He only had eyes for me. Me alone.
I needed more contact.
He was indeed my soulmate because, without me voicing it, he drew me to his chest. As if under a spell, my arms floated up, hooking around his neck. The sparks, the new heaviness resting around my body told me that his arms had settled low on my hips.
Just like that, still swaying, we grinned at each other.
They were small smiles, those quiet ones that hid a secret meaning. The kind of smile that didn’t need words. The small smile of new, shy love blooming beneath wintry skin.
My wolf howled, tail wagging in the background of my soul.
“Mate! Ours! Claim him! Lick his neck!”
Then, surrounded by bouncing bodies and strobing lights, with my heart thudding in sync with the bass of the music, his knuckles grazed my cheek. Two fingers found my chin, nudging it up. My breath hitched as his silvery eyes dropped to my mouth, and everything around us dimmed—the crowd, the noise, the sticky floor beneath our feet.
His face began its descent, drawing closer and closer, until it reached the final destination.
Until he put his lips on mine.
The world just…vanished.
The kiss was a mixture of sweetness, hesitation, and fireworks.
I felt his hands slide up and twine through my hair, then latch onto the ends and tug. I gasped against his mouth, and he deepened the kiss.
And, oh, Stephen,that kiss.
Nothing like the ones that came before it. A reset button—like every other kiss I’d ever had was a rough draft, and this was the real thing.
He let out a low groan as his palms skated down my sides, curving over my hips, firm and possessive. He hauled me even closer, my body merging against his, and my moans disappeared into his mouth, my arms around him serving as my only anchor to this world.
Our mouths moved together in perfect rhythm, as if we’d practiced the art of kissing each other long before we ever met. Our lips molded perfectly, like a heart split in two had now been reunited. I smiled into it and felt him smile back.
When I sucked his lower lip, he inhaled through his nose, sharp and shaky.
So I did it again.
Adrenaline and sparks sailed through my veins.
I lost track of time and space.
Too soon, he pulled away. His breath fanned my forehead, but my eyes remained closed, soaking in his scent, the sparks, and the magic bubble.
Happy lava exploded from the silly volcano that was my heart.
I parted my lids. Logan cupped my jaw, his half-lidded gaze following the sweep of his thumb over my cheekbone.
He seemed to be thinking hard, brows drawn together, studying me with those devastating eyes. I was dying to talk to him, to hear him speak, but I was a drunk woman, intoxicated by her soulmate and possessed by animal urges. All I could think about was that kiss, how I wanted—needed—to repeat it again. And again.
And moreagains.
Before I could act on it, a lock of gold slipped out from under his hood, brushing over his forehead and distracting me from my kissing plan. I had to touch it.
He sucked in a noisy breath when I dragged my hands along those shoulders, so ridiculously broad that they made it look like he carried boulders for lifting class, and dug my fingertips into the steel that covered his skin. I pushed down as I stood on tiptoe.
Thank you, Makena, for convincing me to wear heels tonight.
He looked at me, brows arching for a second, beforeobeyingand lowering himself. His eyes followed the path of my hand as it reached up, while the other remained on his shoulder for support.
