Page 36 of The Witch’s Shifter (Season of the Witch #3)

With one movement, I have Aurora on my lap, her legs on either side on my hips.

She breaks our kiss to let out a gasp as my hands palm her ass, gripping her firmly.

My cock begs for her. With her legs spread, I can feel her folds against my shaft, her warmth ready to envelop me.

I grind against her, but I don’t push inside.

“Aurora.” Her name is a snarl on my lips.

When her eyes meet mine, they’re smoldering like the fire burning beside us. “What?”

“I need to know...” I have to pause to catch my breath. I want her so bad it hurts . “I can’t go another day wondering. Do you accept me as your mate? Or do you reject me?”

She stares at me without speaking. Her brows scrunch low over her eyes.

And when she pulls away from me, slipping out of my arms and standing to take a step away, I think I may break. I may run into the rain and let it sweep me into Moonstone Lake. I’ll swallow rocks and hope they weigh me down, dragging me to the bottom and allowing me to drown.

Because without her, I have nothing, am nothing.

Inside, my wolf howls with agony.

This can’t be happening.

Still not speaking, she takes a breath, eyes darting away from mine and toward the fire.

Her profile is smooth, soft. There are no harsh angles about her, nothing to cut myself on.

Everything about her is warm and inviting, yet right now, I feel a cold clawed hand wrapping around my heart, threatening to squeeze it until it bursts.

“If I accept you,” she whispers at long last, “that means you have to accept me too. You have to accept all of me.” Lifting her gaze from the fire, she holds my stare.

“I love Alden and Rowan. I’m pregnant with another man’s child.

Can you still accept me despite this? Despite me not being the mate you always wanted? The one you deserve?”

My hands curl into fists. How can she even ask that?

“You are all I’ve ever wanted. The others.

..” Another growl slips from my lips, and I press my sharpening nails into my palms, using the pain to stay focused.

“They’re a part of you, as is your child.

I understand that now, even if I didn’t at first, even if I hated the idea of having to share you.

” My teeth ache as I grind them together.

My dick is throbbing, and my wolf thrashes inside, wanting to break free, but I fight it all back and meet Aurora’s eyes.

“I accept all of you, Aurora. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.

” My chest rises and falls with my heavy breaths. “Please tell me you understand.”

She doesn’t respond. Still holding my eyes, she takes a deep breath. And as she lets it out, her hands reach around to grasp the ribbon holding the back of her dress taut, and she pulls it loose.

I hold my breath.

One inch of skin at a time, she reveals herself to me, slipping the sleeves of the dress over her shoulders, then dropping it to her feet.

She is radiant.

Her breasts are small but full, and her belly is swollen with life. Standing naked before me, feet bare upon the cave floor, pale freckled skin glowing in the firelight, she looks like a goddess come down from above to rule the legions of men. And I would willingly bow at her feet.

“If you accept me as I am,” she whispers over the sound of the crackling flames as she moves slowly toward me, “then I accept you as well.” She looks down at me, eyes aflame. “I accept you as my mate.”

Heat the likes of which I’ve never felt explodes in my chest, almost knocking the air out of me.

It burns like flame, like the surface of the sun.

It’s scorching and soothing all at the same time.

She must feel it too, for she gasps and stumbles, and I leap to my feet, wrapping my arms around her, holding her to me with a promise to never let go.

“My mate . . .” I whisper against her.

“Your mate,” she says back.

And hearing those two words, I can stand it no longer.

I back Aurora against the nearest cave wall, then lift her by the backs of her knees, spreading her legs and positioning her pussy over the head of my cock. Her heady scent washes over me, more intoxicating than the richest wine. I tip my head back as I breathe it in. My body trembles for her.

She reaches for me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

And I stare her in the eyes as I push slowly inside her. She’s tight— so tight.

Her lips fall open, her brow wrinkling. She whimpers, and my wolf growls.

I want to claim her, to sink my teeth into her perfect flushed skin, to mark her as mine .

My mate.

“How,” Aurora gasps, “do I feel?”

Inside her, my length throbs. I press my weight against her, careful not to put too much pressure on her round belly. Her back sends a few loose stones from the wall, and they tumble across my bare feet.

“You feel,” I whisper as I brush my nose along the smooth column of her throat, “like I’m finally home.”

Aurora makes a small sound, then tips my face up and captures my lips with hers.

I get lost in the taste of her, the feel of her wrapped around me, the smell of woodsmoke and passion dancing through the cave.

Every touch of her skin against mine makes my hair stand on end, like she’s my energy source, my sun.

The thought makes me smile against her mouth.

