Page 20 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)

Drew

She was trembling. Her fingers fluttered at my wound with gentle precision, but I could see how shaken she still was.

Her shoulders were tense, her mouth tight, her eyes glassy with everything she was trying not to feel, and yet, as she dabbed at the claw mark on my arm, I felt her soften, bit by bit, like something inside her was unraveling against her will.

She lifted the cotton ball toward my face, her gaze soft on the claw mark on my cheek. "This might sting," she murmured.

I caught her hand before she could touch me, gently wrapping my fingers around her wrist. Her breath hitched.

Her eyes darted to mine, wide and wary, her breath still uneven.

I didn't speak. I just guided her hand to my face, letting her press it gently to the scratch across my cheek.

I didn't flinch, even though the wound still throbbed beneath the pressure.

She pulled back slightly. "Did I hurt you?"

I shook my head, still holding her hand against my face, my eyes pinned to her. "No. I'll be fine. I'm already healing."

Her eyes dropped to the wound, now just faint, fading marks beneath her fingers. I saw it in her expression then, the way her eyes traced the closing cut, her lips parting just slightly. She wasn't thinking about the wound anymore.

She was thinking about me.

The space between us shrank, even though neither of us moved.

I leaned into her hand and closed my eyes, inhaling her scent.

Goddess, it hit me like wildfire. She still smelled like rose and rain, like the wild in bloom.

My arms moved around her waist, and I pulled her against me, slowly and deliberately, until her body met mine, and I rested my head on her abdomen.

She stilled.

Then slowly, so slowly, her hands moved to cradle my head. Her fingers slipped into my hair, trembling just slightly. The feel of her holding me like that, Goddess, it shattered something in me.

"I'll protect you," I murmured into her warmth. "You and Liora. I swear it, Ruby. I'll burn the world down if I have to. Just let me in."

She didn't answer, but she didn't pull away.

I lifted my head and looked up at her, my heart pounding.

She looked unsure and torn, but she didn't stop me when I gently guided her to my lap.

At first, she straddled me sideways, cautious and guarded.

But then, I guided her to face me, and slowly I moved her until she was fully facing me, sitting on my lap, legs straddling my waist. Her body pressed into mine, chest to chest, heat to heat.

Her emerald eyes flashed with desire and unspoken want as she faced me.

I caressed her cheek, her luscious lips begging for a kiss.

I felt my erection stretching beneath the thin bed linen, and she gasped the moment she felt me hard, straining, and aching for her.

Her eyes widened. Her breath caught. I saw the flush bloom on her cheeks and down her throat.

"Drew," she whispered, stunned and breathless.

I groaned, burying my face in her neck, inhaling her, trembling with restraint. "I miss you," I breathed. "So damn much. I dream about you, about this every night."

I kissed her neck, slowly and reverently. Her head tipped back, exposing more of herself to me. She held my face with both hands and kissed me with longing like her soul had clawed its way out to meet mine. Her mouth was fire against mine, her hands sinking into my hair as our tongues tangled.

I cupped her breasts through the soft fabric of her silky blouse, my thumbs grazing her nipples, feeling her arch against me.

She moaned into my mouth, every sound unraveling the last of my control.

Her hips shifted, grinding lightly over me.

She gasped, feeling the full length of my desire press into her.

She looked down between us, shocked and aching all at once.

I held her hand, guiding it toward the hardness beneath the thin linen.

Her fingers hesitated, then wrapped around me.

Her eyes met mine, wide and flushed with want. I groaned, my forehead pressed to hers, undone by the feel of her touch as she stroked me. The heat between us was ready to erupt. My hand slid up her blouse, inching upward, desperate for skin, but then, she stopped me.

Her eyes glazed with desire, "Liora…not here." She held my hand, gathered my clothes, and led me to her room.

As soon as the door shut behind us, I reached for her.

There was no hesitation, only heat, only need.

I pulled her to me, and our lips crashed again, slower this time, but deeper, like we were remembering and reclaiming all at once.

The kiss tasted like a vow, like fate stitching itself back together.

Our wolves howled between each heartbeat, circling and recognizing. Her skin pressed to mine, her scent, a heady mix of salt, wildflowers, and something uniquely hers, wrapped around me like a drug. I was drowning in it. I didn't want to come up for air.

She gasped into my mouth when I lifted her, her legs winding around me like memory, like instinct. She kissed me like I was the only thing keeping her alive. It felt like her body had never unlearned mine.

I fumbled with her silk blouse, needing skin, needing her.

She lifted her arms to let me pull it off.

The fabric caught over her face, arms trapped midway, and Goddess help me, it made me want her more.

I kissed her, blind through the veil of her shirt, lips soft and urgent.

My fingers found the clasp of her bra, and with one practiced motion, it came undone.

My hand cupped her bare breast, thumb teasing her nipple into a peak.

"Drew," she gasped, her hips pressing up against mine, arching with hunger.

I groaned, burying my mouth in the curve of her throat, tasting the skin that tasted like memory and fire. "You're not a dream," I rasped, my voice shaking with disbelief. "Goddess, Ruby, you're here."

