He started slow, giving me a chance to adjust, but I didn’t want slow.
“Harder,” I begged, bracing my hands against the tile. “I won’t break.”
His grip on my hip tightened, the other hand tangled in my hair, pulling my head back as he fucked me harder, deeper, his cock slamming into me with obscene sounds drowned by the rush of water.
“Mine,” he growled, teeth scraping over the claiming mark. “You’re mine. Myeverything.”
“Yes,” I gasped, voice high and breaking. “Yours - always yours-”
His hand dropped between my legs again, fingers rubbing my clit with devastating precision, even as he kept thrusting into me, faster now. Every slap of his hips against my ass made me shudder. He hit the spot that made my vision blur, my knees weaken.
“Let go,” he whispered into my neck, voice dark and coaxing. “I want to feel this pussy squeeze me. Want to feel you come on my cock.”
And I did. I shattered around him with a cry, my body clenching tight, everything locking down as pleasure tore through me in waves. I heard him groan as he followed, cock pulsing deep inside me, spilling heat and need andownershipinto my body.
We stayed there for a moment, both breathing hard, bodies still joined. Then he carefully pulled out, turning me to face him. The kiss he gave me was different. Slower, deeper, full of emotion rather than desperation. I melted into it. Because no matter what came next,thiswas real. The blood might wash away. The fear might fade. But that kiss… that feeling…him, it was burned into me now.
After, he wrapped me in the fluffiest towel he could find, carrying me to the small bed despite my protests that I could walk.
“This is Noah’s meditation space,” he admitted as he set me down gently. “Don’t tell him we defiled it.”
I laughed, the sound bright in the dim room. “Our secret.”
He laid me down carefully, the towel falling away. The way he looked at me then, as if I was precious beyond measure, made my throat tight with emotion. His eyes traced over every inch of visible skin, cataloging old scars and new wounds with reverent attention.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said quietly.
“Even covered in battle wounds?”
“Especially then. Every mark shows how fierce you are. How you protected our cubs.” His hand ghosted over a fading bruise on my ribs. “My warrior mate.”
The possession in his voice sent heat pooling low in my belly again. I pulled him down beside me, needing his weight, his warmth, his presence.
“I love you,” he said simply, the words falling between us with the weight of absolute truth. “I’ve loved you since that first night, even when I was too stupid to admit it.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. We’d danced around the words, shown it in actions, but hearing them now made everything real in a way that terrified and thrilled me.
“Knox-”
“You don’t have to say it back,” he rushed to add. “I just needed you to know. After tonight, after almost losing you, I couldn’t keep it inside anymore. I love you, Lina. I love our children. I love the family we’re building even though I don’t deserve-”
I silenced him with a kiss, then pulled back just enough to meet his eyes.
“Show me,” I whispered against his lips. “Show me how much.”
33
— • —
Lina
The bed was barely big enough to hold us, but that only made it easier to stay tangled. The sheets clung to our damp skin, water still dripping from our hair, cooling fast in the basement air. I tilted my head to look up at him, and his gray eyes were already on me, dark, heavy-lidded, drinking me in like I was the only thing in the world he’d ever wanted.
“I’m not done with you,” I whispered.
His fingers slid down my spine. “Good.”
I leaned in and kissed him, licking into his mouth like I needed to taste every piece of the man who’d brought me back to life. His hand slid into my hair, tilting my head to take more, while his other hand gripped my thigh and pulled me on top of him.
