Chapter 40 Maeve
MAEVE
The apartment was quiet when they finally stumbled through the door.
Four in the morning. The tavern below them dark and locked, the last revelers sent home with well wishes and knowing grins. Maeve barely had time to turn the lock before Dante's hands found her hips, pulling her back against his chest.
"Finally." He breathed the word against her neck, making her shiver. "Thought they'd never leave."
"Twyla lingered." She twisted in his arms, her eyes bright despite the late hour. "Pretty sure she was hoping for a show."
"She'll have to use her imagination." He walked her backward toward the bedroom, his mouth finding hers in a kiss that started slow and turned hungry. "This is just for us."
She hummed agreement, her fingers already working his shirt buttons open.
They'd barely touched all night, too busy celebrating with friends, accepting congratulations, planning a future that stretched bright before them.
But now, alone in the darkness with dawn still hours away, her lioness demanded what it had been denied.
Her mate. Her lion. Her husband-to-be.
They shed clothes between kisses, leaving a trail of fabric from the living room to the bedroom.
His shirt. Her sweater. His belt buckle hitting the floor with a heavy clink.
By the time they reached her bed, she wore only the pendant and a scrap of black lace she'd chosen specifically for this moment.
"That's new." He traced the edge of the lace with one finger, watching goosebumps rise on her skin.
"Thought you might appreciate it." She reached behind herself, unclasping her bra with practiced ease. "Though I'm guessing you want it off."
"Eventually." He backed her onto the bed, covering her body with his. "Right now I want to look."
She let him. Let his amber eyes trace every curve and scar, felt the weight of his gaze like a physical touch.
The carved lions rested between her breasts, rising and falling with her breathing.
Her short black hair spread across white pillows, and she watched him watching her with heat building low in her belly.
"You're beautiful." He kissed her throat, her collarbone, the mate mark that sent sparks of pleasure straight to her core. "Every part of you."
"Dante." His name came out breathless as his mouth moved lower, mapping the curves of her breasts, the dip of her navel, the scar on her hip from some long-ago fight. "Stop being reverent and touch me."
"I am touching you." But he hooked his fingers in her panties, dragging them down slowly. "Everywhere."
She kicked them off impatiently, spreading her legs in clear invitation. Her lioness purred approval when his gaze darkened at the sight. "More."
He settled between her thighs, his shoulders forcing them wider, and she felt his breath ghost over her center.
She threaded her fingers through his hair, not pulling but guiding. "Stop teasing."
The first stroke of his tongue made her gasp. He dragged it along her center, slow and deliberate, like he had all the time in the world and intended to use it. She felt herself getting wetter, her hips rolling up to meet his mouth on instinct.
"That's it." His hands gripped her thighs, holding her steady. "Let me hear you."
She did. Soft moans that grew louder as he found the rhythm that made her toes curl, alternating between broad strokes and focused attention on her clit that made her shake. When he slid two fingers inside her, curling up to find that perfect spot, her back arched off the bed.
"Fuck." The curse came out broken. "Right there. Don't stop."
He didn't. He pumped his fingers steadily while his mouth stayed focused on the bundle of nerves that was quickly unraveling her.
She could feel the pleasure building, coiling tighter with every stroke, amplified by the mate bond until she wasn't sure where her sensation ended and his satisfaction began.
When she came, it was with his name torn from her throat and her thighs clamping around his head. He worked her through it, gentling his movements as she shuddered and gasped, only releasing her when she tugged weakly at his hair.
"Come here." She pulled him up, kissing him deeply despite tasting herself on his lips. "Need you inside me."
"Yeah?" He ground against her, his cock hard and hot against her thigh. "Tell me what you need, Cub."
"You." She reached between them, wrapping her hand around his length and loving how he hissed at her touch. "All of you. No holding back."
Something in his eyes flashed gold, and then he was moving. He flipped her onto her stomach in one smooth motion, pulling her hips up so she was on her knees, her face pressed into the pillows. The position made her feel exposed and powerful at once, her ass in the air, everything on display.
