Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Cedara

Iinhale sharply as the words tumble from my lips, my breath shuddering as I admit the truth I can no longer deny. "Yes…I feel it, too. All of it." My voice is hushed, hoarse, as I confess the depth of this bond that has been steadily weaving itself around us.

A yearning unlike anything I've ever known consumes me from the inside out. It's as if every cell in my body is reaching out for him, craving his touch, his closeness. I've taken comfort from him these past few days, but it's been more than that. My need to reach out to him has been just a thin veil masking the raw need simmering beneath.

I catch his gaze, my eyes burning with want. "I want you," I whisper fervently, the words seeming to spark the crackling tension between us. "I want you so much."

"You're sure?" There's an air of barely restrained need radiating from him that makes me burn. I nod without hesitation. In a single fluid motion, Barrett scoops me into his powerful arms, cradling me against him. Our lips crash together in a searing kiss as he carries me toward the bedroom.

It's a journey that can have only one destination, and I suddenly can't wait to reach it.

He sets me down on the soft mattress as if I were made of glass. And then his hands move swiftly, peeling my shirt over my head and unbuttoning my jeans. I toe my sneakers off quickly, then lift my hips as he rolls my pants down my thighs.

"God. Look at you…" When he runs his eyes over me, it's like a touch. I shiver, watching as he straightens and then pulls his T-shirt off with a ripple of muscle that shouldn't be legal.

I stare up at him, drinking in every inch of his powerful form as he slowly undresses before me. My gaze rakes over the hard planes of his body, each muscle gliding sinuously beneath tanned skin as he strips away the layers separating us.

He's even more magnificent than I remember from that charged moment in the cave when I'd stared at him in a way I hadn't understood then. Back then, everything was shadowed and indistinct, but now I can clearly see every defined line, every carved ridge in the warm lamplight.

My eyes trail hungrily over the broad expanse of his shoulders…so goddamned strong. I imagine how it would feel to have those muscular arms wrapped around me, holding me close against the solid wall of his chest. My breath catches as I take in the ridges of his washboard abs, the grooves deepening enticingly with each rise and fall of his breathing.

A flush of heat blossoms through me as I linger on the tantalizing ‘v' of muscle disappearing beneath the waistband of his boxers when he drops his pants and kicks them aside. I bite my lip, desire heating my blood as I wonder what lies beneath that final scrap of fabric.

"Wow," I breathe the word, watching as he sinks onto the bed beside me. It's the only appropriate word I can find right now.

"Wow, yourself." Barrett's hands find my waist, his calloused palms leaving a trail of sparks over my bare skin. My eyelids flutter closed for a beat as I savor the electrifying sensation of his touch. When I blink them open again, I'm met with the scorching heat of his dark gaze, seeming to strip me bare with its smoldering burn.

"I'm gonna kiss you again," he says huskily against my lips.

I manage to squeak out "Mm-hmm" before we're kissing again. And oh, what a kiss. My toes literally curl. All the anger and hurt that I'd been feeling just minutes ago evaporate like mist in the sun.

His fingers flick at the catch of my bra, and I feel my flesh swing free as my breasts are unconstrained. He palms one, still kissing me, his thumb sliding over my hardening nipple. It makes me moan into his mouth, the sound captured and then answered by his own low moan.

"God…I've wanted to do this since the first moment I saw you."

"When I was a wolf?" I smile.

"I love your wolf. But that moment on the path, when you appeared out of nowhere. You were like a dream."

"I was looking for you," I whisper. Because it's true. Without knowing it, I was drawn to him. I found him there for a reason.

Because he's your mate.

Is he?

I'm not going to fight the feeling right now. In fact, my fingertips are drawn to the scar on his shoulder where my fangs sank in. Now just a set of pale silvery teeth marks.

A mate bite.

I can't dwell on it right now because he's trailing kisses down my throat. I let my head drop back, groaning as his mouth moves over my skin. When his teeth graze my nipple, my back bows, and I exhale sharply. His mouth moves to my other breast, leaving a cooling trail on my skin that makes me shiver when he blows on it.

And then he's moving down…down… His lips brush against my stomach, and I gasp as his tongue swirls around my belly button. I arch my back, moaning as his mouth continues its downward journey. He's like a man on a mission, and I can't get enough of it.

His hands grip my hips, fingers digging into the softness of my ass as he slides my panties down my thighs, revealing me to him in the process. My cheeks flame at being so exposed, but it's quickly replaced by desire as his heated gaze rakes over me.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers against my sex, and then his tongue is there, lapping at the sensitive folds between my legs.

"Oh…oh God…" I moan as pleasure ripples through me. His tongue is like fire against my slick flesh, teasing every nerve ending into life with each flick and swirl. My hips buck upward involuntarily, seeking more of that delicious sensation.

"Yes," I pant out breathlessly, "right…right there."

