We fit, perfectly.
I pulled him down and kissed him, hard.
He growled, actually growled, and it echoed in my chest.
The first round left my ears ringing and my skin burning. But instead of sated, I felt hungrier, every nerve ending greedy for more, every brush of skin on skin a pulse of electricity under my bones.
Zaden pulled me up, chest to chest, and kissed me until my head spun. He was rough with it, not out of carelessness but out of a kind of desperation that made my wolf want to bare its teeth in answer. He fisted a hand in my hair and the other on my ass, kneading it so hard I thought he’d leave bruises.
"You okay?" he asked, breathing hot against my ear.
"Not even close," I said, and bit his lower lip until he groaned.
We went at each other like animals after that. He shoved me flat on my back and pinned my wrists above my head, using one hand. His grip was unbreakable, but I tried anyway, twisting and bucking under him until he laughed, low, guttural, full of challenge.
"Always with the fight," he said, grinning.
I snapped my teeth at him. "You like it."
"I love it," he said, and lined his cock up to my entrance, sliding in so slowly I could feel every ridge and vein. My whole body shuddered.
The mate bond kicked harder with every stroke. I could feel his hunger, his absolute need to own me, to mark me as his. I could feel his pride in every inch of my body, how he wanted to make me come so hard I’d forget my own name. Under that, there was a possessive, primal joy, a dragon’s need to claim and protect and fuck until the world went quiet.
The more I gave back, the harder he worked me. We moved in lockstep, every thrust answered by a push of my hips, every drag of his tongue across my collarbone matched by my nails raking down his back. His heat radiated off him, turning the bed into a sauna. My sweat ran down my back onto the bed.
When I came, it was brutal and sharp. My whole body convulsed, squeezing him so tight he cursed and almost lost rhythm. He leaned down, mouth on my neck, and bit, not breaking skin, just threatening, his fangs scraping the sensitive spot under my jaw.
The second time, he flipped me onto my stomach, spread my legs, and took me from behind. He fucked me deep and hard, rutting like he was trying to plant a flag in the center of my soul. I howled into the pillow, biting down so I wouldn’t wake Bryce.
Zaden gripped my hips, slamming me back into him. He bent over me, pressing his chest to my back, and his hand snaked around to my clit. He worked it in tight, ruthless circles, and I broke again, vision flashing white.
He came with a roar, a real one, his teeth at my nape. The orgasm ripped through him, and at the peak he bit me, hard, at the spot where my neck met my shoulder. This time, he broke skin. His teeth sank in, heat and the wetness, and instead of pain, it shot straight to my core, lighting up every cell in my body.
My wolf responded in kind. As soon as he released my neck, I twisted around, grabbed his bicep with both hands, and bit his shoulder, sinking my canines in as deep as I could. Blood filled my mouth, metallic, sweet, something ancient and forbidden. The magic slammed through me, igniting a chemical chain reaction from my jaw to my clit to the soles of my feet.
The room shook. The mate bond went from a hum to a rolling boil, flooding my head with images, memories, and want. I saw the world through his eyes for a split second. the red haze of hunger, the pride at my strength, the certainty that this was right.
We collapsed, tangled in sweat and blood and the sheets bunched under us. He rolled us so I was on top, and I stayed there, gasping, forehead pressed to his. I licked the blood from his shoulder. He grinned up at me, the marks already healing, golden eyes wild and bright.
"You’re a fucking animal," he said adoringly.
I grinned back. "So are you."
We lay there, the taste of blood still between us, the bond finally settled to a steady, hot throb.
I ran a finger over the bite on my neck. It tingled, but the skin was already closing, a crescent-shaped scar forming in the wake. I wondered if it would ever fade.
"Does it always feel like that?" I asked.
He smirked. "Ashton said the first time is the best, but that every time after that almost measures up. He actually wasn't sure if the first time was the best or if he'd just made it a special memory in his head and elevated it."
I snorted. "I hope we get to do that every night."
He stroked a hand down my back, as if making sure every inch of me was still there. "You’re stuck with me, you know."
"I know," I said, and the wolf in me loved it.
He pulled me down for another kiss, slower this time, and I melted into it. For the first time in my life, I felt complete, like every part of me, every stray nerve and impulse, was exactly where it belonged.