"This okay?" His hands ran over the curves of her backside, squeezing, and heat flooded through her.
"Yes." She looked back at him over her shoulder, meeting his amber gaze. "Take what's yours."
She felt him position himself at her entrance, felt the blunt pressure of him seeking entry, and pushed back in silent demand.
He pushed in slowly, and she felt every inch as he filled her completely.
She fisted the sheets, her back arching as pleasure and fullness overwhelmed her senses. "God, Dante."
He gave her a moment, his hands gripping her hips, and she could feel him trembling with the effort of staying still. Then she rolled her hips back deliberately, and his control shattered.
He set a deep, driving rhythm that had her crying out with every thrust. The angle let him go deeper than before, hitting spots that made stars burst behind her eyelids. His fingers dug into her hips hard enough to bruise, and she loved it, pushing back harder to meet him stroke for stroke.
"More." She demanded, her voice wrecked beyond recognition. "Harder."
He gave her what she wanted, pounding into her with enough force to make the headboard hit the wall. The room filled with the sounds of their bodies meeting, their mingled moans, the wet slide of him moving inside her. It was primal and perfect and everything she needed.
"Touch yourself." He leaned over her back, changing the angle impossibly deeper, one hand sliding around to grip her throat gently. "Want to feel you come around me."
She obeyed immediately, one hand sliding between her legs to find her clit. The dual sensation of him inside her and her fingers working made her internal muscles clamp down involuntarily.
"That's it." He kissed her shoulder, her neck, anywhere he could reach. "So fucking perfect for me."
The bond flared between them, gold light beginning to glow beneath their skin. She could see it illuminating her hand, spreading up her arm, painting them both in ethereal radiance. It started where they were joined and spread outward, intensifying with every thrust.
"Dante." Her voice shook as pressure built impossibly higher. "I'm close."
"Me too." His voice was ragged in her ear, his rhythm becoming erratic. "Come for me, Cub. Let me feel it."
She shattered with a scream muffled by the pillow, her whole body convulsing as orgasm tore through her. Every nerve ending fired at once, pleasure radiating from her core outward in waves that seemed to go on forever.
She felt him follow her over the edge, his hips jerking as he spilled inside her, his roar of completion vibrating through her back.
The golden light blazed brighter, washing over them both in pulses that matched their racing hearts.
It felt like being burned and blessed simultaneously, like the bond itself was celebrating their union.
He collapsed over her back, both of them shaking, gasping for air. The light faded slowly, leaving them glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Holy shit." She managed to get the words out despite her face being pressed into the pillow. "That was..."
"Yeah." He carefully pulled out, and she immediately missed the connection. He rolled them both to their sides, pulling her back against his chest. "Come here."
She shifted in his arms, tucking her face against his chest where she could hear his heart still racing. Her hand found the mate mark on his collarbone, tracing it idly while their breathing slowly returned to normal.
"The bond's never done that before." She tilted her head up to meet his gaze. "The glowing thing."
"Happens during intense moments." He brushed damp hair back from her forehead. "When mates are completely in sync. Emotional and physical connection at the same time."
"It was beautiful." She kissed his jaw, tasting salt and satisfaction. "You're beautiful."
"Right back at you." He tightened his hold, and she felt contentment seep into her bones. "Love you, Maeve."
"Love you too." She yawned, exhaustion finally catching up with her. "Think we can sleep for a few hours before the town needs us again?"
"The town can wait." He pulled the blanket over them both. "You're more important."
She hummed agreement, already drifting. The last thing she felt before sleep claimed her was his steady heartbeat beneath her cheek, the warmth of his body wrapped around hers, the carved pendant pressed between them.
Everything she'd been too afraid to reach for until she finally understood that choosing love didn't make her weak.
It made her stronger.
Outside, dawn began to break over Hollow Oak, painting the sky in shades of amber and rose. Inside their small sanctuary above the tavern, two lions slept tangled together, the carved pendant gleaming between them like a promise kept.
And when she woke up, she’d choose him all over again.
The way she would for the rest of her life.