Authors: V.A. Dold
He couldn’t begin to tell her how wrong she was about herself. He simply stared at her, stunned into silence.
“That’s what I thought.”
Rose raced for the door. She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and fumbled
trying to unlock the screen door, giving Simon enough time to reach her and whirl her in his arms, pinning her against the door. Her face, streaked with tears, tore at his soul. He had to make her listen.
“Aren’t you going to give me the chance to respond? You just took out a crazy stalker with a rock! I can’t believe a strong woman like you would run like a coward.”
She paused, open-mouthed. “I…don’t understand.”
“Do you wan
t to know what I see when I look at you? I don’t see a thief or the victim of a horrid childhood. You’ve already overcome more hardships than most people will ever face in a lifetime. The child you were, shaped the woman you are, and she’s amazing and beautiful and…everything I ever dreamed of.”
Her chin quivered and she shuddered with a flood of emotions.
“Rose, I know that you’re afraid of having your heart shattered. I promise you, I’ll never leave you, never reject you or deny you. You would be my choice even without the mating attraction.” He wiped a tear from her cheek.
He
repositioned, sliding his leg between hers so she could feel the power she had over him. She molded against him, pressing into his length. His entire body hardened further with a desire he could barely control. He’d been waiting for this since the moment he’d gotten her back.
“I want you, Rose
, as my mate. Badly.” He lowered his head, nipped lightly at her ear and nuzzled her neck, smiling as her pulse jumped beneath his lips. He kissed the top of her head as he stroked her arms and he linked his fingers with hers. When she kept her face buried in his chest, he pulled back to study her. With a gentle hand, he tilted her chin up and stared into the caution on her face. He lifted her hand to his lips and turned her palm over to kiss the center, relishing her racing pulse, knowing he was the cause. “I want you, Rose, only you.”
Rose gulped in a tear-choked breath. “I didn’t think…”
“What? That I wouldn’t want you?” He worked his way up to her neck, and breathed in deeply. “That I wouldn’t want to inhale your scent?” His entire body ached with longing. He met her gaze, trembling with desire. “That I wouldn’t want to make love to you? I need you more than air. More than life itself.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck
; her hold bordered on desperate. Running her hands down his arms, his chest, circling his waist, and finally to his hips. “I want you, too,” she said with confidence finally ringing in her voice. “I think it’s the stress from thinking I’d never see you again. I imagined all kinds of horrible things while I was lost. I’m sorry, I’m being stupid.”
“No
, cher, you just survived a terrifying experience and it caused you to doubt yourself and me. You believe me, right?”
She nodded and sniffed
. “Take me to bed?” A blush colored her beautiful face. The woman really was making a habit of stealing his breath.
“Your wish is my command,” he growled
.
She fastened her lips to his, her mouth begging for entrance. He let her have her way with him. Gloried in the taste of her. With a low groan, Simon scooped her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. He almost stumbled when her lips exploring his neck, instinctively found the spot she would mark him. Shoving aside any concerns about safety issues, he held her fast and kicked open the bedroom door.
She wanted to shout for joy. Simon still wanted her, even after she put her life under a microscope for him to see. She wanted him terribly, needed him to finally create the family she had always desired, yet never had. Still, she’d been prepared for him to turn from her in disgust. He hadn’t. He was here. With her. He
wanted
her.
I’ll never doubt his love again.
A weight lifted, freeing the desire she’d tamped down with her unfounded doubt. She
craved his love, his touch, his caress. Her body screamed for the sensation of his lips and hands exploring her, making her body hum with sensations only he could arouse. With a thrill of anticipation, she kissed and nibbled his neck as he carried her to the bed.
A low growl rumbled in his chest. He gently laid her on their
sheets. She sank into the soft mattress stretching languidly. Unwilling to relinquish his touch, she drew him down with her.
He followed willingly. His finger trailed the side of her neck, his thumb brushing the hollow in her throat, tracing her collarbone. The intensity in his eyes made her shiver. He didn’t look away. He held her gaze as if he could see into her soul.
Everything she’d ever wanted sizzled in his gaze. She saw no doubt, no judgments, just hot, raw desire.
Her body quivered with eagerness. He didn’t move. He simply drank her in.
“What are you doing?” Rose didn’t recognize her voice, husky, longing, needy.
“I’m memorizing you,” he said searching her face. “The golden flecks in your blue
eyes, burning for me. The flush of your cheeks. Your lips swollen from my kisses.”
Her body was on fire,
I want to do the ritual with you. Right
now.
She held his gaze and purposely spoke to him telepathically. Her hand crept down his shirtfront, slipping the buttons free one by one. She laid her palm flat and slipped past his waist and lightly over the bulge in his jeans, stopping to cup him gently.
Ever so slowly, he lowered his lips to hers. “Are you sure you are ready for the ritual?” he whispered, as his mouth hovered. “
I’ll wait for you, as long as it takes.”
“Absolutely.”
His chest rumbled and he held her face in his hands. “I’m yours, Rose. Always.” He ran his fingers from her neck to her heated core then he slowly rose from the bed. Simon let his gapping shirt slide from his shoulders to pool on the floor. With his passion glowing in his eyes he popped the button of his jeans. The whisk of his zipper broke the silence of the room. Her breath sucked in as he eased his jeans down his hips.
He kicked them aside and wrapped his fist around his painful erection. He watched her eyes darken with arousal. Her eyes were intent on following the stroke of his hand.
Simon was pure temptation, standing with his wicked smile and his dark, mesmerizing eyes. Her tongue darted out and moistened her lower lip. His body took on a life of its own, nearly jumping out of his hand. “Rose,” he groaned, “I need you.”
