Her taste reminded him of salted caramel, rich and complex and all the better for it. She sometimes terrified him, in good ways, even if he found himself reeling her in on occasion, like now.
As she rode him, his climax built, quickly taking over his focus and silencing his self-doubts, his anxiety.
His guilt over accidentally getting her pregnant before she’d been ready.
Every beat of her pulse throbbed in time with his, with one sweet thought echoing through his soul.
Mate.
Mymate.
Mine. Mate.
Sheabsolutelyloved him—of that he had no doubts. It echoed from deep within her.
He took control of their rhythm and thrust up into her, hard, deep, until his climax hit and he spilled into her, Dewi’s kisses swallowing his groan and adding her own as she came one last time with him.
Thus sated and exhausted, they lay sprawled together, Dewi on top of him and his fingers tracing abstract patterns across her back and shoulders. He didn’t want to move until they had to get up and get ready for dinner. This was a sweet perfection, this moment.
One which might be too fleeting, and one which he wanted to savor.
“Are you going to run later tonight?” he remembered to mumble before he was too far asleep to even speak.
“No.” She snuggled against him, practically wearing the same skin as him now. “I want to stay right here with you tonight and catch up on sleep.”
She wasn’t just saying that, either. Such a blessing their mate bond was, because he didn’t have to worry if she was simply saying something to spare his feelings.
She really meant it.
Warm satisfaction flooded his soul—his own, and feeling hers through their mate bond. “Thank you, sweetheart. I appreciate that. I love you.”
She lightly, playfully nipped the side of his neck. “Love you, too.”
Chapter Four
Dewi and Ken finally crawled out of bed about an hour before dinner, grabbed a shower, and headed to the main house. Whenever she had to visit the pack’s compound in Idaho, Dewi stayed in one of the guest cabins behind Peyton’s house, not in the main house.
Because she wasn’tthree.
She’d grown up a loner, knowing she was different than the other shifter kids her age, and not just because she was the baby sister of the pack Alpha and his second.
But because she was the only female Prime Alpha they knew of.
In the main house, they found Nami, Malyah, and Lu’ana already in the kitchen with Brianna, Asia, and Gillian, and working to get dinner ready. Ken kissed Dewi and shooed her into the living room while he stayed behind to help cook.
He was a damned good cook. He and Nami had really bonded over cooking, too, which had pleased Dewi. Dewi been a loaner more by choice growing up, because she’d been surrounded by a huge extended family she’d kept at arm’s length.
Ken had no family. None he wanted to claim. His father died when Ken was four. His mother remarried, and he gained an older stepbrother, who was an abusive ass. Ken’s stepfather murdered his mom the day after Ken graduated from high school.
Because she’d told the man she was leaving him.
By mating with Dewi, Ken had gained an insta-family, with more being added all the time, it felt like.
It was also a comfort for Dewi, because it meant more eyes on her mate, helping her take care of him.
Dewi found Peyton, Trent, Duncan, Badger, Beck, Joaquin, and nearly a dozen others, all Enforcers, gathered in Peyton’s office.
Joaquin immediately stood to relinquish his chair to her, but she waved him off and instead took up a position along the wall, where she could lean against it and watch the room.
