E


    Alexander’s arms were warm and secure around me, his heartbeat steady beneath my ear. The calm rhythm of it chased away the fear, the doubt… everything outside that room.


    “How did you know where to find me?”


    “Lilith managed to get a picture of the car,” he replied. “I recognized it immediately. It was Sophia’s.”


    I jerked my head up to look at him, making it spin. “Did Sophia hire someone to kidnap me?”


    As soon as I blurted out those words, I feared I’d overstepped. Alexander still adored Sophia above all else—he wouldn’t take kindly to such an usation. Surely he would say that Sophia hadn’t had anything to do with it. Perhaps her car had been stolen.


    “I don’t know,” he replied. “But I’m going to find out. And if that were the case, then I assure you, she’ll be punished.”


    I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t expected him to even entertain my statement, let alone promise that he would punish her.


    For a moment, I just searched his face in the moonlight streaming through the window. There was something fierce in his green eyes, something possessive that made my heart flutter.


    “Thank you,” I breathed, leaning up to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for saving


    me.”


    But just as my lips touched his skin, Alexander turned his head. Our mouths met in the middle, and suddenly we were kissing.


    It wasn’t like our fake kisses for the cameras. His lips were too warm and soft against mine to be performative, and here, with no one to watch us, it couldn’t possibly be for anyone except


    Us


    This was real.


    And, Goddess, how badly I wanted this.


    In that moment, a force shot through ge that wanted nothing other than to hold onto this moment with all my might and never let go.


    And so I kissed him back without thinking, my hands fisting in the fabric of his shirt. When his tongue traced the seam of my lips, I opened for him without hesitation. The taste of him flooded my senses-bourbon and woodwire smoke


    My mate. My husband


    Alexander turned to face me, and without even meaning to, I hooked my leg over his waist. He gripped my hip and tugged me closer so our bodies were flush.


    That was when I felt it: the hard length of his arousal against my groin. The evidence of his desire sent heat racing through my veins, and my body responded instinctively. Something deep inside of me stirred-something that felt an awful lot like my wolf.


    But I didn’t have time to wonder if she was returning, because then he was shifting so he was on top of me, his lips never breaking from mine.


    I must have made a small sound of approval, because only then did he pull back to look at me. His gaze wandered unabashedly across my face, my shoulder, the curve of my corbone…


    And then down. Down to where my peaked nipples were visible through my nightgown. Down to my hips, where the fabric was bunched up and wrinkled. Then the soft flesh of my thighs, and even lower-calves, feet. Back up again until his gaze met mine.


    The hunger in those green eyes was undeniable.


    Nothing in me could possibly believe that what we were about to do was a mistake.


    This was the most natural thing in the world. Two mates exploring one another, experiencing one another for the first time.


    That was precisely why, without hesitating, I sat up and pulled my nightgown over my head by the hem. I was wearing nothing underneath.


    Alexander’s eyes widened slightly, tongue flicking out across his lower lip. My heart pounded, but I held his gaze.


    “You’ve seen me naked so many times now,” I muttered, tossing aside my nightgown, “but I’ve only seen you once. We’re not even anymore”


    Alexander ced one hand against my chest, pushing me back against the pillows.


    “Let me taste you first. And then I’ll decide.”


    The raw power in his voice was enough to make my toes curl. He slipped his hands down my body, over my breasts, lingering briefly on the gentle swell of them, then skimmed through the dip of my waist and over my hips. With each descent, I shivered again and again until my thighs were practically trembling, but he warned them quickly with the heat of his palms.


    Slowly, he gently pushed my knees to the side until I was on disy.


    Green irises turned as hungry as a wolf eyeing a fresh steak.


    “Beautiful,” he whispered, scooching down until his face was level with my womanhood.


    And then his mouth was on me. The sudden warth and wetness of his tongue was enough to make me gasp, and my back instinctively arched away from the mattress, seeking more of the


    sensation. His tongue swirled around my clit, then down across my opening, and lower still until I was writhing beneath him.


    He feasted on me like a starved animal, sucked and nibbled and licked until I was a quivering mess. My clit was quite literally throbbing within minutes, unlike any pleasure I’d given myself before. Lights danced at the edge of my vision with each flick of his tongue, and when he slipped the tips of two fingers into me, I nearly splintered on him right then and there.