Chapter 16

Levi

I was breathing heavily, my heart pounding in my chest, but that unsettled feeling inside me was finally gone. My mind made up, my head was a much brighter and clearer place, and my body felt lighter, as if a weight as heavy as the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

One second I was staring in Rhett's warm eyes, watching the tears well up in them, and the next, Rhett's hands grabbed my ass, and I was lifted off my feet. I tightened my hold on his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist, clinging to him for dear life as his mouth smashed against mine.

His lips set my body on fire and I moaned, shamelessly rubbing my erection against his, tightening my legs, trying to get as much friction as possible with these pesky clothes in the way.

I was dimly aware that we were moving. The lighting around us changed, but I couldn't care less about where in his home we were as long as his lips stayed firmly on mine. Hell, at this point I didn't think I'd care if he wanted to fuck me out in the woods, as long as he finally fucked me.

A shiver raced down my spine, my mind conjuring an image of us in a clearing, surrounded by grass, moss, and trees, the clear sky above us.

Maybe I wouldn't mind fucking outside—at all. But not now.

Opening my mouth, I licked at the seam of his lips, demanding entry.

Our tongues met and an electric shock hit me, zipping through my veins right into my groin. My muscles clenched, my cock jerked and precum soaked my underwear.

Holy shit. What was that? Making out had never been this intense.

Was it a fated mates' thing?

If so—sign me up. Ten out of ten; would definitely recommend.

The light kept changing and one of Rhett's hands briefly let go of my ass. Beneath our heavy breaths, I heard a door being opened.

Smiling against his mouth, I gently bit his bottom lip, eliciting the most delicious deep, rumbling moan from Rhett.

We were still moving, then Rhett's hands on my ass were gone and we were falling. Just for a second, but it was enough for my heart to skip a beat and have panic welling up inside of me.

Then my back hit the mattress, and a thick, soft blanket cushioned my fall.

Rhett hovered above me, his smile so wide it almost blinded me. His eyes flashed, and his smile turned wicked, if not a little feral.

I had no idea if it was his wolfish side shining through, and honestly, I didn't care. The look on his face was pure fire and hot as fuck.

"Clothes off!" I demanded, my voice raspy and out of breath like I'd just run a marathon.

"My pleasure." I watched Rhett sit up. He smirked at me before deliberately shifting his hips, grinding his ass against my erection. I arched my back, writhing beneath him, as a fresh wave of heat washed through me.

Reaching out, I wanted to take off his shirt, but Rhett beat me to it. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled, tearing the fabric apart, ripping the whole thing off his body, revealing his torso.

A shiver raced down my spine.

Holy fucking shit.

In theory, I'd seen him naked before, but it'd been dark and I'd been slightly distracted by the fact that a wolf had just turned into a man right in front of my eyes, as well as passing out from hypothermia. Otherwise, there was no chance in hell I wouldn't have ogled him.

He was as close to perfection as he could get. A wide chest, muscular arms that stemmed from physical labour, and thick dark hair trailing from his belly button down before disappearing inside his jeans. Oh, his stomach wasn't completely flat, but he was toned, the muscles dancing beneath his skin as he twisted and turned to get his arms out of his shirt.

I licked my lips and took the chance to reach out and let my hands roam over his chest, briefly stopping at his dark nipples to flick them, before continuing my way down.

Rhett groaned, arching his back, and leaned into the contact.

"Gods, your hands on me are…"

"Electrifying?" I asked, raising a brow as I finally reached the button of his jeans. His skin was hot beneath my fingers, almost burning me up, but I couldn't get enough. I wanted to feel him all over me.

"Yes. That." Rhett grinned and raised his hips, making it easier for me to open his jeans and tug them down a bit, but not far enough.

I let out a frustrated growl as I nudged him to get up and out of his clothes completely.

Rhett laughed, but complied with my wordless request.

"You better start undressing, too, because if I'm done and you're still clothed, I'll start ripping your clothes off piece by piece."

In my inner eye, I could see him doing just that. Grabbing hold of my hoodie and tearing it in two as if it was made out of paper, before doing the same with the tee I wore beneath.

We had to try that one day—soon—when I had clothes to spare.

I scrambled to get naked, haphazardly throwing my clothes to the side. Just as I was pulling my boxers down, Rhett tackled me, and we tumbled back onto the mattress in a laughing, moaning heap. His skin on mine sent small, delicious shocks through my body, and his lips sucking at the nape of my neck had me whimpering as precum pooled at my tip and started running down my length.

