24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

J asmine

I don't know how I leap from inaction to full commitment from one second to the next, but with all my qualms banished, I'm all in. He lifts me off the couch, carries me to the bed, and places his back against the headboard. I'm in his lap, straddling his hips as our hands roam each other's bodies. His claws rake deliciously down my back, making me arch and moan. I've tried to keep my desires banked, but something inside me unleashes.

Maybe it was his near-death experience, or his words of love, or his declaration that he wants forever . Maybe it's that I've wanted him since the moment I walked into my dad's dining room and saw him so out of place and yet so… right. Whatever the reason that my need and want and desire are soaring, I'm not going to shut this down.

I lean closer until the hot press of his arousal against my core sends lightning sparking through my veins as my eyes fly wide in pleasure.

He claims my mouth, hiding nothing. Not his moans, rich and passionate that seem to come from somewhere deep inside him, nor his fangs as they nip my clavicle, just this side of pain, nor the affection beaming from his eyes as he leans back and holds my gaze.

Have we only known each other a handful of days? Because my need for him to slide inside me is desperate, as though I've waited a lifetime for this.

"Bold," I groan, grinding down on him. "Please…"

"Anything," he rasps. "Anything for you, love."

He pulls my shirt and bra off in a flurry of desperate hands and eager mouths. Since he's already shirtless, the first slide of his bare skin against mine is electric, every nerve ending lighting up like Times Square on New Year's Eve.

He rolls me beneath him with a predatory growl, his eyes glinting in the fading sunlight, his teeth bared. I've never felt more desired, more cherished, than I do pinned beneath his powerful body. Like I'm the center of his universe, the most precious thing in his world.

"Mine," he rumbles, nipping at my collarbone. "My mate."

"Yes," I gasp, my nails digging into his furred back. "Yours. Always."

Bold devours my mouth as his tail twitches in anticipation, swishing softly against the bed and brushing against my hip. The pelt on his shoulders and back feels like velvet as I slide my fingers through it, loving his differences, his Otherness.

As I grind against him, a low growl rumbles from deep within him. The way he shudders above me as he feels my lust is something indescribable. His passion, the depth of his emotions, makes me crave more. His tongue traces my bottom lip, teasing me before slipping into my mouth, tangling with mine in an erotic dance that leaves us both panting.

His scent fills my nostrils, no longer the scent of pine so much as it has become the definitive marker of home, safety, and belonging. His taste is rich, intoxicating, his heartbeat racing beneath my palms as I slide them up to stroke his fur.

All that matters is the exquisite pleasure coursing through my veins as Bold's tongue explores my mouth. It's raw and rough, desperate and passionate. My tongue scrapes his fang and instead of terrifying me, it makes my channel clench in feral longing.

I rearrange myself. Though I'm still wearing jeans, the slide of his hard length against my core sends jolts of excitement through me, making my breath hitch and my body light up in anticipation. His muscular chest ripples with each ragged breath.

Leaning to place my cheek on his chest, I feel his powerful heartbeat pounding like a drum, then I nip my way to his tiny male nipple and flick it. It pulls a startled gasp, then a low growl from him. I can't wait to find other ways to touch him that will drag that need-filled noise from his perfect mouth.

My fingertips glide over his shoulders, tracing his bulging muscles under the darker fur that covers them like a cape. The contrast between his furry pelt and smooth skin makes lust dart right to my channel. When he thrusts his hips against mine, I clutch him even closer, slide my fingers to his nape, and gaze into those piercing blue eyes.

His cock is hard against me, more insistent as his breathing turns raspier, punctuated with wolf-like whines of need. His rhythmic thrusts are dominant and demanding, increasing my craving with each second that passes.

I moan into his mouth as he licks and nibbles at my lower lip before sucking on it gently, pulling away just enough to whisper hotly against it, "Do you want this?" He demonstrates with a thrust powerful enough to pull all my attention to my core.

"Yes," I whimper, too distracted to say more.

My head spins with desire as he sucks on my lower lip again and again, teeth scraping it just enough to make me gasp. It feels so good as his fangs brush against my lips, lightly teasing the flesh before gliding across my jawline, sending shivers down my spine.

Kneeling with his knees outside my thighs, he cups my breasts, my hardened nipples spearing his palms. I arch into his touch, craving more. Rough fingers pluck and roll them between his thumbs and forefingers.

His breath whispers across my heated nipples. I swear I can feel the caress all the way down to my toes. He growls low in his throat when he nips my tender tips, making my body tremble with need.

I whimper with need as he licks and flicks one side with his tongue while his deft hand plucks the other. When he switches sides, I moan and clutch his long hair, a silent plea for more.

He stops ministering to my breasts and shifts us enough to cup his wide palm between my legs, and growls, "Mine."

