“But I didn’t.”
“Because Aedan saved you.” His voice was rough. “I owe him my life for that. Even if I wanted to rip his throat out when I smelled you on him.”
“That’s the heat talking.”
“That’s me talking.” He pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes still glowing amber. “You’re mine, Riley. No one else gets to touch you. No one else gets to carry you. No one else gets to even breathe your scent.”
“Possessive much?”
“You have no idea.” He kissed me, hard, claiming, demanding. “It’s been two months? Fuck, I’m so sorry. I’d never willingly leave you for that long. Never.”
“I couldn’t feel your emotions through the bond.” I was gasping as his hands explored my body, relearning my curves. “Just knew you were alive. That was it. It was torture, Caelan.”
“Never again.” His forehead pressed against mine. “I’m never leaving you again. You go where I go. Always.”
“Promise?”
“Promise. You’re more important than any war. More important than anything.”
The heat flared again, and I gasped. His arms tightened around me.
“What do I do?” I asked. “How do I make this stop?”
His eyes darkened. “I think you know.”
I did. I pulled him down and kissed him. And finally,finally,I was home.
The heat crashed over me, and I stopped thinking.
I was aware of sensations. His hands peeling off my clothes, his mouth everywhere at once, his body pressing me back against the massive war table. Maps scattered. Figurines clattered to the floor. Neither of us cared.
“Need you,” I gasped, arching into him. “Inside. Please.”
“I’ve got you.” He was pulling at his own clothes, cursing when his claws made it difficult. “I’ve got you, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Hurry up.”
“I’m trying. These fucking claws...”
“Then retract them.”
“I can’t. You smell too good. My wolf won’t let me.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Welcome to being mated to an alpha.” Caelan rasped, his fingers fumbling with his pants until they gave way. He shoved them down just enough, and then his cock pressed against my pussy, hot and thick, the head nudging my slick folds. Exactly what I’d been craving for weeks. “Ready?”
“I’ve been ready since you left. If you don’t get inside me in the next three seconds, I’m going to...”
He thrust into me before I could finish the threat, his cock sliding deep into my pussy in one hard push, stretching me wide, filling every inch until his hips met mine.
The relief hit like a dam breaking. All that pent-up heat from two months apart poured out, turning into pleasure that almost felt like too much. My walls clenched around him, pulling him in deeper, and I gasped, head falling back against the war table.
“Fuck,” Caelan groaned, his forehead dropping to my shoulder, breath ragged against my skin. “Fuck, you feel... I forgot... How did I survive without this?”
“Move,” I demanded, my voice breaking. “Please move. Fuck me, Caelan.”
He pulled back slow, almost all the way out, then slammed in again, hard and deep. No gentleness, no easing in. This was raw need, two months of the bond pulling taut, aching to snap back together. He pounded into me, each thrust jolting my body against the table, my pussy taking every inch of his cock as he drove deeper.