Extending his hand he helped her from the bed. “I think it’s time to do something new. After thinking I’d lost you forever, my wolf and I are very dominant right now. Are you able to give me control? I don’t want you to be frightened or apprehensive at any moment.”
She nibbled her fingernail. “That sounds exciting.” Her brows furrowed. “You’re not into BDSM or anything are you? I don’t do pain.”
He gave her a sexy lopsided grin as his eyes scorched her from head to toe.
“No, my love. Unbutton your shirt. I want to look at you.” His voice was so husky, so raw with hunger, it sent a shiver down her spine.
Rose slipped the buttons free and let her blouse fall. A
ray of sun peaking through the blinds caressed her breasts. Providing a spectacular spotlight. Boldly, she cupped the weight of them in her hands. She was achy, tight, and swollen. But her hungry gaze remained on his enormous erection and the drop of moisture glistening in anticipation of their mating. She took another step toward him, biting her lower lip, liking what she saw.
“Take off your jeans
,” he growled huskily, maintaining his even steady strokes.
She shivered in anticipation and did as he ordered. She pushed her jeans and panties from her hips and down her legs, stepping out of them. She stood before him bare as the moment she was born. She watched his chest rising and falling as his breath quicken. Saw his hand tighten, glide smoothly up and down once, twice, in an effort to get relief.
Thrilled with her newfound confidence, her hand covered his, the other slid lower to cup and squeeze his sac gently. Her palms slid over his hips and thighs as she knelt in front of him. Even though she was unsure of how to do this, the draw of his erection trumped her doubts. She wanted him with a fierce intensity she’d been too guarded to show.
Simon’s breath slammed out of his lungs, leaving him gasping for air. Her mouth slid over him, hot and moist and as
tight as a fist. Her tongue danced along his ultrasensitive rim, sending jolts down his spine and his hips jerking. She’d taken his fantasy right out of his head, all his thoughts as he’d piloted the boat home that morning, and now she was putting them into action.
Her mouth was a miracle of heat. He dug his fingers deep in her hair, urging her on while his hips began to follow the rhythm she set. He fought to allow her to lead for the moment.
His eyes rolled in his head when she ran her tongue around the tip. Simon’s teeth clenched and every muscle tightened. His blood sang and heart pounded.
She performed an amazing dance with her tongue and then suckled as if he were her favorite flavor of lollypop.
He sensed the combination of her need and love, felt it as his own. Very little of his brain functioned. At this point in time, he wasn’t sure he knew his own name. He could only feel—and comply. She tantalized and tormented until he was certain he would detonate.
His wolf growled deep in his throat. He didn’t want her to stop but he needed to hold off for the ritual. He gently tugged her hair, a small pull, exerting pressure. Even the
sleek strands in his fists felt perfect. She licked her lips, as he helped her to her feet.
His hands slid over her body. Kneading her breasts, he bent his head to claim her full lips. He needed to nibble that lower lip, the hunger for her nearly driving him insane. He parted her thighs with his knee so his hand could glide down her stomach to her shaved mound. She was moist with desire, drenched for him. Ready for him.
He craved her hot, slick sweetness.
As his finger pushed into her channel, she cried
“Simon,” her breath coming in gasps.
He stroked deeper, encouraging her to ride his fingers, wanting her to be in the same frenzy he was.
Only when she was gasping, her body rocking and clenching, wave after wave, did he slow his fingers. He eyed the bed, he’d planned to lay her down but changed his mind. He wanted to show her the pleasures of allowing him to be in control.
He turned her toward the bed and applied enough pressure to her shoulders to bend her over so the curve of her bottom was thrust upward for him. His mouth was as dry as the desert and he gulped a breath. “You are exquisite.”
He admired his beautiful, incredible mate, then ran his palms from her back to the luscious globes of her bottom. He parted her cheeks and rubbed his erection along the silken seam of her exquisite ass. He licked his lips, she was perfection, no hard boney ass on her. His teeth itched to nip her left cheek, he bent and gave it a lick and scraped his teeth lightly. She was hot and slick, quivering in anticipation, she moved to straighten and received a playful slap on her butt for her effort. He rubbed the spot and bent to her ear.
“I like the view
. I’m going to pleasure you until you scream my name.”
She groaned and pushed back, trying to get relief, but he held her in place, prolonging the moment, enjoying the contact and the sight of her
glistening folds. His wolf tried to push forward, a feral lust building his wild need to claim her.
He slid in slowly, teasing her to build her need. Her sheath swallowed every inch of him greedily, so tight he grit
ted his teeth to delay his release. He was buried to the hilt, rocking his hips he thrust harder, driving into her over and over with long, maddeningly slow strokes. She bucked trying to find the release he was denying her. She whimpered as her muscles clenched and grasped at him.
Nothing mattered but her velvet friction on his straining length, so tight he knew he chanced cuming too soon. He risked it, pulling her back toward him with each stroke, riding her hard and furiously. He needed to join her
body to his forever. He pounded into her, and she pushed back just as frantically, crying out her pleasure, completely uninhibited with him.
He gripped her hips to still her movement.
Licking his finger for lubrication, he slowly ran his palm around her hip. He worshipped her soft skin as he slid his finger between her thighs, circling her clit while refusing to let her move.
“Are you ready, Rose? This is your last chance to change your mind.”
“Yes,” she panted. “Move, damn it!”
He began shallow thrusts
. “Will you give yourself body and soul to complete this man and his wolf? Will you unite your life with mine, bond your future with mine, and merge your half of our soul to mine and in doing so complete the mating ritual?” He held her still with one hand and moistened his thumb to tease her pink puckered anus. “Have you ever been pleasured here?” he whispered next to her ear.
She gasped at his touch and shook her head, no man had ever touched her there.