Chapter 23 #2
The sight of her above me was the most erotic thing I’d ever witnessed.
Her breasts bouncing slightly with each movement, nipples peaked and begging for attention.
Her head thrown back in pleasure, exposing the elegant line of her throat.
Her hands braced on my chest for balance, nails digging in just enough to ground me in the moment.
The place where we were joined, my cock disappearing into her body over and over.
“That’s it,” I encouraged, sliding my hands up to cup her breasts. I rolled her nipples between my fingers, gentle at first then firmer when she moaned. “Use me. Take your pleasure. Show me what you need.”
She rode me steadily, building to a rhythm that clearly felt good for her.
I watched her face, memorizing every expression of pleasure, every gasp and moan.
This was my first heat, my first bonding, and I wanted to remember every detail.
The way her inner walls fluttered around me when I hit a particularly good angle.
The sound she made when I pinched her nipples just right.
The way her scent intensified as her pleasure built.
“Touch yourself,” I said, my voice rough with need and restraint. One hand left her breast to grip her hip again, helping her maintain her rhythm. “Show me what you need to come. Let me see you pleasure yourself while you ride my cock.”
Her hand slid between her legs without hesitation, fingers finding her clit.
I felt the moment she made contact through the way her inner walls clenched around me, through the sharp gasp that escaped her lips.
She circled the sensitive bundle of nerves while continuing to move on me, and the dual stimulation clearly pushed her closer to the edge.
“Oh god,” she moaned, movements becoming less coordinated, more desperate. “Hollis, I’m getting close.”
“I can feel it.” And I could, through the way her body was responding, through the way her scent had shifted to something even more intoxicating. “Come for me, Talia. Let me feel you come apart on my cock.”
I thrust up to meet her movements, hitting deeper, finding that spot inside her that made her cry out. Her fingers moved faster on her clit, and I could see her chasing her release with single-minded focus. Beautiful and desperate and trusting me with this moment.
She came with my name on her lips, her whole body tensing above me before releasing in waves of pleasure. Her inner walls clamped down on me, pulsing rhythmically, and I felt my own orgasm building in response. My knot started to swell, locking us together.
“The bond,” I gasped, pulling her down so we were chest to chest, my knot fully seated inside her. “Do you want it, Talia? Do you want to be bonded to me too?”
“Yes.” She angled her head, exposing the unblemished side of her neck. The side that didn’t bear Jace’s mark. “Yes, Hollis, claim me. Make me yours.”
I pulled her into a deep kiss as my orgasm crashed through me, my knot pulsing inside her while pleasure overwhelmed my senses. Then I moved to her neck, to that sacred spot where neck met shoulder. The place meant for bonding, for claiming, for marking an omega as mine.
My teeth found the perfect position, and I bit down.
Not hard enough to cause real damage, but firm enough that my teeth broke through skin. The taste of her blood hit my tongue, copper mixed with her inherent sweetness, and something inside me snapped into place with an almost audible click.
The bond.
It roared to life between us, a connection that went deeper than physical, deeper than emotional.
Soul-deep. Suddenly I could feel her, not just through her body’s responses but through some new sense I’d never possessed before.
Her pleasure echoing through me and amplifying my own.
Her relief at being claimed by someone who truly saw her.
Her joy at choosing this, at choosing me.
And underneath it all, the bedrock certainty of trust that I would never use this bond to hurt her.
She cried out as the bond formed, her body tensing in another orgasm triggered by the sensation of being claimed. The feeling of the bond snapping into place. The permanence of what we’d just done.
I held my bite, feeling her pulse flutter rapidly against my lips, tasting the life of her while my knot kept us locked together. My saliva was already working to heal the wound, to seal the bond, to mark her as mine forever.
When I finally released my jaw, I licked the wound clean with reverent attention. The bite would heal into a scar, a permanent reminder visible to anyone who looked that she was bonded. That she belonged to someone. That she was claimed and cherished and mine.
“Hollis?” Her voice was wondering, trembling with emotion. “I can feel you. Not just physically, but in my head. Your emotions mixing with mine.”
“Pack bond.” I kissed the fresh bite mark gently, feeling her shiver at the contact with sensitized skin. “It’s complete now. We’re bonded, Talia. Permanently.”
“It feels like you.” She pressed her face against my chest, and through the bond I felt her awe, her wonder at this new connection. “Like I’m wrapped in your presence even though you’re just you. Your gentleness and patience and how much you care about making this good for me.”
“I can feel you too.” I ran my fingers through her sweat-damp hair, marveling at the texture, at the fact that I could touch her like this now.
That she was mine to touch and hold and care for.
“Your relief. How scared you were before we arrived. How safe you feel now. How much you trust me not to hurt you.”
Through the bond, I could also feel Jace. Not directly, but through Talia, like an echo. His satisfaction at her being cared for. His contentment at the pack forming. His pleasure in knowing she was bonded and safe.
We lay there while my knot gradually softened, adjusting to this new reality of being bonded. Through the connection I could feel her heat starting to build again, her body already preparing for the next wave. For Cassian. The final piece of our pack.
“You were perfect,” Talia said softly when my knot had released enough that we could shift positions. She traced patterns on my chest, fingers following the lines of muscle and bone. “So gentle and patient and exactly what I needed.”
“You were the perfect one.” I kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips. Tasting her, learning her, memorizing her. “Trusting me with this. With you. Letting me be part of your pack.”
Her heat was building more insistently now, I could feel it through the bond and smell it in her shifting scent. The cycle would continue for days, waves of need that required all of us to satisfy. But we had time. And we had each other.
“Cassian,” she said quietly, voicing what I’d already sensed through the bond. “I’m ready for Cassian now. If he’s ready for me.”
“He’s been ready since the moment he saw you,” I assured her, helping her sit up carefully. My body protested at the separation, alpha instinct wanting to keep her close and protected. But I tamped it down. “He’s just been waiting for his turn. For you to need him.”
I grabbed one of the warm washcloths Cassian had prepared earlier and helped her clean up gently, careful with sensitized skin. She accepted my care with quiet trust, letting me tend to her needs before her heat demanded more.
“Let me call him in,” I said, pulling on my jeans. I didn’t bother with my shirt, couldn’t quite bear to cover skin that still carried her scent. “Let me tell him you’re ready.”
I leaned down for one more kiss, pouring everything I felt through the bond. Gratitude and wonder and deep, abiding love. Then I stood and headed for the door.
“Cassian,” I called out to the living room. “She’s ready for you.”