He kissed along my throat, then lower, moving down my chest. When his lips closed around one nipple, I gasped—sharp and unguarded—and threaded my fingers into his hair.
“So beautiful,” he murmured against my skin.
He sank lower, tongue tracing the ridges of my abdomen. A quiet sound of need escaped me. He caught it, smiled against my hip, then moved lower.
When his mouth closed around my aching cock, the world narrowed to pure sensation.
He took his time, pleasuring me slowly and deliberately, worshipping my body. Over and over, he brought me almost—but not quite—to release. I was certain he could feel the echoes of my pleasure through the bond, the same way I knew he was hard and aching to be inside me.
Then, perhaps sensing my desperation, he went lower still. His cool breath on my entrance made me shiver with anticipation. His hands anchored my thighs as he worked me open. Every languid drag of his tongue saidyou’re mine.It wasn’t possession. It was a promise.
By the time he lined himself up, I was shaking with want.
He caught my gaze, hand grazing my cheek. His piercing blue eyes met mine. “You okay?”
He was still asking, still giving me the chance to refuse. He had proven to me, in a thousand ways, that I could always trust him. That my first impression of him had been utterly wrong.
I nodded. “Yes. Just—please.”
He understood. He pushed in.
He moved carefully, as though still afraid of breaking me, though he knew better. I bit my lip against the stretch, watching his eyes light with pleasure at being inside me. There was a flash of pain, but even that was delicious. The fullness was sheer, devastating bliss. And the echo of his pleasure mingled with mine until it was almost too much.
He set a rhythm that was steady, deep, and maddening. Each thrust dragged over that place inside me that blurred my vision and sent pleasure climbing my spine. And through it all, his eyes never left mine.
“You feel like home,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard and let myself be vulnerable. “I haven’t ever let myself have a home before.”
“You do now,” he replied, gaze still locked on mine. “With me.”
When he finally came, it was with a low groan and a shudder that echoed through me. But he didn’t stop. He wrapped himself around me, hand curling around my cock, stroking me in time with the aftershocks that rippled through his body, which I felt as though they were my own.
I came with a cry, spilling across my belly, my whole body taut and trembling.
He kissed my temple, then my lips, before gathering me in his arms as though I were something precious.
We lay tangled for a long while, the rainstorm outside softening to a hush.
I closed my eyes, not to sleep, but to memorize this: him, us.
We’ll have time for that,he assured me silently.We’ve got an eternity.
I didn’t want to think it, but the thought surfaced anyway.What about Magnus?
I’m stronger now. Between you, me, and Godric, he won’t stand a chance. He’ll pay for what he did to you and your brother.
I nodded, trying to believe him.
“I wonder who in the pack will meet their fated mate first,” he mused aloud after a few moments, eyes glinting with mischief.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, think about it. If Poppy’s spell hit me and then kept going—like it did with you and your bloodline—and if it set off the bleeds because I was tied to the land… then it also must have hit the rest of the pack first. Because I was connected to them, too.”
“It will be the blond one,” I said immediately, picturing the wolf who had been eyeing Jeremy like he was the last piece of candy in the case. “The cheerleader. Hopefully, she’ll find her mate first.”
Jeremy snorted. “Lacey? Trust me, she’s not a cheerleader. Personally, I think it’ll be Reed. Or maybe one of the twins.”