Water dripped onto the dark stone floor as my arm reached out. I cupped her cheek. She leaned into it, not seeming to mind the cool water on my hand.
“The real mistake was letting you walk out that door five years ago,” I said. “And I’m sorry I was stupid enough to do that.”
Her features had softened, filled with something I hoped was affection, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Elias—” she began.
I held up my hand. “I’m not finished,” I said. “I need you to know that I care about you. Not just as my mate. I have a feeling that, even if you weren’t, I would still care about you, still be crazy about you. You’re smart and determined. If you get knocked down, you get back up. You’re an amazing person, Emma. I just wish I had seen it sooner.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “You don’t—”
I shook my head, water droplets scattering all over, even on Emma, who giggled as she took a half-step back and wiped away the droplets.
“I don’t care. I intend to spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” I said. “I just hope that you can forgive me someday.”
She gave a dazzling grin that seemed to scatter the remaining darkness.
“I’ve already forgiven you,” she said.
She closed the gap, pressing her lips to mine, and my wolf howled in triumph.
Chapter 16 - Emma
His lips tasted of water. They were soft on mine at first, as if startled, or maybe still weak from whatever magic the spring had worked on him. Just as I was about to pull back, wondering if maybe I had been too hasty, Elias snarled, his hand flying to the back of my head and locking me in place, his mouth growing more insistent, hungrier. Wet fingers tangled in my hair, holding me there so I couldn’t escape even if I wanted to.
Heat raced through me as my heart began pounding. His hands gripped my hips as he tugged me closer, his mouth not leaving mine. A soft, burning need settled between my thighs, seeming to grow hotter the longer his mouth claimed mine.
One hand slipped beneath my damp shirt, fingers caressing my skin as they trailed up. I shivered in ecstasy, pleasure rippling through me at his touch. They inched upward until they found my bra. My back arched as he squeezed my breast, gripping it tight. After a moment, he broke away.
“Have I ever told you that you have an incredible body?” he growled, his hand still massaging my tit.
“I’m not sure I agree,” I said.
His eyes darkened, and he leaned forward until his lips brushed my ear. “I’ve been thinking about ripping your clothes off to see what you look like since the moment I saw you at your house.”
His breath caressed my ear, sending new, delightful shivers through me. He laid me down on the soft moss. He ran his hands down my side, tracing my curves. But as if he couldn’t stand the distance for more than a few seconds, his mouth met mine again, a snarl of need escaping his throat as he parted mylips with his tongue. I let him explore my mouth until I finally had to gasp for air.
“Still want to take my clothes off?” I panted.
He didn’t bother answering. Hands snagged at my clothes, pulling at them desperately. They clung to my skin where his wet body had pressed against me, but that didn’t stop him. Within a minute, all of my clothes lay scattered across the cavern floor, and I lay naked beneath him for the second time in my life.
He took off his shirt. I helped him remove the sodden bandages, and gasped in shock and surprise when I saw that the only lingering evidence of the wraith’s attack was a faint silver scar. Then my eyes widened, and that yearning deepened as I took in the rest of his body.
It had been almost six years. I had told myself I had been imagining just how attractive he was without his clothes. Turned out, I had been underestimating it. His six-pack glistened with water droplets, his form a perfect V. A tattoo trailed up his left flank, gliding upward and up to his shoulder, trailing down to his bulging bicep. I reached up, tracing the pattern with a single finger. I couldn’t miss the intensity in his gaze as he watched me.
Heat raced through my body as I drank him in, biting my lower lip without realizing I was doing it. It settled between my thighs and intensified with a jolt as he took off his pants. His cock sprang out, fully erect. I reached out and stroked it slowly. He let out a low groan, then grabbed my wrist and forced it over my head. He wasn’t in the mood to draw things out. Truth be told, I wasn’t, either.
He didn’t waste any time, too hungry to finally complete that mating bond. He thrust inside me, filling me. The moan that escaped my lips reverberated through the cavern, echoingand seeming to create a chorus. One hand gripped the moss while the other tangled in his wet hair, bringing his head back to mine even as he continued pumping inside me, sending new spasms of delight and need pulsing through me in rhythm with his thrusts.
I knew I was close, could sense that craving and need swelling and growing. My breathing grew ragged as my back began to arch, every inch of me both craving and dreading the inevitable release as I felt myself teetering on the edge of oblivion, every pump of his cock sending me closer, no matter how much I tried to hold onto that sensation of mindless bliss.
I shattered. Pure ecstasy radiated from my body as I screamed, my hips bucking as the orgasm rose to a crescendo. My wolf howled in delight as the mating bond finished clicking into place. My eyes flew open wide as that filter that had been between us opened wider. I could feel more of Elias, could feel his emotions, both his pain and lust. Based on the expression on his face, I could tell he had noticed the same.
And at the same time, I could tell through the bond that he was nowhere near finished with me.
He slowed, sensing the orgasm, letting me savor it as his cock still rested inside me. I panted, but still he didn’t move. Instead, he watched with an amused glint in his eyes as his thumb flicked across my clit. The heat immediately rekindled that insatiable need from my wolf, melding with the lust burning in his eyes, setting me aflame.
I shimmied out from underneath him. He snarled, reaching out to grab me and force me back to the ground. I held out my hand, a playful smirk flickering across my lips.
