Page 25

Chapter 24

Doug

H ours later. My place.

She’s asleep when it hits me.

Or maybe not quite asleep.

It’s that lull.

That calm.

That peace you feel after you have fanfuckingtastic, mind blowing, earth shattering sex.

You know, the life-changing kind.

She’s soft and warm, smelling like sunshine and me.

It’s perfect.

She is perfect.

I can’t stop touching her.

I don’t want to.

Not now, not ever.

We’re all tangled up in each other and the simple white sheets.

Her face and body are still flushed from earlier when I worshipped every inch of her and made her fall apart on my tongue more times than I can count.

But this?

This is different.

This is the moment I need to say it.

I need to make sure there are no misunderstandings.

Because I can’t hold it anymore.

I brush my fingers down the curve of her back, sliding slowly over the dip of her spine until she shivers, turning sleepy eyes up toward me.

“Doug?” she whispers, voice all husky and wrecked from hours of being thoroughly fucked and loved.

I lean in, nuzzling the curve of her shoulder, letting my lips brush over her luscious, soft skin.

It’s where I intend to mark her with my claiming bite. But I need her permission first.

“My Dina,” I murmur, voice low and reverent. “My mate.”

Her breath catches, and I kiss up to her jaw, slow and sweet.

“I love you,” I whisper, the words raw and real as they crack open everything inside me.

“Oh, Doug.”

“I know I said it at the pizzeria. But I need you to know I mean it. Not just then. Not just tonight. Forever. I love you so damn much, it’s terrifying.”

Her eyes glisten, and I don’t let her speak because I’m too full, too needy to stop now.

I kiss her again, deeper this time, tongue sliding between her lips as she melts against me, already pliant and eager even half-asleep.

But I need more.

I need her writhing.

I need her marked.

I need her claimed.

I trail my mouth down her throat, licking and nibbling the soft flesh, leaving a wet path as I shift lower.

Her legs part instinctively as I kiss over her collarbone and down between her breasts.

“Doug, I-I,” she whispers, already breathless.

“Shh, Baby Girl,” I murmur, dragging my tongue over her nipple before sucking it deep into my mouth.

Her back arches beautifully as I tease and tug, alternating between flicks of my tongue and light grazes of my teeth.

Her scent changes. Sweet, heady arousal floods the air, and my Wolf growls low and hungry.

I slide lower, lips brushing over the softness of her belly, hands gripping her thighs as I press them apart and settle between them.

Her pussy is glistening already, swollen and needy.

Perfect.

Mine.

“Tell me you’re mine. Say I can have you.”

“You already do, Doug. I’m yours,” she moans.

And I feel the victory of it down to my marrow.

I drag my tongue slowly through her folds, savoring the taste of her like it’s the best fucking thing in existence.

She cries out softly, hips rolling, fingers threading in my hair and tugging just enough to make me groan.

I lap at her clit, flicking it softly then flattening my tongue, pressing in until her legs tremble and she gasps my name.

“Doug, oh please?—”

“I know, Sunshine. I got what you need,” I growl, dipping two fingers deep inside her as I keep sucking on that sensitive little bundle of nerves.

She’s so wet and tight, her walls fluttering around my fingers as I fuck them in slow, deep strokes, curling them perfectly against that spot that makes her sob.

“That’s it,” I murmur, voice hoarse with hunger. “Give it to me. Let me feel you come for me before I fuck you. Because this time, I’m claiming you for keeps, Sunshine. You want that? Want me to claim you?”

“Yes! Please, yes!”

She breaks apart with a desperate cry, her pussy clenching so tightly around my fingers it almost hurts.

But I’m not done.

Not fucking close .

While she’s still trembling, I crawl up her body, kissing her deeply so she can taste herself on my tongue.

Then I line my cock up.

“Bare. I need you bare.”

She nods, gripping at my hips frantically, like she knows my Wolf needs to fill her with cum.

Pride and humility fill me. She is a goddamn blessing I don’t deserve.

But I’m taking her. And I’m keeping her all the same.

Then I press inside her in one long, smooth thrust.

