I leaned down. He was several inches shorter than me. His small frame fit perfectly against mine.
“I can make that happen,” I said, and kissed his lips.
If I hadn’t already known he was mine, the way that my wolf purred like a cat when I finally tasted Nym for the first time would have confirmed it. It was like coming home and Christmas morning all rolled into one.
He was mine.
Chapter 4
Nym
I followed the wolf alpha up the winding stairs to the floor above the ballroom where people could get to know each other better in privacy. I never imagined that I’d be going up the stairs with anyone, yet here I was being led by a masked alpha who called himself Dain.
Though he was a smaller predator and my dragon was probably ten times his size, I would still roll over and submit to him given the chance. I had a feeling that once we were behind closed doors, I would be given that chance.
Or we would just talk.
I knew in my heart of hearts that this alpha wouldn’t hurt me. Dain was my mate. My dragon sensed it the moment Dain’s eyes met mine.
Which is why I was allowing myself to be led by him. I’d follow him anywhere.
Once we were behind the closed door, Dain’s mouth was on mine. I wasn’t sure who descended on whom. It was a mutual meeting of lips and bodies. I wanted him just as he wanted me.
His hands found my waist, fingers pressing into the fabric of my tux as he backed me against the door. The kiss deepened, hungry and desperate, like we’d been starved for each other our entire lives. Maybe we had been.
“Fuck,” Dain breathed against my mouth, pulling back just enough to look at me. His eyes were wild behind the mask, pupils blown wide. “I’ve never been this close to losing control— This has never happened to me before.”
“Me neither,” I admitted, my voice rougher than I’d ever heard it. My dragon was practically purring inside my chest, a sensation I’d only read about in books. “You’re my—”
“Mate,” he finished, the word falling from his lips like a confession. His thumb traced my jawline, tender despite the urgency crackling between us.
“I was going to say first.” Warmth swept over my cheeks, and it had nothing to do with the heat of the arousal in the room. Admitting that I was a virgin shouldn’t have been this embarrassing. This was the same alpha I had talked to for the last several hours. I’d told him how I had named all the plants in my apartment.
Something flickered across Dain’s face. Possession, arousal, surprise?
“I’ll be your only,” he said.
“Yes,” I breathed. That one word was a vow. A promise. He would be my only, and I would be his last. Mates were for life.
His growl was pure satisfaction, vibrating through his chest and into mine where our bodies pressed together. “Good.” The word was barely human, more wolf than man.
Then his mouth was on my neck, teeth grazing the sensitive skin there, and I couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped me. My dragon wanted those teeth to bite down, to mark, to claim. It was too soon, we’d just met, but every instinct in my body was screaming that this was right.
“Dain,” I gasped, my hands fisting in his shirt. “I want you. So bad. My body aches to have you inside me.”
He pulled back, and I immediately missed the heat of him. His hand came up to his mask, hesitating for just a moment before he pulled it off.
I stopped breathing.
He was beautiful. Sharp features, dark hair that fell across his forehead, a small scar cutting through his left eyebrow. But it was his eyes that held me captive—amber and gold and utterly wild.
We were moving entirely too slowly. I wanted his skin on mine. My body heated from the inside out until I was sure I would combust.
I tore off my jacket, and then my shirt. The old fabric gave way to my strength and buttons scattered.
Dain chuckled. “I’ll buy you a new shirt. A hundred of them.”
“Or just keep me in your room for eternity, and I’ll never need to wear clothes again.”
