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Celine could hardly catch her breath. Zeke held her while his mouth seduced hers, lulling her into a state of buzzing awareness. Of desire. Of need.

He moved with her in his arms, toward the bed.

He placed her down on the bed and relieved her of her shirt and pants, leaving her in only her bra and panties, kissing every inch of skin as he revealed it, making her squirm with delight and rising intensity.

Then, he pulled his own clothing off as he rose above her momentarily.

Cupping her breast, he paused to meet her gaze.

Hot, molten lava coursed through her veins at his smoldering look.

He spoke not a word, but his intent was clear.

He was seeking permission. Gauging her readiness and reaction.

Then, when he seemed to judge her ready, he very deliberately pushed her bra away, dipping his head to suck her nipple into his hot mouth.

She would have moaned if she wasn’t trying really hard to be quiet. Humans might not have the superior hearing of shifters, but she couldn’t exactly scream the place down without attracting attention.

She arched against him as he continued to suck greedily, working her into a peak, his thumb and forefinger working the other side.

She was writhing on the bed before he finally moved away from her breasts, running both of his hands down her sides, then tracing the line of her panties.

He hooked a finger into each side, pulling downward with her enthusiastic encouragement.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Zeke said, his low growl touching an answering note deep within her wild heart.

She spread her legs for him, unable to resist and ready for more. He stooped, lifting her higher up the bed, and then lowered himself to kneel between her thighs. Holding her gaze, he lowered his mouth to her core, and she nearly exploded right then and there.

He licked her as she bucked into him. She did her best not to gasp as he slid one thick finger inside her. It had been a long time since she’d been with anyone, but she didn’t feel self-conscious as Zeke paid her such delicious attention.

She tangled her hands in his hair as he added another finger, pulsing in and out as he tongued her little nubbin in rhythm with his seeking fingers. She was so close, but she didn’t want to come just yet. No. She wanted him inside her for that. No more waiting.

Abruptly, Zeke rose, his eyes a little wild as he stripped off his briefs. His cock was a thing of beauty. Thick and long, she wanted it—all of him—badly.

“I can’t wait any longer, babe. Are you ready for me?” Zeke asked, reaching for his bedside table. He pulled a condom out of the top drawer and sheathed himself as she watched in mute appreciation.

Shifters didn’t carry or catch diseases from sex, and the chances of getting pregnant by someone who wasn’t a true mate were slim to none.

Still, she took it as a sign of his care for her that he thought to sheathe himself for their encounter.

They’d have time to talk about it later and make more rational decisions.

Right now, she just wanted the friction of that big dick inside her, any way she could get it.

“This might be fast. It’s been a while for me,” he said, moving down over her, his breathing unsteady as he rejoined her and reclaimed his space between her legs.

“For me too,” she admitted.

Their eyes met and held for a moment, saying so much without uttering a word. He bent to kiss again her as he pushed inward, joining their bodies for the first time.

“Fuck,” Zeke groaned against her lips in a low tone, turning her on even more as he pressed another inch into her waiting body.

He worked his hips until he was seated fully within her, and she could only whimper, conscious of keeping quiet.

“That feels so good,” he mumbled against her skin as he pressed open-mouthed kisses against her neck and shoulder.

His thickness stretched her in the most delicious way, and his biceps bulged as he held himself over her. Missionary wasn’t her preferred position, usually, but this man brought new meaning to everything they did. His strength and protective streak made her feel cherished…even…loved?

She wouldn’t get too far ahead of herself just yet. For now, they had this amazing connection. Sex had never been so good for her, and they’d only just gotten started. She couldn’t wait to feel what came next.

He stilled, as if savoring the moment, just as she was doing, but she couldn’t help her body tightening around him. She wanted more. She started moving her hips underneath him, wanting to entice him. Please him. Give him pleasure too.

Heat poured off him, his scent delighting her senses as they began to move together, each seeking to please the other in a dance as old as time and deep as the ocean. She wanted it to go on forever, but she also wanted to chase the ecstasy she knew was waiting at the end of this particular journey.

She almost yelped in distress when he moved away, disengaging so he could flip her over and position her on her knees, ass up in the air.

She almost growled, liking the way he handled her, as if her pleasure was his to command.

And perhaps…it was. Somehow, she found she liked the thought of that too.

He slapped her ass, just once, making her squirm in delight.

Damn. She’d never liked that sort of thing before, but with Zeke, she was quickly discovering, all things were new and wonderful.

She could feel him moving closer behind her, and then, he rejoined their bodies, sliding home in one bold move that made her breath catch.

Sweet Mother of All, that was deep and delicious.

The friction and size of him made the entry both surprising and scintillating.

Her desire shot up again, and with just a few bold strokes of his big cock, she was coming hard, shouting her release into the pillow, to muffle the sounds she couldn’t contain.

In the shadow of reason, she felt him stiffen inside her, and she vaguely realized he had found pleasure with her.

