Chapter 25

Stella

As the words spilled from my lips, a pang of doubt clawed at my heart. Maybe it wasn"t a pang. Maybe it was my panther.

I felt her clawing at me to get out. Would she bow her head and accept less from her mate? Would she lower her eyes when confronted with another woman"s carnal gaze as she looked at Oz? Would she try and conform and contort her shape to appear more desirable to him in the face of all the sleek pantheresses in Arcadia?

"I deserve more."

But even as I spoke those words, a torrent of worry flooded my mind. Would he think I was too bossy, too needy? Would he see my request for exclusivity as a burden?

Beneath my tailored clothes, behind the contoured blush on my face and under the surface of my confident fa?ade, I harbored doubts about my own desirability. What if I wasn"t enough for him? What if he longed for someone more alluring, more captivating than me? The thought gnawed at me, threatening to unravel the fragile threads of hope I had woven around my heart.

But then, as I looked into Oz"s eyes, I saw something that washed away my fears. There was a tenderness, a depth of emotion that mirrored my own. An animal peered out at me from behind those golden irises. It rose to the surface, a raw and untamed presence that sent a shiver down my spine. It was the panther in his gaze.

The beast within wanted me, all of me, just as I was—flaws and all.

It was the man who kissed me.

The kiss was consuming. I was engulfed in the taste of him, like a wild forest after rain, earthy and alive. His essence filled my senses, overpowering me in the most intoxicating way possible. My heart raced in my chest, matching the rhythm of his own.

Oz kissed me like he was a skilled tailor weaving delicate threads. Each brush of his lower lip against mine stitched our souls closer together. The brush of his upper lip felt as though the fabric of our beings was being expertly mended. The fractures in my heart from past relationships faded away with each of his tender nips.

The feel of his fingers against my chin was like gentle embellishments. He swiped a thumb over the corners of my mouth as his tongue tasted mine. His index finger caressed the soft skin of my eyelids, adding intricate details to the masterpiece we were creating together. With every caress, I felt myself becoming more and more like precious fabric, delicate yet resilient, as if his touch had the power to transform me into something even more beautiful.

In his arms, I felt the magic of our connection, the stitches of the bond weaving us together in a way that felt both inevitable and absolute. This man would never hurt me. He would never lie to me. He would never leave me. Because it would hurt his very soul.

That was all before he deepened the kiss.

The once tender connection we shared cracked under the weight of his intensity. I wasn"t sure if it was the panther or the man who growled. The sound had me pulling him closer at the same time as it had me pressing my thighs together.

But why the hell was I pressing my thighs together when I wanted this man right in my thigh gap? I bet he was strong enough to catch me if I hopped up and clamped my legs around his waist. I"d always wanted to do that. But none of my exes had been man enough.

Before I could even go up on my toes to get a running leap, Oz"s touch grew more demanding and wholly possessive. His hands slid down my face, my shoulders, coming to rest at the curve of my ass. I wondered, was he going to lift me up himself? He stood, and I came with him. My feet came flat onto the earth. He pulled away without lifting me up.

As our lips parted, I was met with the fierce intensity of Oz"s gaze. It was raw emotion. I"d said I"d seen the dead look of murderers. Oz looked at me like he was going to smother me with more than kisses. Oh, man, this was going to be a good death.

However, he didn"t come for my mouth. Gently, he pushed aside a lock of my hair, exposing my shoulder to him. I knew his intentions before I saw his canines. I"d had the same urge when I woke up with my nose in his neck.

Never had I felt my panther more at the surface than when I'd tasted the salt at his pulse point. I"d wanted to bite, to mark, to claim. But with my human teeth, I"d have done more damage than anything. Somehow I doubt he would"ve minded.

I cried out at the pierce of his teeth. The sensation was sharp, sudden, sending another shiver down my spine. As quickly as the pain came, it melted away into a warm, pulsing pleasure. It was as if a part of him was being sealed into me, marking me as his own, binding us together in a way that transcended the physical realm.

I gasped at the unexpectedness of it all, a mixture of surprise and overwhelming happiness coursing through me. This was it. This was my dream coming true—being marked by my fated mate, claimed in the most primal and intimate way imaginable. I felt a sense of completeness, of belonging, of happiness so pure that I nearly passed out.

As the sensation of the bite subsided into a dull throb, I was overcome with a sense of affection and belonging. I was marked. I belonged to Oz, and he belonged to me. And with that realization came an indescribable joy, a sense of fulfillment that I never knew was possible. In his arms, I had found my home, my sanctuary, my everything. I looked into his eyes, and I knew without a doubt—I was his, in every way that mattered, and he was mine.

I was floating. I was levitating. No, actually I was being lifted off the floor.

Oz had made two of my dreams come true. He"d claimed me as his fated mate, and he"d swept me off my feet. But he wasn"t done.

Oz tugged the tucked tails of my shirt out of my pants. When his knuckles rubbed against my belly rolls, I wanted to stop him. Then his fingers delved into my panties, and I surrendered.

I moaned as his fingers traced along my most intimate places. His touch was both gentle and demanding, careful and coaxing as he began his sweet assault. I"d been fingered before. One by one, each memory dropped from my brain. It was like the light switch being flicked to off in a house that was going up for sale. That girl named Stella didn"t live in the house of past lovers any more. She"d moved in with the wizard named Oz.

The man was really a magician. Each stroke, each caress, sent waves of ecstasy crashing through me, building and building until I teetered on the edge of oblivion.

I gasped as Oz"s index and middle fingers entered me, crooking to stroke against a spot that only I had managed to find with the help of a curved dildo. My mate"s thumb continued to rub tight circles around my clit as his other fingers tugged at the spongy patch of nerves inside of me. I did not stand a chance.

The twin flames of his touch were like fire and gas, igniting an explosive desire within me that I couldn"t deny. As his fingers moved with practiced skill, exploring every inch of my most intimate places, I felt myself unraveling in ways I never thought possible.

I wasn"t orgasming yet, which was a little frightening. This was already more pleasure than I"d ever experienced in the throes of passion with any other man. At least that"s what I believed. I couldn"t remember. The lights were all out in that house that was buried deep in my memory.

Each stroke of Oz"s fingers brought murmurs of ecstasy out of me. I was a shivering, whimpering mess, and I still hadn"t come. He kept me dancing on the edge of bliss as he built my body up to an inevitable release that I knew would shatter me to my core. My breaths came in short, ragged gasps as he expertly manipulated me, bringing me closer and closer to the?—

"Ahhhhh, Oz!"

I arched my back and cried out his name, my body trembling with the force of my orgasm. It hit me harder than the ground had shaken when the portal opened. It swallowed me whole. The orgasm at the hand of my fated mate was overwhelming, earth-shattering, world-ending.

His lips found mine once more. But I had nothing left to give. Still, I let him take from me, and he did so.

Oz continued to pet my core as the aftershocks zinged and zipped across my ragged nerve endings. He sipped at my mouth as I alternately sighed and took in deep breaths. He whispered in my ear, but I couldn"t make out anything he was saying. Didn"t matter because my panther got every word. I felt her presence growing stronger in my belly. I knew she had every intention of getting out to claim our mate. She could have at him because for now, I was done.

A knock at the door made both our animals growl.