Page 50 of Midnight Mate
Gently, I lowered my mouth to hers a second time.
My lips moved over hers, unhurried now as I explored what felt familiar and new at the same time.
She still tasted like peaches.
It was a taste I’d never forgotten, and now it was like she’d ripened in the decade since I’d last sampled her. My arms wrapped around her, gentle and steadying. Her hand ran up and over my chest, her fingers curling into my hair, and I nearly lost my control.
“I want you, Cat.”
“I want you too,” she whispered against my mouth.
I tightened my hold on her waist, lifting her off her feet and carrying her to the bed a second time. Lowering her gently, I eased over her, staring down in appreciation at the woman who’d stolen my heart and never given it back.
Fine by me. I no longer wanted it.
“Last chance,” I said, pressing a kiss to her jawline then to her throat.
God, she tasted good.
“Tell me to stop, and I will,” I whispered against her ear.
She shuddered, clinging harder. Her hips arched to meet mine, and my erection strained against my pants. I slid a hand around her thigh, wrapping her leg around my waist.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered, drawing my mouth down to hers again.
I kissed her like I should have ten years ago.
My wolf finally relaxed, and I lost myself in the pleasure of her body moving against mine. Piece by piece, I removed first her clothing then my own. When she was naked beneath me, I smiled, anticipation and need tugging at me. She was so beautiful, it hurt.
I slid into her, shuddering, and the beast inside me howled its own sort of release.
Mate.
I’d found her.
In a slow, steady rhythm, I claimed her, first as a human.
As a male.
As a lover.
Then, when her head was tipped back in ecstasy, I let my teeth scrape over the soft skin along her throat.
Snarling against my tenuous control, I held back.
When I marked her as mine, it would be because she asked me to. Because she’d agreed to this life. Until then, my wolf would do everything it took to convince her to let me. And my human side would do everything to stop it.
“East,” she said, breathless, pleading. “I’m close.”
“Cat.” Her name was like a plea. A prayer.
Cat moaned against me, her body tensing with the release building.
I grabbed her hair, forcing her head back so she could look up at me.
“Look at me, kitty cat. Look into my eyes when you fall.”
She opened her eyes, her unfocused gaze landing on mine, and we slipped off the edge together.
