“So... you’re like, in love with me then,” I said with a broad grin. “Do you write Mrs. Gareth Blood Moon on all your notebooks and make me mixtapes?”
He groaned, rolling his eyes. “Selene, help me, here we go...”
I laughed, shoving his shoulder with mine. “I'm just fucking with you.” I locked my fingers with his, relishing the warmth of his skin against mine. The urge to scoot closer and cling to him was so strong I could hardly contain it. “I’m in love with you, too, you know.” The truth spilled out, and there was no stopping it.
His head jerked in my direction, and his eyes were wide with shock and disbelief as they once again roamed my face, more frantic than the last time, as if he was searching for the punchline that wasn’t coming.
“I tried not to but I?—”
His lips crashed into mine before I could finish, his palms cradling the sides of my face as he pushed me onto my back. The ground was cold beneath us, but his warmth enveloped me as he moved over me, nudging my legs apart with his thigh. He kissed me hard and passionately, groaning into my mouth as our tongues tangled.
He tasted like rain and salt. I needed more. Feral hunger rose up inside of me, my skin tingling with need, and the wolf inside of me prowled, clawing to get out. She wanted to claim this male for her own in every way possible.
He settled between my thighs, his hardness pressing against my bare core. My hips lifted, thrusting upward against him, seeking out the friction I desperately craved. He gave it to me, rocking his hips forward just right, enough to send jolts of pleasure to my swollen and throbbing clit.
His lips left mine, and we both gasped for air. His eyes were lit with an inner light that caused them to glow brightly, and his wolf was just below the surface. “Let me claim you,” he breathed out raggedly. His hot breath hit my lips, and his palms tightened on my cheeks. “I need to make you mine. Tell me you’ll be mine. I’m going fucking insane over you, Trix.”
I hesitated, my body going still. Two faces flashed before my eyes. I wanted more than anything to do exactly that. I wanted to let him claim me and to claim him back, but what about...
“I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong,” he interrupted me, shaking his head and smoothing my hair out of my eyes. “You don’t have to give them up. I’m not asking you to do that. Ican'task that. But I need to make this real. I’ve thought about it hard. Since that day at the consulate, and I’m not changing my fucking mind.”
“It’s already real,” I said breathlessly. More real than any love I’d ever experienced.
“Regardless,” he said, placing a quick, hot kiss on my lips before pulling back again. “You are my chosen mate. The mate I should have had from the beginning. Selene be fucking damned, Trix. You are mychosenmate. Not some mystical, predetermined match. I want to seal it in blood tonight.”
My body was on fire, and my heart was soaring into that sea of stars overhead. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes as I sank my fingers through his long hair, gripping the strands tightly, as If afraid he’d suddenly vanish.
“What happened to the man who couldn’t stand to be around me?” I asked.
He smiled wickedly, his eyes flashing. “That man salivated over you for months. He hated himself for lovingsomeone who wasn’t his mate. But he got tired of denying himself.” His hips rolled against me, coaxing a moan from my lips. “Say yes. Say you’ll let me claim you.”
Everything in my body cried out for him. Craved his touch. We’d been dancing this stupid dance for so long, both of us denying the fact that there was anything between us. I was tired of denying myself, especially when I no longer knew when it would be my last chance.
I didn’t answer him with words. There were no words that could accurately encompass everything I felt in that moment. Everything that I needed to say. I would eventually find them, but for the time being, all I could do was nod while a smile stretched across my lips and slowly mirrored by his.
His eyes flared brightly, and a low, dominant growl spilled from his lips as he claimed my mouth again, kissing me hungrily and violently. I matched that ferocity, grabbing at his hair and pulling it taut. His hips thrust against mine, and I rode out a steer shock of pleasure.
“I need you,” I whispered against his lips. “Right now. I need…” I wasn’t sure what I needed. Everything. I supposed. Just to feel him. Inside me, all around me. Now that the idea of an official claim floated around in my head, I couldn’t let go of it.
He pressed me into the cold ground, reaching down to tug off his shorts. After expertly maneuvering out of them, he was pressed against my heat again, this time without a single barrier between us. His throbbing cock rubbed through my wetness, and I whined, my eyes rolling back. He kissed down my neck, one hand skimming up my torso, pulling my shirt up inch by inch until my breasts were exposed.
He sucked and licked each nipple softly, nipping lightlyat my skin, making me squirm beneath him. His hips continued to move, making me wetter. I couldn’t help but meet him thrust for thrust, aching to have him inside of me.
His eyes met mine, and he went still for a moment, as if taking this one last opportunity to make sure that this is what I wanted. The consideration warmed me to my core. The thoughtfulness of male wolves. The softness despite their ferocity and dominance. I didn’t have to respond because every truth I ever wanted to tell him shone back through my eyes, and I knew he could read them.
I felt him nudge at my entrance, pushing inside me slowly. Carefully. Sensually. I held my breath as he sank in deeper, achingly slow and teasing me until I thought I might lose my mind. He was large enough that it ached as he stretched me, but it was a pleasurable ache. It wasn’t the first time I’d had him inside of me, but to be honest, every time felt like the first. Every time was new, exciting, and terrifying.
He bottomed out, and we both groaned. His hand moved down my body, fingers latching onto the curve of my hip as he started to move faster. His hips rolled in such a way that his pelvic bone rubbed against my clit. The dual sensations had my thighs shaking around his hips.
He held me in place, pinning me to the ground as he took me harder and harder, slowly losing control. His eyes brightened, the wolf coming out to play, and my own answered.
I sucked in a sharp breath as I felt a brand new sensation, one I’d only heard about but never experienced for myself. I latched onto his broad shoulders, and the tips of my fingers elongated into sharp claws. My vision sharpened, colors deepened and changed, my hearing opening up until the sounds of the forest were like music. I could suddenlyhear everything around me. Every prey animal skirting past us, every cricket, every snake through the fallen leaves. It was all so clear.
I’d partially shifted; a skill that not every shifter even possessed. Elation bloomed inside of me as my teeth elongated, sharpening into rows of points. A feral need took over me, and my muscles suddenly felt like they held enough power to lift ten trucks.
Gareth had partially shifted, too, his features looking sharper and more animalistic. He fucked me hard and fast, growling as he thrust in and out, gritting his sharp teeth, his claws flexing against my skin and probably drawing blood. I met him thrust for thrust, fucking him from underneath, needing him harder, needing him faster.
He pulled out of me, and I nearly snapped at him, a growl spilling from my lips. His eyes lit with excitement as he spun me around, forcing me onto my hands and knees. My heart raced, and I presented myself to him, arching my spine and spreading my knees apart.
