Page 28 of Spellbound & Speechless (Witches of Starbrook #2)

Mac

Apparently, witch mating rituals are different. When wolves choose a mate, it’s done. It’s energetic. The moment Aspen chooses me, the bond strengthens, roaring, and it is impossible to turn away from her.

I want to respect her mating rituals, even if they seem more complicated. Even if she needs more. I’ll give it to her.

The next night, she leads me to the creaking attic.

“What are these for?” I ask, carrying pink ropes and apples.

“Offerings for my goddess,” Aspen says.

If I’m going to be mated to a witch, I need to learn something about her magic. It worked out for me last time, in her future boutique. I may not wield magic, but through our mating bond, I could see and feel her sex magic.

She sucked my soul out, and it was the best orgasm of my life.

“What does this ritual do?” I shut the door behind us.

“It’s for us to declare ourselves mates,” she says. “And if my goddess approves, she’ll bless us.”

Shit. That’s heavy. “And if not…? ”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry about that. If we’re truly fated mates, like you say, Aphrodite will approve. You’ve been good to me. I think she will be able to see that.”

I could be better. There’s so much more I want to do for Aspen, but keeping her safe comes first. I won’t forget about the corrupt witch, even if Aspen and her sisters are happy to. The moment we drop our guards, I’m sure the corrupt witch will wreak havoc.

She’ll take Aspen from me.

This bonding ritual will make sure nothing and no one can get between us. It’s exactly what I want. Aspen wanting it too is the surprising part. Having fated mates means wolves can move fast in love, but she’s not a werewolf. She doesn’t have to fall as hard as I do.

But she does. Aspen is falling with me, and I can feel it.

“What does the blessing do?” I ask.

“It protects us.” Her eyes meet mine. “Our love.”

Exactly what I’ve wanted to do all along. All I’ve ever needed was to keep her safe.

She’s used the word love to describe our bond, and while I don’t comment on it, I hear it. The stranger part is that I don’t flinch. My heart races, but it’s from excitement rather than worry. The feeling moves me closer to our bond instead of making me want to run away.

Can someone like Aspen really love me? I’m not brave enough to ask, but I have the strength to stand there with her.

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” I say.

She fixes me with a soft smile. “Lay out the blankets, won’t you? I’ll prepare the rest.”

I do as she asks, and Aspen busies herself lighting candles and sweet incense. I’ve already seen her hard at work with her sketches and the light in her eye when she imagines her boutique. The intensity and focus when she summons her goddess is a different kind of passion.

She sets out the statue of Aphrodite and anoints it with oil. My face burns at the sight, like the replica of the goddess alone can invoke her sensual energy. My pants tighten.

I kneel on the blankets and hold the red binds in a tight grip. Aspen mutters a prayer under her breath. I can’t make out the words, and I wouldn’t want to. It’s between her and her goddess. I’m lucky to be invited into their sacred space.

When she finally joins me on the floor, I know touching her is a blessing from the goddess herself. I brush my fingers against her cheek, angling my head down to press my forehead to hers. Closer. I always need to be closer to her.

I know the weight of what we’re doing. This is effectively a marriage ceremony, and I’m ready to give my soul to her. As far as I’m concerned, it already belongs to her.

“Where do we start?” I murmur, gazing into her ocean eyes.

“We bind our left hands. Like so…”

We wrap the ropes around our wrists, and Aspen uses a spell to tie them in place. I may not sense magic like a witch can, but I feel the pieces clicking together through our bond.

Our souls fit as one.

This is when we make the choice, going from fated mates to chosen mates. True mates . Neither of us puts it into words. The magic swirls around us—pink, red, and glistening.

“Aphrodite, please bless this union,” she mutters. “Protect our love. Hear our choice. We choose to be one and live as one.”

I hold the side of her face, grazing my fingers down the center of her neck, and repeat the words .

She leans back, lying flat on the floor and urging me to follow. Our lips connect. Sparks. Flames. The energy around us grows and pulses as I kiss her deeply. I never want to detach myself from her . A string of energy flows from our chests, and we’re bound for good.

Her legs wrap around my waist. I rut against her, anything to get closer, already painfully hard. There’s hardly space between us, but I crave more. I need her skin on mine.

The mating bond is opening. The connection I’ve felt since the start flows stronger than I imagined it could. It’s more than the wolf bond now, and more than fate. We’re choosing each other.

Her fingers paw at my shirt. My claws drag down the front of her sundress, popping off the buttons.

If either of us cares about the broken fabric, it doesn’t show.

Her lips find mine again, moaning into my mouth as I rut against her warm core.

She’s throbbing beneath me, and I can feel it. Every sensation. Every pulse. Her need.

With our wrists still bound, I pin them over her head, using my remaining hand to do away with my pants.

