He traced my top lip with the pad of his thumb. “Look at me.”
I did as he asked. When my eyes met his, I took a sharp intake of breath. He was looking at me as if it were the first time he’d ever seen me. Maybe, in a way, it was. I’d never shown anyone this version of myself. Naked. Raw. Half man. Half wolf. He was looking at me as if there was nothing I could show him that he wouldn’t want. I pulled my lips back, baring my teeth. He was transfixed. He ran his fingers across my front teeth and then down each canine. He pressed his fingertips against them, feeling the sharpness of them.
“This,” he said softly, “thisis what I want.”
My heart clenched and started to pound. I thought I might howl with longing. “Jules, please.Please,Jules, don’t say it . . .”
His face fell. He looked crestfallen. “I—I won’t. I won’t say it if you don’t want me t . . .”
“Don’t say it unless you mean it. Don’t say it because of the heat. It’s forever, Jules. Forever. It can’t be undone. Please,pleasedon’t say it unless you mean it.”
He smiled at me then. It was the certain smile of a man who knew who he was and what he wanted.
“Bite me,” he whispered. Chaos erupted. Sparks flew. They sparked off his skin and they sparked off mine. They sparked from where we were joined and started slowly rotating around us. “Bite me, Sully,” he said again. “Bite me. Do it. Mate me for life.”
I snarled and snapped my teeth together. Spittle flew. He arched his neck and turned his head. It was the offer I wanted. His Adam’s apple rode up and down his neck as he swallowed. I heard his pulse in his jugular and I heard it in mine. I took several breaths to steady myself, but each one served only to inflame me. I looked at him and knew it was the last time I’d see him like this. A friend. My first and best friend. I loved how he looked. I savored the moment until I couldn’t wait any longer.
I ran my fingers lightly over his gland. His pulse was strong. Sure. I threaded my fingers into his hair and tightened my grip, exposing more of his throat. I kissed the soft skin on his neck, then I threw my head back and brought it forward hard. I sank my teeth into his flesh. His gland throbbed and imploded in my mouth. I was distantly aware of Jules howling. It was haunting. Mesmerizing. It was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. It traveled through time. Through flesh. Through bone. I answered with a muffled call of my own. I felt the soft flutters of his ass as it started to spasm around me and I felt the hot spurt of his orgasm on my chest. I felt mine too. It splashed deep inside him. It was more intense than anything I’d ever felt. I felt what I felt, and I felt what he felt, too. I felt his pleasure. His and mine. I felt it until I couldn’t tell what belonged to who. I bucked and bit down as he rode me. Bucked and bit down. I did it until I couldn’t move anymore. Until he couldn’t either. I did it until it felt like a lifetime had passed. Like we’d lived a long life and had grown old together. I did it until something inside us broke open and exploded into bright white.
19
WhenIopenedmyeyes, it was morning. I was disoriented. Confused. The night seemed to have evaporated to nothing. I felt around the bed for Jules, but I was alone. I sat bolt upright and cast my eyes around the cabin. He wasn’t there. I was aware of a dull, heavy weight on my chest. It felt hard to breathe. I flew out of bed and pulled on my jeans as I made for the door.
Jules was outside. He was crouched over the fire, cooking on a skillet over the coals.
“I felt you wake up,” he said with his back to me. He turned around, holding a hand to his chest. “I felt it here.”
He was wearing the chinos and chambray shirt from the night before. The shirt was crumpled. Creased at the collar. He had no business looking as good as he did. The air around him was light. His eyes were clear. I could tell at a glance his heat was broken. He was Jules again. Just Jules. I was overcome with relief at the sight of him. My eyes started to tear up before I could stop them.
“Oh, God.” His face filled with fear. “Oh, God. Do you regret it?”
“No,” I said quickly. “Not even a little.” I blinked like crazy, but a hot tear streaked down my face.
“Then why are you crying?”
“’Cause I missed you so much.”
“Wha . . . but, Sully, I was here the whole time.” He took several steps toward me, stopping when he was so close, I could have reached out and touched him. The heavy thing in my chest grew lighter, then hotter and hotter until it ignited. “Can you feel that?”
I nodded.
“I think it’s our bond. I think it likes us being close.”
I took a step toward him. Light flowed in an arc between us. “I think you’re right,” I whispered. I reached for him, suddenly nervous. I’d gotten used to Jules-in-heat. I wasn’t sure how this Jules would react to me. He stepped into my embrace. He wound his arms around my neck and pressed his body solidly against mine. I pulled him toward me as hard and tight as I could. We didn’t move for a long time.
“Can I see it?” I asked when we parted.
He looked up at me and nodded shyly. He undid a couple of the buttons of his shirt and tugged at his collar, baring the base of his neck. My mark was inflamed. Red and raised. Two crescent moons made of scar tissue that faced one another. It was beautiful. It shouldn’t have been, but it was.
“Does it hurt?”
He shook his head.
“Can I touch it?”
“Yeah, of course. It’s yours.”
Mine.