"Rhett," I moaned, my hips arching. I didn't know what exactly I wanted or needed, just that I needed something. I heard his chuckle and felt the deep sound vibrating in his chest. "Please."

What was I begging for?

I didn't know, but apparently, Rhett did.

His weight on top of me shifted and then a wet heat engulfed my cock.

I was screaming, pushing my hips up, burying myself deeper in his mouth.

"Oh god!"

I ran my hands through his hair again and again, as Rhett hollowed his cheeks and sucked me deeper until the tip of my cock hit his throat. He swallowed around me, and I fisted the sheets to keep myself from coming.

I tried taking a deep breath to get even a sliver of control, but then a slick finger nudged against my opening, and the world turned white with bliss for a moment. I didn't come, but it was close. So incredibly close.

Rhett kept me right on the edge as his finger massaged me, then gently pressed in until it popped through the first ring of muscles.

It was like he knew my body inside and out, always keeping me right on the edge, only letting off when I was dangerously close to falling.

As one finger turned into two, he let my cock slide out of his mouth, and buried his face in my groin, inhaling deeply. The following groan made me shiver. Him smelling me shouldn't be so damn sexy, but fuck, it was.

His tongue tickled the crease where my hip and my thigh met, but before I could even start to laugh and tell him to stop, he gently sucked at the skin.

A whole new sensation raced through my body. Heat, a prickling, tingling feeling that shot right into my cock and made my eyes roll back.

"Please," I repeated, straining against him.

"Soon," he whispered, his hot breath fanning over my groin, raising goosebumps. He pulled his fingers back, and I let out an involuntary whine at the loss.

I heard the cap of a tube being opened, and then his fingers were back, once again coated in cool, slick lube. This time, there were three of them, and the stretch of them easing their way into me had me fisting the sheets again.

It burned so good. Even his fingers seemed to fill me.

"Rhett."

"Soon." The word was barely spoken, more of a growl than anything.

His fingers pushed inside me over and over again. Pressure built in my body, and I was getting closer and closer to exploding, but it wasn't enough. His fingers weren't what I wanted. What I fucking needed.

Grabbing his shoulders, I tried pulling Rhett upwards. I was under no illusion that I could move him even an inch if he didn't want to, but he complied, letting his fingers slide out of me and covering me with his body once again.

Sweat slicked our skin, the air between us charged, as his mouth came down on mine once again.

Our tongues tangled and I groaned as I tasted myself on his tongue, the slightly salty, musky taste a reminder of how he'd gone down on me minutes before.

I used every ounce of strength to push against his left shoulder, throwing him off me. His back hit the mattress and I pounced, climbing right on top of him, wiggling my ass against his erection.

Rhett groaned and threw his head back. His hair was a mess around his face, his eyes wild. Biting my lips, I let my hands rest on his chest while grinding against him over and over again. His hands gripped my hips, either in an effort to keep me still or have something to hold on to. I wasn't sure and I didn't care.

I didn't care about anything but him.

His smile, his eyes, the way his cock twitched and jerked. The way the tendons in his neck protruded when he threw his head back. His dark, pebbled nipples that just begged me to play with them.

The harsh sounds coming from deep inside of him, a mix between groan and growl.

"The lube?" I asked. I knew he'd used it, my ass was proof of that, but I had no idea where he'd stashed it.

"Si…side of the bed," Rhett panted, his back arching as I, once again, ground against him. His thick cock nudged against my entrance, and I had to shove down the sudden thought that he wouldn't fit. He was big and I'd feel it, but he would fit.

He had to.

I might literally die if I didn't get him inside soon.

While my eyes searched for the bottle of lube, my fingers caressed his chest, stopping at his nipples for a second or two to flick them or roll them between my fingers.

"Levi!"

I bit back an evil chuckle.

There. Half hidden beneath the anthracite duvet was the bottle of lube. I grabbed it, opened it, and shifted back a little.

Rhett yowled as I fisted his cock. It jerked in my hand, growing even harder beneath the warm, silky skin. I pumped it a couple of times, making sure it was coated in lube before wiping the excess lube off on his duvet. Fuck it. We'd have to change the sheets anyway.

Carefully I moved over him and guided his erection to my hole.

I was looking down to see where I was positioning his cock, but I could feel his eyes on me, his gaze burning me, making me shiver. Rhett's fingers dug into my hips, his grip bruising.

Releasing the breath from my lungs, I moved down and the tip of his cock pushed inside.