His serious blue eyes are sparked with tinges of silver as he pauses, panting with need, waiting for a response.

"Yours."

"This?" Tilting his head, lifting his chin, never removing his gaze from me, he unbuttons and unzips my jeans, eases his hand under my panties, and slides the tip of one finger a mere inch inside me.

We both gasp. It feels as though I've waited a lifetime for this. He moans, low and pure, then groans the words, "So hot, Jazz. Hot, liquid velvet."

In a moment, we're in for a wild ride of pleasure, of that I have no doubt. But that moment isn't now. This is almost a negotiation. My male, this person I love, whose finger is paused maddeningly at my entrance, is ensuring full consent.

To make my answer perfectly clear, I move my hips, the action pressing that single digit farther inside me.

"This," I say with finality, my gaze not leaving his.

His lids flutter and he groans as that one long, thick finger slides inside me to the hilt.

" Myshara, hawrl. Rorrn adme rosh. Adme ."

I don't need a translation to know what he's saying. If the look of bliss on his face is any indication, his words mean praise and love. They tell me he's waited as long as I have for this.

His finger glides in and out of me, finding just the right rhythm to make my toes curl. He leans closer, his warm breath tickling the shell of my ear as he whispers, "You feel so good, Jazz. So tight around me."

A low growl rumbles from his chest, vibrating against my skin, igniting sparks along my veins. His fur tickles my cheek as his soft lips brush my earlobe.

His other hand plays with my sensitive nipples, rolling them gently before tugging them between his fingers, causing a jolt of pleasure to shoot straight to my core. His strong thighs press against mine, urging me to grind against him. I comply, moaning into his neck as he slides a second finger inside me.

His tongue dances with mine, exploring the confines of my mouth as his fingers plunge in and out of me, his thumb nestling against the side of my clit. He snarls into my mouth, the reminder that he's not quite human doesn't frighten me. No. It sets me aflame.

The musky scent of his arousal mingles with mine, filling the air around us. The soft brush of his long hair against my cheek is intimate and erotic. His other hand grips my hip tightly, pulling me closer to him as if we're connected by an invisible chain—a connection that seems to sear into my very soul.

The sensations are overwhelming; every nerve ending is on fire as he continues to stroke and tease me. His thumb circles against my clit in a feather-light caress that has me seeing stars. My hips grind, seeking more contact, more friction as he growls and thrusts harder, faster. The sound is primal, animalistic, making me want to howl in response.

He fingers me, ramping me higher, then pulls his fingers out, licking them while his feral gaze captures mine.

"I could live on this alone, Jazz." While he savors my taste, lapping and sucking, he snarls, "Take off your jeans, your panties."

As I hurry to comply, he rips off his clothes, all the while his gaze is riveted on me. His face is expressive, admiring, but his appreciation of my form couldn't equal my enthusiastic approval of his naked body.

His powerful physique ripples with muscles, the perfect male form with wide, sprawling shoulders and a trim waist. But my gaze arrows to his cock, standing tall and proud, a deep tan color sprouting from a nest of fur. He's so hard he's already pumping out pre-cum.

He interrupts my appreciative ogling by pressing me into the mattress and prowling down my body, lapping, nipping, and sliding the points of his fangs along my delicate flesh—just hard enough to remind me he's not human. Then his tongue, delicate and dedicated, laps between my legs and delves into me as his thumb nestles against my clit and takes up a maddening pace as he circles, circles.

Perhaps becoming his mate is making me part wolven, because my response is a decidedly wolfish yip of undeniable pleasure. Then he repositions himself and places his cock at my entrance.

"Do you want this?"

Barely pausing after my demanding, "Yes," he enters me with one exquisitely slow, smooth thrust and I cry out at the intimate stretch and fullness. It's almost too much, too intense. But it's perfect. It's everything. He pauses for a suspended moment, his forehead pressed to mine, simply savoring the overwhelm of our joined bodies. I feel it, too. This is more than physical, there's a soul connection.

He moves with long, deep strokes that steal my breath and my sanity. Each rolling snap of his hips drives me higher, stoking the fire in my belly into an inferno. I cling to him, my ankles locked around his waist, meeting him thrust for thrust.

Our bodies speak a language older than time, written in sweat and sighs and the slap of flesh against flesh. Bold learns how to touch me, what angle, what rhythm sends me spiraling to the edge of bliss. And when he presses harder as he circles my aching clit, I shatter with a silent scream. My muscles clenching in bliss.

He swallows my desperate mewling moans with his mouth, growling his own pleasure into the kiss as my inner muscles clench and ripple around him.

He holds me close while I come back down from my trip to the stars. I can feel how much he's holding back, staying in control as he pulses his hard cock in and out an inch or two while I regain coherence.

