It was so close. It was just out of reach.
Their bodies moved as one. She rose to meet him, their skin slapping together in an erotic dance. He reached between their bodies and found her clit with his thumb. He pressed on the sensitive nub of nerves, setting off a chain reaction of explosions that culminated in a wave of pleasure. It washed over her, sucking her down into the dark abyss. But she wasn’t alone.
Hank yelled her name and she felt the warm rush of fluid inside her, the heavy pulse of his cock as her pussy squeezed him tight and the weight of his limbs as he collapsed on top of her.
She had a brief bad moment when his full weight fell on her. Brian had done that all the time. As if sensing her discomfort, Hank immediately raised himself up. Chrissten was amazed. Even in the midst of his orgasm he was totally tuned into her, her wants, her needs.
The dark memories faded away, replaced by the beauty of the here and now. She smiled at him and he smiled back. “I love you.” She wanted to remind him of that.
“Love you too,” he answered. Then she squeezed her inner muscles intentionally, sending a ripple up his cock. He groaned and his head fell forward. His lungs heaved and a light sheen of sweat covered his tanned skin.
Chrissten reveled in her newfound sense of womanly passion even as she enjoyed the aftershocks of pleasure that shook her and made her limbs quiver. She’d never really made love before. Not when both parties had confessed their love.
Hank carefully withdrew and sank down on to the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms. She could hear the comforting beat of his heart and smell the warm musk of their arousal, twined together to make an entirely new perfume.
She sniffed and could smell him on her skin. Because they weren’t mated it would fade as soon as she showered.
He pulled her closer in his embrace and kissed her temple. “That was amazing.” He nuzzled her hair, her temple and her ear, taking leisurely nips of her lobe. His cock pulsed against her side, getting harder instead of softer. Werewolves weren’t like human males and could make love several times in a row with little or no recovery time.
But Hank wasn’t pushing for more. He played with her hair, combing his fingers through several thick strands. She watched, almost mesmerized, as his broad fingers slid through her hair, the contrast between the light blonde and his darker skin accentuating the differences between them, between male and female.
She felt no need to talk. The silence between them was a comfortable one. She sensed no frustration from Hank, no sense that he wanted to be doing anything more than he was.
The moment was perfect.
But it wasn’t. They weren’t mated. Another male could still claim her. There were plenty of rogue males out there in the world. Granted, the chance of being abducted twice was probably slim to none. But why take chances when she knew what she wanted.
Her instincts were screaming at her to tie herself to Hank, to mate with him, to strengthen the already strong bond between them. Her wolf recognized his. And she loved him. Knew him in a way she’d never known another living being.
“You okay?”
Once again he was in tune with her moods, sensing her growing unease. “No. I’m not okay.”
He stilled and gently untangled his fingers from her hair. Hank cupped her face in his hand. “What’s wrong?”
“This.” She waved her hand to encompass the entire bed. “Us.”
He frowned and his body coiled as tight as a spring, ready to launch itself at an unseen enemy. He kept his tone low and calm. “What exactly is wrong with us?”
She knew what he was thinking. He feared she’d changed her mind, she could see it in his eyes no matter how hard he was trying to reflect a calm demeanor. It would always be like this unless she did something about it. He would always be uncertain of her. And that wasn’t fair to him.
And deep in her heart, Chrissten knew he’d never ask her. It would be up to her to make the first move.
She pulled away from him and came up on her hands and knees in the bed. Her breath came fast and hard and her heart raced. She was afraid but determined.
“Oh, Chrissten.” Hank sounded sad, not happy. She turned her head to find him staring at her with a frown on his face. “You don’t have to do this.”
Now she felt like an idiot. “You don’t want to?”
His expression grew fierce and his eyes glowed red. “I want it more than I want my next breath. Never doubt that.”
“Then why?” She stayed as she was, not willing to back down.
“I don’t want to rush you. I want you to be absolutely sure. Because once we do this I won’t let you go. Ever. You’ll be mine for the rest of our lives.” He tried to smile but it didn’t quite work. “I told you I was possessive.”
And so it seemed was she. She didn’t want to risk some other female werewolf finding him and claiming him. “You’re mine,” she told him. “I don’t want to lose you. Ever.”
“You won’t lose me, baby.” He ran his hand over her spine and she arched into his touch. She licked her lips and watched his eyes glaze over and his cock twitch. Oh yeah, he wasn’t unaffected by this at all. He wanted her.
“Mate with me, Hank. Love me forever.”
He caught her face in his hands and kissed her. It was tender and passionate at the same time and made her head spin. “You do me great honor. I’ve seen war and death and destruction. I know how valuable love and family is. I promise to love and cherish you for our entire lives and beyond.”
“Oh, Hank.” She began to cry in spite of her best intentions. His words moved her deeply. “That was so beautiful.”
He lapped one of her tears away and went to kneel behind her. This was really going to happen. She was excited and scared all at once. Her first experience with mating hadn’t been a good one.
But this was Hank, a man who understood her to the core, who knew she’d be having dark thoughts and rushed to reassure her. “I’ll take it slow,” he promised and suited his actions to his words. He fitted his cock to her slick opening and slowly pushed inside. She was wet from her earlier orgasm and he went in easily.
She took a deep breath. Then another.
Hank gripped her hips in his hands but didn’t move. His fingertips dug in slightly and he was breathing heavily but he wasn’t falling on her like a crazed maniac. Chrissten relaxed and his cock slid another inch deeper.
“That’s it,” he crooned. “Relax for me. Take me inside. This is the way it’s meant to be when a couple mates. Safe and happy and filled with pleasure.”
Her worries bled away and were replaced by the wonderful sensations flooding her senses. Hank slid his hands over her sides, around her ribcage and up to cup her breasts. She moaned when he rubbed her distended nipples. Her body remembered his touch and longed for more.
“Just like that,” he murmured. He didn’t thrust but began a slight rocking motion. That, combined with his hands on her breasts, pushed everything else away until there was only her and Hank and the passion that existed between them.
Her body began to move in accord with his. Her hips circled and his cock seemed to expand, stretching her channel, brushing against sensitive nerve endings. He let one hand fall away from her breasts and slide down her belly to where they were joined. His thumb found her clit and stroked.
Chrissten arched her back as every cell in her body strained toward finishing the mating ritual. She wanted this. In her heart and soul and body. This was right. This was meant to be.
She took control and started flexing her hips back and forth, pushing his cock out and taking it back in again. Hank growled and nipped at her nape, sending ripples of pleasure racing down her spine. Goose bumps covered her skin. She felt hot and cold at the same time. Her skin was sensitive to the touch.