"Fuck," I breathed, the burning stretch almost too much to bear and not enough at the same time.

Need took over. An inexplicable drive to have all of him inside of me. Now.

I slid down on his cock, feeling every single inch opening me up, stretching me beyond what I thought I was capable of. My breath came in pants, my thighs shaking. The pressure inside me built and built until I was ready to burst as my ass finally met Rhett's groin.

"Holy shit," I panted, letting my head fall forward, resting my hands on Rhett's chest. He was breathing just as heavily as I was, maybe even more so, his hands still firmly gripping my hips. I was pretty sure I'd have bruises the shape of his fingers tomorrow, and the thought shot a thrill through my body.

I was the first one to move, raising slightly before sitting back down, working my way up to a steady rhythm.

Up and down, up and down. His cock hit my prostate every single time. Electric shocks cursed through my system. Heat built and sweat pooled between us, mixing with my precum. My cock bobbed up and down, my hands roaming Rhett's torso.

We went faster and faster, his hips met mine every time, his hips pulling me down on his cock, pushing him impossibly deep.

There was nothing but us. Our bodies, our moans, our hands.

"Mate," Rhett chanted, thrusting up against me as I was coming down. "My mate."

My legs gave out, eyes rolling back.

It was all too much.

Rhett's hands moved to my ass and he sat up, pulling me flush against him. His rhythm never wavered, his cock hitting that sweet spot inside of me so good. So, so good.

"God," I moaned. My cock was trapped between our stomachs, the friction enough to catapult me right to the edge within seconds. "Rhett."

"Yes," he growled, burying his face in the crook of my neck. He thrust inside of me, pushed me down on his cock, manhandling me like I weighed nothing. I loved it. My muscles tightened, balls drawing up, my whole body taut.

Rhett lifted me up, then pulled me down again while thrusting up hard. There was a scream, a growl, and white-hot pain in my neck, followed by blinding pleasure.

I was falling.

Falling.

Falling.

But I knew, Rhett would be there to catch me.

My mate.

I blinked, the world slowly coming back into focus. The light was pale, but still stung in my eyes. I closed them again and just felt for a moment.

I was lying on Rhett's duvet, the soft down filling surrounding me. Beneath was a firm mattress that bounced as I turned to the side. I was pleasantly warm, but something was missing.

No, not something. Someone.

Rhett .

Opening my eyes, I blinked a couple of times to get used to the light, then turned my head.

Oh. This was what his bedroom looked like.

I smiled as I took it all in.

It was very Rhett. Calm, stoic, but at the same time very comfortable. The bed itself was a king-sized, and the focal point of the room. Four posters, made from a very light, pale wood that perfectly contrasted the grey, almost black covers I was lying on. The walls were painted in different shades of matte grey, the only pops of colour in the room were the varying shades of green. A woven rug made out of green fibre lay in front of the bed and stretched to a small sitting area on the other side of the room. The two chairs adorning a coffee table were made out of the same wood as the bed. It all looked very cohesive, more so than I'd have expected from Rhett.

And the plants…

I smiled as I studied the big, potted fern that took up most of the coffee table.

Yeah, that was all him.

The whole room was dotted with plants, really. He even had one of these fancy moss "paintings" hanging on a wall, the moss a lush, dark green. I had the urge to touch it, feel for myself if it was as soft as it appeared to be, but I didn't want to get up just yet.

No, for the moment I just wanted to bask in the calm of the room.

My own bedroom in Vancouver definitely couldn't compete with this. I snorted and shook my head. My room was a mess. Granted, I didn't have much space in my apartment to begin with so everything was kind of crammed, especially since I'd needed to make space for a small filming area. Also, ring lights, tripods, and other filming equipment took up a lot of space.

I much preferred Rhett's room.

Or was it our room?

We hadn't talked about it, but we were mated now, weren't we? Bonded to each other? We were connected in a way that was more serious than marriage , yet we hadn't even talked about living arrangements.

I chuckled, waiting for the well-justified panic to settle in, but… it didn't come. At all.

Instead, something inside my chest pulsed, and a calm that in a weird way didn't feel like me, washed over me. It was the strangest thing, and I closed my eyes to investigate.

How could I feel something inside of me that did not feel like me? Kind of foreign, but familiar at the same time.

I didn't need to be a genius to know it had something to do with our mating.

It'd spread out from my chest, so I started there. Taking a deep breath, I listened inside of myself, searching for something that was different or new. It really didn't take long for me to find. Deeply rooted in the center of my chest, right next to my heart was a source of warmth. I placed my hand above it, but my skin felt normal. No scars, no bumps, hell, even though it felt warm inside, the skin on the outside wasn't hotter.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, quickly coming closer.