Somehow, that made it even more satisfying, she thought, just a moment before she closed her eyes and did her best to recover from the best orgasm of her entire life.

Celine woke, only realizing she must have passed out—or fallen asleep—after that momentous climax Zeke had given her.

She was in his bed now, spooned against him, her back to his chest as he breathed deeply in sleep.

She’d never been more comfortable sharing a bed with anyone.

Seriously, everything with Zeke was better than she’d ever had before.

The thought made wonder spark in her blood. Could he be her destined mate?

A human. A soldier. A man of magic who hadn’t been raised with it.

He was new to so much that she took for granted in her life, but he was willing to learn, and he brought with him all his experience as a protector of those who could not protect themselves from the threat of violence and evil throughout the world.

He’d seen things. No doubt, he’d done a lot of things too.

He was a man of the world, whereas she’d been a homebody until recently, never leaving the comfort and safety of her parents’ home.

She’d spent a lot of time in her home waters, never really traveling much.

Even now, she hadn’t gone all that far from home, though that was more from luck than anything else.

She’d been taken in by her grandfather after the murder of her parents, and she would have willingly gone wherever he’d been stationed, but he’d arranged to be on this base, close to her childhood home.

He’d probably chosen this assignment in order to be close enough to do his own investigation.

He’d also probably thought about her comfort and didn’t want to uproot her too severely in her time of grief.

She also knew that his new job as chief in charge of the kitchen wasn’t his usual sort of posting.

No, Gramps was a Navy SEAL, who was usually right in the thick of the action, but he’d taken a step back to look after her in her time of need.

Goddess, how she loved him. He’d been so good to her this past year, uprooting his whole life, and even his career, for her. He was such a good man, and a great grandfather.

The man who held her in his arms shared some of those same qualities, though he wasn’t a shifter.

Zeke served in the Army’s Special Forces and had that same backbone of strength and will that she’d noticed a lot of those Special Operators had.

Before meeting him and his unit, she’d thought that was peculiar to the shifter soldiers, but it wasn’t.

There were humans with the same grit, determination and honor.

She’d been pleasantly surprised by that discovery.

In her old life, she hadn’t mixed with humans much, except in casual ways, and she’d never met any human soldiers.

Especially not Special Forces soldiers. Meeting the men of Zeke’s unit had been an eye-opener, in a good way.

They were men of honor that she had quickly come to respect, and they were willing to help her find answers in the deaths of her parents. That was big.

Cross-species assistance wasn’t the norm, but the humans seemed to take it as a matter of course. She needed help. They could give it. Therefore, they did. No questions asked.

Things didn’t always work that way in the magical world.

She had found a new respect for the willingness of these humans to fight on the side of Light, no matter who was asking.

She’d talked it over with her grandfather when she’d first started working in the kitchen and observing the men who lived in the building.

He’d shared his observations with her and the fact that he had more than a few human friends and colleagues that he would count on to have his back in any life-or-death situation.

She hadn’t known that before, and it made her look at non-magical humans with new awareness.

Maybe that’s why she’d noticed Zeke, at first. Or maybe she had been destined to notice him from the very beginning. Only time would tell.

The next morning, Celine did a little sleight of hand trick by leaving the barracks building out of the door on the far side, with Zeke’s help and collusion to keep her presence unseen.

Then, she walked around to the kitchen door and walked in that way, as if she’d come from her own part of the island, ready for her shift.

She’d collect the little bag of clothing and toiletries she’d brought with her at some later point.

All that mattered was that, right now, she was in fresh clothes, and nothing looked amiss to her grandfather’s, or coworkers’, keen gazes.

Holding her breath for the first few minutes, she felt relief when nobody made any comments.

She’d worried about any lingering scent of Zeke she might have carried, but nobody said anything, so she figured she’d gotten away with it.

If they were going to keep doing this for any length of time, she knew she’d have to come clean, but for their first night together, she just wanted to hold the idea of them as a couple to herself and see how her inner seal reacted.

So far, her wild side liked Zeke a whole lot.

When he’d saved her life in the ocean, the seal had begun to almost worship the man for his skill and ability to protect her, but she needed more time to decide if that was something that would carry over in a day-to-day relationship and be certain it wasn’t just hero worship.

After last night, her wild side liked him even more.

He knew how to play as well as protect, and he made both halves of her soul her happy.

A tiny smile played about her lips when she wasn’t careful to conceal it.

She wanted to keep her thoughts to herself for a little while longer and see what Zeke thought.

Only then—if they were both in agreement—would she consider going public with the relationship.

Her seal was a bit shier than most and didn’t like being in the limelight.

Neither did her human side after all the attention paid her after her parents’ murders.

For now, she would enjoy being with Zeke without the pressure of other people’s opinions.

Because heaven knew, shifters weren’t often shy about giving their opinions. Especially her lion kin.