“You’re so fucking gorgeous, Firecracker. So fucking gorgeous.” He ran a thumb over my cheekbone, swiping away a trail of water, then traced the same path with his nose, inhaling my scent like he couldn’t get enough.
He washed us both with languid strokes, and while I had a hollow ache in my core that needed to be filled, somehow, his taking his time felt right. We only got one first time, the two of us, and it was meant to be savored. He even turned me around and shampooed my hair, massaging my scalp deeply with his strong fingertips, then combing through a sweet-smelling conditioner.
By the time we were both squeaky clean, though, I was ready for the next step. He tried to towel me off, but I nipped at his fingers and pulled the fabric around both of us, not giving him the chance to keep going slow.
“Carry me to bed, Brute, and live up to your name.”
His eyes sparked with the presence of his wolf, a low rumble in his chest telling me helikedwhen I bossed him around a little. He lifted me, and my heels dug into the firm rounds of his ass as he carried us out of the bathroom to the attached bedroom. My back was pressed against crisp, cool sheets a moment later, and I moaned in bliss as his weight settled over me.
His cock was right there, teasing against my inner thigh as he nipped and kissed his way down the side of my throat. And the idea of that knot?
It was starting to sound really damn enticing.
I whimpered as the thought sent a fresh wave of need through my empty, aching core.
“I know, Firecracker, I know.” He tangled one hand in my hair, pulling lightly at the roots to distract me as his tongue worked my breasts and his free hand skimmed down over my belly.
He teased my pussy with his fingertips for only a second before groaning. “Oh fuck, baby, you are so wet for me. You need more, don’t you?” He whispered the words against my chest, running his beard lightly over the tender skin there so the flood of sensations never stopped.
A strangled sound of agreement was all I could manage, but it was enough. Two thick fingers stretched me, leaving me arching off the bed as he stroked upward, seeking the spot that made me see stars. Less than three strokes later, I shattered in his arms, screaming out my release as he held me, returning to my lips for a drugging kiss as he drank down every drop of my bliss.
“V, I need your knot.”
He groaned, dropping his forehead to mine as he braced over me on the bed. “It’s too soon. I’ll hurt you.”
“You won’t. Please, Ineed it. I need you. It aches. Please make it stop.” I gripped his shoulders, pulling his chest down to mine so I could feel every hard plane and ridge of muscle.
His chest began to rumble, his wolf’s way of trying to calm me, even as he nudged my already open thighs wider. His hips settled between mine, and for the first time, I felt the full weight of his cock between us.
Holy shit. I knew he was a big man—head and shoulders taller than me was hard to miss. Even his hands were giant, making mine feel small. But even brushing against me, his cock felt truly enormous, and in that moment, with the heat pheromones so loud it was dizzying? I was ecstatic.
I tilted my hips upward, urging him to give me what I wanted. The blunt head of his cock brushed my pussy, and I whimpered.So good, so good.Not enough.
He braced himself on his elbows over me, tilting my head back so he could stare into my eyes as he slowly sank in, stretching me fiercely with every additional inch of slide.
I could have cried, he felt so incredible. Valens was nothing like any lover I’d ever had before. And while I didn’t believe in comparing people, I knew I’d never be the same. There was all my life before this moment, and the rest of it stretching out after. Because in that moment, locked together for the very first time as he slid home… I feltwhole.
Filled to the brim and ready to burst with the slightest move, but so blissfully whole and connected. Because the look in his eyes? The way they burned down into mine with all the force of his attention and devotion?
It was love.
He loved me, and he was giving me all his love without asking for anything in return. Not forever, not promises, not even to complete the bond. He just loved me and let me choose.
His hips started up a slow but steady rhythm as he seated himself deeply over and over. All the while, we were lost in each other’s eyes. I trailed my hands up over his chest, one of them coming to rest on his guardian’s brand, making it glow.
The pleasure built to a tight spiral in my bones, my nerves, every cell of my being as we moved together, our bodies working toward the peak in tandem.
When his eyes widened, I knew he was close.
He bit his bottom lip between his teeth, then shifted his weight so he could snake a hand down between us to circle my clit.
“Are you going to give me that knot?” I asked on a hushed breath. “I want it. I want every inch of it, lock us together. Lockus together forever, Brute. Please. Fill me up, fill me all the way up?—”
My pleasure exploded as he tipped back his head and roared his own at the ceiling, his knot expanding rapidly and locking us together as he came.
His biceps shook when he looked back down, sweat dripping off his forehead and eyes aglow. It was impossible not to see his canine ferocity.
“Are you okay?” His voice was half strangled, half gravel, but all concern. “You’re so tight, it feels like I can’t breathe, I don’t know how you can.”