A smile tugged at my lips, and that… thing inside my chest brightened.

Rhett was coming.

I knew it with utter certainty, even though the incessant tugging sensation was gone. There was no pull urging me to get close to him anymore. This warmth inside of me, the calm spreading from my chest into every single cell… it was different. But not any less strong.

The door opened with a quiet woosh, and a gush of warm air filtered into the room. It was accompanied by a scent that I knew was Rhett; nature and moss, mixed with a hint of musk. It hit me like a gut punch and stole my breath for a moment.

"You're awake," Rhett said, a wide smile on his face, his warm eyes almost glowing in the pale light. "Right on time, too."

He walked over to the bed and plopped down next to me before leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. I sighed quietly and snuggled up to him, placing my head in his lap.

"How long was I out of it?"

Rhett's hand found its way into my hair and gently massaged my scalp. Immediately, my body grew lax and my eyes fell closed. This was the best feeling in the world.

"Long enough for me to freak out and call Jasper. And Gray. And then I called Charlene and Kenny," Rhett admitted with a chuckle.

"And that means?" I asked, a pang of guilt ringing through me. Quit it , I chastised myself . It's not your fault he fucked you so good you passed out. If anything, it's his fault.

"You were unconscious for almost four hours."

"Oh," I said. Four hours were a long time to sleep after se… wait. "Did you say unconscious?"

"Yeah." Rhett laughed softly. His fingers took a detour and caressed my cheek, the rough skin scratching over my faint stubble. "Not gonna lie, that really, really freaked me out. I was close to putting you in my truck and racing you to Jasper's practice. But I called ahead and Jasper reassured me that a human losing consciousness after mating wasn't unheard of. Apparently, it has something to do with your body being flooded with magic? I didn't really pay attention after the ‘ it's normal and he's fine ' part. Though, I did call Kenny and Charlene to make sure Jasper was right. They're part of our pack and Kenny's human; maybe you know them, they own the hardware store."

I raised my eyebrows and laughed. "A – do I look like I frequent the hardware store? And B – what exactly would I have needed to go to the hardware store for since arriving here?"

Rhett shrugged. "Don't judge a book by its cover. You might like crafting. But you're right, I don't imagine there are a lot of things you could've done while staying at the Inn. But feel free to pick up any kind of project after moving in."

"Soo… You're saying I'm moving in here?" I teased.

Rhett tensed against me, and the warmth inside my chest turned icy cold.

Oh.

Ohh.

Was that… fear? It wasn't a pleasant feeling, that was for sure.

"Hey now," I said, turning so I was lying on my back and looking right up at him. "I was joking."

Rhett released a breath and ran a hand through his hair, combing it out of his face. "Yeah. I know."

He might say that, but the cold ball in my chest only warmed a fraction, so he obviously didn't believe me.

Hey, look at that. This bond thing was quite handy. And I already know how to read it… a bit. I thought.

"Rhett. I really was joking," I repeated, making sure to keep eye contact to let him see the truth in my eyes. "I know we need to talk about our living arrangements. Hell, we need to talk about a lot of things. Like, seriously, there are so many things we need to talk about. All the things. But I promise, I have no intention of going back to Vancouver—apart from, you know, visiting my family and packing up all my stuff."

Rhett released a shuddering breath, but his body remained stiff and the coldness inside of me didn't ease. Apparently, I was doing a shit job at reassuring my mate.

"And then you'll move in?" Rhett asked.

"I can move in, I can go and look for a small apartment in town, or…"

"No!" Rhett growled, his eyes flashing. He had his lips pressed into a thin line as he looked down at me, a couple of stray strands falling into his face. "Sorry," he said, running a hand through his hair. "It's just that we're mated now. And my wolf doesn't understand why you'd even consider not moving in with us."

"And what about you?"

Rhett furrowed his brows. "What about me?"

I snorted. "How do you feel about me possibly not moving in right away?"

The spot inside my chest turned into a giant lump of ice. I rubbed my chest, trying to ease the sting, but it didn't help.

Did he know I could feel him like that? Could he feel me like that?

"I want you here. Period," Rhett said. "You're my mate, of course I want you close. To be honest, it'd be incredibly hard to stay apart from you for a longer period of time, but I'd never force you to do anything. I'm not sure how long I could keep my wolf at bay, but…"

He averted his eyes, hiding the pain his promise caused him even though it was to no avail. I knew how he felt. I felt an echo of it myself.

