Page 29 of Wolf Bound

“Living in the cell, I saw so much of the bad parts of life that I questioned whether there even was any good in the world. When you only see and hear so much, it’s easy to get lost in the idea that there’s nothing else out there. My peryton was a big reason that I didn’t fully fall into that ideology. Lying with her in the valley, I would lean on her strength and love, reminding myself that something as pure as her couldn’t exist in a world of only evil.” I smile up at Drayton, letting my own glow come forward for my peryton. “She cuddled me through the worst of the experiments. She set me straight when I would get far too deep in my own head. She showed me that colours are everywhere, you just need to shine some light to chase away the shadows.”

“I’d like to meet her someday.” Drayton tips my head back, brushing his nose lightly against mine as his breath whispers against my lips. “Thank you for trusting me.”

A noise escapes my throat, it was supposed to be some semblance of words, but both my brain and my mouth are short-circuiting right now. Drayton’s hand slides in my hair, lightly tangling in the teal locks at the back of my head. My breathing grows rapid, those tingling feelings from earlier flooding me from head to toe.

The parts of me that still bear the reminders of my time in captivity cause me to pause for a moment. Is this something I should do? Is it what I truly want?

Yesimmediately floods my mind, the feeling of the mate bond and my own magic solidifying my gut reaction. Drayton is my mate and I want him on every level. Those people stole twenty-four years of wants and needs from me, but not anymore. I want this and I’m not going to let the fear they instilled in me take that away.

“Tell me to stop if you don’t want to go any further. I don’t ever want to push you to do anything you don’t want to do or aren’t ready for, yet,” Drayton whispers a hair's breadth away from my lips. His blue eyes are staring intently into my own, his body holding me close yet making no further moves to deepen this moment until I give the okay.

“I will. I want this,” I confess, shifting on my knees to put pressure on the ache between my thighs. “I trust you, Drayton. With my heart, my life, and my body.”

A rumbling sound vibrates through his chest, his eyes closing tightly as he rests his forehead against mine. His hand tightens ever so slightly in my hair, tipping my head back so my neck is fully extended, open for him in a sign of submission.

The animal side of me connects with the human, combining my instincts with the raw human emotions running through me. My peryton and I aren’t the type to want control, we’re submissive by nature whereas Drayton, and the rest of my wolves, are pure control and domination.

“Please,” I beg after a moment when Drayton doesn’t make any attempt to kiss me. “Please, kiss me.”

“Say my name,” he growls, brushing his nose against my cheek softly, his breath sending shivers down my spine as it caresses my skin. “Say my name, Talia.”

A whimper escapes when I open my mouth from his lips gently running along my jaw. I release a shaky breath, pulling myself together long enough to whisper his name reverently.

“Drayton.”

Without a word, Drayton tangles his fingers deeper in my hair and descends on my lips. His soft, warm mouth touches mine softly at first, sending waves of magic through my body that sparks everywhere we touch.

Drayton’s tongue lightly runs along the seam of my lips, silently begging for entrance. My own mouth opens, eager to deepen the kiss with my mate. Our magic is coming alive as our bodies do the same. His other hand is running down my side, his fingertips delicately tracing the skin peeking out from my tank top.

He pulls back suddenly, his blue eyes searching mine. "Before this goes any further," Drayton murmurs as his eyes trace my face. "I need to say something. The moment I saw you running towards me in that chaotic hallway, I was hit with the force of our bond. I could barely take my eyes off of you, and then you were hurt right there in front of me."

My hand cups his cheek as his voice breaks slightly, his eyes going red with unshed tears. Pushing up off my knees, I climb into his lap, kissing up his jaw before resting my forehead against his temple.

"I hadn't even met you yet, and I thought I had already lost you. I picked you up after Penn went after the woman that hurt you, and I shed a tear of relief when I heard your heartbeat still going strong." Drayton's hands go around my back, hugging me tightly. "You're my mate through the fate of the goddess, but as I get to know you, I know that fate be damned, I would have picked you anyway."

"You would?" I whisper, pulling back in shock to look at the sincerity on his face.

"No matter how many lifetimes we lived, I would pick you every fucking time. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met and that extends to your heart and soul. Seeing people's emotions the way I do, I see even the things people trydesperately to hide. I see the bad, the ugly, and the evil. You? You're brighter than the sun, with how pure your heart is. I would drown in your light if I could, and die a happy man."

Brushing my fingers down Dray's face, I smile through the happy tears. "You sure know how to make a woman feel special."

Drayton grabs my hand, kissing the palm before slowly kissing down to my wrist. "You haven't seen anything yet. I'm going to make you feel many things tonight, if you'll let me. Special." His tongue flicks out against my wrist, bringing a gasp to my lips. "Euphoric." Another swipe of his tongue has my hips shifting against the large, hard bulge in his jeans. "Loved."

The last word leaves his lips, hanging on my skin and lighting a fire that starts in my soul and spreads over my entire body.

"Yes," I moan, pushing down to get pressure right where I need it most. "Make me feel everything, Drayton."

Chapter Seventeen

Talia

Drayton's hands grip my hips, guiding me in a rhythm against him that feels so much better than the chaotic and nonsensical movements I was doing. He kisses my neck as he moves me, nipping at the sensitive skin just below my ear. The tingling from before gets stronger, my body feeling flushed from head to toe in the most delicious way possible.

Grabbing the hem of my shirt with both hands, I pull back from Drayton and tear it off of me. My breasts are covered by a soft pink satin bra that pushes them up generously. I wasn't sure about the whole bra thing when Helen got me fitted for them, but seeing Drayton's eyes droop with lust as he stares at me right now, I've gotta say, they do their job well.

"Yours off," I mutter, my brain so foggy with how turned on I am. "I need to touch you."

“You want to touch me?” At my nod, he smiles devilishly down at me. “Where do you want to touch me?”

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