33. Wisteria

For the next two weeks, Eli comes by every day to help with the shop. He works without complaint, mentioning at one point that he asked Adam to put him on night shifts, so he can have the afternoons to help. With his assistance, the cleaning up goes quicker than it would have, and he proves that he's handy at repairs–helping to replace the glass panes, rebuilding the countertops, anything I can ask of him and quite a few things without my ever having to ask.

And every day, when he leaves, he doesn't try to kiss me. He doesn't say he loves me, or say anything at all about what we talked about that afternoon, after the night out in the woods. He gives me the space I asked for, letting me think. Letting me decide what I want to do.

I know he's sorry for what happened between us. And as angry as I was–as hurt as I still am, if I think too hard about what was said–I know I made a mistake, too. I have a choice–to let go of all of the possibilities in front of us because of those mistakes, or to work through them. To choose him, and a future where we can be happy, together.

I also know that if I reject him, and we are bonded, the hurt won't stop. I'll love him, miss him, forever. It will likely ruin any other relationship I ever might try to have. But I do my best not to think about that. I want to make my decision based on what I want, not on the fear of a future where my heart stays broken because of something entirely out of my control.

And, two weeks after that conversation when I'm sure I know what I want, I wait until Penelope and Delia leave at the end of the day. Eli is working on fixing some of the shelves at the back of the shop, and when they're gone, I close the door and quietly say his name.

"Eli."

He turns, and whatever he sees in my face, it makes him go very still. "Wisteria."

A shiver runs down my spine. "I want you to come home with me." I say it softly, so softly that for a moment I wonder if he heard me.

His entire body tenses. The look on his face is one I can't quite read, one that I'm almost afraid to try to interpret, just in case it doesn't mean what I think it does. He sets the tools down, slowly, stepping down from the short ladder he was on.

He crosses the room to me in two quick strides, stopping an inch away from me. "Are you sayin' what I think you are?"

I swallow hard, my pulse fluttering in my throat as I nod. "I want to try this, Eli. I want you to come home with me, and I want to try this. I want to find out if the bond works." I bite my lip, feeling my cheeks heat. "I already told Penelope I might not be in tomorrow. Or the next day." There's a flutter of embarrassment in my stomach at the thought of being so overcome with desire for each other that we quite literally can't drag ourselves out of bed. We've been close to it before. But this–this will make it real.

If it works. If he still wants it.

I see the reaction that goes through him at that, the way his muscles tense with anticipation, his jaw tightening, and my doubts as to whether he still wants this or not flee. I have the sudden feeling that if we don't get home soon, we won't make it there. "We should go," I whisper softly. "If you're going to knot me, I don't think I want it to be here on the floor."

Eli's hands go around my waist, pulling me close, and I can feel that he's already hard, pressing against my thigh. "Don't tease, Wisteria," he says softly. "I can't take it. Not when I want this–you–so much it hurts."

"I can feel how much you want me," I whisper, leaning into him. "I've made up my mind, if you still have yours made up, too. And if so–take me home."

He nods, swallowing hard. "Alright, darlin'," he murmurs, bending to sweep one quick kiss over my lips, as if he can't stop himself. "Let's go."

We take the motorcycle back to my house, Eli driving over the speed limit the entire way as I wrap my arms around him, my entire body wound taut with anticipation. We make it halfway up the steps of the porch before he leans me back against the railing, his hands in my hair as he kisses me, really kisses me, for the first time in what feels like forever. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, tasting of smoke and spices, of him, and I moan as I arch against the hard, muscled weight of his body against mine.

"Inside," I whisper, and he nods, his hands on my hips as he backs me towards the front door.

We stumble inside, and he presses me against the wall, kissing me again as if he wants to devour me. I reach for his belt, fumbling with it, and he drags in a shaky breath before grabbing my hand and stopping me.

"What?" I look up at him confusedly. "What's wrong?"

"Slow," he manages, his voice hoarse with need. "Let's take this slow, Wisteria. This is–" He pauses, taking a step back. "This means somethin'. This is–"

"Forever." I say the word softly, feeling it hang in the air between us. "I love you, Eli. That's not going to change. If you're right, and we've been bonded since the start, it won't ever change. But this–this is our way of choosing it. Our way of having everything. Together. If you still want it–"

"I want it." He says it so swiftly there's no room for doubt. He steps forward, his hand in my hair as he kisses me again, his other arm wrapping around me to lift me up, my legs going around his waist. He walks to the bedroom with me wrapped around him, only setting me down again once we're inside.

