He leans in, pressing his forehead to mine again, and I can feel him trembling.
“I don’t want to fight it anymore,” he whispers. “I don’t want to spend another night lying awake in my room, knowing you’re right next door, knowing you’re hurting and I’m not there. I don’t want to watch other men try to win your affection while I stand on the sidelines like a coward.”
“Kieran—”
“I want you,” he says firmly. “I need you. And I’m done pretending otherwise.”
The bond between us pulses, singing with approval, with relief, with joy. My wolf is practically preening, finally getting what she has been demanding for weeks.
I cup Kieran’s face in my hands, searching his eyes for any hint of doubt, any shadow of hesitation. But all I see is certainty. Desire. Love.
“Then have me,” I whisper.
And he does.
His mouth crashes into mine again, and this time, there’s no hesitation. No holding back.
My fingers tangle in his hair as he presses me harder against the wall, his body a line of heat and strength. The bond between us thrums with such intensity that I can barely think, barely breathe.
“Daciana,” he murmurs against my lips, and the way he says my name—like a prayer, like a promise—makes something inside me break open.
“I need you,” I whisper back. I hate how vulnerable I sound, but I can’t hold it in anymore.
His hand slides beneath my nightgown, fingers tracing the curve of my waist, and I shiver at his touch. Every nerve ending feels alive, hyperaware of exactly where his skin meets mine.
“Tell me if you want me to stop,” he says, pulling back just enough to look at me. His eyes are dark, hungry, but there’s still a thread of concern woven through his desire.
“Don’t you dare stop.”
Keeping me pinned to the wall, he tugs off my nightshirt and throws it to the ground. He doesn’t bother with my panties, simply slicing through them with his claws. And so, within seconds, I’m completely naked while he’s still fully clothed.
The cool air hits my heated skin, but I hardly notice because Kieran is looking at me like I’m something sacred. Something precious. Nobody has ever looked at me this way before.
“You’re beautiful,” he breathes, and the raw honesty in his voice makes my chest tighten.
I tug at his shirt until he lets me pull it over his head. When my hands finally touch his bare chest and I feel the hard muscle beneath my palms, I can’t suppress the small sound that escapes me.
He groans at my touch, his chin dropping as he looks down at my hands. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
“You’re telling me,” I laugh hoarsely, running my fingers across his shoulders now, needing skin.
He lets go of me to undo his pants next, his mouth pressing against mine as I hold on to him with my arms and legs. His hands are not supporting me at all as he gets rid of the rest of his clothes.
His kisses are scalding. This is nothing like how he treated me last time. His grip on me is tight, his fingers bruising my skin, but I can’t get myself to care.
The vulnerability of this moment—both of us bare to each other in every way—should terrify me. But instead, I feel powerful. Wanted. Chosen.
“Kieran,” I breathe, and his name on my lips seems to break any last scrap of control he was holding on to.
“I can’t wait,” he whispers. “Not tonight. I need to be inside you. I need to know you’re mine.”
I kiss him in response, and I feel him align himself against my hole. I’m already wet. When he presses in, there is nothing slow or gentle about it. I gasp as he slams into me, over and over again, my back hitting the wall from the force. He’s fucking me in deep, long strokes that are driving me mad.
I can feel every inch of his thick cock, and when I moan, my lips parted, he seizes my mouth in a kiss, his tongue mimicking what his cock is doing to me. His hands are holding me up now, digging into my skin. His mouth pulls away, finding first my cheek, then my neck, and then hovering over the spot where the mating mark should be.
For a moment, the world goes still. I can feel him moving inside me, can feel the pleasure mounting…but my wolf is waiting with bated breath.
I don’t want to force Kieran to do it. I don’t want to be the one to—
