Chapter 58
fifty-eight
Violet submits so beautifully, her lips parting on a breathy moan as I clasp her closer. Delving deeper. Relishing her taste and the velvet heat of her mouth.
We’ve kissed before, but nothing like this. With her fingers clinging to my bare shoulders and intent behind every lash of our tongues.
My blood sings, pure rightness sparkling into every corner of my being.
Because she’s mine. And I’m hers.
Now that I’ve allowed myself to feel the weight of that, I can never go back. I would never want to.
This is my mate.
And I’m going to give her everything she deserves.
How could I resist when she’s so damn sweet?
As I tilt her face and kiss her with more insistence, a shiver wracks her frame. She trembles in my grasp, dousing my lap with a burst of honey-drenched slick.
My Alpha rumbles. Deafening, dizzy relief rings through my core. The satisfaction of finally having our mate’s scent where we want it the most.
If I had my way, I’d cover myself in her sugared brightness. Layer it over Gideon’s richer, warmer essence. Until the two are so irrevocably entwined, I can never take another breath without thinking of them.
For a moment, I debate hauling her into my arms and carrying her to the big bed. It’s tempting; our scents are strongest there. But this is our first time having one another this way—and a different, higher set of instincts tells me to pause.
This room has been empty for so long—the only imprint here is mine. I love the idea of painting Violet’s over it. Turning this into our spot.
It’s fitting, given how new this is for both of us. She isn’t accustomed to the demanding dominance of a pack leader yet—and I’m not used to an omega who softens for me so completely. Gideon usually fights me every step of the way. Demanding my very best. Goading me to the edge of mindlessness.
While Gideon is sharp and taunting, Violet is gentle. She opens and melts and gives. So trusting and sweet. My heart aches, bleeding warmth that tempers my possession into protectiveness. I find myself forming a cage around her, curling my arms and shoulders to shield her quivering form.
A breathless whine falls from her lips. The desperate sound instantly fills my knot. When she feels my cock strain against her center, she perfumes again.
I inhale her honeysuckle perfection, breaking our kiss to stare into her eyes. Confirming she still wants this as much as I do.
Our connection sparkles, a beam of adoration arcing from her gaze to mine. She pants quietly, searching my expression before demurely dipping her chin. The submissive gesture fires my blood, even before she turns toward the hand cupping her cheek and reverently brushes her lips along my wrist.
Over her claim mark.
I know I can’t hear her in our half-bond, but for a second, it feels like I can. As if she’s whispering, yes, directly into my soul. And I’m saying it back.
We undress each other slowly, pausing to soak in every new piece we reveal. We’ve seen each other before, but never while focusing completely on one another. Each inch of skin reminds me how achingly beautiful she is—and how I spent weeks denying myself the pleasure of noticing.
Now, I memorize her. Kissing the hollow above her collarbone, the delicate line of her shoulder, the freckles sprinkled between her breasts.
She does the same, skimming her fingertips along my sides, tracing the V bracketing my hips, following the trail of coarse black hair from my navel to my knot.
Her green eyes glow, blonde lashes fluttering as she stares at the erection stretched between her belly and mine. If I weren’t short of breath, I might smile at the awe on her face. It reminds me of Gideon’s, the day I lost all semblance of reason and rutted his mouth in my former office.
Of course, he was sassy about it—and our omega is an angel.
She swallows thickly, dashing an uncertain glance at my face. My heart swells and clenches. A wash of warmth floods our tether as I fit my palm to her cheek and drop my voice to a soothing murmur. “Do you want to learn what I like, baby girl?”
Her soaring scent betrays the depth of her longing, but she only twitches a shy nod. “Y-yes.”
So goddamn precious. My mouth curves up, along with one of my brows. “Yes, what?”
Her shuddered exhale feathers against my lips. My cock ticks against her bare stomach. “Yes, Daddy.”
Fucking hell.
My musk darkens, along with my gaze, swirling to mingle with her sweetness. I steal another kiss, lightly nipping the plush curve of her lower lip.
“Two hands,” I husk.
Violet instantly obeys, wrapping her fists around my throbbing girth. The tips of her fingers barely reach as she smooths her palm up to the shining head. Pleasure snaps through my base, drawing my balls up just from one tentative tug.
