“Do you? Really? Or is it… because you feel like you must?”
He shakes his head vigorously, and lowers my hips to the ground so he can stare down into my face. His blue eyes are sharp, surprisingly so.
“Selene.” He leans down until his nose is only inches away from mine. “I have never, ever done anything withyou I didn’t want to do. In fact, I have held back on doing most of the things I wish I could do.”
My heart flutters. I hope he means what I think he means.
“Like what?” My voice comes out small.
“Like this.” He closes the distance between us, and his lips brush over mine. Immediately, I light up like a lamp to a match.
He’s kissing me. Harry is kissing me.
Goodness. Does that mean he likes me?
His next pass over my lips is firmer, and I press back, wanting him to know how much I long for him. What it means to me that he came for me tonight. I wrap my arms around his neck and bring him closer, which means now I’m flat on my back on the tree roots and Harry is on top of me, his arms bracketing my head as he sucks on my lower lip.
I have never been kissed like this. Though I’ve only been kissed maybe twice, so it’s a small pool. But his mouth is speaking to mine, applying pressure and then retreating in a way that’s tentative, hopeful, and hungry. I can’t help my hips snapping up against his, and above me, Harry groans, one of his hands reaching down to curl around my waist.
“Selene,” he says in a warning tone. “I need you to know that I want you. Ihavewanted you. I’ve done my best to stay true, to keep it under control, but?—”
I feel his thick cock against my belly as he pushes me down again, pinning me to the base of the tree. And I finally understand.
“Then please,” I beg him, lifting my head to press a feverish, needy kiss to his lips. He returns it, grinding thatlump in his pants against me with even more fervor. “Please, have me. This will never stop until you do.”
Harry makes a noise that’s distinctly agrowl, and he lowers his mouth to my ear.
“Are you certain?” he says, sounding strangled. “You’re sure that you want me inside you?”
Just saying the words aloud sends a shiver down my spine.
“Yes.”
Abruptly, Harry pulls away. He hastily unbuttons his trousers, then tugs them down. And finally, I get to see him up close. His cock is heavy and swollen, the head starting to peek out from under the loose skin. My eyes travel along it to the base, where there’s a large lump.
“What the…” Harry is staring down at himself, his mouth agape. “That can’t be.”
“What is it?” I ask, retreating. “That man—Greld—he had one, too.”
Harry hisses and shoves his cock angrily back into his pants, buttoning them closed again. I stare up at him, and reach out to grab his arm just as he jerks back.
“Wait. Stop. Talk to me.” I sit up so I can better reach him. “What is it? What did you see?”
He shakes his head, unwilling to look me in the eye.
“It was a knot,” he says hoarsely. “Something’s happened. Something’schanged. I didn’t… I didn’t have this before…”
Before me.Somehow, I did this to him.
“How could I not have known?” Harry says, balling his hands into fists as he stares at the ground. “That I had this in me? I know my uncle was an alpha, but...”
Harry pauses, then turns his gaze on me. His brows liftand his lips turn up. “It came out when I needed it. To find you. It brought me to you and made sure we both escaped alive. For that, I’m grateful.”
“Me, too.” I sit on my knees and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him close against me. “Thank you for being what you are.”
That warm scent of his envelops me like a soft blanket. I lean back so I can kiss his lips, and he returns it tentatively. He’s uncertain now that I want him, but now I need him more than ever. I lean back against the tree and pull him with me, spreading my legs so his hips are wedged between them.
Harry swallows hard.