I kissed a slow trail down her neck, across her collarbone, between her breasts. Her blouse fluttered to the floor, her fingers weaving into my hair as her breath hitched, and she moaned, broken and sweet.

"I tried to forget you," I said, my voice catching as I looked up at her. "But no one, nothing felt like you."

I scooped her into my arms, holding her like something I'd lost a lifetime ago.

I laid her gently on the bed, the reverence in my touch unable to calm the ache roaring beneath my skin.

I unbuttoned her trousers, slowly, almost ritualistically, and pulled them off along with her panties.

She lay there, naked, flushed, and goddess-like in the low light, her red hair fanned around her like a halo of fire.

Her eyes met mine, wide and dilated with desire, pleading and fierce all at once.

I reached for the lace of her panties, lifting them to my nose. The moment I inhaled, it hit me like lightning; hot, sweet, musky, her scent laced with pheromones that snapped every thread of control I had left. My knees weakened, and my chest tightened.

My wolf howled—mine.

"Ruby," I growled, the sound low and shaking, "you don't even know what you're doing to me."

She spread her thighs slightly at the sound of my voice, wordless and breathless.

My eyes stayed locked on her as I untied the linen around my waist, my hands trembling with urgency.

Her gaze followed every inch of me, her breath catching as the loose cloth hit the floor and my erection sprang free.

She gasped, and something primal lit up in her eyes, like her body had remembered me just as much as mine remembered her.

I knelt between her thighs, kissing the inside of one tenderly and reverently, then the other. I pressed my forehead against her warm skin, breathing her in, anchoring myself even as my soul felt like it was unraveling.

Then I found her clit with my fingers, slow at first, then firm, controlled strokes.

She cried out, her thighs shaking, her legs thrashing beneath me.

I leaned in, slid my tongue inside her, tasting her, worshipping her, as my fingers circled that swollen bundle of nerves, and my other hand found her breast, kneading gently.

Her moans spilled out of her in waves, only stifled when she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Drew," she whimpered, voice barely holding together. "Please…"

The word from her lips undid me. I moved up her body, kissed her deeply, and then positioned myself at her entrance, my eyes locked on hers as I pushed in, slow, achingly slow. Her heat welcomed me, pulled me in, and surrounded me. Her breath caught. Her nails raked down my back. My vision blurred.

My wolf surged. Pleasure rippled through every fiber of me.

Her wolf responded with a purr, low and satisfied.

The sensation was maddening, tight, slick, and pulsing around me.

My muscles locked, my body thrummed with heat.

A low growl escaped me as I rocked into her.

She lifted her legs and tilted her hips to take me deeper.

The world narrowed to her skin. Her moans and her heartbeat thudded in time with mine.

"Oooh…" I moaned, losing myself, my hips driving harder and deeper, desperate to reach something I didn't have words for. She matched me thrust for thrust, her body alive beneath me, clutching me, grinding up to meet every movement.

When I pulled out and turned her onto her knees, I wrapped my arms around her waist and entered her again, from behind, slow at first, then powerfully, grounding myself in the rhythm of our need. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, and her back arched like a bow beneath me.

"Don't stop," she gasped, her voice muffled against the pillow. "Don't ever stop."

We moved together, grinding, thrusting, and needing, and when she shattered, her whole body tightened and trembled around me.

Her cry tore through the silence, muffled against the pillow, but still wild and raw.

I followed her, my body releasing, spasming, my mouth on her shoulder as I groaned her name against her skin.

"Ruby, Goddess, Ruby."

The silence as we stayed hunched echoed with both of us dazed and satisfied.

I pulled out slowly, careful not to break the fragile silence that had settled between us like a mist. She was flushed, her skin glowing.

Her eyes were half-lidded and unreadable, and her lips parted with the aftershock of what we'd just shared. My breath caught in my throat.

Goddess, she was beautiful.

I turned her gently, drawing her to face me fully, and gathered her naked body into my arms. She melted into me without resistance, her warmth sinking into my chest, her bare skin slick against mine, soft and real and mine.

I kissed her forehead and the curve of her cheek, lingering there, breathing her in. Her breath fanned my neck, slow and unsteady. Her fingers rested lightly against my ribs, like she didn't know whether to stay or pull away, but I held her tighter.

I stroked her back in slow, reverent circles, my fingers tracing every ridge of her spine, memorizing the feel of her all over again.

I never wanted this moment to end. The rise and fall of her chest matched mine.

Our hearts were beating in sync, wild but quiet, like the storm between us had finally passed.

I tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear and leaned my forehead against hers. My eyes were heavy, not from exhaustion, but from a strange kind of peace that I hadn't known in years.

I exhaled and whispered against her skin, "I love you, Ruby. Deeply. Always."

Her fingers curled into my chest.

I meant it. Every word anchored in the truth of how much I'd lost and how much I was willing to fight for. "I'll never let you go," I murmured. "Not again. I lost you once, and I will not let go again."