Page 15 of The Alpha's Bounty
Warm and soft, every inch of her pressed against me like we were made to fit this way.Which, according to fate, we were.
The second thing I’m aware of is that I’m so hard it hurts.
The heat is low and sharp, coiling in my gut.Not just arousal, though there’s plenty of that, butmating heat.That biological, primal pull that saysnow, that growls in the back of my head with my bear’s voice.
I breathe her in.She smells like my shirt and soap with something sweeter underneath that’s unique toher.I’ve never smelled anything like it.My bear paces, teeth bared, claws clicking.
Bite her.Mark her.Keep her.
I roll slightly so I can see her face.She’s still asleep, lashes dark against her cheeks, mouth parted enough to tempt a man to lean down and take it in a fierce kiss.My arm tightens around her waist, holding her close.
As if she feels the shift in my breathing, she stirs.Her hips move against me, slow and unknowing.The friction sends a bolt of need through me so fast that I have to grit my teeth.
Her eyes open, still hazy with sleep, and I don’t give myself the chance to think better of it.
I kiss her.
It’s not tentative.Not soft.My mouth claims hers, my tongue sliding in when she gasps, tasting the warm, sleepy sound she makes.She kisses me back instantly, fingers curling in my shirt, pulling me closer like she can’t get enough.
MATE,my bear roars.Mark her now.
Not yet.
Not until the full moon tonight.That’s when the bond will lock in.That’s when I can put my teeth on her skin and know it’s sealed, unbreakable.That’s the rule.
But the rule doesn’t stop the way my body reacts when she shifts against me, pressing her hips forward.The little sound she makes sends tremors along my spine.I growl, deep and low, the sound vibrating through both of us.
“Cyrus…” Her voice is breathless, and it undoes me.
I slide my hand down, grip her hip, and pull her tighter against me.Her head falls back a little, lips parting, and I take the opportunity to trail my mouth along her jaw, down her neck, tasting skin I want to bite so badly that it’s a physical ache.
She’s breathing faster now.“I feel… strange.Like I’m buzzing.”
“It’s the heat,” I rasp.“Mating heat.”
Her pupils are blown wide.“You feel it too?”
I huff out a humorless laugh.“You have no idea.”
I’m balancing on a knife edge, barely holding back from stripping her right here and now.Every brush of her body against mine feels like fuel on a fire I’ve been craving for years.My bear howls, pacing, ready to break every damn rule.
Then my phone rings.
The sound slices through the moment like a blade.
I ignore it, my mouth finding hers again.I slide my hand under her shirt, finding warm skin, and her breath catches.I keep going, kissing her like I can pour all my desire into her mouth, until her body trembles against mine.
She gasps my name, her nails digging into my shoulder.That’s all it takes—I press my palm lower, and she shudders, clinging to me as her moan ripples through me.
The phone rings again.
I growl in frustration, forehead pressed to hers.“If they’re not dying, they’re going to wish they were.”
She huffs out a startled laugh.
I smile as I lean over to snag my phone from the bedside table, answering with a barked, “What?”
Whoever’s on the other end talks fast, telling me I need to head into town.