I can feel the swell of his knot at the entrance to my channel. It feels huge. Can I even take it?

He must sense my hesitation because he looks me in the eyes, puts his weight on his elbows, and cups my cheeks with his strong hands. "You don't have to take my knot, my love. We'll still be mates."

"But it's what happens between true mates?"

"Yes. It's the wolven way."

Desire slams through me, decimating my fear. I don't just want to lie back and think of England and take his knot as though it's a chore. I want it. No. I'm desperate for it. It's half arousal and half a response to a dare, something I've never shied away from.

"I want your knot. I want your bite."

We're so attuned he doesn't ask twice, doesn't try to talk me out of it, doesn't doubt me.

"I love you." His voice is half snarl, half wolven moan, and all male.

He works me up again, murmuring the dirtiest, most delicious filth into my ears.

"You're so good, adme . Wanting my knot. Wanting all of me." His voice is harsh.

"Yes, like that. Opening your thighs so wide for me. Just me."

As he nips my nipples, he lifts his head long enough to say, "You're everything to me, a dme ."

He thrusts into me in one long, determined press, his knot bumping against me. On every thrust, his pubic bone bumps my clit, making my apprehension disappear behind a curtain of lust.

His knot is like hard muscle with a little bit of give as it rocks against me. It's oddly sensual, made even more pleasurable when I embrace the discomfort.

My fingers tangle in the pelt at his shoulders, then move to the globes of his ass as I press him harder against me.

"I want your knot, wolven-mine. Don't. Hold. Back."

He snarls, his face somehow shadowy and sinister, yet endearing as his hips take up a different rhythm—more furious.

He's pounding into me now, so hard and fast it's difficult to know what I feel… except that I want this as much as I've wanted anything in my life.

And then, between one stroke and the next, he presses in. There's no denying. It hurts. And it feels amazing because we are one. Together. Bonded.

The pain swiftly morphs into intense pleasure. Every muscle in my body spasms as ecstasy darts through me. Then shockingly, I feel the knot swell even bigger inside me, sending me soaring into the outer limits of bliss.

Lunging down, he clamps his fangs at the base of my neck and holds there without breaking the skin. Panting. Waiting.

"Do it, my love. Bite me, Bold!" I'm terrified, yet desperate for him to complete our bond.

His four fangs pierce my flesh. There is a searing flash of pain which turns to a hot surge through my body, sending my waning orgasm back into the stratosphere. My scream of pleasure comes from the bottom of my soul.

Does his saliva coursing through my veins intensify my pleasure, or is it the strength of our new bond? It doesn't matter as my body rides out the orgasm, my muscles practically seizing in ecstasy as our emotional connection intensifies.

He comes with the force of a geyser, spraying me with his hot seed as he howls loud enough for everyone in the Zone to know. His howl and mine unite in a song of mutual bliss. There isn't an embarrassed bone in my body. Only pride. I'm his. I'm Bold's female!

The look on his handsome face is a swift evolution of satisfaction, surprise, then what can only be described as fierce pride and love.

"Soulbound." He says with wonder and conviction. "I knew it, but I wasn't sure it could happen with a human. The Goddess has blessed our union."

"Forever, rrohvahl ," he whispers as he catches his breath. Gently nipping my jaw, he crashes onto his side, still holding me.

"We'll be stuck together for a while." He's not the least bit reluctant about it. Clearly, he's as proud as I am.

"So… we're mated?"

"You can have a mating ceremony, or a wedding. Whatever ritual you want so you can tell the world we're together, forever and always. But what just happened? That's the real deal, Jazz."

"The real deal." My voice is dreamy as I slide my fingers through the silken fur that travels in a V down his back, almost to his waist. "The wolven way." I chuckle, punch drunk with happiness.

He cuddles me closer, kissing, nuzzling, huffing in my scent in huge gusts as though he can't get his fill of me. I've never felt so cherished, so utterly consumed by another person. It's terrifying and exhilarating all at once.

"I love you," Bold murmurs into my hair, his voice raw with sincerity. "More than anything in this world or beyond it. You're my reason, Jazz. For everything."

Tears prick my eyes and I burrow deeper into his embrace, breathing him in. Pine and musk and something uniquely Bold. The scent of home. The scent of forever—rrohvahl .

"I love you too," I whisper fiercely. "No matter what happens, no matter what we have to face, that will never change. You're my mate, Bold Dubois. In this life and the next."

I like this knotting thing. It means we have to linger in bed for long moments, trading lazy kisses and teasing caresses, wrapped in a bubble of blissful contentment.

"I'm going to nap." My tone is lazy, as though I'm almost asleep already. "I think we've both earned it." When I glance at my mate—mate!—I see he's already taken a trip to dreamland, a smile still pasted on his handsome face.