"I love you, Wisteria." Eli brushes his fingers against my cheek, the roughness of his fingertips against my skin making me shiver. "I love you with everythin' in me. But I need you to tell me what happens if this doesn't work. If the bond doesn't–take."

"I don't know," I say softly. "If it doesn't–then what does that mean? That we're not bonded at all, and we just have all these intense feelings for each other, feelings that are so out of the ordinary–for no reason at all?"

"Oh, I think there's a reason. No matter what." Eli's eyes are that stormy blue color, gazing down into mine. "I don't wanna leave you, Wisteria. No matter what happens here. There's never gonna be anyone for me that isn't you."

"That might not be true. If you really could still bond with someone else–"

"Like you said." His hand presses against my cheek, his thumb brushing softly over my lower lip. "There's lots of ways to lose someone. No sense in runnin' away because of it. Right?" He smiles, his other hand on my hip, pulling me closer. "I want to stay, Wisteria. With you. Because of you. And as long as you want me, I'll find a way to stay by your side. Bond or not."

A breath I hadn't realized I was holding lets go, and I nod. I reach up, curling my fingers into the front of his shirt, leaning up to kiss him again. He slants his mouth over mine as I start to undo the buttons, my fingers brushing over the soft hair on his chest, and I whimper into the kiss as he tugs up my shirt, sliding it over my head.

He looks unfairly gorgeous, standing there with his shirt unbuttoned, framing his muscled, tattooed chest, his belt half-undone. I back up towards the bed, unbuttoning my jeans, and Eli's gaze darkens with lust.

When he shrugs off the shirt, yanking his belt open and pushing his jeans and boxers over his hips, I let out a small, involuntary moan. I see the glint in his eye, hear the low rasp of his chuckle as he follows me onto the bed, his cock already pressed hard against his abdomen. He leans over me, one hand sweeping down my side, lingering on my hip.

"I'm gonna get you good and ready," he says quietly, his voice low and husky. "But when it comes right down to it, Wisteria, I'm gonna have to bite you to do this. And it's gonna hurt–there's no way around that. Right before it feels good, if the bond works. If it doesn't?—"

Then it'll just hurt. "I know," I whisper, a tiny thread of fear tangling up with my arousal. But like the night in the woods, the fear only seems to feed it, adding an edge to my desire, heat washing over my skin. "I trust you."

Eli's gaze softens, as heated as it still is. "Where do you want it?" he asks, his hand sliding down my thigh, over the inner curve, lingering there. I can see what he's thinking in his face, and I nod, suddenly speechless with need.

"Right here?" He bends down, sweeping his lips over the spot high on my inner thigh.

"Yes," I whisper. "When you think I'm–we're–ready."

"Oh, darlin'." Eli laughs, low and dark, his fingers hooking in the edge of my panties as he drags them down my hips. "I'm ready right now. But I gotta get you there, first."

He tosses the panties onto the floor, leaving me bare and aching beneath him as he slides back up my body. I feel the weight of him against me, his cock trapped between us as he gently brushes my hair out of my face, leaning in to kiss me.

"I love you," he murmurs, his lips ghosting over mine. "There's no rush. We're gonna take our time about this. And I'm gonna make you feel so fuckin' good."

"I love you, too." I arch up, my hands sliding over his shoulders, down the muscled planes of his back as I kiss him, my mouth parting for his tongue as I tangle my legs up with his. "And you always make me feel good."

We stay like that for a long time, kissing as if it's the only thing we're going to do, Eli's hands gliding over my body as I cling to him, my hands in his hair, nails digging into his shoulders as the ache begins to be too much. I arch upwards, feeling his cock rub between us, and Eli groans against my lips.

Slowly, he starts to move down the length of my body. His mouth glides from my lips to the edge of my jaw, peppering light kisses up to my ear, his breath warm against the shell as he flicks his tongue against the soft lobe. "I can't wait to make you come for me," he whispers, his hand stroking down my side, squeezing my hip. He's touching me everywhere except where I'm aching, throbbing, between my legs, desperate for his fingers or his tongue. "I can't wait to taste you."

"In that case, you're waiting an awfully long time," I whisper, my voice coming out slightly shaky, and Eli chuckles darkly.

"I don't plan on keepin' either of us waitin' much longer," he promises–and he starts to slide downwards, his mouth on my neck as he braces himself over top of me. His lips trace a slow path down to my collarbones, the brush of his mouth over my sensitive skin an exquisite torture, and I'm on the verge of asking him what exactly his definition of not much longer is. But I can't think long enough to form the question, can't breathe enough to say it aloud. I gasp as his mouth grazes over my nipple, his hands filling with my breasts as he licks a slow, hot circle around first one nipple and then the other, his tongue flicking over the stiff peak. I close my eyes, moaning softly, my hips rising with the need for him to touch me. My entire body feels as if it's on fire, lit up with need, and my legs open wider for him as I squirm, wanting friction. But he's leaning above me now, nothing touching me except his mouth as he licks down between my breasts, a low groan vibrating against my skin.

