“My rogue wolves are under strict orders to ensure our guests know our beach is off-limits tonight,” Stephen said. An appreciative groan climbed up his throat as his attention fell to me, his mouth already kissing up my calf, licking and kissing at my soft inner thigh.

“Stephen,” I moaned as his mouth teased me through my knickers, a jolt of pleasure making me buck against his mouth. He ran his nose up over the silk, nuzzling along my slit, his decadent groan sending shivers down my spine as much as his touch.

“I’m going to have this pretty pussy right here in the open.” He kissed me through the silk, nipping and teasing me and making me grow wetter by the second until he ordered, “Lift your hips.”

“You’ve definitely got bossier,” I joked. It was true. I’d noticed a change since he’d become alpha. He was definitely more domineering in bed. Not that I minded. It turned out I liked to be bossed around, too.

I lifted my hips, and he pulled off my knickers.

“Open your legs,” he growled, and a judder of pleasure beat through me as my legs fell open to accommodate him. Pleasure sparked as his mouth sank between my folds, his finger falling to my clit. My body turned molten, and I felt as fluid as the silvery sea.

My hips rolled up against his mouth, rising to meet him like a cresting wave, and he murmured, “Come for me, Darlin’. I need you on my tongue.”

And just like that, I was over the edge, feeling as if I was boneless and drifting on the sea. But Stephen held me, lapping at me until I collapsed back into the sand.

Stephen’s mouth traveled up my body, his big hands managing to slip up under my bodice and beneath my silk bra, cupping my breast and pinching my nipple. I moaned, heat climbing in me again as I arched up into him.

As his mouth met mine, I could taste myself on him. It mixed with his spice and earthiness, and I felt intoxicated yet still in need of more. The salty fragrance of the sea mixed with the heat radiating from his body, and I nipped and licked at his skin, tasting the salt of him and the air on his neck. I moaned, arching my back to press myself into him. “Stephen…I need you.”

He pulled back for a fleeting moment, a smirk on his lips. “Ask me nicely.”

“I need you, Alpha,” I purred, my voice a sultry whisper, my eyes shining with want.

His bright green eyes blazed with heat, and then the sound of his zipper had a heady need consuming me. I sighed, overwhelmed as he parted my folds and thrust between my legs.

“My alpha,” I moaned, my hands coming up under his shirt, feeling the hard muscles of his back flexing as he moved.

His green eyes darkened, flashing with desire, warmth pouring off him like the summer night around us. “My luna,” he answered.

And it was like it had always been with us, the fire igniting between us and feeling as if we were about to combust together. But this was the fire of passion. The cold flicker of vengeance had burned itself out, and there was only us.

Just us.

The reality of that sank in, and each of Stephen’s thrusts, as he seated himself as deeply as he could, seemed to deepen that truth, too.

My mate’s fangs lengthened, a flicker of his wolf leaping to the surface. I felt the power rolling off him. His fingers moved to my waist, grasping me as his claws shifted slightly, too.

“Claim me,” I urged, my voice low and husky, fingertips tangling in his hair as I pulled him closer.

The moment hung in the air between us, heavy and charged, and then, Stephen lowered himself, his mouth brushing against my neck. I gasped as he placed gentle kisses along the sensitive skin, each press of his lips igniting a fierce heat. Then he found his mark—the place where our bond was woven—and, with intent, pierced the skin with his fangs.

A thrill of ecstasy and sharp pleasure coursed through me, overwhelming everything else. I gasped, my body rippling with an earth-shattering release. I felt his claim radiate through me, resonating deep within my core, filling my body with heat and ringing through my very essence.

My back arched instinctively, and I cried out—caught between the pleasure of his thick cock sheathed inside of me and the delicious sting of his teeth still singing through my neck. The bite of his claws sank deeper into my hips, amplifying this all-consuming feeling, the intimacy like nothing I had ever experienced as if our very souls had merged.

When his fangs left my neck, his tongue licked at the mark, and he whispered, “Lina.” His voice was thick with desire and wonder, low and laced with tenderness that made me melt into him. “You’re mine.”

“And you’re mine,” I echoed, my nails digging into his back and drawing him closer.

The taste of saltwater, spiciness, and earth enveloped me. The waves continued their hypnotic dance behind us, and every kiss and touch made me feel as if we’d left the world behind. But it was better than that. This was our world, the one we were building together.

Stephen’s hands swept more urgently over my body, lifting my ass up in the sand, and bringing me even closer to him as he rolled his hips, his glorious cock filling me. Another wave of heat built low in my belly, climbing with every second.

“I need your tits,” he murmured, his tone demanding. Suddenly, his claws raked down the back of my dress, and the night air whispered against my breasts. In another moment, Stephen sucked and nipped at them, making me moan and buck against him.

That molten desire crested with every tantalizing kiss and bite. His mouth devoured mine, and I was helpless to think of anything but him. Each brush of his lips was a promise, affirming that this moment—this connection—was eternal. My heart raced, echoing the rhythm of the crashing waves, that wildness beyond mirroring the one pulsing between us.

“Stephen,” I gasped, want lacing my tone as the pleasure mounted. I pulled him closer, desperate for him, my nails raking down his back.