16
THORNE
I had the door open only seconds before the sky opened up.
“Perfect timing.” I bolted the door behind us. “I would have probably wanted to stay there with your wolf all night if Mother Nature hadn’t given us an unexpected curfew.”
I walked into his open arms, longing for his warmth. This wasn’t about the naughty things I’d been fantasizing about doing with him. It was about assurance, belonging, and a sense of home.
“I want to read the book to Rupert every night. Is that okay?” I loved how it fit in with our routine already and had a feeling this one would be one that he’d stay awake until the last page for.
“I think that’s a great idea.” He kissed the top of my head. It was such a tiny, yet intimate gesture. Who knew head kisses could be so powerful.
His life had been through so many changes in such a short period of time. Jump scaring him with “You might be an animal” felt like too much. But with this book, it should be a lot easier. Kind of like it was for me with my rambling neighbor from allthose years ago. At least that was my current theory. I was very much in the figuring-this-guardianship-thing-out phase.
I put the book on the mantle, ready to leave all the hard discussions to the side for now.
We had a child-free night, and there were more pressing matters at hand. I waggled my eyebrows in a way that no one would ever consider sexy and placed my hands on his chest. “What do you think, alpha? Are you ready to make me yours?”
Nothing about my approach sounded a fraction as sexy as it did in my head, and I half expected him to laugh, not out of cruelty but thinking I was being silly. I got a very different reaction. He took it exactly how I meant it, his chest vibrating beneath my hand, a low growl filling the air.
“Wait a second. Did you just growl at me?” He had, and I freaking loved it.
“Trust me, omega mine, that was not a bad growl. And to answer your question with another question, are you ready to be mine?” Damn, he was sexy.
“I already am.” It was the truth. Wolves might’ve needed markings to make their claim. I didn’t, my heart already had. It wasn’t all at once, but instead slowly, piece by piece. I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against his for a quick kiss. “I already am.”
What started out as little, sweet kisses quickly deepened. Gone was the sweetness. In its place, desire. We’d been so good for so long, it was like we broke the seal with this one, and now there was no holding back. I sank into his arms as his tongue explored my mouth. We kissed, our hard lengths pressed togetherthrough our denim, until I could no longer stand, my knees weak in a way I’d thought only existed in movies.
“My room,” I mumbled against his lips, and he scooped me up like I weighed nothing and carried me into my room, setting me down near the edge of the bed. His lips were still moving with mine each step of the way. It was so much, yet not enough.
I was slick, uncomfortably so. My jeans were now clammy. I needed them off and out of the way, but as I reached for my buckle, he pushed my hands away.
“You don’t get to do my job,” he teased. Or was it teasing, his eyes intense, his tongue darting out and licking his lips.
Starting with my shirt, he slowly undressed me, peppering the skin he exposed with sweet kisses. My body moved of its own accord, seeking more, seeking everything. Then my shirt was on the floor, and his lips wrapped around my nipple, sucking and nibbling as his hands worked my belt free. He opened my jeans and pushed them down, taking my boxer briefs with them.
He froze, inhaling deeply, and then released the breath. “I can scent how much you want this.”
Had anyone else told me they could smell my slick, I’d have wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. But with Raff, it felt like praise.
“I want you, alpha. I need you… so much.”
I looked down. He was looking back up at me, his eyes no longer human but yellowish, that of his wolf. It was so fucking hot.
I grabbed his shirt, and he put his hand on mine. “Take your clothes off.” I wasn’t willing to wait anymore.
“Patience, omega. Patience. We have time.”
I didn’t want patience and disagreed about the time. Now that I’d had a taste of him, we could have a week of no responsibilities and it wouldn’t be enough. I wanted to see his body again.
“Now.”
He must’ve heard the desperation in my voice, dropping his hands and letting me strip him completely.
“Wow,” I breathed. “I didn’t think it would be so… wow.” My eyes were on him, unashamedly taking in his size. In the clearing I saw it, but it wasn’t in its full glory like it was now. The man was packing. I’d never thought that mattered before. Now I did because, “Yum.”
“You know I can hear you, right?”
