Page 20 of The Alpha's Bounty
Tears blur my vision, but they’re happy ones.“Yours,” I whisper.“Always.”
The heat between us doesn’t fade; it deepens, softening into something more powerful.Every touch, every kiss, feels amplified, tethered to that mark, to our bond.My body hums with it, my heart steadying in a rhythm that matches his.
He holds me close against his chest, and I feel whole.Safe.Loved.
For the first time in my life, I belong.
As I drift in the circle of his arms, exhaustion pulling at me, Cyrus murmurs against my hair.
“They’ll never touch you again, Mina.Not while I breathe.Not while I live.”
I believe him.
And even as the storm of the mating heat still swirls around us, a deeper truth settles into my bones.I’m not running anymore.
Not from him.
Not from us.
SEVEN
Cyrus
The first thingI know when I wake is that she’s here.
Mina.
My mate.
Her warmth curled against me, her scent in my lungs, her heartbeat steady and sure against my chest.I’ve dreamed of this for years, of waking up to a mate, of finding her safe in my arms instead of chasing a phantom through endless woods.
But the second thing I know is that it’s not enough.
It should be.I should be content lying here with her pressed to me, her soft breath stirring against my chest, but I’m not.Not even close.My bear is already pacing, restless and wild, clawing at the edges of my mind.He wants more.He wants everything.
I press a kiss to her hair, telling myself it’ll be enough to calm me, but when she stirs, when those storm-gray eyes blink open and meet mine, hazy with sleep, I’m gone.Her smile is soft and uncertain, and I can’t stop myself from kissing her.
What starts as slow and tender catches fire almost instantly.My mouth slants over hers with more force, her soft gasp feeding the hunger burning inside me.My hands tighten around her waist, pulling her flush against me, and the world narrows until there’s only her, the taste of her lips, the sound of her breath, the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips.
I try to slow it down, to pace myself, but she meets me with just as much need.Her arms loop around my neck, her body arches into mine, and I swear I could live a hundred lifetimes and still never get enough of this woman.
She pushes on my shoulder, and it takes me a minute to figure out what she wants, but then I roll onto my back.She straddles me, her hands resting on my chest as her slick center rubs up and down my length.
She’s driving me crazy, driving both of us crazy.My bear growls in my head, needing us to be inside her.
As if she can read my mind, she arches her hips and slides down my thick length.
“Fuck!”I growl against her lips.
“It’s different like this,” she moans as she sits up, bracing herself against my chest.“Deeper.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”I groan.
Being inside Mina, feeling her silky heat wrapped around me, is almost enough to have me coming within minutes.Add in her talking dirty, and I’m barely holding off my orgasm.
She rocks on top of me, her hips swaying as she moves.She’s hypnotic.The way her tits bounce, the blush staining her cheeks, her curves.Every part of her turns me on.
Her pace picks up, her hips slamming down on my cock.I grip her waist, helping her grind down on me.I feel her need, smell her orgasm as it builds inside her.She’s panting, letting out breathy moans that grow louder as she chases her pleasure.
