Page 49

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

ARLON

Tessa is asleep on top of me, her soft breaths warming my skin. I covered us with a blanket when she succumbed to sleep an hour ago.

I haven’t slept a wink, though, because the need for my mate hasn’t abated one bit. With my cock still buried in Tessa’s pussy, there’s no telling when I’ll relax enough to drift off.

I don’t dare move. She was exhausted after a full day’s ride and from our fucking, and when I told her we might have to wait a while for my knot to subside, she mumbled that she liked having me inside her and promptly fell into a deep slumber.

Her final words were enough to keep me hard, and I can’t take it anymore.

I slowly stroke Tessa’s naked back, not wanting to startle her. “Tessa?”

She makes a soft sound and turns her head to the other side, snuggling against my chest.

“Hey,” I try again, brushing her hair out of her face. “I need your help.”

Why had no one mentioned that I’d be this mad for my mate?

I saw how hard my friends fell, of course, but I was never privy to their private interactions, and they aren’t the kind of men to kiss and tell.

But I never suspected we’d remain locked together for hours, my need still as sharp as it had been.

I thought that finally fucking Tessa would release me from the chokehold she’s had on me, but instead, the fire burns brighter inside my chest. It’s as if an unknown part of me has been pried open and exposed. I feel raw, and the realization that my mate might not feel the same is…sobering.

She’s human. She doesn’t have the same impulses I do. That means we could go our whole lives feeling completely differently about each other, doesn’t it? She enjoyed our fucking, I know that, but will that be enough if her feelings for me never develop into anything more?

I nudge her again, then pet her back, unable to keep my hands off her. “Tessa?”

She stirs awake, and her inner muscles clamp around my dick, strangling my knot. I let out a low groan, already primed from hours spent thinking about fucking her again and not being able to.

“Mm.” She squirms on top of me, sliding her knees to either side of my hips. “Wait, are we still…?”

“Aye.” I slide my palms lower, to her ass, and rock her against me. “I didn’t think it would take this long to release. But it turns out, I like being inside you, too.”

Tessa plants her palms on my chest and pushes up, squinting in the low light. “I can’t see a thing.”

“The fire’s gone out. I’d have put more wood on, but…” I motion at us, then remember she can’t see me. “Well, I’ve been otherwise occupied.”

“Gods.” Her breathing is growing shallower, her scent sweeter. “Are you saying this is how it’ll be every time we fuck?”

I run my hands to her waist and up her torso to cup her tits. “No clue. But would it be so bad if it is?”

She stares down at me, her lips parted. Then she shakes her head, her messy curls tumbling around her shoulders. “No. I don’t mind. In fact…” She shifts her hips, gasping at the pull between us. “I think I might grow to love it.”

My heart pounds painfully, and I’m suddenly glad she can’t see my face.

Her words spark a terrible kind of hope in me, but I can’t let her see that, not yet.

I’ve made promises, offered her everything, but asked for little in return, knowing she would’ve run if I’d told her what I truly want.

It wouldn’t have been fair either, not when humans don’t feel the same pull toward their mates that we do.

That doesn’t mean these past days have been easy for me. Watching her struggle with her decisions regarding me has been awful, and I wish I had some of my friends here to confide in. I might even welcome a sparring match with one of our warriors, just to get out of my head for a while.

“Did you read my letter?” I finally blurt out, rather than confess what I’ve been thinking about.

Tessa’s sleepy smile is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I want to etch this moment into my mind forever, her hair tousled and soft, her guard down, naked and sitting on top of me.

“I did,” she murmurs. “I liked it very much, and I wanted to tell you so, but we got distracted.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, but the question bursts out of me anyway. “Well, what did you think? About my suggestion?”

I’d offered her a glimpse of the future such as I’d been dreaming of these past days.

But she shakes her head and gives me a mock frown. “That’s not how letters work.”

“What?”

I can’t think with how she’s moving on top of me.

“You’ll have to wait for your answer to arrive by mail, of course,” she says, her smile turning wicked.

I sit up, wrapping my arms around her body. “Mm, right. Do you think the post carriage stops here? In the middle of nowhere?”

I kiss her, unable to help myself, and she melts for me, meeting me lick for lick, touch for touch.

