I shattered, the orgasm crashing through me in wave after wave of pleasure. I cried out his name, clenching around him, and then my teeth found his shoulder. I bit down. Hard. Breaking skin. A claiming bite to match the one he’d given me all those weeks ago.
I didn’t plan it. My wolf took over, acting on instinct, marking him as mine.
I tried not to give it too much importance. Tried not to think about what it meant. But Caelan’s reaction made that impossible.
He made a sound, raw and primal and utterly wrecked, and followed me over the edge. His hips jerked up into me, his release flooding me, his arms wrapping around me so tight I could barely breathe.
We stayed connected for a long moment, breathing hard, my forehead pressed against his, our eyes locked.
“You claimed me,” he whispered. Wonder in his voice. Awe.
I licked the blood from his shoulder, tasting copper and salt. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“It is a big deal. It’s-” His voice broke. “I love you. I love you so much, Riley. You’re everything to me. Everything.”
I looked at him. This devoted, groveling fool who cleaned the cabin at 3am and read me smut and built me a date in a magical greenhouse.
“I love you too,” I said.
His whole face transformed. Joy breaking through, pure and overwhelming.
“Say it again.”
“I love you.”
“Again.”
“I love you, you impossible man.”
He laughed, actually laughed, bright with joy, and kissed me again.
Later, we were lying on the blanket, tangled together, when Caelan spoke.
“Do you want to go visit your friends?”
I lifted my head from his chest. “What?”
“Your friends. In the human world.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Thessa is going. She’s leaving today. I thought... if you wanted... we could go with her.”
My heart leaped. “Really?”
“You’ve been gone for months.” His expression was soft, understanding. “They probably think you’re dead. They deserve to know you’re okay. And you deserve to see them.”
Months. I’d been gone for months. Time moved differently between the realms, and I knew that, but hearing it stated so plainly made my chest ache. My friends. My book club. The girls at the tattoo shop. They must be worried sick.
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I want to go.”
“Then let’s go.”
We cleaned ourselves up as best we could, straightening clothes, fixing hair, trying to appear presentable and not post-coital. We were not entirely successful, but I didn’t particularly care.
We found Thessa waiting by the portal chamber, dressed for travel, a bag slung over her shoulder. She took one look at us and her nose scrunched in disgust.
“You two reek,” she announced. “Sex. All I can smell is sex. It’s disgusting.”
“Nice to see you too,” I said.
Thessa grunted and stepped through the portal.
