“Theo—”
“Let me finish.” He tipped her chin up, holding her gaze. “I’ve spent my whole life being what everyone needed. The Alpha. The protector. The one who fixes things. And you—” His voice roughened. “You’re the first person who ever asked what I needed. Who saw past the role to the man underneath. Who made me want to be more than useful.”
Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “You’re more. You’ve always been more. I’m glad you’re finally seeing it.”
He kissed her then—slow, deep, pouring everything he couldn’t say into the press of his lips. She melted into him, her fingers threading through his hair, and her taste was honey and champagne and home.
“I love you.” He breathed the words against her mouth. “I’ll never stop telling you.”
“Good.” She nipped at his lower lip. “Because I’ll never stop wanting to hear it.”
He walked her backward toward the narrow keeper’s bed, his hands finding the hem of her dress. The fabric was soft, flowing material that slid through his fingers like water. He gathered it up slowly, savoring the reveal—smooth thighs, the curve of her hip, the lace edge of underwear that made his wolf rumble with approval.
“Beautiful.” He traced the line of lace with one finger. “Have I told you that tonight?”
“Several times.” She was working on the buttons of his shirt, her knuckles brushing his abdomen with each one. “But I don’t mind hearing it again.”
“Beautiful.” He pulled the dress over her head, leaving her in nothing but that scrap of lace and a matching bra. The moonlight turned her skin luminous. “Stunning. Mine.”
“Yours.” She pushed his shirt off his shoulders. “And you’re mine.”
“Absolutely.”
He lowered her onto the bed, covering her body with his. The first press of skin to skin made them both gasp—her softness against his hardness, her heat seeping into his bones. He kissed down the column of her throat, pausing at the mark. His mark. The proof that she’d chosen him, accepted him, let him claim her.
“Theo.” Her back arched as he tongued the sensitive skin. “Please.”
“Not yet.” He unclasped her bra, drawing it away to reveal breasts that fit perfectly in his palms. “I want to take my time tonight.”
“We took our time three hours ago.”
“That was different.” He closed his mouth over one nipple, felt her writhe beneath him. “That was before everyone knew. Before I announced it to the entire town.” His tongue traced circles, drawing whimpers from her throat. “Now I want to celebrate. Properly.”
“By torturing me?”
“By worshipping you.” He switched to her other breast, his hand sliding down her stomach to the waistband of her underwear. “There’s a difference.”
She laughed—breathless, wanting. “From where I’m lying, not much of one.”
He hooked his fingers in the lace and drew it down her legs, tossing it aside. She was bare before him now, flushed and gorgeous and his. He took a moment to look—the curves and planes of her body, the rapid rise and fall of her breathing, the way her thighs pressed in unconscious anticipation.
“Spread your legs for me.” His voice had dropped, rough with need.
She complied, slowly, her breath catching as he positioned himself between her thighs. He kissed the inside of her knee. Her thigh. The crease where leg met hip. She was trembling by the time he reached her center, her fingers tangled in the sheets.
“Theo—”
He licked into her, and she cried out.
She tasted like the sea on a summer day. He explored her thoroughly, learning what made her gasp, what made her moan, what made her hips buck against his mouth. His tongue circledher clit, flicked against it, pressed flat, and stroked until she was keening.
“I can’t—” She panted, her thighs clenching around his head. “Theo, I’m going to?—”
“Then do it.” He slid two fingers inside her, curled them, and sucked her clit into his mouth.
She shattered. Her whole body arched off the bed, his name torn from her throat, her inner walls clenching around his fingers in rhythmic pulses. He worked her through it, gentling his touch as the tremors subsided, pressing soft kisses to her thighs.
“Good?” He looked up at her, mouth wet, smug.
