Page 84 of Mate Night Snack
Emmett nodded, his shifter senses attuned to the subtle shifts in the forest's mood.
"It's blessing us," he said, understanding flooding through him. "The Veil, the forest, all of it. They're giving us their benediction."
Katniss turned in his arms, her face upturned to catch the moonlight. The wildflower crown was gone now, but her dark curls still held traces of the ceremony's magic, tiny sparkles of light that caught and held his gaze. She was beautiful, had always been beautiful, but tonight she seemed to glow from within.
Fireflies drifted in slow spirals overhead, their golden glow brighter than usual, like the woods themselves knew what this night meant. The breeze carried the scent of pine and blooming thistle, the air full of warmth even though the moon hung high and silver above them.
Emmett stood still for a long moment, just watching her.
Katniss in white.
The dress hugged her curves in such a way that made his chest ache. The fabric shimmered like starlight, falling off one shoulder, soft and wild like her. Her thick black waves tumbled down her back, pinned with tiny silver leaves. Her hazel eyes, sharp as ever, were shining like she was still a little surprised the world hadn’t torn this moment away.
"I love you," she said simply. "Not because the mate bond tells me to, not because magic demands it, but because you're you. Because you see me, all of me, and love me anyway."
"There's no 'anyway' about it. I love you because of who you are. You make me better than I ever thought I could be. My wife,” he said, barely more than breath.
She turned, the soft skirt of her dress whispering against grass and flower petals that hadn’t been there minutes ago. Hersmile curled slow and sure as she crossed to him, her bare feet leaving no imprint in the moss.
“My husband,” she whispered.
He kissed her like it was the first time all over again.
No desperation. No looming danger.
Just need. And reverence. And love he couldn’t carry quiet anymore.
She tasted like oranges and magic and something that had always belonged to him.
When their lips parted, she reached for the buttons of his white shirt, her fingers slow but certain. “I want to feel you,” she said softly. “All of you.”
His breath caught in his chest, but he nodded. “You have me.”
The clearing wrapped around them like a secret. The petals beneath their feet grew thicker, spreading like the forest had laid a bed just for them. The vines curled low along the roots, and somewhere in the trees, a bird sang once and then went silent.
Emmett slid the dress off her shoulders slowly, carefully, until it pooled at her waist, and then let it fall the rest of the way. She stepped free of it, fully bare in the moonlight. Her skin glowed with the faintest shimmer—soft bronze kissed by firelight and magic.
His mouth went dry. “You’re… you’re everything.”
She didn’t look away. “So are you.”
He undid the rest of his shirt, tugged off his jeans, and stepped close until their bodies met again. Her warmth pressed against the muscle of his chest. Her thighs brushed his. Her eyes held that mix of fire and tenderness threatening to undo him.
He lowered her gently to the petal-strewn grass.
The quilt of wildflowers beneath her bloomed wider with every breath, a bed born from the bond between them.
She gasped as he kissed down her throat, then lower, tasting every inch of her like he had all the time in the world.
Her fingers curled in his hair as his mouth found her breasts, tongue circling her nipple until she whimpered, hips lifting into his. He moved lower, trailing kisses across her belly, then nudging her thighs apart with his broad palms.
“Emmett—”
“I want to memorize the way you sound,” he murmured.
And then he tasted her.
Slowly. Thoroughly.
