25. Chapter Twenty-Five
~Kalo~
Eventually, the kiss had to end so we could both catch our breath, but neither of us moved very far.
Leo’s hand still cradled my jaw, his thumb resting just beneath my ear as if he was afraid I might disappear if he let go. The fire crackled next to us, filling the cabin with warmth, but it had nothing on the electricity buzzing between us.
Yes, the mate bond played a part. That couldn’t be denied, especially when the physical sparks were so hard to ignore. But if I put that aside, there would still be attraction, and a genuine appreciation and respect that grew stronger with each moment we spent together.
The kindness in him was infuriatingly real. I’d lived long enough to recognize selfish desire, possession, and obsession. I knew what it looked like when someone wanted to own something.
Whatever was happening between us wasn’t that.
So, when we found ourselves sitting there, wrapped only in blankets as we warmed ourselves in front of the fire, our faces only inches apart, I kissed him before I could stop myself.
And I still didn’t want to stop. In fact, I suddenly realized my hand was tangled in his hair, and I’d barely been aware of it. Slowly, I loosened my grip but still didn’t pull away. His blue eyes, full of a dazed warmth, searched mine as he waited patiently for me to take the lead.
“You asked me what I wanted to do today,” I reminded him, barely a whisper carrying my words the short distance between us. “If this is all the time I get, how do I want to spend it?”
“Yes,” he confirmed, his brows knitting as he tried to anticipate where this might be leading.
I didn’t intend to keep him guessing for long.
“I want this. I want you. I want to know what it’s like to be with you, even if it’s just for today.”
Leo swallowed hard but didn’t drop his gaze. “Just for today?”
We both knew what he was really asking: what about the mate bond?
And as much as I knew what he wanted to hear, I couldn’t bring myself to say those words.
For all the reasons that had been holding me back before: the fear of binding myself to someone else, of losing the freedom I’d finally regained, but another concern had started to grow alongside those more familiar ones.
“The death of a mate is painful for a werewolf, isn’t it?”
Leo’s eyebrows drew even closer together as he squinted over at me, obviously confused by what he must have seen as a change of subject. “Exceptionally painful, I’ve been told.”
My acquired knowledge suggested the same thing. “So, if we’re not able to outsmart this reaper and I die in the next few days, wouldn’t it be better for you if you weren’t bound to me? I mean, at least not any more than you already are.”
I could almost see the practical side of Leo’s brain kicking in as he examined my words, looking for any flaw in the logic. “I suppose so, but…”
“Forget the ‘but’.” I flashed him a smile to let him know nothing about the conversation was upsetting me; my mind was still very focused on other things. “We have no idea what tomorrow’s going to bring, but we have today. If it was your last day, what would you want to do right now?”
His thumb grazed down my neck, sending another delicious shiver of sparks through my body. “I would want to make you happy.”
That was sweet, but not quite the enthusiasm I was hoping for. “It would make you happy too though, right?”
An almost embarrassed smile tugged at his mouth. “Yes. I mean, I think so. I don’t have any experience to base that on, but it seems likely.”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped me, and Leo’s ears reddened.
“I’m serious,” he said, so earnest that my heart swelled with a rush of affection. “I want to be with you, of course I do, but I also don’t want to do anything wrong. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I know, and you won’t. After all, you came prepared.”
I leaned over, reaching for the backpack Leo had left on the floor, and he frowned as he watched me. “Prepared? For what?”
It only took a few seconds of digging in the well-organized bag to find what I was looking for: the small container of olive oil he’d mentioned earlier. He said he’d brought it to help with the wetsuits, but I had other plans for it.
When I pulled it out to show him, Leo’s frown deepened. I said nothing as I waited for him to put the pieces together, and I couldn’t help laughing again when at last his eyes widened in understanding.
“You mean… use that? For…”
He couldn’t force the words out, and I didn’t make him.
Placing the oil down on the floor beside us, I leaned forward and kissed him again, revelling in the way his muscles loosened at my touch.
He tasted of the lake and the forest wind, like the swim we’d just had and the freedom of being in the water, floating between the earth and sky.
One hand went to his chest, and he inhaled against my lips as I let it drift lower, beneath the blanket, my fingertips rippling over the hard planes of his stomach.
“What do you think we used in my youth?” I asked between kisses, my tone teasing. “We didn’t have drugstores. We had to find our own solutions.”
He gulped down a gasp as my fingers veered to the side, brushing against his hip. “Is it safe?”
“I promise it’s been thoroughly field-tested across several centuries.”
That earned me a smile just before his lips found mine again.
While his kisses had started a little hesitantly, they didn’t stay that way for long. Now, he devoured my mouth, his tongue tangling with mine as my hand began to move again. When my fingers feathered over the head of his cock, Leo shuddered against me.
“Fuck,” he panted as he pressed his forehead against mine. “It feels so good when you touch me.”
“Better than when you touch yourself?” I teased, wrapping my hand fully around his shaft and giving it a firm squeeze.
“So. Much. Better.”
He took a breath between each word, as if his lungs couldn’t hold enough air to speak more than that. Or maybe his brain couldn’t string together more than a syllable or two at a time. The way this man, usually so composed, completely fell apart beneath my touch was intoxicating.
“You’re going to make me come,” he warned as I began to stroke him, lowering my head to kiss along his shoulder.
“Good,” I murmured. “I want you to.”
With his werewolf biology, we didn’t have to worry about a recovery period. He could come and still be ready to fuck me a minute or two later. I knew that, as I knew so many things about his species, but I was dying to see the proof of it for myself.
I pushed his blanket fully off and reached for the oil, pouring a small amount into my hand before going back to Leo’s cock. The oil provided the perfect lubricant, letting me apply more pressure as my hand slid up and down his shaft at a near-frantic pace.
Leo’s head fell back, his eyes closing as his orgasm built. I moved even faster, tugging gently on his balls until they tightened, only slowing the movement of my right hand when his cum spurted and splashed over his muscular thighs.
He couldn’t have looked any hotter, turned to absolute putty in my hands, and I gradually became aware of just how hard I was too.
I didn’t want to come just yet, though. Not until I had him inside me, and when Leo’s eyes blinked open again, still heavy with lust, I had a feeling I wouldn’t have to wait much longer.