Chapter 31
VIVIENNE
Auren’s startled breath catches against my lips a moment before he wraps his powerful arms around me and captures my mouth in a searing kiss.
A soft moan escapes me as he slides his hand down my back, fingers splaying wide, dragging me closer, until there is no space left between us.
“Gods, Vivienne,” he groans as our kisses turn hungry and urgent. “You undo me entirely.”
The world around us fades as he pulls me even closer, his restraint dissolving into need. His hands are firm around my waist as I cling to him, my heart racing as his warmth spreads through me like fire. “I want you, Auren,” I breathe between kisses.
“Vivienne,” he growls low in warning. “Do not tempt me. My need is too great,” he says roughly as he pulls back. “If we do not stop now, I’m worried I won’t be able to.”
“I don’t want you to stop.” His eyes turn raven-black. “I want to be yours, Auren.”
His restraint shatters, and he lifts me effortlessly into his arms. I gasp, clutching at his shoulders as he carries me to the tent. He lowers me onto the bedding and crawls over me, his elbows braced on either side of my arms.
I part my thighs, and he settles between them, groaning as his hardened length presses firmly against my entrance, only a thin barrier of clothing separating our bodies.
“Tell me you want this,” he rasps. “Tell me you are mine.”
Reaching up, I cup the back of his neck and pull his mouth down to my own. His warm mint breath mingles with mine as I whisper. “I’m yours.”
He captures my mouth in a claiming kiss as he skims his hand down my body, mapping every curve of my form. Gripping the back of my knee, he guides my leg over his hip, opening me to him as he grinds against me, creating a delicious friction between us, a promise of what is to come.
Auren pulls back just enough to trace his lips along my jaw before kissing a heated trail down my neck. I tilt my head back to give him better access, and my breath hitches as his lips brush a sensitive spot just behind my ear.
“Auren,” I murmur, sliding my fingers into his hair.
His answering hum vibrates against my skin. “Tell me where to touch you, Vivienne,” he murmurs. “I want only to give you pleasure.”
I pull down the neckline of my nightshift. Taking his hand in mine, I guide it to my breast. Heat pulses through me as he brushes his thumb over the peak. One sharp claw grazes the tip, and it hardens beneath his touch.
“Kiss me here,” I whisper.
He dips his head and closes his mouth over my left breast, his tongue laving the sensitive bead.
I run my fingers through his hair as I writhe beneath him. I’ve touched myself before, but it’s never felt like this.
I trace the elegant points of his ears, and a deep growl of arousal rises in his throat as he begins a gentle suction on my breast. It’s almost too much, and I cannot decide if I should push him away or pull him closer as overwhelming sensation moves through me.
He moves his hand down my body and dips his fingers beneath the hem of my nightshift. He’s careful to retract his short, black claws as the tips of his fingers skim up my inner thigh.
Anticipation floods my veins. He’s so close to where I want him to be. Just as I think he’ll touch me, he lifts his head. “May I touch you here?”
My heart pounds as I somehow manage to whisper, “Yes.”
His gaze is locked on mine, and the breath stutters from my lungs as he drags his fingers through my already slick folds. When he reaches the small bundle of nerves at the top, my mouth falls open and a low moan escapes me.
Pleasure coils tight in my core as his thumb circles the softly hooded flesh, my entire body trembling. “Please,” I breathe. “Don’t stop.”
Encouraged by my instruction, he concentrates his attention on the sensitive spot. Need burns deep within, threatening to consume me as Auren drags me closer and closer to the edge of my desire. My head falls back, and I close my eyes, biting my bottom lip to stifle a moan.
“Look at me,” Auren rasps, a hint of his fully extended fangs peeking out from beneath his upper lip. “I want to watch you as you find your release.”
My breath comes in quick, shallow pants as he slides one finger inside my channel while he continues to brush his thumb over the sensitive pearl of flesh between my thighs. Ripples of warmth move through me, and I cling to him, digging my nails into his back as I tighten my legs around his body.
I inhale sharply as he slides a second finger inside, touching something deep within that makes my desire spiral even higher.
“You’re so tight,” he rasps as he begins to pump into me. Heat builds deep in my core as I imagine it’s his hard length inside me instead of his fingers.
“Auren, please,” I breathe, my pulse pounding my ears. I’ve never done anything like this before, and I’m not sure what to do. I only know that I need more. “Don’t stop.”
A deep growl vibrates in his chest as he focuses on the small button of nerves, drawing delicious pleasure tighter within me.
“Let go, Vivienne,” he whispers, his fangs extended, his gaze full of fire and possession. “I have you.”
My every muscle goes taut as pleasure builds like a giant wave. I cry out his name as it crests, washing over and through me in wave after wave of blissful oblivion.
I’m breathless and panting beneath him as Auren removes his fingers and then lifts them to his mouth to taste me. Closing his eyes, he groans as if I’m the best thing he’s ever had.
He leans down and presses his lips to mine in a claiming kiss, stealing the breath from my lungs. When he pulls back, he rests his forehead to mine and whispers. “You are perfect, Vivienne.”
Thoroughly sated, I trail the tips of my fingers along the length of his spine, savoring the solid, reassuring weight of him still over me.
When he rolls us onto our sides so we’re facing each other, I can still feel his hard length pressed between us. “I thought—” Heat flushes my cheeks. I’m usually so sure of myself, but all of this is new and I’m uncertain how to ask. “You didn’t—”
He kisses me again and then cups my cheek. “If I take you now, I will knot you, and for that, I need to be fully in control.” He loops his arm around my waist and tugs me closer to him. “Right now, my need is too great. I don’t want to risk causing you any pain, Vivienne.”
My heart squeezes at his concern even as my mind snags on something he said. I frown. “What is a knot?”
“It’s part of the base of a male’s stav,” he explains. “It expands during mating, locking a male to his mate just before his release. It keeps his essence inside her, increasing the chances of conception.”
He brushes a tendril of hair behind my ear. “I’ve heard the first mating can be painful for human females,” he murmurs. “And I was afraid if I knotted you during our first time, it would make it worse.”
Unbidden jealousy rises within. “You speak as though you have intimate knowledge of such things.”
The words come out harsh and accusatory, but I can’t help it. I know I have no right to be upset if he’s been with another before me. It’s not as if we were betrothed before we wed. Still… it bothers me to think that—
“Is that jealousy, I detect, my dear wife?” A handsome smirk curls his lips.
I tip up my chin and look away. “Of course not.”
I start to pull away, but he tightens his arm around me and cups my cheek, forcing my gaze back to his. “There has been no one but you.” His eyes search mine, and a hint of a grin curves his gorgeous mouth. “But I must admit I love that you’re already so possessive of me.”
I scoff, ready to deny it, but his expression turns solemn. “My people mate for life, Vivienne. There will be no one else for me but you.”
My mouth drifts open.
He brushes his thumb across my lower lip. “I am yours. And I have been from the very start.”
I’m stunned by his admission. He leans in and presses a tender kiss to my temple. “Rest now, my beautiful wife. Tomorrow will be a long day of travel, but we should reach my kingdom before nightfall.”
I nod and he draws me closer, settling back against the furs and pulling me with him until my head rests against his shoulder. Auren wraps his strong arms securely around me.
Outside, the wind stirs through the trees, and as I rest my hand over the steady rise and fall of his chest, I close my eyes.
And for the first time since our marriage began, I fall asleep certain that I’m exactly where I belong.
I am his, just as much as he is mine. And I’ve never been happier.