Chapter 10

Finally.Her words, her hungry gaze, and the scent of her arousal all combined, verifying her acceptance. But I needed a bit more than "eat me" to do just that.

"Before I forget the vow I made to myself to not touch you before you were ready, before you accepted that you are my mate, I need you to say the words, Bexley." The desperation in my voice humbled me as nothing else could. Without her, without our joining, I would soon no longer exist. She truly held my life in her hands, and yet I still wanted this to be her choice and not out of some sense of pity or duty.

"I'm sure, Trace. In a way, since that first moment on the drawbridge, time has ceased to exist for me. It's as if everything in my life has led me here, to you. I always felt I was destined to be something more than a member of my coven. That I would be more than my spell work, no matter how sought after I'd become. That there was something greater waiting for me.

I just never expected it to be a Scottish Highland castle with a phoenix shifter who looks at me like I'm his whole world. Since you kissed me, I knew. I'm ready to step into my new life. I'm ready to give myself to you. So ready that if you don't kiss me now, I might be the one to burst into flames."

My phoenix sang with joy. Claim our mate!

The stool crashed behind me as I stood and rounded the table. Flush with desire, Bexley opened her arms, welcoming me as I snagged her around the waist, spinning her around and placing her on top of the table.

Tiles clattered to the floor as she pushed the board off the table. As gently as I could, I pushed her backward, snagging her pants with my thumbs, yanking them down.

Her moans of anticipation fed me. Splayed before me with her long hair in a wild mass framing her head, her increased breathing lifting her breasts. I ripped the middle of her bra, staring in wonder as her perfect rose-tipped globes bounced free. Her nipples bared, the points begging to be sucked.

Centuries of envying my brothers ability to enjoy womanly pleasures before they discovered their mates, listening to them share details of what it was like to be with a female, how women responded to a man's touch, was no longer a wish or a dream I'd never experience.

I now had my mate beneath me, wanting, begging for my touch. I could scarcely hold back a roar of triumph as took her flesh between my lips and feasted. Giving each breast its due, caressing her supple skin and pinching each tip, wringing a new level of need from her. I was drunk on her response.

Bexley arched her back, then wrapped her legs around me. My cock rubbed her slick folds. Her scent coiled around me, dragging me down to take my first taste. She released a heavy sigh as I dropped kisses along her belly, creating a path over her hip as I trailed my tongue to the sensitive inner skin of my mate's thigh, millimeters from my prize.

"Oh…yes…pleeease." Her throaty plea went straight to my cock and I feared I'd spill my seed without burying myself in her slick warmth.

My first touch, my first taste between her satin folds, nearly made me come. With the second and third swipe, I knew I could happily spend the rest of my life worshipping my mate as I fed on her juices. Increasing my speed, I discovered just what she liked. Her moans guiding me until I circled, then flicked her tight bud over and over.

When I felt her body tense and her keening became near nonstop, I plunged my tongue between her folds, thrusting into her wet channel. Bexley grabbed either side of my head, screamed my name, and her body quaked as her inner walls spasmed around my tongue.

Pride swelled within me at the pleasure my mate's orgasm brought her. Unsure what to do next, I placed my forehead on her abdomen and whispered her name while her body settled, and her cries of pleasure turned into sweet sighs of contentment.

"I'm guessing I did well for my first attempt?"

Bexley stilled at my words. "What do you mean? You destroyed me, couldn't you tell? I may need a few minutes if there's going to be a second."

Meeting her hooded gaze, I said, "I mean my first attempt at pleasuring you in this way. I've read about it, but have never been able to perform until now."

Scrambling to her elbows, her jaw fell open, then closed, then opened again, but no words came out. She was adorable, my mate. Sated and gloriously naked before me, if a bit confused.

"You. You've never done that before?"

"No. Never. How could I? Any female who is not my mate would have suffered horrible burns from even the slightest touch of my hand and, er, other body parts."

Her eyes widened, then she grinned. "Well, now I do feel special. And you, my mate, have earned an A for style and effort." Laughing at a joke I didn't quite understand, but since she was happy, that was good enough for me.

"Thank you. Would you like me to begin again?" I asked hopefully.

"Um, that would be a bit selfish of me. What about you?" Her gaze dipped to my cock, and her eyes went even wider than before. "Oh, my."

Did she not like what she saw? I glanced down to see that my cock had sprung free of my sweatpants. The color was one I'd never witnessed before. Several shades darker than the rest of my skin. It was throbbing, the tip glistening with precum.

