Page 9

The grump to Mina’s sunshine? Alpha wolf, Kieran Graymane.

Despite being a wolf shifter, I found Kieran weirdly relatable.

The author had painted him as a reluctant alpha, a wolf shifter bound to his pack by loyalty but chafing at the weight of responsibility.

His internal tug-of-war, his desire for freedom but tethered to duty, being forced into a marriage with the daughter of another pack’s alpha, mirrored my own struggles. .. kinda . It was a loose comparison.

Every barb Mina hurled at Kieran was met with his low, growling retort, which she promptly dismissed as though he were a pup fresh off the puppy pads. She craved belonging—friendship, family, something bigger than just herself—but she refused to admit that she might just find that with him .

Lust tangled with longing, simmering beneath every sharp exchange, every stolen glance.

And when they finally surrendered to their desires, it was...

... awful .

The author, who could write a romance intense enough to make an incubus demon almost swoon, was absolutely atrocious at writing sex scenes.

Uninspired. Unexciting. Unbelievably disappointing.

It was as if the author knew the terms, but didn’t know how they fit together.

I had an overwhelming urge to grab a pen and make some notes for Jen Myers.

My mind drifted back to the scene I’d just finished—the moment that should have sent a shiver down my spine for all the right reasons.

Mina and Kieran had been traveling through the dense, shadow-drenched forest when the storm rolled in, rain falling in heavy sheets.

Mina, stubborn as ever, had wanted to push forward, unwilling to waste time, but Kieran demanded that they stop under the guise that the rain would dampen his senses.

In reality, he just couldn’t stand the thought of her being out in the cold, his overprotective alpha instincts bristling at the mere idea of her shivering in the downpour.

Reluctantly, Mina conjured a tent. Inside, both of them dripping, soaked to the bone, they were forced to strip away their sodden clothes. Kieran lay awake, muscles tight with restraint, emotions roiling beneath his skin. His inner wolf pacing, howling, demanding .

He wanted her. Not just with the raw, burning lust of a man who had denied himself for too long, but with the aching, desperate need of something primal. Something inevitable.

And then—he’d heard it.

The faintest sound.

The softest clatter of teeth against teeth from the other side of the tent.

And just like that, he couldn’t resist.

His excuse was adorably pathetic— “I can’t listen for danger over the chattering of your teeth, witch.

I’ll warm you if only to keep you quiet.

”— and she had hesitated. Because the clacking of her teeth echoing in her skull was the only thing that was keeping her thoughts from Kieran, from the knowledge that her body craved him, that her heart yearned for him. And deep in her bones, she knew .

The moment their skin met, the moment she gave in and let herself fold into his warmth, something would snap into place. The something she’d been trying to stifle for days.

Kieran pulled her into his arms, his breath hot against her skin. His wolf rumbled in satisfaction, scenting the slickness between her thighs, his body betraying just how desperately he wanted to claim his mate.

And the scene finished with an incredibly uninspiring: His manhood prodded into Mina’s back, and she knew she would not be able to resist his charm any longer.

She turned to face him, and he climbed on top of her.

His length felt good between her legs, and when he entered her, she felt complete.

It was the best sex she’d ever had, and they both came together.

In my version, Kieran pulled Mina into his arms, and she immediately stopped shivering as she melted into his warmth.

I could practically hear the unintentional moan that slipped from her lips, soft and breathy, a sound that sent a pulse of heat straight through him—straight through me .

My dick twitched in response, my body reacting as if I were Kieran, feeling the weight of her against me, the unbearable closeness of the one thing he shouldn’t want.

He held her tighter, torn between the need to keep her warm and the raw, gnawing fear that she would feel it—the undeniable evidence of his desire pressing against the curve of her back.

That she would know —finally, undeniably know —that every growl, every sharp jab, every stubborn refusal to acknowledge her pull meant nothing.

Because he wanted her.

And he shouldn’t .

He was bound by duty, by the weight of expectation. He was supposed to be marrying the daughter of another pack’s alpha, securing an alliance, fulfilling his obligations as leader. But his wolf didn’t care about duty.

His wolf had already chosen.

Her. The stubborn, infuriating, too-clever witch who had wormed her way into his life and his heart.

I could picture him, holding his breath, every muscle coiled tight, praying she wouldn’t move—praying she would .

And then she did.

A small, unconscious shift, her body adjusting, wiggling into him—until she froze. Her back fully pressed against his erection, realization settling over her like a storm rolling in, slow but inescapable.

This gruff, insufferable alpha wolf—the one who had spent days acting like he couldn’t stand her—was hard for her.

And in that single, breathless moment, everything changed.

My hand dipped beneath the cooling water, gliding slowly over my shaft as I imagined Mina’s breath catching, her cheeks flushing as the realization settled in—she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.

The moment she felt it, the slow, damp heat pooling between her thighs, there was no denying it. Her body was responding to his, drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

I pictured Kieran going still, his wolf sharpening, scenting the shift in the air. Her desire. And that single, intoxicating whiff of arousal sent his instincts into a tailspin, his control fracturing.

A low groan rumbled in my chest as I imagined Mina finally turning to face him, her heart pounding against her ribs, hesitance warring with something deeper. She placed a hand over his heart, felt the frantic thump, thump, thump beneath her palm. Their eyes met, and then—

The bond snapped into place.

I was barely aware of the soft creak of movement from somewhere in the hallway—probably the ghost slinking around, wondering why I’d been in the bath so long.

It didn’t matter.

Mina’s face was clear in my mind’s eye—dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, lips slightly parted as she traced a tentative finger down Kieran’s chest, over the hard planes of his stomach.

My cock throbbed in my fist, heat curling in my spine as I imagined Kieran’s breath faltering, his entire body locking up as Mina’s fingers trailed lower, brushing over the thick length of him, teasing, barely touching, making him ache.

It was as if I could smell her—amber and jasmine, an intoxicating perfume of hunger and hesitation, of a witch stepping over the line into something uncharted.

My grip tightened around my shaft, my muscles flexing in anticipation of release, my breath shuddering as I sank deeper into the fantasy—

And then the bathroom door swung open.

I barely had time to process the sudden rush of cool air before I was staring at a woman—dark-haired, stunning, her brows knitted in rage and clutching a ceramic vase as a weapon. Her voice cut through the steamy air. “Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my house?”