Page 77 of The Wolf and the Chimera
Inside, my wolf howled, and pleasure warmed my chest. As I trailed my gaze over the curves and dips and swells of her silhouette, that heat traveled lower. I stepped closer to my mate, until her chest brushed against mine, and she was forced to lift her chin to meet my gaze. Red light flickered in her eyes.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “It’s like, like something in me has woken. Me, but not me.”
I tucked a braided lock behind her ear. “It’s your chimera—your animal form. Here, without the sorceress binding your power, you’re finally connected with her.”
Elle swallowed. “I’m not sure I like it.”
I chuckled, and Elle’s scent thickened. Unable to stop myself, I pressed a kiss against the point where her shoulder met her neck and inhaled. Lilac and jasmine tingled my senses, and Elle’s breath stuttered.
“I think you like it,” I whispered against her soft skin, “but you’re scared that you like it.”
She recoiled, and the fire in her eyes blazed.
“I’m not scared,” she argued.
I took a step closer to her, and Elle retreated. We continued the dance until her back hit the sandstone wall, and her breath caught. She smelled like sunshine and flowers and magic.
Mine,I thought. As my wolf pushed forward, my vision sharpened.She’s mine.
“Here I thought the instinct to have you was strong back home,” I whispered in a voice roughened by lust. I swallowed, “but with your animal form present…”
“I’m not scared,” Elle repeated quietly. I struggled to think past her plush, soft lips. “That’s not at all what I feel right now.”
“If you don’t want me to kiss you,” I said, “now’s the time to run.”
Though I can’t promise I won’t chase you.
Elle arched her spine and pressed her lush curves against my body. My control snapped, and I claimed her mouth.
If Elle wasn’t ready for me to sink my teeth into her, there were other ways to make her mine. There were other ways for me to behers.
As she groaned, she tasted as good as she smelled. Her hands tunneled into my hair, and I gripped her delicate waist. She pulled my hair harder, and my hands drifted to squeeze her luscious hips.
More, more, more…
I needed more of her.
I wasn’t sure I would ever have enough.
“Ourroom,” I said between kisses. “I’m taking you to our roomnow.”
I picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around my hips, undoubtedly feeling just how much I wanted her. I led her to the vacant room and fumbled for the door handle. My fingers slipped clumsily over the metal handle, and I cursed. Elle giggled.
“Something funny, Ellie?” I asked.
When I finally got the damned thing open, I gently tossed Elle onto the giant bed, and she squealed. I swept my gaze over the room, checking for danger, but all I found was finely crafted furniture, beige walls, and a blazing hearth. Without hesitating for another moment, I pounced on my mate.
As our lips reconnected, I growled in satisfaction, and beneath me, Elle moaned. The realization that my mate—my beautiful, powerful mate—was underneath me stunned me, and I pulled back.
Elle’s eyes still flickered with magic, and her lips were swollen from our kisses. Her hair splayed out around her like a halo, and she looked at me like she wanted to eat me.
“This,” she said, “this is what you’ve been feeling? This ache?”
I swallowed. “You haven’t felt the mate bond at all?”
My wolf cursed me for wasting time talking while our female was beneath us, but I waited for her to answer. Elle’sgaze softened, and she caressed my face.
“I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you,” she admitted. “Even when I tried to hate you, part of me wanted you. But this—this is more than wanting. This is…”
