CHAPTER 479: CLAIMING HER

Warning: Mature content in the Chapter

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Kieran:

I had barely finished wiping her skin clean when I noticed her shiver. Something inside me shifted - subtle, instinctive, primal.

I picked her up easily, her arms wrapping around my neck like second nature, and carried her to the bed. The rug was still warm from our bodies, but the sheets were cold, untouched, and she shivered when her back met them.

I lay down behind her immediately, pulling her into my chest so she wouldn’t feel even a second of that cold. The moment her bare back met my front, heat unfurled through me like a living thing. Her breathing was soft, still uneven from what we had just shared.

But when I bent my head and pressed a slow, reverent kiss to the faded imprint on her skin - the spot where Draven’s mark used to sit - her entire body went still.

My arms tightened around her.

I reached for her hand, gently threading my fingers through hers. She relaxed, inch by inch, her back fitting against my chest once again. My other hand wrapped around her waist, holding her close while my lips brushed her shoulder. A soft sound slipped from her throat... almost a sigh, almost a moan... and it vibrated straight through my ribcage.

I kissed the side of her neck next, slow, lingering, worshipping.

Then just under her ear.

And when I took the soft lobe between my lips and gave it a light, teasing nip, she breathed out my name in that broken, sweet sound that made every part of me react - hard, fast, uncontrollable.

I exhaled shakily against her skin.

My hand on her stomach drifted upward, brushing along the warm lines of her until I cupped her breast. Her breath hitched, her body tightening in my arms as I brushed my thumb across the hardened nipple - slowly, deliberately.

Her head tipped back onto my shoulder, exposing her throat, her pulse racing beneath delicate skin.

Stars, she was beautiful like this.

Lost in me.

Trusting me.

Letting pleasure carry her completely.

I kissed the place where her neck met her shoulder, drawing in the faint, familiar scent of her hair. Then, gently but firmly, I shifted my arm from beneath her and guided her to roll onto her back. She blinked up at me, flushed and dazed, lips parted as I hovered over her.

"I want to see your face," I told her, my voice low, rough. "When I mark you."

Her eyes widened. Her lips parted. And then the most breathtaking smile bloomed across her face, bright and full and so impossibly hers.

She had wanted this.

Just as much as I had.

Just as much as my wolf had.

My wolf pressed hard against the surface of my control, snarling with joy and demand and desperation. I forced him back... barely.

Trust me, I told him. Just a little longer.

But he wasn’t having it.

He growled at me internally.

Because he had heard this promise before.

Over and over.

Wait. Trust me. Later.

And every time, circumstances tore that promise away from him.

I drew a shaky breath and lowered myself, capturing her mouth with mine.

Slow.

Deep.

Thorough.

Her fingers slid into my hair instantly, tugging me closer, her body arching against mine as her warmth, her scent, her need wrapped around me like a spell. The kiss grew heavier, hotter, until we were both breathing like we had run miles.

This time... because the stars knew I wouldn’t be able to think if I felt her bare skin to skin again... I reached for the condom sitting on the bedside table. I took it out and slipped it on.

Her gaze flicked downward for a heartbeat, heat rushing to her cheeks, and then she pulled me back down to her by my shoulders, kissing me again - hungry, urgent, needy.

I sank into her slowly, my forehead falling against hers as her breath trembled out. Her fingers clutched the back of my neck, her legs tightening around me as I entered her until I was completely buried inside her.

Her soft gasp against my lips nearly undid me.

I closed my eyes, breathing her in.

Savoring the moment.

The unity.

Her body met mine perfectly, as if carved to fit me, as if the past month of distance had been building toward this exact moment of closeness.

We moved together, not fast at first, but deep - her hands sliding from my neck to my shoulders, her hips lifting to meet mine with a shudder that made every muscle in my body clench.

Her lips found mine again, and the kiss turned messy, breathless, consuming.

She arched beneath me, her fingers digging into my shoulder blades as tension built inside her.

Her lips parted against my throat, her breath warm on my skin as she whispered my name with a tremor that went straight through my chest.

Her body tightened...

her breath caught...

and she shattered beneath me, pulling me under with her warmth and the sound of her soft, broken cry.

I groaned against her skin, fighting my own release, fighting the instinct to completely lose myself in her.

She was still trembling when I pulled back slightly, brushing damp strands of hair from her forehead. Her fingers came up to cradle my face, her touch gentle, loving, grounding.

And then I knew.

It was time.

Past time.

I slid my hand along her hip, up her waist, then to her shoulder, gently tilting her head to the side so I could reach the place I was meant to claim.

Her breath hitched.

Her fingers tightened around mine.

Her heart raced.

"May I?" I whispered through the last fragment of restraint that I had.

Her eyes met mine - steady, bright, unwavering.

"Kieran... yes."

That was all I needed.

I kissed her one last time, long and deep... feeling her body soften beneath mine, feeling her trust, her love, her acceptance... and then lowered my mouth to her skin.

Right beside the faded mark.

Right where my wolf had wanted to claim her for nearly a year.

Right where she wanted me.

I pressed my lips to her skin... soft at first... then with growing pressure as instinct took over, as my wolf surged up in a roar of raw need. My teeth scraped her skin gently, preparing for the mark.

Her breath trembled out.

Her fingers tangled in my hair.

Her body arched toward me with a sound that shook me to my core.

And just as pleasure tightened low in my spine, just as her own tension began to rise again, glowing hot and fast...

I bit down.

Claiming her.

Binding her.

Marking her as mine.