I thrust into her, perhaps a touch too hard, and she winces as her back digs into the wall.

Immediately, I shift her weight into my arms and pull myself out of her, then set her feet gently upon the floor.

Part of me wants to ravage her, to be rough and wild, but the other part of me wants to cherish her gently, love her deeply, slowly.

I want all of her, in every single way.

Aurora takes me by the hand and leads me back to the fire. It’s warmer here, and the light makes the sheen on her skin glow.

“Sit,” she says.

So I do.

She moves to stand over me, ready to sink onto my lap, but I stop her.

“Wait,” I whisper.

My hands trail up her legs, from her ankles to the backs of her knees, then up to cup her smooth round cheeks. I pull her closer. A little gasp slips from her when I press my mouth to her mound. I start with soft kisses, exploring her, learning her in a brand-new way.

And when my tongue darts out to taste her, she jumps, then relaxes, her hands reaching out to tangle in my hair. But one taste isn’t enough. I want more, all of her.

Fingers gripping her ass harder now, I lap at her soft wetness, burying my face in her. She lets out a moan and pushes herself against me, smothering me. My cock aches for her.

I lift one of her legs and drape it over my shoulder. She’s breathing heavier now. Her fingers dig into my scalp, steadying her as she balances on one foot.

“F-Faolan,” she gasps.

“Hmm?” I mumble against her. Even that makes her catch her breath.

I push my tongue inside her, then drag it up and suck her clit into my mouth, rolling my tongue across it until her body goes rigid.

And then she explodes.

Her moans echo off the cave walls. She presses herself against my mouth with such force that I worry she might cut herself on my fangs.

But I don’t stop. I lick and suck until her body is trembling so hard she can scarcely stand.

Only then do I sit back and help guide her onto my lap, her knees on either side of my hips.

Her pussy sinks onto me, hot and wet. I groan.

I look up at her as she rides me. She’s a vision of beauty. Like a wild forest creature, her hair hangs free and tangled, the thin braids on either side of her face having come partially loose.

It’s time.

“Aurora,” I say.

She opens her eyes and looks down at me, but she doesn’t slow her pace. “Yes?”

Around my own pleasure, I bite out, “I wish to mark you.”

Now she pauses. She sits on my lap, my cock inside her, and tips her head at me. “What does that mean?”

Fingers delicate, I reach for the hair hanging over her shoulder and push it away. As my fingers brush her throat, she tips her head to one side, goose bumps rising along her skin at the contact.

“I’ll bite you here.” I press the pads of my fingers into her neck. “It will seal our mating bond and mark you as mine. Forever.”

A tiny furrow forms in her brow. “Will it hurt?”

My thumb traces circles against her skin as I nod. “Yes.”

Aurora chews on her bottom lip, thoughtful for a moment. “If I were like you, a shifter, would I mark you in return?”

The question makes my lips quirk up. “Not typically...”

I’m not sure if she looks relieved or disappointed. Perhaps a bit of both.

“After the bond is sealed,” I continue, shifting inside her slightly, “things will be different. I don’t know what will happen for us, but in my pack, bonded pairs can hear each other’s thoughts, communicate without speaking.

It’s an intimate connection, something you only share with your mate.

” I move my thumb from her neck to her collarbone, tracing it beneath her skin.

She is silent. The storm continues outside, but its roar has turned to a whisper, and it’s barely audible over the fire.

A delicate scent of rain swirls in the air around us.

Aurora lifts her hands to my face and tips my head back slightly.

Her eyes hold mine captive as she nods once. “You can mark me.”

My cock twitches.

Finally.

Without another word, I wrap my arms about her and turn her onto her back in the soft dirt, keeping myself buried inside her.

Her hair splays out around her head like rays of sunlight.

Once I have her where I want her, I thrust into her deeply, making her gasp.

I want her to feel pleasure while I administer the pain.

“It will only take a moment,” I whisper as my lips trace her throat. My wolf wishes to tear free, to sink its fangs into her, but I hold my human form together, breathe in the scent of her and feel my body tremble.

“I’m not scared,” she whispers. There’s movement at my low back, her ankles locking around me, trapping me inside her.

With a growl of desire, I let my tongue trace her throat.

She turns her head a bit, further exposing her pale freckled flesh.

My hands take hold of hers, pinning them down above her head.

Her small breasts rise and fall with her rapid breathing.

Now she’s trapped beneath me, a tiny prey animal with nowhere to flee.

Seeing her this way makes me throb.

Without another moment’s hesitation, I pull my lips back from my teeth and sink my fangs into her neck, her skin parting like cream around my canines.

She screams.