Chapter 10
Promise could hardly contain her excitement at the prospect of the hot spring. She’d never been to one, and thought it sounded romantic as hell.
Artem drove them through the campground and parked near her cabin. He got out and gathered a blanket from behind his seat, and then took her hand and led her into the woods. “If you turn on your phone’s flashlight, it’ll be easier to find the path in the dark,” he said.
“Gotcha.” She turned on her flashlight and shone it ahead of them, but didn’t see a path.
“That’s because this isn’t an official trail. It will take us about ten minutes to get to the spring, but in another minute we’ll pick up a path that we cut through the woods.”
When the path appeared, they followed it, talking quietly. Fireflies dotted the night, flickering like golden stars.
The night was cool, and she was thankful the hot spring would be warm and that she also had her lightweight wrap around her shoulders.
She felt the heat of the spring before they walked out into a small clearing. She let out a soft gasp at the beautiful scene before her, with the steam rising off the water and the moonlight and stars dancing on the water’s surface.
“This place is magical,” she whispered.
Artem smiled, looking at her with a softness in his eyes. “I thought you’d like it.”
They stood there for a moment, taking in the tranquility of the scene. Then with a playful grin Artem laid the blanket at the water’s edge and began to unbutton his shirt. “Skinny dipping?” he suggested.
Promise laughed, feeling a thrill of anticipation. “I’d love to.”
They didn’t take their eyes off each other as they undressed. She’d never stripped so boldly in front of a guy before, and she couldn’t stop watching as he slowly revealed every sexy inch of his body. He had muscles on top of muscles, and oh my, his whole body looked like it was made for pleasure.
Just for her, because they were truemates.
He stepped into the pool and pointed to a shallow ledge that ran around the perimeter of the water, explaining it was around six feet deep in the center. His eyes were glowing scarlet when he offered her his hand.
“You’re the most beautiful female I’ve ever seen in my life. Come here, gorgeous. The water’s perfect .”
She joined him, the water slightly warmer than bath water. Her heart fluttered as he stepped down another carved ledge that brought the water up to his hips and pulled her to him. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and her skin prickled with awareness.
“This is perfect,” she whispered. “You’re perfect.”
“Just for you, sweet Promise.”
He stepped into the center of the pool and dunked under the water, and she followed suit. He pulled her against him and they floated to the edge where he held her with one arm and gripped the grassy ledge with the other.
He kissed her, the water rippling around them as they leaned in together, their lips meeting in a soft and tender kiss that was filled with the promise of something new and wonderful.
The kiss grew more heated. She loved the way he took command with the kiss, the soft growls from his beast letting her know just how much he desired her. Her hands strayed down his sides, feeling the taut muscles. As she slid her fingers down the cut of his abs, he chuckled and pulled from the kiss, then lifted her from the water and set her on the blanket with her legs dangling in the water.
“Beautiful, if you start touching me, I’m going to get distracted.”
“It’ll be a fun distraction, though.”
“Vixen.”
He pushed her thighs apart roughly and she inhaled sharply. Her skin prickled in the cool air, and she shivered when he licked water droplets off the inside of her knee.
Fitting his hands under her knees, he pulled her bottom closer to the edge, her legs spreading farther to accommodate his broad shoulders.
His eyes were a simmering scarlet red when he gazed up at her, his upper body highlighted by the moonlight , his skin glowing with an ethereal, silvery luster, and everything about the world filled with magic and possibilities.
“Promise, I want to ask you to be my mate, but I realize this is not a story we’d want to share publicly. Let me mark you tonight as my beloved, sweet mate and then we’ll talk about getting married and building a life together.”
“Yes, I want that. All of it. All of you.”
He pulled her a little closer with a growl and kissed her navel, then licked a heated path toward her pussy. She leaned back on one elbow and wrapped her hand around his wrist.
He tilted his head and licked slowly up her pussy, swirling his tongue around her clit and delving back to her entrance. She tilted her hips to give him more access, and he rewarded her by finding just the right spot on her clit to drive her wild. He slipped a finger into her pussy and she let out a moan.
He played with her, licking and sucking her clit and rubbing her walls. Her legs trembled and her belly clenched as she soared toward climax. As she fell headfirst into pleasure, she cried out his name.
He rose from the water and lifted her into his arms, carrying her away from the water’s edge and stretching out over her as he set her down on the soft blanket. She wrapped her legs around his hips and tugged gently, but he held himself above her on straight arms.
“Promise,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “Be mine.”
“There’s no one else for me,” she said with a thick voice. “I’m yours. Always.”
He thrust into her in one smooth, fast motion and her head kicked back. She groaned as his thick length filled her and their bodies were joined tightly together.
She felt an overwhelming sense of their connection as truemates, as if she’d been searching for this exact moment her entire life. It was better than anything she could have ever imagined or had ever experienced in the past. Her previous trysts were just a memory now, fading shadows compared to the dazzling reality of what she and Artem were sharing right this moment.
They stayed like that, holding each other tightly, for a brief moment, and then he began to move, thrusting in and out, and driving the breath from her lungs.
He reached under her hips and lifted, balancing them on his knees as he increased the pace. She stretched her arms over her head and let go into the pleasure that coursed through her. The angle of his thrusts pressed his body against her clit over and over, until the throbbing in the center of her body heated and spiraled. As she crested another great height of pleasure, she screamed out as everything inside her went white-hot.
He shouted as he followed her into bliss, his cock thickening inside her as he thrust a final time and held her tight.
She heard him snarl and then he struck, sinking his fangs into her neck and marking her as his mate. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight as he extracted his fangs and tenderly licked the marks he’d made.
“Me too,” he said hoarsely, tilting his head to expose his neck to her.
Females didn’t usually mark their mates, but she could think of nothing better. Her fangs elongated and she bit him. Their connection as mates solidified as she pulled her fangs from him as gently as she could.
Sighing happily, she snuggled into his embrace as he rolled them both to their sides and held her close.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Promise,” he said, kissing her forehead.
“Me too,” she said. “I’m so glad I came to Pennsylvania. Without coming here, I never would have met you. I feel like I waited forever, and I couldn’t be happier that I found you.”