Page 122 of The Beta's Blind Date

We both thrust against each other in unison, the head of my cock notching at her entrance, and her breath catches in her throat, her heels digging into my ass. I freeze, then break away from her lips, tilting my head up to the sky, my throat bobbing. Her chest heaves and she clutches at me, nails scoring my skin.

“Not like this,” I say, and at the same time, she says, “We should wait.”

I lower my head to meet her eyes, hooded and dilated, and adjust myself so I’m no longer almost entering her. She whimpers, a tiny, almost inaudible sound, and I’m tempted to change tactics and thrust up inside her, but I don’t.

Someday I will take her like this—in the forest, with her back against a tree and her cries echoing across the pack grounds. But my girl deserves more for the first time we mate. My girl deserves romance and buildup and beautiful torture from my lips and fingers before I sink deep into her and show her all the ways I can love her. We may both want it now, but we’d regret it later.

I lower her to her feet, then grab the backpack and toss it to her. Our eyes never once leave each other as we dress, and watching her cover herself back up is almost hotter than watching her undress because I already know what’s underneath those clothes, and I know I’ll be seeing and feeling those curves beneath my hands soon, watching her fall apart around my cock as I explore her responsive, tight body.

My dick twitches, and I take her into my arms again as soon as we’re both dressed, tilting her chin up with my thumb. I don’t kiss her, though. I stare down at her, scanning her face, a promise in my eyes.

Her midnight sky eyes twinkle with those little stars I adore, and she smiles at me, rising to her tiptoes and giving me a gentle kiss.

She pulls away, those stars still twinkling in her eyes, her hand resting on my chest over my heart. “What else do you have planned for us, Beta?”

“You’ll see,” I say with a wink.

Everything,I think to myself.I have an entire life planned for us, and this is only the beginning.

Chapter 42

REID

Wemakeourwayback inside and down the hall to her guest suite, and I mindlink Haven on our way.

“Is everything ready?”I ask.

“Yes. The hospitality team just let me know they completed all your requests. Now I better not hear from you again until Taryn has accepted you and you’re both marked.”

She cuts the link before I can reply, and I bite back a laugh. For someone so unsure of whether she would be a “good luna,” she sure slid into the role with ease. Further proof she was made for Wesley. Made to be our pack’s luna.

“So, what’s next on the agenda for ‘Winter Wonderland Day?’” Taryn asks as we reach the door.

She has her coat draped over her arm and the beanie in her hand, her other hand clasped within mine. The spare clothes from the backpack I brought outside with us hang off her body, hiding any hint of her curves and her muscles, and my wolf grumbles in my mind because the clothes smell like the detergent from the packhouse laundry room instead of my scent. But it’s fine because she’ll be out of those clothes soon, anyway.

“Well,” I say as I grab the doorknob, sweeping it open, my lips already in a wide smile. “It can’t be Winter Wonderland Day without a little Christmas thrown in there, too.”

She steps inside, brushing past me, her wide eyes taking in the scene set up in her suite.

A large, fake Christmas tree is set up in the far corner, decorated with white lights, a box of ornaments on the floor next to it. On the oak coffee table, there are supplies to decorate cookies and make hot chocolate, and laid across the back of the apparently very uncomfortable couch are two Christmas sweaters—one for me and one for her. Christmas music plays in the background, and I hold my breath as I wait for her reaction.

She moves through the space with tentative steps, scanning everything, her fingers trailing over the other various decorations—including tinsel, garlands, and snow globes—the packhouse staff placed in the room. She stops in front of the tree, reaching out to adjust a strand of lights.

“I know it’s not a traditional werewolf practice to celebrate Christmas, but we’ve always done the commercial aspects of it here since we’re so close to the human town, and tourism is one of our top sources of revenue,” I say, moving across the room to her.

I reach the tree and stand behind her, my hands coming to rest on her hips, my thumbs stroking her in soothing circles.

“How’d you know I love Christmas?” she asks.

“I didn’t. But I’ve always loved it and I wanted to share it with you,” I say with a shrug. “We’ll have to use the generic decorations that are put on every tree around the packhouse at this time of year. But once the storm passes, we can pick out some ornaments and start building a collection of our own, for when we have our own place and…”

I trail off, leaving the rest of my sentence unspoken. We’ve just started exploring the bond between us, taking baby steps to heal what I’ve broken. I don’t want to thrust an entire imagined future on her when she hasn’t accepted me as her mate, but Goddess, do I want it.

Her heart skips a beat, and her lip trembles, but she pulls it into her mouth and closes her eyes, her head leaning against my shoulder. “You want… you want pups with me?” she asks, her voice quiet and quivering.

I cross my arms in front of her, curling my torso around her and hooking my chin over her shoulder. “I want everything with you, Taryn. I told you. I’m. All. In.”

She looks at me, and I capture her lips with mine, pouring all I can into that one kiss, leaving her with no room for doubt. She pulls away, her mouth opening to say something, but in her eyes is hesitance and reluctance, so I stop her.

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