Page 66 of Hell Gate

All I can do is nod. More than anything, I want it to be true. I want to be his too, because this feels too good, too right to be wrong.

My nerve endings burst all over my body, the insistent thrum in my chest singing in harmony with my aroused moans. His forked tongue swipes at the crook of my neck and his lips close on my pulse point, sucking hard on my sensitive skin. As I reach oblivion again, he slams deep inside my fluttering pussy, rugged muscles tensed as a feral sound tears from him. His cock pulses within my core as he comes.

His release leaks from where we’re joined, dripping down my thighs. My lips part and I tilt my head back, angling to kiss him. He captures my mouth, hips pumping with tiny movements that make me gasp into the kiss. He swallows every sound, lips curving against mine.

As his hand coasts down my soft stomach to splay across my lower abdomen, his chest reverberates with a rumble. My eyes pop open and I break our kiss as something urgent occurs to me.

“Will I get pregnant? I don’t think there are condoms big enough in the human world for you and you definitely didn’t pull out.”

Not that I wanted him to. I love the feeling when he spills inside me. I gulp, realizing I haven’t used protection with Matthias, either.

He shakes his head, sighing. “Though I would love nothing more than to see your belly swelled with our child, beautiful, you won’t be able to conceive like this. The seal that binds you keeps your true form trapped.”

I sag against him. “Okay. I’m not ready for that.”

I might never be. After the life I’ve had, I’d no doubt screw a kid up. My heart twists, thinking of how many kids in the system go for so long wishing for a family to pick them.

“We would never push you to do anything you don’t want,” he assures me. “But I do like this.”

His hand dips lower, caressing my swollen pussy and touching my stretched entrance. Gathering his come leaking out of me, he pulls out slowly and uses his fingers to force his come back inside. I clench around them, feeling empty without his cock buried in me.

“Next time I want to knot you,” he rasps. “Then after it’s gone down, spend the rest of the night pushing my come back into your pussy with my fingers before I fuck it back into you with my cock.”

My thighs clench and a ragged breath hisses out of me. His chuckle is warm and tinged with a dirty air he’s kept hidden from me. I like this side of him. He continues playing with me, fingering me gently until I’m writhing once more. He’s not satisfied until he wrenches another orgasm from me, leaving me fucked out and on the edge of delirium.

“It’s time for bed.” He kisses me deeply again, laying his claim and possessing me with his mouth. “This time you’ll stay put by my side. If you try to sneak out again, I’ll chase you, sweet blossom.”

“I don’t know if that’s a bad thing.” I laugh at his warning look. Biting my lip around a smile, I nod. “I want to stay with you.”

Alder sweeps me into his arms, leaving my tattered clothes behind. I’m glad, because this time I really am past my limit. I’d never be able to stand after that. We’re covered in dirt and worn out, a sweet ache lingering between my legs. He carries me through the woods, back to our cabin.

His lips brush my forehead and his comforting scent twines around my heart as it bursts with the unfamiliar happiness of being completely taken care of.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

LILY

My heart sits in my throat all day from the moment I wake up in Alder’s arms near noon. Last night, I was powerless against my desire, influenced by the strong pull to him. I have to tell Matthias. Fear ingrained from so much rejection locks around my heart.

After I snuck into the shower, then found my bed empty, Matthias convinced me to take a break from training. We walked a nature trail he found, weaving around the cabin in the cool autumn breeze while he conjured dazzling little light shows with his illusion magic and pretended to be a tour guide to get me to smile. I opened my mouth at least a dozen times, the confession about last night ready to burst free, yet unable to escape. Each time he cast a worried look my way when he thought I wasn’t paying attention, my heart wedged tighter into my throat.

He treats me to the sweetest day, showing me consideration no one’s ever given me before. It underlines the fact I can’t hide from him any longer.

Our day-long date ends with dinner on the balcony watching the moon rise.

We sit on a blanket overlooking the moonlit Appalachian mountains, surrounded by candles and the dinner he put together for me. It’s a beautiful night and I’m with the one my heart is fated to. He’s done everything to spoil me today and I can barely taste the food because my stomach is in knots. I’m a terrible mate.

“Okay.” Matthias wipes his mouth and draws me against his side beneath his arm. “You have to tell me what’s on your mind, or I’ll—”

“I had sex with Alder.” I blurt it out with way less tact than the million other ways I thought of to tell him. Closing my eyes to avoid seeing his disappointment, I push the rest of my confession out. “Twice. Alone. Not like—not like what we’ve done before. It was last night, and at the motel last week.”

I tense, waiting for his rejection. My heart fractures at the thought of my mate rejecting me. Even fate doesn’t save me from the eventual moment everyone leaves me behind because I’m not enough.

Matthias chuckles. “Is that all, petal?” My eyes fly open and he lifts my chin. “Did his cock make you cry out in that beautiful way I love so much?”

My lips part. He grins at my flustered expression.

Raking his teeth over his lip, he sighs. “Fuck, I wish you’d let me watch, mate. Bet it was so hot. I want to see him fuck you and hear every sexy sound you make while you take his cock.”

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