8. Connor

8

Connor

Connor

“ Y ou remembered.” I stared at the scenic view, my memories taking me back to the last time the two of us stood here. “I haven’t been here again since that day.”

We had driven a little way out from Valleywood and found the space we used to escape to as teenagers. It was still very secluded from the public and still absolutely beautiful to look at. It was also the place where we had lost our virginity to each other our senior year, a few weeks before graduation and two months before our summer birthdays. “I’ve dreamt about that day many nights since.” Bryce leaned back on the picnic blanket next to me. “I should have never left after that.”

“You were pursuing your dreams, and I wouldn’t have let you give them up for me. I’ve been hard on you for leaving, but I was the one who told you to go. I could have begged you to stay, but you would have only resented me if I had.”

We were silent for a while after that. Nothing was to be said. I was right. If he had stayed, he would have always wondered what could have been with his hockey career. And I couldn’t have left to go off into the world with him, leaving my parents here in Valleywood, alone and ailing. Perhaps it would have been different if they had never gotten sick. But they had, and I needed to stay home and help them heal. Even though they never did, I didn’t regret making that choice. I would have regretted not getting those last few years with my parents.

I closed my eyes and appreciated the slight breeze that blew over my skin, bringing all the scents of nature around us. Relaxed and grounded in the moment, I needed this. To be with my mate in this place that had always been special to us. The week had been long and filled with the stress of meeting deadlines and making sure the book I was putting out was the best it could be. But then, all that faded away; it was just us here. Me and Bryce. And the beauty of our place.

“Wanna shift and go for a run in the woods over there? This area has always been safe for shifters.”

I opened my eyes and saw Bryce gesture toward the large trees located on the side of the road where we had parked. I noted that no one else was around “It still is. Let’s do it.”

Standing up, we threw our things in the car and walked into the wooded area. I hadn’t shifted into my wolf form for too long, and my beast was yipping in excitement for his turn to play with his mate.

Remember, no claiming yet.

I was close to being ready but not quite there yet. Hopefully, I would get over my hang-ups soon because I really wanted to be with my mate without the ghosts of the past haunting us.

Once we were far enough into the woods, we allowed the shift to take over. Where our human bodies stood, soon were two wolves, and I took in the captivating beauty that was my mate’s beast. Larger than I, his dark-brown and gray fur was whole and healthy, his mesmerizing gaze the same as always. I loved him in all his forms, but my own loved this one best.

Surprising him with a quick nip of the ear, I ran away from Bryce’s wolf and made my way deeper into the forest. I loved the thrill of the chase and had missed this game since he left.

My magic slowed down my perception of time, while my body kept up with the quick pace I had set. I could use that skill to take in nature’s wonders: the bright green leaves on the branches, the creatures who dwelled here full time hiding from the predators they perceived us to be, and the solid brown earth beneath my paws. I loved it all. Every moment of a shift was something I treasured, and I pitied humans who would never experience the world as much as we could.

Suddenly, I was tackled from behind, and my mate rolled with me a few yards until we stopped, his body on top and mine wiggling beneath him.

Stop it, mate, or my beast may get naughty thoughts. Bryce’s voice crooned in my ear as his wolf playfully nipped at my neck.

Too late. It seems we both had dirty plans for this shift.

I sent him the message through the mental link we always could somehow have. That should have told me how strong our bond was even before maturity, but I always figured it was shared between best friends from our ancestral pack.

Shift. Bryce growled, and our fur receded, our features returning to their human form. As we lay on the forest floor, there was no denying where the thoughts had gone for us both.

His bare cock brushed against my own hardness, and I groaned at the velvet of skin touching skin.

“Fuck me, alpha.”

Bryce leaned off of me slightly, his brows creased. “Are you certain? We don’t have to—”

I cut him off with a kiss. “I want to. Just don’t claim me yet. I’m not ready for that. Soon, but not yet. But if you don’t get that huge cock in my slick ass soon, I might scream.”

Bryce captured my lips again, and our tongues whirled together as we rubbed our bodies against one another.

“You feel amazing.” Bryce groaned into my neck, licking the spot that would one day hold his claiming mark. “Don’t worry, baby. No claiming tonight. But I’m going to make both of us feel so good you will be screaming. In pleasure.”

Bryce reached down and grabbed my length, gliding up and down with a small twist at the top that he had found made me needier. We knew each other’s bodies, yet this was also new. We were older and mature and had so much more we could explore about one another. I snaked my hand down and grabbed a handful of his ass.

Kissing and touching, I lost myself in the moment. I had missed this part of living. And now that I had it back, I couldn’t ever imagine not having it again. I needed Bryce—now, later, always.

“I need you inside me, alpha.” I was desperate to be filled by my mate. To connect to him in that way. I rubbed my body along his seductively, needing to be near him, to smell him, touch him, to be joined with him. “I need your knot.”

“You will have it, my omega. Get on your knees.” His voice came out deep, a sign his wolf was close to the surface.

I repositioned to present Bryce with my ass, my hole ready and slick for him. He explored my opening with his fingers, preparing me for his cock. I arched into the touch, wanting more, needing to be filled. Soon, my wishes came true as the blunt tip of his hardness breached my waiting hole. The moment he was fully in, I moaned, and he growled.

“I am home.” Bryce nipped at the back of my neck, and my cock leaked. The dominance of the situation turned me into a needy omega. His hand wrapped around my length. “I have never been with another, Connor. Only you.”

His words brought a tear to my eyes. “Only you, Bryce. Only ever you.”

Moving in a remembered rhythm, our thrusts grew more frantic. My orgasm built. “I’m going to come.”

“I’m going to make you mine,” Bryce growled as his cum filled my channel.

My climax hit me, and I spilled onto the leaves beneath us. Coming down from our high, Bryce moved to the side and pulled me deeper into his chest. I whispered my only thought to him as sleep claimed me. “I’ve always been yours.”