Page 21

A s if feeling him through our bond wasn't enough, I can finally communicate with him. No matter where we are—well, as long as it's the same plane of existence—we will be able to communicate with each other.

I allow myself a minute of just being here in this moment, my head laying against his chest, listening to his heart beat while his love pours through our bond. It's the most amazing feeling. Not having to worry about how he's feeling because now I'll know.

The moment ends when his fingers run up my spine, grasping the ends of my hair and gently pulling my head back so that I'm looking up at him with my neck bared. The smile on his face is full of love and something a little more wicked, in a good way, causing me to wriggle in his lap as he hardens beneath me.

The first wave of arousal that passes over my body is mine, and as if in answer to mine, Roman's arousal slams through our bond, absolutely consuming me. An animalistic moan escapes me, and my back arches into him.

He leans into me, one hand plucking at my nipples, while the other holds me against him, and our lips crash together. I'm so overwhelmed with feeling all of my feelings and all of his feelings at once.

“Oh, God, Roman…” I plead.

“I know, my little miracle. Lift,” he growls into my neck, tapping my hips. The vibrations of his voice against my skin send another wave of need through my body, and I follow his instruction, lifting my hips in the air. With myself slightly suspended, he runs the head of his dick through my wet center, then circles my clit.

I'm whimpering with need now, I need you , I intentionally purr through the bond, very effectively getting his attention. He freezes, locking eyes with me, and lining himself up for me to sink onto. Our gazes remain connected as I slowly ease myself onto him. I don't make it all the way in initially, needing to rise and sink back down.

“Fuck, Leera, you're so fucking perfect,” his praise hits me square in the heart while his hands grip my hips so tightly that I wish they would bruise, but I know it's no use. They'll just heal quickly and fade before the day is over.

I continue working my body up and down his length, my body finding a natural movement that feels amazing. My mate inside me, my clit keeps brushing against him, and one of his hands is still plucking and twisting my nipples.

I would ask him if it feels good, but I can feel his happiness and pleasure just as strongly as mine now. That kind of power, knowing for certain that this man—my mate—craves my body the way I crave his, nearly pushes me off the cliff. My hips and movements become erratic as I moan and chant his name, all the while, he moans and groans and says my name like a prayer.

With my orgasm trying to crest, I feel like…“Roman, I can't!” I scream suddenly, and he takes over without a hitch. Locking my hips in place with both hands, he ruts into me, thrusting his hips up, hitting a completely different place inside me than I was reaching by riding him.

“Yes. Yes. Yes,” I cry so close to my release when one hand finds my clit, and he bottoms out, shoving his knot inside me, and I’m absolutely destroyed. Screaming his name and holding onto his shoulders for dear life, trying to stay grounded here with him. With his knot locked inside of me, he roars his release, and I can't hold myself up anymore, melting against his chest, slick with sweat.

He awkwardly scooches us back so that he can lean against the headboard of the small bed, both of us panting. I can feel his knot pulsing, and fuck if it doesn't feel good. God, I just came. Why does it feel like it's rising again?

That must have made it to him through the bond because he brings his hands back to give my body what it needs. I'm wriggling on his knot because being stretched like this feels so amazing. He rubs circles on my clit before another wicked smile crosses his handsome face. I'm almost there when he pulls his hand from my clit and pulls me to him. “Roman,” I beg without an ounce of embarrassment, for once, but he doesn't say anything.

He pulls my body even tighter against his and starts bucking up into me again. Just as the wave begins to crest, he bites down on my fresh mate mark without his fangs, but my senses leave me when the orgasm rips through my body. My vision goes black, and I can't breathe, I can't scream, I can't even hear. It must only be a second, but it feels like an eternity until I can hear again, and Roman is also finding his second release, still locked inside of me.

“Holy. Shit,” I pant against him. I'm happy to melt into a Leera puddle lying on his body until I can extract myself from him, but he's not having it. He takes my face in his hands, bringing his lips to every inch of my face, peppering me with sweet little kisses while he praises me and worries over me.

Are you okay…I love you so much…You're so perfect…Are you sure you're okay? You're absolutely everything… he continues until I feel our mixed releases begin to trickle out of me, meaning his knot has deflated enough that I could probably remove myself, but I'm also not quite ready.

“Will it always be like this?” I whisper, not wanting to break the moment.

His head pops up, eyes searching mine. “Being loved with everything I am? Absolutely,” he beams at me.

“I meant the intensity of it all,” I laugh at him as his eyes sparkle at me. “I thought it was a lot before, but just now…with our bond…” Dammit. I can't keep the tears from returning, and he moves to cradle my body against his.

“Shhhh, it's okay, Princess. I've got you,” he soothes.

“I know. It's just so much…I didn't know I could love and be loved like this,” I confess.

“Oh, baby, we're just getting started.” He smiles, and I decide right there we're just going to stay in the fluffy bed of our little snow globe for the rest of the day.

After a wonderful and totally perfect, nearly-twenty-four hours, it's time to pack our stuff up and head home.

I can't stop smiling, and I'm irritated that it's winter, and I can't just wear off-the-shoulder and sleeveless shirts all the time. I never want to cover my mark. I want the entire world to see it, though most people will just think we got these weirdly beautiful, matching tattoos. But I'm okay with that assumption too.

“How will I explain my mark to Zoey?” I realize out loud, turning to look at Roman as he takes the bags from my hands.

He thinks it over to himself for a moment before he answers me, “I say wait until the right moment. She's your best friend, and I trust her, but don't rush it. Maybe don't show her for a little while, and give yourself time to process everything we have going on before you tackle another obstacle?” he suggests, and I nod, because he's right.