"You taste so sweet, darlin'," he murmurs, fluttering his tongue against me. "Every inch of you. I could kiss you from head to toe, all night."

"I want you to kiss somewhere very specific," I gasp, finally finding my breath for a moment as he moves further down. He kisses over the soft skin of my stomach, grazing his lips over my hipbones, breathing in deeply as he scents my arousal. Once upon a time, when we first met, knowing he could smell how turned on I was made me feel as if I were going to die of embarrassment. But now my skin flushes hot, the dampness between my thighs growing as I squirm and whimper, aching for him to go lower.

His hands smooth up my inner thighs, spreading me wide. "No need to hold back, darlin'," he murmurs, his warm breath against my swollen, drenched flesh making me moan with need, arching up against his firm grasp. "You can come for me whenever you like. Come all over my tongue."

And then, as if to emphasize that statement, he leans in, his nose bumping against my clit as his tongue licks a long, hot stripe from my entrance up to my throbbing clit.

I let out a cry of pleasure, a feeling very much like relief flooding me at having the hot, wet pressure of his tongue between my legs at last. He licks me again, laving his tongue over my folds, nipping and sucking before he presses his mouth against my clit, and begins to lick me where I need it the most in earnest.

It's the most exquisite pleasure I've ever felt, even more so because there's no holding back now. There's no wondering what this means, or if he'll leave after this and never come back, or if he wants this as much as I do. There's no need to wonder if what I'm feeling is too intense, if it will scare him away, or ruin the moment.

Eli loves me, and I love him. Whether the bond works or not, this moment, this night, is an expression of that.

His lips press tighter against me, his tongue fluttering over my clit, in exactly the rhythm that he knows I like the most. I arch upwards, my muscles tightening, feeling myself on the verge of tipping over the edge. "Eli–" I gasp his name, my fingers curling into the sheets, and I feel him groan against me.

I'm so close. His tongue swirls, fluttering again, and he sucks my clit into his mouth, his lips pulsing around it as I cry out, my vision narrowing as the first orgasm crashes over me.

He doesn't stop. He keeps sucking, licking, tongue moving in a perfect rhythm as I moan his name, grinding against his face as I come hard on his tongue. I feel the soft, wet heat of it still stroking, the rough scratch of his beard, and it feels so good, so intense, that I feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

"I've never been in bed with someone I loved before," I whisper, the words coming out broken, tremulously as his tongue works between my thighs for a brief moment longer. Slowly, he looks up, turning to press a kiss to my inner thigh.

"Neither have I, Wisteria." His voice is a low rasp, full of desire, full of promise. "This is gonna be a first for us, tonight. A lot of firsts." Another kiss, his lips grazing over the soft spot of skin where, very soon, he'll mark me as his own. "And you're the only woman in the world I've ever wanted any of this with."

He nudges his mouth against me again, pressing a soft kiss against my clit as his tongue flicks out, slowly sliding against the oversensitive flesh, easing my arousal higher. "Come for me again," he murmurs, making slow circles, his fingers slipping between my folds to tease my entrance. "I'm not done tastin' you yet."

As he slowly licks my clit, building another orgasm, I feel two of his long, thick fingers slide inside of me. There's no possible way he could open me up enough for his knot–he could make me come over and over, and I'd still only barely be able to take his cock. But the feeling of his fingers stroking back and forth, curling inside of me, rapidly brings me close to another orgasm, hard on the heels of the first.

"That's it, darlin'," he murmurs, his lips and tongue warm against me as he pauses just long to look up, taking in the sight of me disheveled and moaning as I writhe beneath him. "Come all over my mouth. Squeeze my fingers like you're gonna squeeze my cock. You look so fuckin' beautiful like this, god–"

He groans, bending his head to devour me again, and the pleasure hits me like a tidal wave. It feels so good, better than anything has ever felt before. "Eli–" I gasp his name again, wanting more, wanting everything he has to give me. "I'm going to come, oh fuck, Eli–"

I feel him thrust his fingers into me hard, adding a third, that blissful suction on my clit sending me hurtling over the edge into a second orgasm. He sucks hard, almost too much, and I cry out, a sobbing moan spilling from my lips as his fingers keep thrusting, even as his mouth presses against my inner thigh.

