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“I–” Neah cleared her throat and tried again. “I don’t think that’s going to fit.” She’d been with men before, but Wren… he was bigger than any she’d had before.

“It’ll fit, caritas . I promise.” The dark heat in his voice made her impossibly wetter and he grinned, feeling it against his fingers as he worked them into her at an increased pace, the sound of her wetness lewd amid the fresh waves of rain.

“You’re already taking me so well,” he groaned, the words guttural, and she tilted her hips, encouraging him to go deeper, to give her more .

He dipped his head, working her clit with his mouth again, and the pulses of pleasure seemed constant as she begged him with her mouth and body.

He could give her more. He could give her all of him, and she wanted it. Desperately.

“Wren,” she begged, sitting up and meeting his own lust-glazed eyes as he pumped himself with one hand, smearing the glistening mess at his head across the rest of him. “Now.”

The first touch of him against her made them both moan as he pushed through her wetness, nudging at her clit with each thrust, before he halted the movement, the muscles in his body standing out in sharp relief as he fought for control.

“Let go,” she murmured, willing him to lose himself in her, in them , and with a groan he obeyed. There was no delay, no more warning, just the thick length of him filling her in one swift movement of heat.

Their pace was frenzied, the rough rhythm of his hips against hers hitting all the spots she hadn’t known she’d craved until he slowed to look down at where she swallowed him whole.

“Look at you,” he said, voice soft, reverent. “Taking me like you were made for me. Do you see, Neah?” She followed his gaze and couldn’t help the way she clenched around him as he pushed into her, making him inhale sharply. “Fuck.”

It was like the one action shattered what remained of his self-control, turning him wild, and she wanted to crow in victory.

Instead, she widened her legs and pressed up to meet him mid-thrust, taking him by surprise.

Wren’s hands came under her, holding her in place at the new, deeper, angle as he bottomed out inside of her over and over again.

One hand fell away and he maintained her position with only one arm as his other dropped to her clit, working her in circles that timed perfectly with the push and pull of his cock.

She clenched around him as she increased their pace by pressing up and into him relentlessly.

“Neah—” It was a hoarse shout and she grinned as he came, feeling him pulse inside of her, and when his eyes re-opened there was a fire in them that made her breathless. “You’ll pay for that, mate. You come first. Always.”

“I already did come, several times if you’ll recall,” she tried to keep her tone even but couldn’t help the way her breath hitched when he continued moving inside of her, thrusting shallowly before surprising her with a deeper plunge.

Sparks of pleasure made her skin tingle and it felt like the rain should have been turning to steam what with the heat they were kicking off as Wren’s hands tightened on her body.

“You know what I meant. But, I have to say, this is definitely a perk.” He looked down an she glanced too, just in time to see him scoop his come up with two fingers from where it leaked out of her and press it back into her pussy in time with his next thrust. “Do you like being full of me? I think you do.” He smirked when she panted, shuddering as she tried to encourage him to pick up his pace.

Droplets of water from his wet hair hit her skin and she licked her lips, looking down the length of her body to catch another glimpse of him disappearing inside of her. “What do you want, Neah? Tell me.”

“Faster.”

“What?”

Bastard. “Fuck. Me. Faster.”

He gave her no warning, just hiked her legs high and fucked into her with enough power that she shrieked with pleasure, letting him position her however he wanted as Wren worked her into oblivion.

Her orgasm crashed down around them with the same velocity of the thunder storm, her cries lost to the rain and wind as pleasure ripped through her until she was left boneless and spent in his arms.

The storm raged on, as if unaware of their crescendo, and Neah let the rain wash over her as she tried to regain her breath.

“We have a problem to consider now,” she said and Wren looked at her, alarmed, from where he’d flopped down beside her in the dirt. “How, by the Goddess, are we going to get back inside without being seen?”

In the end, Wren returned to the palace in his tiger form to retrieve some much-needed clothing for Neah—seeing as she didn’t have a firm grip yet on how to shift at will, nor a desire to parade through the palace naked.

To her surprise, Wren brought her back to his chambers instead of her own and had a steaming hot bath waiting, as well as fresh, unbloodied, sheets on the bed.

