Page 53 of The Alpha's Shattered Bonds

He carried me over the threshold into the place that hadalwaysbeen the heart of our home. I grinned, my heart starting to skip as I caught sight of the kitchen table. There’d been many times in the last few months that we’d gotten cozy here again. For us, it was always our favorite place to be together. Baking sessions, just like in the early days we’d lived together, had become mandatory at the weekends.

“And there’s my Luna thinking about chocolate as usual,” Tyler joked again as he looked at my suggestive smile.

“Only if it’s chocolate-coated Tyler.” I licked my lips.

Tyler’s throat bobbed, and the dark desire in his eyes told me he was thinking of one of the many afternoons in which I’d drizzled chocolate over him, licking and kissing my way down his body.

But Tyler toed off his shoes, then walked me through the kitchen, mounting the stairs.

“I want you in our bed,” Tyler affirmed, the possessiveness in his deep, husky voice making my cheeks flush and heat pool between my legs instantly.

It wasourbedroom these days. We’d turned “my” bedroom into my magic room. The altar, crystal, and herb preparation space was useful. I experimented with new herbs and ores there often before taking any with useful medicinal properties to the infirmary.

As Tyler carried me into our room, its cedar scent, once the most torturous form of temptation, was now the comfortanddeliciousness it was allowed to be.

I eased off the flats I was wearing as Tyler laid me down on our king-sized bed.

His eyes skated over me with a mixture of hunger and awe as he shrugged out of his tux jacket. Breathing deeply, I looked up at him, feeling something different in his bright blue eyes.

He lowered himself over me, his lips meeting mine with a probing, almost questioning kiss.

“Seraphina,” he whispered against my mouth, reverence coating the word. “Are you finally really mine?” he asked, his gaze cascading over me, as if he still couldn’t believe it. It was thesame look he’d given me when he’d gazed up at me when the Moon goddess had returned him to me.

The heady thrill that Tyler really was my mate now, that we’d stood and declared our love before our pack, sparked something deep within me, urgency twirling in my stomach.

“I am yours, and you are mine.” I breathed back, the weight of the moment unfurling around us until the heat in our gaze simmered like a pot boiling over. Our hands were suddenly greedy for one another.

Tyler pulled me up, dragging my dress’s zipper down. There was too much fabric, and as it pooled around my waist, I smiled, suddenly pleased I hadn’t gone for the dress with buttons.

“What’s funny?” he asked, so attuned to my body these days and the subtlest of movements.

“I almost went for buttons.”

He smiled into my neck, his big hands sweeping my bare shoulders and tracing the skin down my collarbone. A shudder of anticipation swept through me.

“You little tease,” he murmured, his lips at the swell of my breasts.

His hands skated down my curves, removing the dress completely, unveiling the silk ivory bra and knickers for this very moment. I’d imagined this so many times. But the fire in Tyler’s blue eyes was something none of my imaginings could ever do justice. His body pressed me deeper into the bed, his hardness through his trousers making my hips wiggle with want and impatience.

That was the thing. I wasn’t the tease, Tyler was. In the same way he liked to savor whatever we baked, he liked to savorme. With soft caresses and brushes of his lips, he set my skin ablaze. Time seemed to slow as his hands explored my body, touching me with familiarity and yet still with that same sense of wonder.

But he surprised me again. “I can’t wait any longer,” he murmured, his voice thick with desire.

The way I was looking at him must have spurred him on as his fingers flew deftly over the buttons of his trousers. I helped him, my hands tearing at the buttons of his shirt, needing the heat of his skin against mine. Soon, his chest was bare, and I ran my fingernails down his chest, drinking in the sight of him, loving his rippling muscle, the hardness above me, straining taught like a bowstring.

It was only his boxers now. My breath caught in my throat, anticipation curling within me as he wrenched the fabric away. Just the sight of him made my desire thrum louder. He leaned closer, his skin warm against mine, the cedar scent of him heady. I could see the pulse in his neck, a rhythm that matched the wild thumping rhythm of my heart. When he pressed himself against me, the hardness of him nestled against my thigh and sent a jolt of want through my core.

His lips trailed down my neck, exploring the tender place just below my ear, sending waves of shivers cascading down my spine. I leaned back into the plush comfort of the bed, offering him my skin and craving more of his. His mouth traveled lower, moving with reverence and urgency, tasting every inch of my bare skin.

The softness of my silk bra contrasted against the heat of his hands as he traced its delicate edges. He hovered there for an agonizing heartbeat, leaving me breathless with anticipation before finally unhooking it with a flick of his fingers. It fell away, and his mouth lingered over my breasts. I let out a soft moan of approval as his tongue and then his teeth tasted my nipple.

“Tyler...” The plea hung in the air, hanging between us like a promise and compelling him forward. I wanted his tongue and teeth down there, something he knew with just the way my hips rolled. I loved that he knew my body so well these days.

He nosed the hem of my underwear, his fingers slipping beneath it to splay possessively over my lower belly. His movements sent electric thrills coursing through me, heightening my anticipation as he fought my knickers downward.

With a thrust of my hips, I responded to his touch, welcoming his fingers deep inside me, chasing our rhythm. But Tyler pulled away, hovering above me with a teasing warmth that left me breathless as his breath ghosted along my collarbone, his fangs brushing my neck.

“Yes,” I said, cravingly, my voice sounding husky and full of want.

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