“Fuck,” I groan, burying deep as her slick, tight heat envelops me. “So fucking perfect, Dina. You were made for me.”

She whimpers, legs wrapping around my waist, heels digging in as I start to move.

Slow at first.

Deep, grinding strokes that have her clutching at me like I’m the only thing keeping her grounded.

“Harder,” she gasps, voice desperate and needy. “Please, Doug, I need?—”

I snap.

My Wolf surges up, taking control as I slam into her harder, faster, making the whole damn bed shake.

Her cries grow louder, broken little gasps of my name as I pound into her, sweat slicking our bodies together as the room fills with the filthy sound of my cock sliding in and out of her soaked pussy.

“Mine,” I growl, biting at her throat.

Not hard enough to mark, not yet, but a warning of what’s coming.

She moans loudly, clutching my ass, pulling me deeper.

“Yours,” she gasps, eyes glassy and wild. “Always yours. I love you, Doug.”

That’s all I need.

I shift my angle, grinding my hips as I thrust, making sure to hit her clit with every pass.

She breaks again, screaming my name, body convulsing as she falls apart beneath me.

And while she’s still riding that wave, I lean in and bite.

Right where neck meets shoulder.

Deep enough to break skin.

Deep enough to bind .

Magic explodes between us, a rush of heat and power that slams into me like a freight train.

I feel it.

Our matebond.

Wrapping around us like silken chains, unbreakable and eternal, tethering her soul to mine in a way that makes everything inside me settle, finally fucking whole .

Her body arches, mouth open in a silent cry as she feels it, too.

Like my sweet human mate is just as aware as I am that our magic is twisting and tangling, sealing us together forever.

I keep fucking her through it, thrusting deep and claiming every part of her until I finally let go, roaring as I come hard, spilling deep inside her as our bond locks into place.

The orgasm crashes through me like lightning, every nerve ending lighting up as I empty myself completely inside my mate.

When it’s over, I collapse against her, still inside, unwilling to let her go for even a second.

She strokes my hair, soft and lazy, and whispers, “Claimed as in forever, right?”

I smile against her skin, my fangs still aching from the claiming bite.

“Forever, Sunshine,” I murmur, voice thick with love and possession.

“You’re mine. And now I’m yours. No takebacks.”

She laughs, sleepy and sweet, pulling me closer as we drift off tangled together, still joined, still humming with the aftermath of fate and magic.

I thought I was destined to be a Lone Wolf, but that was all a lie.

No Pack?

Doesn’t matter.

I have her.

We have family and friends.

And that? That’s all the Pack I’ll ever need.

“I love you, Doug. No takebacks,” she says softly, grinning like she owns me.

And she does.

God, this woman wrecks me.

That sweet, honest smile?

It hits harder than claws or fangs ever could.

She undoes me with nothing more than her warmth.

Her words.

Her.

I’d burn the whole world down for her.

But leave?

Not a chance in hell.

Before I can even get the words out, she tilts her head, eyes sparkling with that mischievous light that always makes me weak.

“Who says I want you to leave?” she teases, arching a brow.

I narrow my eyes playfully, my Wolf already preening.

“Wait a second, you reading my mind now, Sunshine?”

She laughs, eyes wide with mock innocence and wonder.

“You know, I think I just did.”

“Uh huh. Fated mates,” I say, giving her a mock-serious nod.

“No privacy. No escape. Definitely no secrets.”

Her grin turns downright dangerous then.

“Good. Because you’re stuck with me forever, Fido. Besides,” she whispers.

Then She scoots closer, running her fingers through my hair like she knows exactly how to turn me into complete mush.

“Did you see my mural?”

I nod.

“It’s better than the first one. Even my professor said so. You know, I think you’re the best good luck charm I’ve ever had,” she murmurs, voice soft but full of meaning.

I groan, letting my head fall back dramatically.

“Sunshine, you say stuff like that and I’m never letting you out of bed again.”

“Promises, promises,” she quips, biting her lip like she knows exactly how badly I want to make good on that right now.

And yeah, I will.

Because fated or not, this woman?

Best damn good luck charm I’ll ever have.