A new type of discomfort hit me as her rapt attention ignited a new warmth within it. Was this because of the mating bond? Demanding I bury myself inside of my mate, fusing us as one.

"I…I don't know if that is going to fit. And are those…ridges?" Her response held a tinge of fear, but I also heard excitement in her voice, and saw it in her eyes as she continued to stare at my cock. She bit her lower lip, ripping a deep groan from me. Her gaze flashed to my face, and she smiled.

"I have an idea." Bexley sat up, scooted to the edge of the table, then firmly pushed me into the chair.

"For our first time, and because I've never, uh, well, because you"re so big, I'm going to be on top so I can control how much of your monster cock goes inside me. How does that sound?"

This was one aspect of sex I hadn't thought of, but should have. But her eagerness at attempting this position reassured me. And instead of feeling shame for not thinking how my mate would be able to take me into her body because of our size difference, as she angled herself above me, and her lustful sighs rang out while wrapping her hand around my girth, my heart pounded so fast I feared it might burst from how excited I was.

"Tell me if I hurt you, okay?" She licked her lips, then started to run her thumb up and down, making my balls spasm. "Are these ridges sensitive? Oh, they're pulsing. How do you feel?"

I could feel my eyes cross from the pressure of her tiny hand rubbing me over and over. Gritting my teeth, I placed my hands on either side of her on the table. "They are, but they've never pulsed before. And I…I need more."

"More? Pressure or?—"

"Mate, I need whatever you want to do. Yes, harder, or softer, or…ah!" Bex drew my shaft against her opening and rubbed the tip against her slick flesh. She set a rhythm that felt unsustainable but also like we could do this forever.

"Your wings. They're, uh, rippling. God, their beautiful. The way the light is refracting off them, oh…oh, Trace… yes." She let out another low moan and I sensed she was close to another orgasm.

My gaze hadn't left her hand or her pink engorged pussy as she continued to work the tip of my cock inside her. I couldn"t care less what my wings were doing right now. All I could focus on was getting inside her and fucking her until I came, spilling my seed into her womb. But I needed her to come again.

Instinct took over, and I thrust my hips forward. "Tell me if I hurt you."

Her head fell back. She moaned at my words, shook her head, then took me in another inch and then another. "Grab my hips and hold on to me."

I watched in awe as she slid up and down my pulsing shaft, and the need to touch her, to hear her cry out my name again drove me to press my thumb on her clit, flicking it back and forth, making her wetter as she took all of me into her body.

"Beautiful," I whispered, my voice thick and drug-like.

She closed her eyes and rode me. Her flushed face was euphoric as she bounced, her breasts slick with sweat. Leaning forward, I lapped up droplets as they appeared on the tips, suckling each nipple in turn.

"Yes…yes, oh right there." She raised her arms over her head, winding her fingers through her hair, smiling. All of a sudden, she gasped, dropped her arms to her legs, and said, "You're hot."

Pride filled me at my mate's words. "And you're a seductress," I rasped out.

"No. I mean, yes, you are hot in the way that everything about you is attractive, but you, your…your rod, your shaft, your love stick. It's hot." She continued to rotate her hips, taking me in deeper before letting out a long moan that ratcheted me higher.

As her words sunk in, I released a strangled laugh. "Love stick?"

"Yes, your ridged love stick, which gives a whole new meaning to ribbed for her pleasure, by the way. It's warm, hot, but not too hot. Each time I slide down, I get a hit of heat. Not just your normal temperature. It's…it's…erotic. And I need…oh, please…yes, I need to come." Her pupils were blown as she continued to move, seeking her release.

The sounds of our bodies slapping filled the cavernous room. Bex's hands now rested on my shoulders. I felt her fingertips sliding through my left wing. The contact was unexpected, and fucking addicting.

"Hold on, mate!" My shout rang out as I increased the speed of my thrusts. My thumb raked over her nub again and again until her sweet cry filled my ears. Her inner walls again grabbed my cock, milking me as her orgasm crested and then mine finally, blissfully hit.

Holding her tight against my chest as our breathing and our bodies fell back into normal rhythm, I felt tears upon my chest. Stricken that I'd hurt her, I cradled her face, then lifted her chin. "Mate, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?"

Bexley's eyes were brimmed with tears, but she looked at me with a joy I hoped would never fade. "I really like those ridges. And the warming thing, that was an awesome surprise." She laughed, then wiggled against me. "How long before we can do that again?"