“Maybe.” She reached up, tracing the point of one elongated canine with her fingertip. “Or maybe you’re just faster than I expected.”
He turned his head, capturing her finger between his teeth in a gentle bite that sent lightning down her spine. “You taste like moonlight.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does to him.” He released her finger, his tongue darting out to chase the contact. “You shine, Jessa. In ways you can’t see, but my beast has always seen. He’s always wanted it.”
“What else does he want?”
The question hung between them, heavy with promise.
Then he moved.
He bore her down onto the soft carpet of moss at the water’s edge, his body covering hers like a living blanket of heat andmuscle. She arched up to meet him, her fingers tangling in his hair.
A low growl rumbled through him as he took her mouth in a kiss that was pure beast—demanding, possessive, claiming. There was nothing gentle about the way he devoured her, the way his tongue swept past her lips to tangle with hers, the way his canines scraped against her lower lip in a way that should have been painful but only sent a fresh surge of desire through her.
Before, he had always been careful, tempering his passion with control. This was different. This was the beast unleashed, and he took her with a fierce intensity that left no room for thought, no space for anything but sensation.
He wasn’t rough, but he was relentless, mapping her body with lips and teeth and tongue. His mouth followed paths that made her cry out, her voice echoing through the silent forest. And his eyes never stopped glowing, never stopped watching her with that mix of hunger and reverence that made her feel like the most desirable woman in the world.
He entered her in one slow, deep stroke that made her back arch off the moss. He was bigger like this, thicker, the stretch almost painful in its intensity. She reveled in it. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper, taking all of him until he was seated to the hilt, their bodies joined as completely as two beings could be.
“Mine,” he growled against her skin, the word punctuated by the graze of his lengthened teeth. “Mine. Mine.”
“Yes.” The word was a sob, a prayer, an offering. “Yours. Always.”
The last of his restraint shattered. His thrusts became harder, faster, driving into her with a wild rhythm that had nothing of the careful male and everything of the predator. The sounds that tore from her throat were unrecognizable—part gasp, part sob, part pure, unadulterated pleasure. The world dissolved into sensation—the feel of him moving inside her, the scent of pine and earth and musk, the sight of his emerald eyes burning into hers.
He was watching her, his expression fierce and intent, as if her pleasure was the only thing that mattered. He shifted slightly, changing the angle, and her vision went white as he hit that perfect spot deep inside her. He did it again, and again, and then he reached between them, his thumb finding her clit with unerring accuracy.
The combination was too much.
She shattered with a hoarse cry, her body convulsing as wave after wave of pleasure crashed through her, drowning her in sensation. He thrust into her twice more, hard and deep, and followed her over the edge with a guttural roar that vibrated through her entire body. His knot expanded, an overwhelming fullness that sent another, smaller orgasm rippling through her.
They collapsed together onto the moss, a tangled heap of limbs and ragged breaths. His body was heavy on hers, a welcome weight that anchored her to the earth as the world slowly reformed around them. She could feel his heart thundering against her chest, the frantic beat gradually slowing, matching the rhythm of her own.
“Are you all right?” he asked finally, the question rough with lingering concern. “I didn’t?—”
“Tarek.” She pressed her fingers to his lips, silencing him. “I’m perfect. Better than perfect.”
He kissed her fingertips, one by one. “Good.”
Silence settled over them, comfortable and warm. The first stars were appearing overhead, diamonds scattered across darkening velvet. The forest around them had come alive with the sounds of evening—crickets singing, a night bird calling, the rustle of small creatures going about their nightly business.
Now,she thought.Now, while everything is perfect.
“Tarek?”
“Hmm?”
“I want to ask you something.”
He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow to look down at her. His expression was soft, unguarded in a way that still made her chest ache. “Anything.”
She reached up, cupping his face in her palms. His ash-bronze skin was warm beneath her fingers, roughened with stubble along his jaw.
“I want a baby.”