Aspen’s torn dress falls to the side, revealing white lingerie. My lips part, soft pants falling from my mouth as I take in the sight of her smooth curves and soft skin. My claws scrape down her body, just enough to send goosebumps over her flesh.

“Did you design these?” I ask.

She nods. “Sewed it myself yesterday. What do you think?”

“I think…” I sigh, retracting my claws. “I’ll need to be more careful with these.” Pushing the underwear out of my way, I rub my fingers against her soaking core and tease her entrance .

“Yes. You will.”

“It’s hard when all I want is to be inside you.” I look up at her from beneath my lashes, smiling as I push two fingers in. “Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, sir.” Her voice shakes, and her back arches. “Yes, mate. Mine. My mate.”

Finally, she says what I’ve wanted to hear all along.

She’s already so needy. I can feel it, hear it in the pitch of her voice, and I know why.

Everything is intense now. Her fingers brush my hair back, and it feels like she’s touching me a thousand times, hundreds of lifetimes merging into one.

Her warm pussy wraps around my fingers. It nearly feels as good as being inside her.

It’s easy to push her to the edge, to make her shake and clench around me. I’ll never get off before her. She always comes first—in every way. Hopefully, I have the rest of our lives to make her feel worthy of that kind of attention.

Oh, fuck it. She already knows. Aspen’s sexual confidence only makes her more attractive. I don’t understand why she wastes her time with me, but I can’t complain.

By the time I’m satisfied with her pleasure, I’m rock-hard in my boxers. I don’t even need her to touch me. She can make me feel like this without doing anything.

My claws come out as my desire grows, and, without meaning to, I shred the cheap fabric of my underwear.

Who fucking cares?

Aspen is still in her lingerie, and I don’t want her to remove it. She looks like my wife. She looks like mine . She’s ready for me. It’s easy to push her underwear to the side and slide into her slick pussy, thrusting in until I have nothing more to give .

She cries beneath me, the most beautiful sound in the world, and I pull out—only to push into her again. Hard. Harder .

“That’s it, wife. You’re doing such a good job taking my cock.” I huff. “Look at you.”

Her lids flicker open to meet my gaze, and I lock our fingers together, two of our wrists still bound by the rope. I thrust in fluid motions, filling her, already moments from spilling into her. She’s still quivering from her orgasm, her tight walls clenching around me.

Her expression is lewd, saliva dripping from the side of her mouth, but the way she looks at me makes me feel loved . It feels like praise without a single word, like she’s soothing the part of me that worries I’m not enough.

I angle my hips, pushing so she can feel me against her clit, and she gasps.

“Harder,” Aspen whimpers. “Claim me. I’m your wife. Let me feel it.”

The thin resolve I’ve been holding slips through my fingers. Breaks. Shatters. She’s my wife. Mine . It was one thing to call her the title, but hearing her confirm it…

I growl, pressing my sharp teeth against her neck. “Mine.” I rut harder, pulling out more of her enticing cries.

Aspen loses herself, the same way I lose myself in her, and her sounds become wordless garbles. My clawed fingers slide around her neck, never hard enough to hurt but enough that her moans grow, and she’s trembling again. Close again, all for me.

Mine. My mate. My wife.

“All yours,” she whimpers, like she can hear my thoughts. “Please.”

“Please, what?” I grunt, pushing into her as hard as I can, relishing in the sound of her pleasure .

“Claim me,” she whispers. “Claim me with your seed. Make me yours.”

My eyes roll back, and I groan, my abdomen tightening—clenching, just like her tight pussy clenches around me. We’re one, one rhythm, one pleasure, one sound.

She begs for my seed, and it’s no use. I unravel from the sound of her sweet voice, gripping her fingers tight as I spill into her. My other hand is still around her throat. My words are lost to our love.

Aspen is so soft, but so strong. She can take everything I give her. She gazes into my eyes as she follows me over the cliff. We breathe out heavy puffs, eyes locked, hearts beating in perfect unison.

“Are you okay?” I murmur, kissing the side of her face. The last thing I want is to go too far, to scare her away, and be too much.

“Don’t ask silly questions.” She lets out a breathless laugh. “I’m perfect. I’m…”

An energy rushes over me, one I don’t fully understand—pink, soft, light. I’ve never felt it before. It has to be her magic, which means…

“What?” I lift a brow, smirking. “Are you in love, Aspen?”

Her lips part, realization flickering across her features. “I didn’t say that.”

“Then let me say it for you.” Gods. I never want to let go of her. Still holding her hand, I kiss her softly. “I love you, Aspen. I will protect you for the rest of my days. You are my mate.”

“And you are mine .” She nuzzles her nose against mine. The hesitation melts, her breath against my lips as she laughs softly. “I love you, too.”