He slowed his movements, and for the first time, our intimacy felt tender. His hips worked in a rolling motion, smooth and long as he pushed his knot into me.
“I knew you were perfect for me. I knew you would love this, that you would take me as I am,” Talon breathed against my ear. His voice, usually silky and controlled, was rough now, frayed with something vulnerable.
I turned my head slightly, enough that my cheek brushed his. “Talon, I've always felt drawn to you,” I whispered. “The first time I saw you, it was like lightning. Not just because of the bond,” I continued softly. “It’s the way you see me. The way you steady me when my control is slipping.”
Talon’s hand slid to the side of my neck, his thumb stroking my pulse reverently. “You steady me too. You don't even realize what you do to me.” His forehead pressed lightly against the back of my head. “Before you, I didn't have anyone who fit with me. No one understood me. No one who… belonged with me.”
Warmth pooled in my chest. “I'm yours, Talon.”
He let out a shaky breath, as if he had been waiting to hear those words for far too long.
“And I am yours,” he murmured. “Every instinct I have pulls me to you. Every part of me wants to protect you, guide you, teach you, claim you, and care for you. You're the only person who quiets my wolf.”
I stayed silent, letting my head roll back until it restedon his shoulder. I could sense he needed this moment of vulnerability and connection. Maybe his craving for pain and sharpness had always been a way to hide the parts of himself he didn't want anyone to see. A way to keep his partners at arm’s length so they never got close enough to realize how different he really was.
“My wolf is calmer with you,” he said. “Easier to control.”
I let him talk. Focusing on the sensation of his knot stretching my entrance, I tried not to grind down on his length in impatient desperation.
“He can sense his mate. He feels you close, and it… settles him. Takes the edge off. The violence, the rage, all the pressure that’s always clawing right under my skin. It stops trying to break through the thin cage of my body and the edges of my control.”
His jaw flexed against my cheek.
“I didn't realize how hard I was fighting the beast every day until I found you.”
My chest tightened for him. So did my core as his knot finally entered me fully. A groan left my lips, and my body recognized his knot, responding with a pulsing climax that tore the breath from my lungs.
Talon pulled me closer, his voice low and honest. “I didn’t know how much I needed someone like me. Someone who understands what it feels like to be torn in two. Who understands the control it requires not to let the wolf loose.”
He let out a slow breath. “Besides my unit, I have always felt alone. Different from everyone else. I never fit anywhere.”
His hand tightened around my throat, not rough, just possessive.
“But with you, it feels… right. Like I am not alone in this world anymore.”
And with those tender words, he fulfilled his promise. Locked together, I climaxed repeatedly before sinking into a deep sleep, warm and comfortable against his chest.
The rest that came after was heavy. It was the type of sleep that only happens when the body finally lets go. I relaxed completely for the first time in days, finding unexpected comfort in a man who spoke of pain but offered far more than that.
There were no racing thoughts about Dr. Zolkos. No images of cold halls or the woman labeled Patient Zero. No fear clawing at me about shifting or losing control of my wolf. All of it faded into the background, quiet for once. The constant noise in my head, the buzzing of worry, instinct, and uncertainty, finally went silent.
For the first time since everything started, there was no loudness.
Just warmth.
Just him.
And I slept.
Chapter 16: Ryker
Cade ordered me to take Kitten to the Fitness Center today while Killian and he were on duty. I woke bright and early at 0600, ready to get started on her self-defense training, but when I checked, she was still curled up in a deep, dead-to-the-world sleep. Her nose crinkled as she dreamed, and her little soft snores made me smile from ear to ear.
Talon wrapped his body around her like a guard dog, and when he saw me open the door, he tried to shoo me away.
“She needs sleep. Do not wake her up yet,” he whispered.
“Maybe she wouldn’t be so exhausted ifyouhadn’t kept her up all night, Tally,” I teased, stepping farther into the room instead of leaving.
