Page 63 of Fated Exile

Reluctantly, I pull back from him, knowing that I'm leaving him in good hands. Then I shift back to my wolf form and run towards the Mating Circle, feeling the tug inside me grow stronger as I grow closer.

Delilah is waiting for me.

And the truth is, that vampire behind me doesn't have what I want. I know that. But there's a chance I might find it with her.

I just hope I figure out what the hell I'm doing sometime between getting hard and puttingitin her. I peeked a little to see what Finn did, and I have to admit, I'm not sure I can do the same thing. Every time I think about Delilah I go so wild that I'm worried I might just lose myself.

When I get to the Mating Circle and see her standing at the edge, naked and worried, I don't think twice about it.

I know that I want her.

I'm going to take her, and hope that I make my way through the dark without falling down.

Shifting back to human form, I walk up to her and anxiously reach out to take her hands. The threads between us shift, black as night and somehow eating the moonlight. They pull me into the Mating Circle just as surely as Delilah pulls me with her delicate hands, walking backwards and studying my face carefully.

"I thought we'd lost you," she says in a low voice. Behind her shoulder, I catch Roarke's eyes, just before he nods at me and melts into the torchlight. "Are you okay? What happened—the guys said something about smelling a vampire."

"I'm okay. And there was one. It—he—cloaked himself somehow. There was magic around him that made it hard to smell he was there, and the land defenses didn't react." My stomach tenses as I realize how close we came to being attacked again. "Somehow I could smell him, though. He smelled different, but he made my runic tattoo itch. Like it was trying to tell me something."

"I'm glad it did." She reaches up to press her small hand against my cheek, and I marvel at how tiny she is next to me. "But I'm also glad you came back. You were gone for so long that the mating threads flickered, and I thought for a second they were going out. I couldn't even see which statue they went to."

"Statue?"

"I still can't, in fact." Delilah looks around, frowning. She tells me, "With the others, the elder statues lit up with the right color. North, South, East, West. But with you, the threads just go... down. To nowhere."

Squinting at our feet, I see something and smile. "Not to nowhere. They go down below the pack flame platform, into the earth. Where magic leaks from the Otherworld."

Delilah's eyes trace the direction of my gaze, and she hops a little in excitement. "Oh! You're right, they do. I wonder if that's why you could smell the vampire." Throwing her arms around me, she exclaims, "You're special, Bastian. So special!"

I bring my hands up to hold her delicate body, aware of the size of her, drinking in her scent and burying my face in her hair. She smells like the other men who have been with her first, men who've helped and supported me even when I didn't deserve it. But more than that she smells like herself—clean and sharp, brilliantly beautiful and wicked.

My heart aches, and I wonder if this is what love is.

I wish I was experienced enough to know.

Fisting my hands in her hair, I cautiously turn my head towards her, seeking a kiss. Delilah responds by pulling my face down to hers and eagerly kissing me. Her tongue is soft and warm in her mouth, the brush of her lips sensual on mine. No one has even been as tender with me as she is.

Her thigh slides between mine, and I feel her rub up against my arousal, which rests in the side of my new pants. I gasp and hitch my hips forward, seeking more contact even as my pants become painfully tight. She responds, pushing her thigh in more, and I instinctively move my hands down to her ass. The cheeks are so warm and curved in my hand. I can't believe I'm so lucky that I get to hold her like this, naked and loving, in front of everyone.

As her hands push beneath my shirt and slide up my back, I feel her fingers brush up against the edge of my scars, and I groan against her. The wolf in me surfaces and a growl rumbles out of me. I frantically push it down, mumbling against her ear, "Sorry."

"Don't be." She turns and nips my neck. "I like it. It turns me on."

This makes me growl again, and Delilah moans against my skin. My erection jumps, and I pant at the pain of how tight my pants are now. They're practically suffocating it. Groaning, I thrust forward and seek more heat—then get frustrated by being clothed. So I reach down with my claws, scrambling, and tear my pants open. My arousal is still trapped by briefs, the tip hanging out of it, so I tear those too and pant at the relief. I feel bad at destroying something nice Delilah and Roarke got me, but then she slides her body against mine, eyes wide, and I don't feel bad anymore.

I just feel like I wantmore.Heat. Pressure. Warmth. My hips keep moving because it feels so good, but it's not enough, and I don't know what to do.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Delilah says, sensing my frustration. She grabs my shirt and rips it off, not caring one bit about the destruction. Kissing me, she murmurs, "You're so big, Bastian. Of course it would be frustrating to be hard."

"I don't know what to do next." I moan, grabbing her waist and rubbing up against her front. It feelsamazing,but I know it's not quite right. "Am I supposed to put my mouth and tongue on you? I can do that, but I don't know what I'm doing. I want to—I want to make you feel good like the others did."

Delilah's skin shivers beneath my touch, and I feel a spark of electricity between us. Looking up at me with eyes that glow blue and silver, she says, "You can do that soon, but I think tonight we should just focus on taking care of you. Do you know how you want to do it? What position?"

I try to imagine a thousand different things at once and shake my head. "I don't know. There are too many choices."

"That's okay." She brushes my hair back behind my shoulders, tugging on it lightly. "What do you want it to feel like? Tell me."

"Okay." I drop my forehead to hers, breathing deeply even as I rub up against her, throbbing with arousal. "I want—I want to push inside you and hold you tight, and... be on top. But I don't want to hurt you."

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