This wouldn't do. We were mated, yet he was walking on eggshells around me. Like I'd run if he came on too strong.

Didn't being mated mean I'd never run?

"Rhett," I began before sitting up with a sigh. I wanted to have a serious conversation and needed to be on even footing—which was hard to achieve because I was still naked while he was wearing comfy sweats and a shirt. So I made do as best as I could and sat with my legs crossed under me and pulled the duvet into my lap. "How does our bond feel to you?"

The ball inside my chest pulsed and warmed.

"Incredible," he said with a smile that echoed from my chest through my body.

Weirdest feeling ever.

"Like there's something in your chest that feels warm or cold? That brightens and dims? That pulsates on occasion?"

Rhett's eyes widened. Placing a hand on his chest, right where that ball would be if it was the same for him as it was for me, he cleared his throat and opened his mouth, but closed it again without saying anything.

"I take that as a yes." I winked at him in an effort to ease the tension. "If you do, you know I can feel you holding back. I can feel your worries."

"That's not possible," Rhett whispered and shook his head. "Jasper said our bond would be there, but it'd manifest differently for humans."

I shrugged. "Apparently, I'm an abomination. We already knew I was feeling our bond in ways I'm not supposed to. The important thing is that I do feel you. And I know you're worried. But you don't have to be. I'm not going anywhere. Hell, I'm not sure I could even afford to live somewhere else right now."

I laughed, but Rhett didn't find it funny. Granted, it was probably a little early to joke about such things.

"I don't want you to move in because you don't have a choice."

"Rhett, sweetheart. I have a choice. If I really didn't want to, I'd have options. I put all the money I made off of my social media stuff into a savings account. It's not much, but it'd probably get me a small apartment and tide me over for a couple of months. It's just not something I want to do. I want to stay here and find out what your garden looks like in spring. I want to claim your sitting area over there for my vlogging. I want to fall asleep and wake up with you in this bed. And I want to fuck you on all the surfaces in this house. Because god, that sure was the best sex I've ever had."

Rhett let out a rough laugh, but the tension eased, a wave of calm echoing through me.

"Just… please don't pass out every time we have sex, okay? I'm not sure I could take that."

I shrugged, a laugh bubbling out of me. "If you fuck me that good every time, I make no promises. Guess we'll just have to find out what happens."

"Challenge accepted." Rhett pounced, launching at me and tackling me onto the mattress. My surprised laughter was swallowed by his lips on mine. I moaned against his mouth, my cock springing to attention within seconds. His scent surrounded me in a way I hadn't noticed before, the musk intensifying, serving as my own personal aphrodisiac.

I felt his cock against mine, straining against the fabric of his sweats. He groaned against my mouth, thrusting against me, caging me in with his body.

The spot inside me pulsed, warmed, and heated up. Something at the nape of my neck throbbed and tingled in a mix of pleasure and pain.

"My mate," Rhett growled against my lips, thrusting against me over and over until our combined precum soaked his sweats.

I let my hands roam over his back until I reached his waistband, and let my hands slide under. My lips curved into a smile when I only found glorious hot skin beneath. No underwear.

Damn.

My cock jerked as hundreds of situations when him going commando might come in handy entered my mind.

We needed to make that a rule. No underwear inside our home sounded reasonable, right?

"Rhett…" I started, panting his name against his lips. I wanted to tell him about this new, very important rule immediately. "I think…"

I didn't get to finish. My sentence got interrupted by my phone ringing loudly and annoyingly on the nightstand.

Rhett sat up, his eyes flashing towards the offending object, then returned to me.

"Do you want to take the call?"

I shook my head. Talking to someone was very low on my list of priorities right now.

The ringing stopped, only to start again after a second.

"Just turn it off, please, before it turns me off."

Rhett let out a bark of laughter and climbed off of me to grab my phone. His brows furrowed as he stared at the display.

"Maybe you should take the call after all, sweetheart," he said, holding the phone out for me. "It's Paul."

My mood soured, my cock flagging as I reached for the phone and hit accept. If I'd put it on silent, I wouldn't have to deal with this right now. Being cock blocked by a cop was a new one for me—and an experience I could've very well gone without.

"Levi? God, finally. I've already tried your other number and Rhett's phone. Your manager just arrived in town and tried to check-in at Mave's."

Next to me, Rhett growled while my body turned to ice.

Yeah. I really should've put the phone on silent