Through the unending pleasure, I feel the smallest spark of fear. I open my eyes, looking down at him through a haze of sensation, wanting to see what happens.

He's between my thighs, his muscled body tense, his hand still moving as he thrusts his fingers inside of me in a steady rhythm, his mouth pressed to my inner thigh. His tongue licks the spot where he plans to bite, and then his fingers slip free of me suddenly, making me moan at the loss of fullness as his hand grips my knee.

I see why a second later.

There's a glint of silver in his eyes, and I glimpse claws on his fingers, the hint of sharp, wolfish teeth as his lips part. He's all man still, flesh and blood and bone, but his eyes are something else. His teeth are those of a beast, and I feel them press against my skin, sharp and ready to puncture.

He hesitates for the briefest second, and I know he's giving me a chance to say no. Through the instinct to finish this, through his own undoubtedly painful arousal, past every want and desire he has, he's giving me a chance to back out.

But this is everything I want, and I've never been more sure of it.

"Bite me, Eli," I whisper. "Mark me. Make me yours."

I feel the growl against my skin more than I hear it. His lips press against my thigh in a hard, sucking bite, hard enough to almost numb the flesh just as I feel his teeth dig in. There's one small flash of fear, my body's survival instinct screaming ever so briefly that he could rip out my femoral artery in an instant–and then a pain so hot and terrible that I nearly scream.

But I don't. I don't want him to stop. I fist my hands into the sheets, gritting my teeth as I feel his teeth sink into my flesh, feel the swell of blood on my skin–and then suddenly, the pain is gone.

There's only need. A skin-tightening, breathtaking, aching need that sweeps over me, the pain transmuting to a pleasure that's near orgasmic, and when Eli rises up from my thigh, his eyes are glowing a bright silver. On my thigh is a bite mark, swollen and gleaming with blood.

He kneels between my legs, his tongue licking my blood away from his lips, and I let out a shuddering moan. I can feel something happening in my body, a throbbing between my legs, a strange ache that feels deeper, wider than any ache of arousal I've ever felt before. Eli is as hard as I've ever seen him, his cock pressed tightly to his abdomen, his knot so swollen it looks as if it might burst.

There's a feral glint in his eyes, and he breathes in deeply, a growl spilling from his lips. All man, but in this moment, despite his utterly human appearance, he's something far more primal than that. A beast, a wolf, just beneath his skin.

And he's utterly, entirely, mine.

He surges forward, his mouth crashing hard against mine, his muscled body pressed against me from chest to thighs as I feel his cock nudge against my entrance. With one powerful surge of his hips, he sinks into me to the hilt, and I hear the snarled groan that he lets out, a sound that's intense pleasure and pain all at once.

I feel his knot, pressed against my folds. He pulls back from the kiss, his tongue sweeping possessively through my mouth before he breaks it, and he reaches down for my hands, threading his fingers through mine as he raises them over my head.

I'm pinned beneath him. My chest heaves, tight against his. I can barely breathe. I need him so much it hurts.

His hips nudge forward the smallest amount, pressing his knot against me tighter. He looks down at me with those gleaming silver eyes, waiting for my permission.

I open my legs wider, arching my hips upwards. Inviting him in, as deeply as he can go.

I wait for him to kiss me, to bury his face in my neck. But instead he holds my gaze as he pushes forward, and my breath hitches in my throat, expecting pain. Expecting him to tear me apart, because no human can take what he wants to give me.

But his cock slides deeper. I feel the stretch and press of his knot, pushing past my folds, deeper inside of me. Eli throws his head back, his entire body shuddering, hips snapping against me.

"Wisteria–oh fuck, fuck–Wisteria–"

He moans my name as his knot slips into me, my body tightening around him with a squeeze that rips another shuddering moan from him. I feel myself squeeze around the very base of his cock, feel his knot swell even more inside of me, and Eli goes very still.

For a long moment, I can see that he can't even speak. He's trembling with the pleasure, his fingers locked tightly with mine, his every muscle rigid. He looks down at me, his silver eyes gleaming with emotion, his skin damp with sweat.

"It feels–so good," he manages, his voice broken. "Oh god. So good. So fucking good."

I can barely breathe. I'm so full, fuller than I've ever been in my life, taking more than he's ever been able to give me before. "Eli–" I whisper his name, arching upwards, my legs tangling around his. "It worked."

He nods speechlessly, his forehead pressed against mine. I feel myself squeeze around him again, my body desperate for him to move inside of me, to give me more, and he moans.