Standing by the side-by-side with my arms crossed across my chest, I stare at the little oasis my mate made for me and allow the time we spent here to wash over me. I know we have to leave and head back to the real world, but I definitely have an attachment to this place. “When can we come back?” I ask longingly, and we haven't even left yet.

Roman laughs, wrapping his arms around me and resting his head on my shoulder. “Well, we have a lot coming up, but as soon as we have even an extra evening, I promise to bring you back.”

I nod, turning my head around to plant a soft kiss on his lips, any more than that and I'll really never be able to leave. The time we spent here was a blissful blur of a unity and lust-filled haze. Roman explained to me that it's natural for a newly-mated couple to have intense desires for quite some time. Even not mounting him right here and now is a constant struggle of my willpower. Everything he does, every move he makes, I can smell him, I can feel him…Shaking away the need trying to once again consume me, I pull myself out of his arms. “If you don't quit touching me, I won't be able to leave.” I try to laugh, but it comes out all breathy.

His eyes dilate, but he also visibly shakes himself free of the desire consuming us. “As much as I would love to, we really do need to return. We need to get your tonic from the healer at home, and we need to set our plans in motion,” he says lightly, pulling me into my seat and fastening my seatbelt.

“What tonic? What plans?”

He smiles, and the world threatens to stop spinning. “A tonic that you'll need to take once a month until you're ready to have pups.”

“Oh!” My cheeks flame. “We definitely need that tonic.” Shit. “I didn't mean it like that. I just. Not ready. Yet. That.” My words won't come out in the right order or in a way anyone can understand.

He makes it to his seat, stops, and turns his body to move my head so that I'm facing him, “Leera, breathe. I'm not ready either. I want the danger to be gone. I want to enjoy time with you. There's so much time for us to make those kinds of plans. I'm very happy with just you, even if you never decide to be ready for pups,” he finishes with a kiss on the end of my nose, and I can feel his sincerity thrumming through our bond, and it immediately calms me.

I nod and allow my thoughts to run away from me on the drive back to the car, where I try to help him load up our things, but he's too much of a big, strong man to let me help.

Brat, he teases. I can hear the smile in his voice, but I realize he's responding to my thoughts again.

“Shit. Haven't you mentioned someone putting their walls up to block people out? Shouldn't I learn how to do that? OH MY GOD, have the men been able to hear my thoughts?” The worry starts to rise again. The thought of our most intimate moments shared with the entire pack.

“No, sweetheart. I gave everyone a heads up, and they had their mental shields in place until I gave the all clear. But, yes, we'll need to work on that.” He just keeps smiling. I wish I could be annoyed with him for smiling at me like that all morning because I know it's at least partially amusing for him, but he's so damn pretty to look at when he's smiling like that.

I must have kept that thought to myself because it definitely would have gotten a rise out of him. It would seem that part of the trick to keeping my thoughts to myself is being genuinely aware of my mental processes. Before, I could just think whatever I wanted, and the only giveaways would be when my face decided to have its own form of subtitles. Now it's a strange kind of awareness. It's too hard to explain, but I think that's the key.

As the car pulls away from the place I'm coming to love so much, I ask, “And the plans?”

He reaches across the car, resting his hand on my thigh while he keeps his attention on the road. “The plan is for us to go to Sabbax. Willa texted me with everything you two talked about and what we would need to do. She also offered to join us on the trip and help us out once we get there.”

A smile blooms across my face knowing that she'll be coming with us. The men are more than capable, but it'll be nice to have someone that belongs there on our side. “Don't you guys have a bye-week coming up?”

He nods as he says, “We do. In a few weeks, we'll be off for a week.” He rubs my thigh, almost as if he's in thought. “A week should be long enough.”

“It wouldn't take longer than that, would it?” I turn towards him in the confines of the car, which moves his hand further up my thigh, threatening to distract me again.

He pulls his hand back enough that it's not all I can think about before he continues, “A week here would be nearly three weeks in Sabbax. Time passes differently in each realm. Similar to your time zones, except the time actually moves differently as well. I've always found it strange that Earth is home to the creatures with the shortest life spans, but time moves faster than so many others.”

I'm trying to take in the information he's throwing at me without coffee. “So we'd be gone from here for a week, but it would feel like three weeks in the witch's realm?” He nods in confirmation. “And how different is time in Zabella…for when I'm ready to…you know…”

He squeezes my thigh to pull myself from turning to the overwhelming thoughts in my mind. “Yes, I know. And when you're ready, it passes even a little slower than in Sabbax. A week here is about four in Zabella.”

I plop back into my seat in wonder, having another moment where I don't entirely believe this is all real. “Well, I guess any time we want to take a vacation, it's smarter to visit one of the realms and get the most bang for our buck.” I have no idea why THAT is the thought that came to mind, but here we are.

His laughter fills the vehicle, and I find myself laughing with him.

“I hadn't thought of it like that, but I suppose you're right. Except for the vampire’s realm. Time moves even faster there than it does here. It's why they can move so fucking fast,” he snarls, and I can't help myself when a squeak of laughter escapes me. “And why is that so funny?” he turns to ask me, the question brewing even in his beautiful eyes.

“Oh.” I cough to try and kill the laughter. “I just…didn't realize you weren't a fan of vampires.” I try to leave it at that, but he urges me to continue by again asking why that's funny.

I narrow my eyes at him, waiting to see if it clicks. I can see him searching his thoughts for what I could be referring to, but he must come up blank.

“Lucky for you, I really was always a Team Jacob girl,” I tease.

His laughter once again fills the small space we're in, and it's so infectious I join him. I don't know how long we laugh together before spending the rest of the drive home in the most comfortable and loving silence, basking in our mate bond.