Page 72 of Dawn Unearthed

She let out a shaky breath, even as her thighs clenched around me. “Not yet. I need you inside me.”

I groaned. “That I can do.” I kissed her again. And then I licked and nipped down her body until I reached the top of her leggings. I slowly pulled them off her legs, taking her underwear with them. I tossed them over my shoulder, and then I knelt in front of her, pressing her silky thighs down as I spread her. She was pink and wet and perfect. I could barely hold back a growl. My bear pushed at me, wanting to taste her sweet honey.

I latched on to her clit, sucking and licking and letting the sweetness coat my tongue. She tasted of perfection. I wanted to continue tasting and eating her until she came on my face, over and over and over again. She let out a breath, her back arching as she kept her hands on her breasts. I held her thighs spread, knowing her taste would be all for me.

I rubbed my beard along her thigh, and she shivered before I latched on to her clit again and sucked, twisting my lips and darting my tongue. She moaned, her whole body freezing for an instant before she came, her pussy tightening around my tongue.

I groaned, lapping up her orgasm. She continued coming on my face, writhing as she whispered my name. I lapped at her again, spreading her folds more as I continued exploring her sweet pussy.

Then she tugged on my hair. “Please, I need you.”

I gave her one long, sensual lick, stood up, and slowly undid my pants. She held one hand over her breast, the other over her pussy as she stared at me.

“Rome.”

I grinned and patted her hip before I undid the button of my jeans. “Roll onto your stomach, Sage. I want to see how deep I can go.”

She licked her lips and then slowly slid onto all fours. She put that pert little ass in the air as I pulled off my pants. I nearly came right there, gripping the base of my cock.

Sage looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes dark with need. “Rowen gave me herbs. I can’t get pregnant unless we want to.”

I groaned, remembering that we were mated now. I could get her pregnant with my seed. I hovered over her, my dick playing between her soft folds. As I slowly licked her mate mark, her whole body shook.

“Good. We will make our choices about that later. Together.”

“Please come inside me. I can’t wait any longer. Make me yours just like you are mine.”

I nodded, the need the same inside me, I latched on to that mate mark and bit down gently so it was ours. I slid home, and her pussy clamped around me like a vise. She pushed that soft ass of hers back into my hips.

She was so tight, so warm that I nearly came right then. I put one hand on her hip, the other looped around her body, keeping her steady. And then I started to move. She slid back to me, meeting me thrust for thrust as I pumped into her, needing more. Needing everything.

She panted, called out my name, and I continue moving, knowing I was close as my balls tightened. I was afraid I would come before she did again, and I couldn’t let that happen. I reached around and flicked her clit with my finger, and she came, clamping around my dick.

I shook, the need far too great. I pumped deep inside, hard, once, twice. And again. And then I roared, shouting her name and shaking the windows with my bellow. As I filled her with my seed, with everything I was, I realized I was alpha. I was bear. And I was Sage’s mate. She was mine.

“I love you,” I whispered. I wasn’t falling. I had fallen.

As we moved so I was on my side with her facing me, she curled into my body, her eyes closed but a small, beautiful smile on her face.

And we slept.

Chapter Twenty-One

Sage

My heart ached, and it felt like somebody was stabbing me from the inside. It didn’t make any sense. I had left one sense of loss and darkness, and once again, I stood staring at that abyss. At what I couldn’t change. My Aunt Penelope was gone, and there was no coming back from that. And I wasn’t even sure how I’d gotten here in the first place. Rome slid his hand over mine and squeezed it as we stood near my aunt’s grave. Rowen stood at the head of the casket, her hair blowing in the wind, though it was just of her making—her magic. Laurel stood on the other side of me, still as a stone. She had been closer to my aunt than even I was.

I reached out and gripped her hand. She was icy-cold, which was odd for a woman full of fire. I squeezed, and she clamped down on my hand so painfully, I knew I might have bruises later. But I didn’t care. She needed me, just as I needed her. Trace, Jaxton, and Ash stood on the other side, three stone pillars of strength and confusion. There were others from the town there. Customers who came in to help at the bakery and wanted to meet me. People who had known my aunt for years and wanted to be part of this final goodbye. They all knew who had taken her. They knew who had killed her. They all understood that we would have vengeance. However, it was difficult for me to realize that I couldn’t fix anything.

“Our Penelope was one of our founders,” Rowen began. I looked up at the woman who was my coven sister, my teacher. Someone breaking inside just like me. “She fought for her family, for this town. She was a founder of more than the hope that drives us. She was of the blood that brought us together, that has protected us for so long. She might not have had the magic to work the spells, but it was her hope and tenacity that protected us all. She will be missed. She was a light in the darkness. A beacon of steadfast loyalty and hope. She is gone, but she will never be forgotten.” Rowen looked at all of us, and then at the town, before staring back at me, her eyes fierce, that wind in her hair picking up. “She might be gone, but we will find who took her from us. She was of hope, but we will be vengeance. We will not let her die in vain. We will not let her go to ash, to the soil, without knowing that wewillfight for her. We will continue fighting for her and for ourselves. Our Penelope is gone, but not the hope she brought. Not the protection she sought.”

“In this time of darkness, bring us back to light. Ease the sorrow and burden on these next harrowing nights. Penelope’stime here is done, for with life is given death. Keep with us the memories;Goddess, please alleviate the rest. For only She is eternal, even the sun must disappear. Gone from body but never from heart, our sisteris always near.”

Magic churned within me, and I let out a breath as Rome, Trace, Jaxton, and Ash slowly began lowering Penelope into the ground. Rowen had her hands up, and I knew she was using air to buffer the casket.

We would bury my aunt whole so she would be of earth, and she would be ours. I had come to Ravenwood from loss, and yet here I was, surrounded by loss again. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with that.

Others from the town came to me to express their sorrow. They held my hand, and they hugged me. I could see the sincerity in each of them. I could also see the fear. One of theirs had been taken, and who would be next? If we didn’t stop Faith, my aunt would only be the first we lost. The townsfolk were scared. I would do my best to be strong for them. Somehow.

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