I swallow down the golf ball-sized lump in my throat. “Y-you do?”
“Yes.” She nods. “I’m ready to move on. A new life. A fresh start. Withourpack.”
“Our pack.” A smile stretches over my lips. “Yes, I like the sound of that.”
We stare at each other for a few seconds. The woman who changed my life from the moment I met her. The woman I walked away from. The woman I spent a whole year of my life dreaming about. The woman who built herself up to be even stronger after I hurt her. The woman who accepts me for who I am. The woman who I knew was always destined to be mine.
“I love you, Delilah Goodwin.” I tenderly brush my fingers along her cheekbone. “I always have and always will.”
She nuzzles against my open palm, coating me in her scent before her gaze snaps up to mine. “I love you too, Jagger.”
I hold her face between my hands, kissing her deeply, desperate to savor her, explore her, to be one with her. She rocks on top of me, her slick slathering my cock before she effortlessly slides onto me. I gasp as she sinks down, inches vanishing inside her like I’m getting lost in a hot, slick-filled bath.
We kiss as she rides me, slow and steady, different from the feverish, pheromone-filled, demanding sessions of the last few days. There’s meaning behind it. Our love for each other is embedded into every moment, every movement, until she abruptly stops and says, “I want you to claim me.”
FORTY-FIVE
Delilah
The last few days in heat were everything I could have ever wanted. The guys have taken amazing care of me and made sure that I’ve wanted for nothing, highlighting that bonding with Nash was the right decision. Being able to feel him during sex was incredible, but through it all, I still felt like something was missing. Right here, breathing in Jagger’s scent and feeling the steady pulse in his neck makes the voice in my head sayingminetoo hard to ignore.
“W-what?” Jagger’s aquamarine eyes jump around my face, studying my expression.
“Claim me.” My voice is low as I circle my hips, soaking up the feeling of him filling me, my breath coming out in raspy puffs. I need him. He’s what I’ve been missing. “Please.”
“Are you sure?” His eyes widen then dart down to my bond mark from Nash. “I want to be sure you’re ready and that it’s not just the heat talking. I don’t want you to reg?—”
“It’s not my heat talking.” I cup his cheek, palming his soft stubble before sliding down to caress the inked roses spilling over his neck. Despite everything that’s happened, being reunited has only confirmed everything I initially knew. Jaggerwas always meant to be mine. “I want this, Jagger. I want you. I want to complete our pack.”
“I need you to bite me first.” He gulps hard, putting his tattooed hand over mine. “I need to know that you’re sure.”
I tantalizingly grind my hips, wanting this moment to last forever as I catch his earlobe between my teeth. “Where?”
He taps a spot on his neck, right between the thorns and petals of his tattoos. “Right here.” His husky voice is almost a whisper. His muscular shoulders tense, as if his world has come to a stop, and he’s scared to breathe.
A tremor rocks through him when I brush my lips over his skin, trailing my tongue across his chosen spot before flitting back-and-forth over it. “And you’re sure this is what you want?”
My teeth graze the surface of his skin teasingly, sending a shiver of longing down my spine
“Sure?” Hiscockpulses in excitement inside me, his knot twitching at my entrance. “Wanting to spend the rest of my life with you is all I’ve ever been sure of.”
Then I do it. His entire body goes rigid as I sink my teeth into him, finally claiming him as my alpha. Instantly, a burst of his pheromones hit me as he lets out a long, relieved exhale. His scent is more potent than before, gloriously sinking into my pores and consuming me. Myapple scent collides with his caramel, creating a new, delicious fragrance that makes my vision blur at the edges.
When I pull back, I swipe a finger along his bite mark then pop it into my mouth, licking up a little drop of his blood.
Jagger gasps. “Fuck, rainbow…” He grasps myass, holding on tightly before manipulating our position to throw me back onto the bed among the blankets. I wrap my thighs around his torso, eager to be as physically close to him as possible. Even though he’s buried inside me, it’s not enough.
“You’re really sure?” he asks me this time.
“Yes.” I couldn’t be more certain, his hardcockpulsating inside me like it’s ready to burst. “Bond me, Jagger.”
He doesn’t ask again, nor does he tease like I did. He acts with purpose, like he’s been wanting his entire life for this moment, confidently biting me. My breath hitches, writhing as the sharp sting from the bite releases heat that shoots down my neck, down my shoulders, and through my arms.
“Fuck,” I groan in pleasure as he lets out a primal-sounding roar.
The bite didn’t just break my skin; it created a huge rush of energy that created an invisible thread, sewing us together and repairing our wounds, piece by piece. My thighs squeeze him tightly, never wanting to let go as his eyes roll back into his head.
“Delilah…” His voice sounds faraway.