I could tell her to be rougher, but I don’t want to. I want her. This timid caution. The way her light caresses match her tantalizing perfume.
“Good girl,” I praise, nuzzling her temple. My teeth grit when she slips lower on the next pass, squeezing my knot. “Christ, I can’t wait to be locked inside you.”
It’s true. Every brush of her hands along my cock heals the piece of me that’s been crumbling for weeks. The pain radiating from the half-bond is completely gone, now. With the languid pleasure that buzzes up my spine, it feels like a distant memory.
I let her stroke me until we’re both breathing heavily, trading kisses that feel more like bites. My hands skim along the backs of her thighs. Slick bathes my fingers. When I reach her hot, dribbling core, we both shudder.
“You’re so ready for me,” I rasp, purring over a growl. “You want your alpha’s cock?”
She nods, whimpering, “Atlas. Please.”
The pure entreaty in her eyes echoes the canyon of yearning carved through her chest. It isn’t new, I realize. She’s wanted this—needed this—for so long.
Feeling just how much it’s hurt her nearly undoes me. I slough out a rough sound, gathering her close for a desperate, graceless kiss. As I slip my tongue against hers, I notch the head of my cock at her entrance and guide her lower, unable to wait another breath.
Violet gasps into my mouth when my swollen head bumps her clit. Her hips stutter, shifting to slip the first inch of my shaft into her slick heat. A snarl erupts in my chest, melting into a purr loud enough to rattle her bare breasts.
Christ, everything about her is so soft. Her skin, her lips, the liquid heat of her core. The swells rubbing against my pecs, the curves filling my palms. The loose strands of gold swinging down her bare back, brushing my thighs as she glides farther down my cock.
“That’s it,” I tell her, directing the careful rolls of her hips. “You feel so perfect, baby girl. Everything I could ever want.”
I feel a thump of disbelief over our bond. Vulnerability shines in her verdant eyes. My throat thickens.
Of course she’s worried she won’t please me or be enough. I spent weeks pushing her away, displaying what must have seemed like a blatant preference for Gideon. It’s going to take time to prove that, while I may want her and love her differently, it’s no less.
She’s mine in a completely new, irreplaceable way. My mate. The reflection of my soul. Singular and precious in degrees I’m only just beginning to understand.
I thrust deeper and scent-mark her forehead, capturing her gaze. Whispering something I know Gideon and I agree on, “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, Violet. Inside and out. Getting to be with you like this, part of you—it’s everything.”
Violet’s eyes gloss. I kiss the tears that escape, licking them from her skin. She moans, clamping around me. Raw sensation snaps up my spine.
My mate is so wet, her body slides up and down without any protest. I reach between us, working my fingertips against the slippery bud at the top of her cunt. She keens, sinking low enough to take the top fourth of my knot. It breaches her quivering entrance before popping back out. We both groan.
“Atlas,” she gasps, riding me faster. “I-I want your knot, but I—I want—”
She doesn’t have to tell me. I feel her empathetic concern over our tether. My chest twinges with answering adoration.
“You want to wait for Gideon,” I murmur, slowing my thrusts. “To make sure he doesn’t feel left out.”
Violet nods, her eyes widening. Nervousness skitters in her stomach and ricochets into our half-bond. “Is that okay?”
It isn’t okay. It’s perfect.
For a long moment, I’m speechless. Marveling. How could I have a mate this miraculous? How close did I come to losing her forever?
Violet must sense my inner turmoil, because her expression softens. A small purr begins vibrating against mine as she works her body with more intent, riding me harder. Turning her head to kiss the healed bite on my wrist again.
I don’t have to speak. We exchange gratitude and awe, pouring them into one another while our bodies climb higher and higher. When her pleasure finally peaks, I feel it in our connection half a second before she moans, clutching my cock with wrenching tugs that spark my own release.
I bury myself as deep as I can, glazing her with my cum. Our essences meld. Squelching around me, pouring out of her, filling our study. Fulfillment and relief snap through me, followed by an all-consuming tide of adoration.
My mate melts into my chest, fighting for breath, as I wrap her in my embrace. Banding my arms around her trembling back. Tangling them in her endless hair. Murmuring, inside and out, “I love you, Violet.”