The hot water was bliss on her muddied, chilled, skin and when he dragged a chair over to the beside the bath she glanced at him in surprise.

“What are you doing?” He’d already exhausted her in the forest, so if he was thinking about climbing in for another round…

“Taking care of you.” Wren’s voice was husky as he rolled up his shirt sleeves and dunked his hands in the water before reaching for the soap. Her eyes grew heavy as she watched him work the bar into a lather and then groaned when he set about massaging the suds into her hair.

Had anyone ever taken care of her like this before? If they had, she couldn’t remember it. It felt… nice. Like she was the most important thing in his world and he didn’t mind showing her as much.

Wren’s long fingers massaged her head from the base to her temples for several long minutes until he was satisfied and rinsed the soap away with cupped hands of warm water.

“Sit up,” he said quietly and she jumped, having grown sleepy in the steam and the gentle pressure of his hand in her hair. The water sloshed as she obeyed and she shivered as her hair dripped water down her back until Wren scooped it up and over her shoulder.

He picked another soap, this one smelling faintly floral, and began to work it into her tense shoulder muscles, the back of her neck, and down her spine.

It had felt strange being back on two legs instead of four, despite that she’d spent most of her life on two legs.

There was a disconnect now between her body and mind, like she half expected to look down and find fur and claws and was confused to instead find smooth skin.

But Wren’s touch was syncing her body back in place, grounding her with each stroke of his fingers against her spine, each press of his hand against her skin.

More scooped water washed away the suds, the water clouding with dirt and leaves, and when she stood, ready to leave the filth behind, Wren looked away from her naked body as he held a fluffy towel stretched wide. Only once she was wrapped up did he look down at her with a small smile on his mouth.

“It’s nothing you haven’t already seen,” she challenged and he half-nodded, half-shrugged.

“True. But that doesn’t make me entitled to it.”

Holding his eyes, she dropped the towel and was pleased when he swallowed hard before accepting her invitation and letting his eyes roam. Each look was a soft caress that set her on fire, but she was distracted from any further thoughts of ardour when a murmur of voices sounded from the next room.

Alarmed, she snatched up the towel and was readying herself for a fight when Wren caught her hand in his. “It’s okay. It’s just our friends.”

Our friends . She’d noted the shift yesterday at the ball and it warmed her to know that he felt the same way. At some point, their small circles had combined to become an our and Neah couldn’t say that she disliked the sound of it. Like a family they’d chosen for themselves.

“Here.” Wren strode to the bed and handed her a bundle of clothing as well as her favourite moisturiser and body oil. “I hope this is okay. I didn’t rummage through your things, I promise, Zennon retrieved them when I asked and?—”

She cut him off with a quick, breathless, kiss. “Thank you.”

A hint of pink tinted his cheeks as he nodded.

“I, ah, have another bath being drawn. You can get dressed in here if you like. There’s food waiting in the next room, provided those heathens haven’t eaten it all.

” He raised his voice at the last part of his sentence and it fell suspiciously silent next door as a result, making Wren roll his eyes.

Neah slathered on her moisturiser and oil, feeling more herself already as she slipped into a simple tunic shirt with an open collar and a pair of supple trousers she was sure were Zennon’s because she didn’t recognise them at all.

Attendants entered the room as she combed her hair and Neah thanked them as they set about clearing away the dirty bathwater and resetting the bath for Wren.

It wasn’t until she walked into the parlour that she realised how hungry she was, the scent of roasted chicken and buttery potato wafting toward her. “You better have saved me some of that. I’ve heard tigers have a terrible temper when they’re hungry.”

Zennon looked up, a smile spreading across her face as she ran to Neah and hugged her so hard the breath was pushed forcefully out of her lungs. “You’re okay.”

“I am. And you?” She ran her eyes over her sister, checking for injuries, and was relieved when she found none. “You saw the healer?”

Zen nodded. “Just a few bruises.” Her gaze dropped to the trousers Neah wore and she grinned. “Romi! Look, they fit even better than you hoped!”

Neah blinked as she finally took in the rest of the table’s occupants. Gabriel and Skye, she’d expected. Zennon and Sonnet, she’d hoped for—but Romi was a surprise, though a welcome one.

“You made these for me?”