ISABELLA
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Idon’t know what I expected from tonight, but it certainly wasn’t anywhere close to begging Nick to claim me.
Yet here we are.
In a mirror of our first night together, Nick slings me over his shoulder and carries me upstairs to our bed.
Our bed.
That’s what this all means, isn’t it? What’s his is mine, and what’s mine is his.
I bounce twice on the mattress before he descends, his weight a grounding presence in the face of all we’ve discussed tonight.
“I love you, Izzy,” he says quietly into the inch between our mouths. “I love everything that you are. I love how you think, I love how you speak, I love you.”
My mate loves me.
“I love you, too, Nick,” I reply. “I wouldn’t want to face this world with anyone else by my side.”
His growl rumbles through my chest, lighting me up like a firework. My body arches toward his, demanding his touch. His mouth.
Something.
Anything.
“My mate,” he murmurs, hands roving over my body over my clothes. He makes no effort to remove them, just continues touching and memorizing with his fingers. “My beautiful, exquisite mate. Look at you.”
I preen under his praise, letting it fill me up.
“You want this, my love?” His teeth graze over the mating spot on my neck, and my hips jump to his. “Tell me, are you mine?”
“Yes.” I nod, barely able to force the words out of my mouth. “Yes, I’m yours.”
The tease is too much. The way he gives me the heat of his body, but doesn’t go any further. The way he keeps licking and nibbling on that spot without giving me what I want.
It lights me up to a fever pitch, wetness slicking between my thighs with my want for him. With the desire to cement our bond.
“Mmmm,” he inhales.
I can’t stand this. “Nick. Mate, please.”
“Tell me,” he says gently, eyes so full of love when they meet mine. “Tell me what you want, my sweet mate. I’ll give you anything in this world.”
“Kiss me.”
His smile is indulgent, soft. And then he meets my lips.
This kiss is different. Full of the love we have both been so scared to admit. There are no more secrets, no more reservations. The authenticity, the devotion, makes my eyes sting as he delves his tongue into my mouth.
My hands grasp his back, pulling him closer. I need him like I’ve never needed anything before.
“I’ve heard the bite feels just as good as an orgasm,” he murmurs against my swollen lips. “Shall I give you a reminder so you can compare, my love?”
“Make love to me as you bite me,” I reply, hands traveling up to tangle in his hair. “Let’s cement this bond together.”
He nods. “Together.”