Page 36

Beth

I lay back on the tumble of sleeping bag and blankets. Ruugar’s weight pressed into me, solid and warm, his lips trailing reverent kisses across my jaw. My breath hitched as his fingers traced the curve of my waist, pressing, learning me in ways I still hadn’t figured out yet.

Every touch sent heat skimming beneath my skin, a slow, aching burn that made my heart race.

I wanted him.

I needed him.

“Beth,” he said against my throat, his voice rich with tenderness. “I want you.”

The way he said it—like he would wait forever if I needed him to—unraveled me in a way nothing else ever could.

A shiver trailed through me. I'd spent too long holding pieces of myself together, terrified to offer them to someone who might not understand. But with Ruugar, the cracks didn’t feel like weaknesses.

They felt like open doors, and for the first time, I wanted to step through them.

I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer. “Don’t stop.”

A growl rumbled through him, vibrating against my skin, and his lips were on mine again, kissing me hard.

Clothing slipped away, barriers falling as our bodies pressed flush. Skin to skin, heat meeting heat.

I gasped at the sensation, my hands roaming across his back, memorizing the strong lines, the warmth radiating from him.

He was heat and strength and devotion wrapped in flesh, and every inch of him belonged to me.

Not just in this moment, but always. My Ruugar.

My mate. Mine. Not stolen. Not borrowed.

Chosen. Every touch, every whispered breath between us felt like proof that I was finally feeling a love that wouldn’t vanish beneath my fingertips.

His forehead rested against mine for a breath, his hands framing my face as he stared into my eyes. “Mate,” he said with pure satisfaction.

I had never been so sure of anything in my life as I was about this male. “I'm yours.”

Everything else vanished into the night as he pulled me deeper into him, into us.

Soft murmurs, quiet gasps, the press of lips tracing awe and reverence over skin, all of it jumbled together into something unbearably sweet.

Ruugar moved as if he had all the time in the world to show me how much I mattered to him.

He kissed every bit of me, slowly making his way across my belly before he slipped between my thighs.

As he ran his finger through my wetness, he growled again, and that grin on his face…

He liked doing this for me, but he also enjoyed it himself.

His lips traced a whisper-soft path downward as he savored every inch of my skin.

When he reached the warmth waiting for him, he exhaled, the heat of his breath teasing me, making me arch against him.

He hummed, the sound vibrating through me before his mouth closed over me, his tongue boldly stroking.

Every flick, every press of his mouth against my most sensitive place sent shockwaves up my spine. I curled my toes into the blankets.

He shuddered against me, his enjoyment entwining with mine as he buried himself deeper, drinking in the sounds I made as if they were the only thing that mattered.

His hands pinned my thighs apart, not with force, but with possession, keeping me locked beneath his mouth as he brought out my moans and gasps.

My body had been claimed before, seen like territory, taken as possession, though not sexually. But this? Ruugar worshipped me as if loving me was a privilege, as if he would spend a lifetime proving I was worthy of giving him my heart.

I didn't think I could love him more than I did right now.

The golden glow of our mating marks shimmered in the dark, a quiet, pulsing promise.

He licked and sucked, his tongue flicking across my clit while his fingers pumped in and out of me. It drove me wild. Mad. To the brink and beyond.

He groaned as he tasted me, the sound sending tingles across my skin.

Then, as if something inside him snapped, his mouth became ravenous.

He feasted on me, alternating between deep, languid strokes and sharp flicks that sent piercing pleasure spiraling through my core.

My body trembled, and I fisted my hands in his hair, but he didn’t ease up.

He growled against my flesh, the vibrations tormenting me so much I thought I might shatter right there.

He rose above me, rolling me onto my belly and lifting my hips. Then he was inside me, moving slowly, gently, drawing out my pleasure while feeding his own. My heart soared and my body roared at the bliss of this position. This male loved me completely, and I couldn’t get enough.

Moving faster, he leaned over me and stroked my clit, driving my joy to a fever peak that finally gave way.

Waves of bliss washed over me, through me.

And when he came inside me, I grinned.

He was mine. I was his. And nothing and no one was going to tear us apart.

When we finally dropped, tangling together on the blanket, his arms wrapped tight around me, I let out a soft, contented sigh.

The quiet between us wasn’t empty. It was full, as full as my chest, as the press of his heartbeat above me, as the secret weight of knowing I had been seen, entirely, and still treasured.

Ruugar kissed the top of my head, his breath warm against my temple. “I love you.”

My heart swelled so full it ached. “I love you too. ”

We rolled over and curled up together. As sleep pulled me under, I knew, without a doubt, that I had finally found where I belonged.

With this male. Always.

I woke some time later. Beside me, Ruugar breathed deep and even.

I had to go to the bathroom. Careful not to wake him, I slipped from beneath the blanket and crawled outside. I stuffed my feet into my boots as my skin quivered from the chilly air.

The campsite was quiet, moonlight flickering across the cabins and our tent. Trees loomed dark and still in the forest, only the canopy touched by a breath of wind.

A gust rustled through the leaves along the edge, and my skin peppered with goosebumps. I hurried toward the bathroom cabin at the edge of the site, glancing over my shoulder out of habit. Empty. Nothing there. Just the wind stirring the grass, making it sway and quiver.

Everything about the night felt stretched, waiting. My hands trembled as I finished and stepped back outside, hurrying toward our tent.

That's when I heard a soft shuffle in the bushes growing along the edge of the forest. We'd picked berries there earlier, grinning because they'd tasted amazing, warm from the sun and plump with juice from a recent rain.

Chumbles ?

I peered in that direction but didn’t see anything to be concerned about. Turning, I continued toward the tent, not watching where I was going. The ground tilted. Or I did. I fell, my knee striking something hard. Pain burst through me like fireworks in a pitch-black sky.

Another sound hissed from the woods nearby, and I froze, taking in the rustling that reminded me of shoes slipping through dry leaves. The bushes swayed, but not in a lazy way.

I froze. My breath locked in my throat.

Bradley’s voice shot through the night with the force of a snapped bone. “Grab her.”

The blood drained from my face.

Run!

I scrambled to my feet, but they wouldn't move fast enough. I raced toward the tent, wishing I'd taken the time to lace up my boots when I lost one. Hobbling with one on and one off, I had to move with more care.

My legs jolted forward, sluggish, as if the earth itself was clutching at my ankles. Bare skin met the earth, and the bite of jagged stone licked across my heel, sharp as teeth.

Leaves crunched and footsteps thudded fast behind me.

I ditched my second boot and bolted forward, but I didn’t get far. Strong arms clamped around me, a human cage of heat and sweat and unyielding muscle. I bucked, writhing like a caught fish. He slapped his hand over my mouth, and my scream died before it could rise.

“Don’t fight,” Bradley snarled, his voice slithering over my ear like saturated velvet. “You’ll only make it worse.”

Terror exploded in my chest. I twisted, thrashing against the hands grappling to hold me still. More of them. Two, maybe three, men surrounded us. They quickly secured a cloth over my mouth. I whimpered, but I doubted anyone heard.

Bradley’s fingers dug into my arm as he wrenched me across the campground and through the woods, dragging me over roots and rocks and damp soil. He hustled me out into a second dark clearing. Horses stood waiting, their breath fogging the night air. Panic clawed up my throat.

No one was coming. Ruugar was still asleep. Cold wrapped itself around my bones, the marrow-deep kind.

A truth settled in my chest like a stone dropped into still water.

I was on my own.