I open my eyes reluctantly.
“I’m not mad,” she says. “I told you that you could, remember? The first time we ever talked telepathically? And I meant it.”
“I know, but—” I swallow hard. “You were helpless. Unconscious. And I just—I liked it, Lumi.”
“You liked your bonded mate who's in heat and desperately wanted you? That’s not a crime, Bambi.”She raises an eyebrow. “I’m not upset. I promise.”
I press my forehead to her shoulder, still not quite believing she could be okay with it... even though I feel no deception through the bond. “I need to stay inside you,” I confess quietly. “I know you may want space. I know there’s going to be a mess. But I can‘t make myself do it. I need this connection. Need to feel you around me.
“Then stay,” she says simply. “I’m not asking you to leave.”
My chest tightens with emotion. “A beast like me... doesn’t deserve someone like you.”
She moves slightly, getting more comfortable, and the movement makes me twitch inside her. I groan.
“Sorry,” she murmurs. “Didn’t mean to?—”
“No, it’s perfect,” I grip her hip gently. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
She reaches back to run her fingers through my hair.
“Can you show me the forest thing you were talking about?”
I take her hand, thankful for the distraction, and guide it to the snow.
The moment her fingers touch it, I gasp—the sensation of her fingers wrapping around me, making my softening cock pulse back to half-hardness inside her.
“Oh,” she breathes. “I can feel that!” she exclaims.
“Yes,” my voice strains. “That’s what you did to me while you were sleeping. Every time you moved your hand, I felt it. I tried to resist, I swear I did, but?—”
“Andrik.” She squeezes my hand. “Stop apologizing. I love that you couldn’t resist me.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” She drags her fingers through the snow, and I moan as arousal shoots through me. “I like knowing I have that much power over you. Even when I’m asleep.”
“You have all the power, Saelûn,” I confess against her neck. “All of it. I’m completely at your mercy.”
She hums contentedly, relaxing back into my arms. I trail kisses down the back of her neck, still not quite able to believe I get to have this.
“I love you,” I whisper. “So much it scares me.”
“I love you too,” she threads her fingers through mine.
Her breath starts to even out again.
“You smell different,” she murmurs sleepily. I chuckle. “So do you. Your scent changed last night after the bond was sealed. Our scents are matching now. Claiming each other.”
“I like it,” she’s smiling. I can hear it in her voice. “Kinda makes me want you again.”
I groan. “The heat, or the scent?”
“Both.”
***
Day 3
