”I’d love that.” His whole body relaxed as he leaned down to kiss me before he opened the car door for me. We were doing this.

I wasn’t usually so forward, but then again, I’d never been this attracted to someone…ever.

When we finally got to his place, we barely had the door shut before Todd’s lips were on mine, and the only thing that existed in this world were the two of us.

Heat surged through me as I pressed my body against his. Todd’s hand roamed over my back and tickled every nerve ending as we caught our breaths. He was as hard as I was, our cocks only separated by our stupid clothes.

Todd captured my lips with his once again. It was an addictive touch that made my knees weak. Our breaths mingled in a heady dance of need and desire that almost fully encompassed me, and I found myself drowning in the scent of him. All piney and earthy and manly—and so distinctly Todd.

The room spun slightly when he hoisted me up, cradling me in his arms as he started walking. My clothes felt too constrictive,and the moment he placed me at the foot of his bed, I needed them gone.

As if hearing my silent plea, Todd peeled away my clothes, eliminating the fabric that separated us. The cool air that hit my heated flesh was a reminder that this was actually happening.

Todd was really going to make love to me. He was going to give me his knot.

”Alpha.”

“Patience, my sweet omega. Patience.”

I. Had. None.

Once I was fully naked, Todd's eyes roamed over me in appreciation. After several long moments, I started to work on his clothing. “You have too many clothes on.”

He growled, and for the first time, I heard his bear. It probably should’ve scared me, but it didn’t. If anything, it encouraged me to keep going until he was standing there completely naked and so damn hard. I couldn’t help but circle his cock with my tongue while I slowly stood up after taking off his socks.

“My patience is gone now.” I pulled my bottom lip in with my teeth and climbed on the bed. “Join me, alpha.”

I didn’t need to ask twice. He joined me on the bed, kissing me breathless with his weight deliciously on me enough to feel the security of his body without smushing me.

Todd hovered above me, and our differences in size became achingly apparent. Still, we fit together as if we were two halves of a whole. A puzzle with just two pieces that easily lined up in every way.

He smothered my neck with soft, wet kisses that sent shivers down my spine as his hands roamed my body. Every kiss, every touch, told me I was his. I couldn't help the whimpers that escaped me.

One of his thick fingers pressed against my opening, teasing it softly before slipping inside. The intrusion was startling but welcome as I opened for him, stretching wide as he prepared me to take his huge cock.

"Please, Todd. I… I…" I was nearly delirious with want, no longer able to censor my words. "I need you." There would be sweet foreplay another time. Right now, I needed him inside me, like yesterday.

He grabbed a pillow and put it under my hips, and then placed a second one under my head, making sure I was comfortable. Even with our lust palpable, he took the time to take care of me first.

The bed shifted as he aligned himself with my hole, then he slowly pushed forward in one motion, and every nerve ending in my body flared to life at once. Our joining wasn't just physical, but it was emotional too. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Like my entire life had been building for this exact moment.

I couldn’t describe it in words, so I allowed my body to speak for me. My hips rocked, and Todd’s bear rumbled its contentment once more. I might not have met his bear yet, but he approved.

Todd echoed it with a low growl of his own. “Mine.”

”Yes, yours.”

As he began to move within me, each slow thrust was sweeter than the one before. Everything else fell away. The world outside didn’t exist anymore. It was just the two of us.

So lost in the sensations, I barely noticed how close I was to releasing. My climax caught me off guard as it ripped through me. I clung to Todd as I called out his name.

Todd’s climax followed almost immediately, and his knot swelled up to lock everything inside me. The stretch burned for a second, but then… it was everything.

Once we’d both caught our breath, and while our bodies were still joined, Todd grazed his teeth lightly across my neck. Instinctively, I tilted my head to offer him better access, and my heart was thundering with the possibility of what the gesture meant.

But the sharp bite never came.

The claiming mark that would bind us together forever never became a reality. Maybe that wasn’t even a thing between shifters and humans. All I knew about them I’d learned from fiction books and gossip, so I was hardly an expert.