His hands slip underneath me, cupping my ass and lifting me up for better access as he buries his face between my thighs. His tongue dips inside me and then out again, swirling around the bundle of nerves that make me see stars behind my eyelids.

I'm on such a knife-edge of need that it's all that it takes to send me over the edge.

"Barrett," I cry out hoarsely as wave after wave of pleasure washes over me. It's been so long since I've been touched like this…since anyone has touched me like this…and it feels so damn good!

His maddening tongue begins to slow as my breath comes back to me. When I manage to raise my head, his eyes are fixed on my face like he's witnessing some kind of miracle.

Our gazes lock as he slides back up my body until he's hovering over me. When his lips touch mine, they're sweet with my juices, and I flick at them with the tip of my tongue.

"I need to be inside you," he says against my mouth.

"Yes," I say because there's nothing I want more. Even with the last traces of my orgasm swirling away, I can still feel the need for him coiling in the pit of my belly. He settles between my thighs, and I spread my knees eagerly, loving how perfectly he fits between them.

With our eyes still locked, I slide my fingers between us, seeking out the weight of his cock. His hand guides mine down to where I want to be. I wrap my fingers around his girth, my eyelids fluttering closed as my palm experimentally squeezes, drawing a deep groan from his lips. He's so hard, thick, and heavy in my grip. A delicious throb of anticipation pulses between my legs at the thought of him filling me up.

Angling the bulbous head against the mouth of my pussy, I feel him nudge my entrance, and I lift my hips, silently urging him on. "Please," I breathe, my voice a thread of need. "Now."

With a husky moan, he pushes inside me in a slow glide, stretching me deliciously as he fills me up inch by exquisite inch. It's been so long since I've felt any kind of fullness – and certainly nothing like this. I love the sensation of his solid length embedded deeply within me.

He pulls back, almost all the way out, and I whimper at the loss. But then he's pushing back into me again, beginning to thrust slowly as our bodies settle into a rhythm.

He sets a slow, steady pace, his powerful hips undulating rhythmically as he moves in and out of me with tantalizing deliberateness. I feel every ridge of his cock sliding over my sensitive nerves, sparking pleasure that blazes a trail throughout my body.

"You feel so good," he grunts, his eyes hooded as he stares down at where our bodies are joined. His lips find mine, and we share a deep, soul-searing kiss that heightens the pleasure sparking through me.

My hands trail over the muscular lines of his back, feeling the bunch and slide of his muscles as he moves above me with slow, measured strokes. His skin is smooth and slicked with sweat, and I dig my nails into his shoulders, relishing the tiny hiss of pleasure he gives at the slight sting.

"God, you're tight." His words are a grit-edged growl, and it sends a tingle of excitement through me.

"Harder," I urge breathlessly, my fingernails scraping lightly down his back. "Please…"

He groans my name, need heavy in the sound of it. His hips snap forward, driving into me with an urgency that makes me cry out sharply. And then he's pounding into me, his powerful thrusts a delicious torture that takes me higher and higher as bliss coils tightly within me.

"Fuck…" he chokes out, his brow furrowed, his expression intense. "Fuck!" he groans again.

Our bodies slam together with frantic need, sweat-slick skin slapping together in a frantic rhythm. Barrett's grip on my hips tightens almost to the point of pain as he sinks into me again and again, driving us both toward the precipice.

"Yes! Oh, God, yes!" I feel like I'm babbling, but the words start coming out on their own, pleading, encouraging, so desperate and needy as the tension in me grows tighter.

"That's it, beautiful. Let go for me." His voice is thick and guttural as he urges me on, his eyes squeezing tightly shut.

His words are all it takes to push me over the edge. "Barrett!" I cry out, my entire body bowing as I splinter apart in a burst of release.

With a final, powerful thrust, he follows me over. "Cedara!" he roars my name. I can feel him pulsing hotly inside me as he spills himself into my welcoming depths.

Collapsing onto me, he crushes me against the mattress as he wrestles with his own release, his hips jerking erratically. Finally, he stills, his forehead coming to rest against mine as we both gasp for air.

I feel his lips press against my forehead, his chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath. "My God," he pants, a hint of a laugh in his voice. "That was…"

"Incredible," I finish for him, grinning as I run my hands lightly over his sweat-dampened back.

He chuckles, the sound deep in his throat. "Yeah. That, too."

My eyelids drift closed as a deliciously boneless feeling of satisfaction steals over me. I could get used to this…

So used to it that I whimper when he rolls off of me.

"It's okay." He tucks me into the curve beneath his arm, pulling me close. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Because you were ordered not to?" I sound petulant.

"Do you really believe that?" He tips his head down to look at me.

I meet his eyes. "No," I say. I don't believe it at all. In fact, I'm beginning to believe what he's been trying to convince me.

Mates.

We're mates.

I think it's true.

Yes. I think I can believe that.