"I'm gonna come as soon as I move again, Wisteria," he murmurs, his voice hoarse and cracked with pleasure. "I can't hold back. You feel so goddamn good. I–"

"We're going to be like this for a long time, aren't we?" I look up at him, my own voice shaky with pleasure. His body tenses, and he nods speechlessly. I run my hands down his shoulders, nails digging in as I arch, tightening myself around him. I can feel myself squeezing his knot, and Eli lets out another pained groan. "Then go ahead and come."

Eli's head bows forward, dropping against my shoulder as he thrusts once. His hips press against mine, and I feel his thick cock and swollen knot move inside of me, sending a jolt of pure pleasure through my body. He's touching places I never knew could be touched, stroking every nerve as he moves, and then I feel his cock throb, stiffening even more as he presses his lips to my shoulder and moans helplessly, the first hot rush of his cum spurting inside of me as he starts to climax.

"Wisteria–" He moans my name, rocking against me as he comes, and I feel the sweat-slicked friction of his skin against me, rubbing against my clit, tipping me over the edge again as I cling to him and moan his name, coming with him as I feel him fill me with his cum.

He sinks against me, still bracing himself so that his full weight isn't on me. "Oh god," he moans as he moves ever so slightly. "It's almost too much. It's so sensitive–"

I feel him try to slip out, experimentally, and I can feel that we're locked together. "How long does it last?" I whisper, and Eli laughs hoarsely, rolling us carefully to one side so that I'm nestled against him, my back to his chest as he settles against me.

"Until I come enough times that the knot goes down," he murmurs against my ear. "It takes a long time. And I'll want you again, not long after. It's going to feel like a frenzy, for a little while. Like we can't get enough of each other."

I twist in his arms, turning to graze my mouth over his. "I've never been able to get enough of you." As if to prove my point, I reach for his hand, moving it between my thighs, to my swollen and still-aching clit. And as Eli's fingers start to stroke, his lips trailing over my throat as he starts to thrust inside of me again, I nestle against him, pleasure washing over me.

I don't ever want this night to be over.

—

It's like nothing I could have ever imagined. Eli brings me to orgasm over and over again, thrusting inside of me until I feel him tense and shudder, throbbing as he comes inside of me. He comes twice more after the first time, slow and sweet and romantic as he cradles me against his chest and plays with my clit endlessly, and then I feel the frenzy start to build for us both. He rolls me onto my stomach, pulls me up to my hands and knees as he fucks me hard from behind, biting my shoulder as he comes, only to pull me up so that I'm sitting in his lap with my back to his chest, spreading my legs wide and rubbing my clit as he thrusts up into me.

I lose track of how many times we come. We fall asleep at one point, only to wake up some time later with him still swollen and locked inside of me. I arch against him helplessly, and he turns me so that I'm on my back again, moving inside of me with an exquisite slowness until we both come again. It ebbs and flows, from sweet and slow to a lustful, desperate frenzy, until we're both exhausted by late morning that all we can do is lie in each other's arms as Eli works himself to another climax inside of me.

And then, at last, I feel him soften. With a groan, he slips free, rolling onto his back with a sigh as he looks over at me. His cock is soft and limp against his thigh, his knot no longer visible, and he gives me a faint smile.

"Are you alright?" he asks softly, and I laugh softly, feeling too exhausted to do much more.

"I'm fine. Sore and in desperate need of a shower, but I feel–amazing."

Eli looks down, gently touching my thigh. The bite mark looks remarkably good, still red, but more healed than I would have thought. "I'll use some of my ointment on it after I shower," I reassure him. "It'll be fine." I move closer to him, my hand on his chest as I look up into his eyes, which have gone back to a soft grey-blue. "It worked."

"It did." He reaches up, his hand against my cheek. "My mate. My Wisteria." His thumb brushes over my cheekbone. "I love you."

I reach up to press my hand atop his. "I love you, too."

He pulls me close. "We'll take that shower in a minute. But I wanna hold you a little longer, just like this."

I nod, curling against him, my head on his shoulder as I breathe in the warm forest scent of him, and feel a peace, a surety that I never have before.

Eli is mine, and I'm his. For the first time in my life, I have someone who knows me for what I am, every part of me, and loves me all the same. Someone who has come back to me, despite my mistakes, despite my faults, and wants me still. Someone who I've found that I can forgive for his as well, because together, we can overcome anything.

All my life I've hidden who I am, and all his life he's been on the run, afraid of getting caught.

But now, I don't have to hide any longer. And my wolf is free to roam wherever he wishes.

After all, he's my mate, and I'm his.

And he'll always come back to his witch.