Page 13 of Falling for My Shifter Stranger

I cup her face in my hands, my thumb brushing over her cheek. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” I admit, my voice thick with emotion. “You’re my home, Hannah. My everything.”

Her breath hitches, and then she’s pulling me down, her lips capturing mine in a kiss that’s both tender and fiercely passionate. The rest of the world fades away as I lose myself in her, in us, the bond between us blazing brighter than ever.

My wolf growls low in my throat, urging me to claim her, to make her ours. I know I should hold back, should take things slowly, but the primal need burning through my veins is becoming harder and harder to ignore.

She responds eagerly, her lips parting beneath mine as she welcomes me deeper. The kiss is electric, sending sparks of pleasure racing through my body. I carry her to the bed, pinning her beneath me as I ravage her mouth with increasing urgency.

My hands roam her body, mapping her curves, committing every dip and swell to memory. She arches into my touch, a soft moan escaping her as my fingers skim over her sensitive flesh. I breakthe kiss, trailing my lips along her jaw, down the column of her throat. She tilts her head back, granting me better access as I nip and suck at the delicate skin, leaving blooming marks of possession.

Reluctantly, I pull away, sitting back on my heels as I drink in the sight of her. She looks thoroughly debauched, her lips swollen, her hair mussed, her skin flushed with arousal. I ache to be inside her, to feel her welcoming heat enveloping me. But first, I want to taste her, to worship her with my mouth until she's writhing and pleading for release.

Slowly, reverently, I strip away her remaining clothing, baring her to my hungry gaze. I take my time, savoring each newly exposed inch of skin, pausing to maps her body with my hands and mouth. She trembles beneath my touch, her core growing slick with evidence of her desire.

Parting her thighs, I settle between them, the heat of her sex a siren's call I'm helpless to resist. I breathe in the intoxicating scent of her arousal, feeling my wolf surge to the forefront, demanding I claim what's ours. Leaning in, I run my tongue through her wet folds, groaning at the burst of flavor that explodes across my tastebuds. She cries out, her fingers tangling in my hair as I set to work pleasing her with lips, tongue, and teeth.

I lap at her with long, slow strokes, savoring the way her body responds to my ministrations. Her thighs tremble, her hips bucking as I bring her closer and closer to the edge. I feel her tightening around my tongue, her breath coming in sharp gasps and whimpers. With a few well-placed strokes, I send her flying, her orgasm crashing over her in wave after wave of ecstasy.

As she comes down from her high, I crawl back up her body, pausing to pepper kisses along her trembling skin. When I reachher face, I claim her lips in a searing kiss, letting her taste her own essence on my tongue. She moans into my mouth, her hands tugging impatiently at my clothes.

I acquiesce to her unspoken demand, shrugging out of my shirt before settling back between her thighs. The hard length of my arousal presses insistently against her core, and I grit my teeth against the urge to surge forward and bury myself inside her.

"Are you sure?" I ask, my voice rough with restraint.

"Yes," she breathes, her eyes dark and blown with lust. "Please, Rhys. I need you."

Unable to deny her, I thrust forward, sheathing myself inside her welcoming heat. A guttural moan tears from my throat at the exquisite sensation of her walls gripping me tightly. I pause for a moment, allowing her to adjust to my size, before I begin to move.

I start slow, savoring the drag of her body against mine, the way her breath hitches with each deep stroke. But soon, the need becomes too much, and I lose myself to the rhythm of our lovemaking. My hips snap forward, driving into her again and again, each thrust punctuated by the slap of skin against skin and our mingled moans of pleasure.

The tension builds at the base of my spine as I feel my release fast approaching. Hannah clutches at me, her nails raking down my back, urging me on. Overcome with the need to claim her, to bind her to me in every way, I surge forward, sinking my teeth into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. The coppery tang of her blood floods my mouth as she cries out in pleasure, her body tensing around me.

Together, we shatter, our climaxes crashing over us in a dizzying rush of sensation. I seal my lips over the bite mark, laving atit with my tongue as I rock through the aftershocks, thoroughly spent.

As we drift back down to earth, I gather Hannah close, cradling her against my chest as I nuzzle into her hair. The bond between us pulses in time with my heartbeat, strong and unbreakable. In this moment, held safe and warm in my mate's arms, I feel a sense of belonging I've never known before. It settles deep in my bones, chasing away the last vestiges of my loneliness and replacing it with a profound sense of peace.

Hannah sighs contentedly, her fingers tracing idle patterns on my chest. "Merry Christmas," she murmurs, smiling up at me with a tenderness that steals the air from my lungs.

I grin back at her, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. "Merry Christmas," I echo, sealing my promise with a soft kiss. "Forever yours."

And I mean it with every fiber of my being. In the arms of my fated mate, I've found home again. And I plan on spending the rest of my life showing her just how much she means to me.

Epilogue

Hannah

The snowfall has softened the forest into a quiet, silver wonderland. I watch from the window of the pack house. Rhys helps a group of pack wolves shovel snow from the paths. His dark hair glints under the pale winter sun, strands catching the light as he works. A warm flush spreads through me, watching him laugh with Charlie, one of the younger wolves, who seems determined to turn shoveling into an impromptu snow-tossing competition.

Rhys loses, of course. He always lets the younger ones win at these things, though his mock-exasperated groan when a pile of snow hits his boots deserves an award all on its own. He doesn’t see me watching, which makes the moment even more precious. This is Rhys—not the loner who stumbled into our territory weeks ago, full of hesitation and mistrust, but a man who’s learning to stop fighting his place in the world. Who’s thriving here, with my family, my pack.

With me.

“Penny for your thoughts?” My alpha brother’s voice pulls me out of my reverie. Ryan leans against the counter, his arms crossed, watching me carefully. He glances between me and thewindow, where Rhys has now hoisted Charlie onto his shoulders in a show of good-natured defeat. “You’re staring again.”

“You’re imagining things,” I say, though I can feel the heat rising up my neck, betraying me.

Ryan smirks knowingly, an expression that seems almost foreign on his usually serious face. It’s the most relaxed I’ve seen him in days. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile like that. Or you, for that matter.” His tone is light, teasing, but there’s no mistaking the sincerity behind it.

I shrug, trying to downplay my emotions, but the grin tugging at the corners of my lips refuses to be suppressed. “Guess you’ll just have to get used to it.”

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