“Maybe I’ll find a carrier pigeon,” she murmurs against my lips. “You’ll have to wait and see. Now kiss me again.”

“So demanding.” I bite her lower lip, then suck on it as she moans. “If I wasn’t so desperate to come, I’d make you beg for it, little thief.”

She cries out as I push her hips down, impaling her deeper onto my cock.

My vision dances with sparks as she squeezes so sweetly around me.

My balls draw up, my knot pulsing with the need to release.

But I need her to go first, because nothing in the world feels better than coming while she’s deep in her bliss, her pussy wet and tight, fluttering in her climax.

I press my lips to her ear. “Next time we do this, I’ll put you on your hands and knees, Tessa. Would you like that? I’ve been thinking about all the ways I want to make you come.”

“Yes,” she pants. “You’ll feel even bigger that way. Gods, Arlon, why is this so good?”

If I thought to throw her off balance with my words, she’s doing the same to me.

“Because we’re meant to be together.” The truth tears itself from me, and now that I’ve started, I can’t stop. “We were made to please each other. Your tight little pussy fits me like a glove, and I fill you up so well you feel me everywhere, don’t you?”

“Arlon,” she sobs, rocking her hips in frenzied little thrusts, searching for more friction. “I need—ah!”

“Anything,” I rasp against her skin. “I’ll give you anything you need.”

She kisses me again, shaking in my arms, and I devour her mouth, too rough but unable to stop.

The scent of our lovemaking perfumes the air, driving me mad, but Tessa is right there with me, clawing at my shoulders, my chest, her need growing with every stroke.

When I palm both of her tits and squeeze her nipples between my fingers, she screams and sinks her blunt fingernails into my skin.

“Mark me up.” I’m growling now, my voice guttural as my control slips farther from my grasp. “I’m all yours.”

Tessa’s gaze flies to mine, her eyes wide even though she can’t see in the darkness.

Her expression is open, more unguarded than I’ve ever seen, and I know it’s only because she’s forgotten how much sharper my eyesight is. I drink her in, wild with the knowledge that this is transforming her, too.

Between one thrust and the next, Tessa comes. She squeezes her eyes shut and buries her face in my neck as she cries out, her climax dragging me down with her. My knot throbs as I spill inside her, filling her up like I’ve wanted to since the moment I met her.

Tessa’s hiccupping breaths are the first sign that something’s wrong. She clings to me, her hands trembling on my shoulders.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

I take her waist to pry her away from my chest, but she squeaks and holds on tighter.

It’s not until I feel the hot fall of her tears that the worry really hits, and my knot deflates instantly.

I slip out of her, the mess of our hours together sliding free.

Swearing, I fumble for my shirt, wipe her gently, and lower her onto the covers.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry.” My stomach turns at the thought that I might’ve hurt her. “What did I do?”

But she shakes her head and pulls me close, curling in a ball until I wrap her in my arms and tug the blanket over her shivering body.

“S-sorry,” she chokes between sobs. “Don’t know—what happened.”

The vise around my chest loosens. “I didn’t hurt you?”

“No,” she yelps. “No, no. Just—hold me.”

My thundering heartbeat slows the second she’s in my arms again. I don’t know what else to do, so I tuck her close, drape a leg over hers, and kiss the crown of her head. “Shh. You’re safe. Come on, breathe with me.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeats, quieter now, her trembling easing. “I’ve never…”

She trails off, and I ache to know what she was about to say. I stay silent, smoothing my hand up and down her bare back.

“I didn’t know it could be like this,” she whispers at last. “I didn’t expect it.”

It hits me—Tessa’s never let herself be this vulnerable before. Or maybe she had, once, and was punished for it. No wonder the intensity scared her.

“Me neither,” I murmur into her hair. “It’s never felt like this.”

She tilts her chin up, squinting in the dark. “Really?”

I nod, knowing she’ll feel it with how close we are. “I told you. I’ve never given my knot to anyone. But this was more than that. I expected things to be different with my mate, but not like this.” I hold her tighter. “It shook me, too.”

“Well, at least you didn’t blubber all over me.” Tessa sniffles. “I’m sorry for scaring you. You truly did nothing wrong. That was…perfect.”

I puff up with pride at her grudging confession. “I’ll remind you of this the next time you’re angry with me.”

She snorts and pinches my side. “Don’t test your luck.”