“I’m all yours,” she whispered, her voice barely audible above the pounding of his heart.
Seb smiled, then continued his journey, his lips meeting her warm flesh. He kissed and licked, savoring the taste of her. Clara let out soft cries of pleasure, her body undulating beneath his touch.
“Seb!” she cried out as he flicked her clit once more with his tongue. “Please!”
Her voice was like music, a sweet symphony that sent shivers down his spine. He didn’t need to be asked twice. Seb’s bear roared in approval as he thrust two fingers inside her, curling them to find that perfect spot. Clara cried out louder, her hips bucking wildly in response. The intensity of her orgasm seemed to ripple through the room, setting off an earthquake of sensation that shook Seb to his core. He continued to lick and suck on her clit until her body went limp, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
He looked down his body at his straining erection, just as Clara reached for it. He hissed.
“Please,” she said. “I want you.”
Her eyes were full of desire, and her voice trembled with need. Seb knew this was the moment he had been waiting for. He positioned himself between her legs, gently guiding himself into her willing body. Clara gasped as he entered her, her hips undulating to meet him.
Seb’s bear roared in triumph, relishing in the connection with his mate. He began to move, slowly at first, savoring the feel of her warmth surrounding him. Her nails dug into his back, and her breath grew more ragged with each thrust.
The room filled with the sounds of their passion. He sped up the movement of his hips, fucking her roughly and without abandon. And with each thrust, Clara’s hips lifted to meet his and rough groans tore from her lips.
Every primal instinct that Seb possessed told him to bite her while he fucked her, but he held himself back, the human side ofhis brain aware that they likely weren’t ready for such a big step as sealing their mate bond.
Ready, his bear said sullenly. Seb ignored the animal.
Clara moaned out his name, her fingers gripping his hips, pulling him deeper into her. Seb began to thrust deeper, harder, his eyes locked on Clara’s. As he moved inside her with intent, she wrapped her legs around him, her nails digging into his back, and her moans grew louder still. He could feel her heat surrounding him, the slick wetness of her pussy enveloping him, driving him wild with desire.
Their bodies moved together as one, the rhythm of their lovemaking becoming more frenzied, their hearts pounding in time with each other. Clara’s gripped his hips, pulling him deeper, and Seb knew that there was no turning back now.
His orgasm was building to the point of no return. The tension within him grew with each thrust, and each cry of passion that slipped from Clara’s lips. The room was filled with the sound of their lovemaking, with the slap of skin against skin, of breaths, and of moans of pleasure. And then, suddenly, it reached boiling point.
Clara’s body arched beneath him, her cry of release echoing through the room. Seb thrust into her one last time, then his orgasm tore through him at an alarming pace. The feeling of pleasure was almost too much to bear, and he collapsed onto her, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.
He lifted his head, looking down at his mate’s flushed face. She was still panting, her eyes half-lidded and filled with desire. Seb smiled, knowing that this was only the beginning.
He gently lifted himself off then collapsed onto the bed beside her, completely spent. He thought that perhaps now would be the time to whisper some sweet words to her and he might have if his brain had been firing on all cylinders, but he barely had thetime to sling an arm around her waist and pull her gently against his side before his eyes closed and he fell into a deep, contented sleep.
A little while later, Seb was jolted awake by the intrusive sound of a phone ringing somewhere in the apartment. He stretched languidly, his arm reaching out for Clara, but found only cool, empty sheets next to him. A frown creased his brow. Using his heightened bear senses, he homed in on the soft timbre of her voice, and the subtle vibrations carrying through the apartment walls.
He heard the muffled cadence of her speech, her words just distinct enough to discern. “No, this isn’t a good time,” she whispered urgently. “I can’t meet you now.”
There was a pause, and Seb could almost hear the insistence from the other end of the line. Clara’s sigh was a soft exhalation of resignation. “Fine, I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” she conceded, her tone laced with reluctance.
Seb’s heart rate ticked up a notch—it wasn’t the tone of someone talking to their superiors at the CIA. There was a cloak-and-dagger edge to the conversation that didn’t sit right with him. He lay still, feigning sleep, as Clara tiptoed back into the bedroom. He listened to the rustle of clothes, the soft pad of her footsteps on the carpet, the almost silent pull of a drawer.
His instincts screamed at him not to let her go out alone into the city at this late hour, but it wasn’t just concern for her safety that tugged at him. The seeds of doubt, once planted, refused to be stilled. He needed to know who was on the other end of that call.
Clara dressed quickly and quietly, and Seb heard the whisper of fabric as she slid into her clothes. The gentle click of a shoe heel against the floor told him she was ready to leave. He waited, his ears tracking every movement, until the front door of the apartment clicked shut behind her.
In an instant, Seb threw off the pretense of sleep and sprang up. He dressed in haste, pulling on his clothes with swift, efficient movements. There was no time to waste—Clara could not be allowed to vanish into the night without him knowing what was afoot.
He peeked through the window, just in time to see her getting into her car. The street was quiet, the muted sounds of the city a backdrop to his pounding heart. He waited a moment, ensuring he wouldn’t be seen, before rushing out of the apartment and into his own car.
The engine roared to life under his steady hands, and he pulled out into the street, keeping a safe distance between them. His mind raced as he followed her car through the dimly lit streets. The suspicion that Clara could be meeting with someone from Ortega’s circle, and worse, be the mole within their operation, gnawed at him. Yet, every instinct in his shifter’s soul resisted that idea. Clara was his mate—the bond between them couldn’t be built on lies...could it?
As he drove, the shadows of the night seemed to whisper secrets, and Seb was sure that by dawn, he would have his answers. His heart was a silent drum in his chest as he parked the car down the street from hers, making sure to stay out of the glow of the overhead streetlights. He slipped out and followed Clara on foot, his strides quiet and measured. When she reached a small, deserted park, Seb found cover around the corner of a nearby building. He crouched in the shadows, his senses on high alert.
Clara stood under a streetlamp, her figure casting a long shadow on the ground in front of her. A man approached her, his steps confident yet discreet. Seb could see the exchange of a brief, formal handshake.
“Buenas noches, Clara,” the man greeted her, his voice smooth, and betraying no hint of urgency.
“Good evening,” Clara replied, switching to English, a sign that Seb registered as intentional.
