me, settling my hands on her hips.

I bent down to kiss her, but her hand came up and pressed against my lips, keeping me away from her.

“Shirt off. Now,” she ordered, her voice low.

I quirked my brow but didn’t question her. My luna gave me an order, and I would follow it.

I pulled my black T-shirt over my head, baring myself to her. Normally, she would rake her eyes down my entire chest and abdomen, devouring every line of my muscles with her stare, but today, she kept her eyes locked on my neck. On her mark.

She stepped closer and reached up, tracing her handwriting with her fingertips. I gritted my teeth, and my cock twitched and hardened in my pants at her touch on my sensitive skin.

“It’s really healed already,” she muttered.

“I told you it would be.”

“I know,” she replied. “Does your healing affect…” She paused and pulled her hand away from my neck. “Never mind,” she said, shaking her head and turning away.

I gripped her hips again, pulling her back into me and keeping her close. “Does it affect what?” I asked.

She licked her lips, her eyes darting around the room, looking at anything and everything before meeting mine again.

“Does it affect how you age? How long you live?” she whispered, a frown marring her forehead and dimming that ever-present light on her eyes I’d grown used to.

“Yes,” I admitted. “Werewolves and lycans usually live to be around 110 or 120 years old.”

Her face fell even more, her eyes dropping away from mine. But I grabbed her chin and lifted her gaze to mine, ready to put her worries to rest.

“But if a wolf has a human mate, when they give their mate their mark, they transfer some of that life expectancy to their mate,” I explained.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, I give up some of my years so we can have more together. Meaning, you will live slightly longer than you would without my mark, and I will live a slightly shorter lifespan than I would if you weren’t human.”

“You would give that up for me? Your long life?”

“Haven.” I sighed, sliding my hand along her jawline. “Haven, I would give up everything for you. My title, my pack—all of it is nothing without you here by my side. My life is meaningless without you in it.”

Her eyes lit with the same fire I’d felt in my veins when we walked home. She reached up onto her toes and kissed me hard, stoking that fire into a blaze.

“Mark me, Wesley,” she gasped, her breath warming my lips. “Make me yours.”

My fingers tangled into her hair, holding her in place as I returned her kiss. My tongue swiped against the seam of her lips, and her mouth opened with just that gentle prompting. Our tongues met, dancing and tangling as our bodies pressed together insistently.

She clutched at my shoulders, pulling herself closer to me. Her hips rolled against mine, and her body writhed, seeking more, seeking what we both desperately needed.

My arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her and walking her to the bed. Her legs wrapped around my waist, placing her core right on my dick. She rocked against it, moaning into my mouth as we continued our passionate kiss.

I dropped her on the bed, removing her hands from my shoulders so I could step backwards and undress the rest of the way. Our eyes drank each other in as we both undressed, racing to be the first one naked.

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