Chapter 24 - Dominic #2
Though marking Cecelia would have sufficed as claiming her as my mate, it's proposing to her and passing down my mother's family heirloom that signifies my love for her. What I feel for Cecelia is beyond the constructs of the fated mate bond, and I’ve realized just how smart, kind, and tough she is.
Now that I have the pack under my command, right where it was always meant to be under the leadership of a Rivera wolf, there's nothing to worry about anymore.
But there is one thing I have to do, and it feels like the perfect time to get it done while we're out in the woods, under the tree where I'd been gifted Cecelia's virginity on her twenty-first birthday.
As she admires the way the ruby gemstone catches the moonlight on her finger, I sweep her voluminous curls off her shoulder to expose her neck.
Her scent gland catches my intrigue as the tip of my index finger draws a circle around it, and when Cecelia meets my eyes, there's a glint of distinctive hunger evident in her gaze.
She leans in and crushes her lips to mine, her arms winding around my neck as she moans into the kiss. I can feel her feverish lust in the heightening heat of her body, and it takes every ounce of self-control I can muster not to rip her clothes off in a flash and take her on the ground.
Panting heavily when I break the kiss with a lewd “pop,” I can see how fiercely dark my eyes have become as they reflect off Cecelia's. Gulping hard, I wrap my hand over her neck, tapping her scent gland with my index finger.
“I'm gonna mark you now,” I say, my voice hoarse and heavy with the inner wolf that wants to burst through the seams of my being. “I'm gonna claim you as mine…”
I lean into Cecelia's neck when my canines protrude from my mouth, distending with the rise of my inner wolf's quest to complete the most important aspect of our fated mate bond.
Unlike any other mate bond, when a male chooses his mate, my inner wolf had no choice, but fate decided who my mate would be.
Being in love with Cecelia is a bonus, since my wolf finds her irresistible, adding to the heightened sensations that come over me when my sharp canines pierce the flesh around her scent gland.
Waves of hot pleasure wash over me as I mark her with my teeth, pride filling my chest now that I know she'll wear the mark for the rest of her life, and it brings her great pleasure to receive it from the way she moans and clutches my clothed shoulders.
“Mine…” I rasp when I'm done marking her, appreciating the way my bite glows with a golden shimmer to seal our mate bond.
I lick my lips and swallow the delicious taste of her sweet blood, swiping away the little droplets left behind on her flesh.
As I meet Cecelia's hazel eyes, my heart skips a beat of realization that this woman is now mine, my everything, my love, my mate.
Forever.
When our lips meet again, our kisses are feverish and desperate, and I begin ripping off her clothes in haste, still taking care not to hurt her body, which now houses not just the heart I've claimed as mine, but our growing pup.
When she's stripped down naked, I quickly remove my clothes and lie down beside her, draping her gorgeous, thick thigh over my waist, my erection perched against her moistened folds.
Taking time to appreciate the majestic beauty of her eyes, I stroke the back of my hand against her plump cheek, my heart swelling with the love I have for this woman. My fingers coast her lips, then move to the mark I made on her neck to claim her.
“I love you, Cecelia…” I whisper as I press my lips to hers in a chaste kiss that allows me to slowly slip between her folds. Her warm walls open up to welcome my cock, spreading like a blooming flower that radiates the scent of jasmine that I've become addicted to.
As I thrust slowly, deeply inside her, it feels as if we're making love for the very first time. When I pull my face back to stare into her eyes, I can see that she feels the same way, like we're righting all the wrongs, rewriting history that was made here more than three years ago.
“I love you, too, Dominic…” she whispers before her breath turns to soft, melodic moans that sound like music to my eardrums. Nothing compares to the fullness I feel now, our bodies fitting like two missing pieces of a puzzle drafted by the Moon Goddess.
Not even becoming the Alpha and achieving what I trained for my whole life feels as fulfilling as lying beside the she-wolf I love.
My fated mate.
Cecelia Morales.
It's her name that falls from my lips and turns me ravenous as I thrust deeper, propping my weight on one elbow as I fill her to the brim.
Each stroke brings us both closer to the height of our existence together, the strengthening of my mate bond through marking, allowing me to feel everything she's feeling.
I feel her pleasure building in tight coils, mine gripping my scrotum and unleashing when I give one powerful thrust that leads us into ecstasy. My vision bursts with glittering stars that surround Cecelia like a magical aura, and my lips meet hers as we ride out the high together.
When we finally manage to catch our breaths, I pull Cecelia on top of me, ready for the next round when my cock already starts to harden inside her. She looks down at me with a mischievous smirk, biting her bottom lip as she steadies herself with palms flattened on my chest.
“We're not going home tonight, are we?” she giggles.
“No,” I groan when I feel her walls contract around my girth. “But in the morning, we're going home together,” I say with a smirk that suggests we're doing things differently this time. “I have another surprise for you.”
“You're full of surprises, aren't you, Alpha Dominic?” Cecelia titters as she leans down and kisses me.
“You seem to love them…” I purr with a powerful thrust that brings her back to my lips. As I kiss her and guide her into a rocking motion on my cock, I realize that more than my surprises, Cecelia loves me.
I can see it in her eyes.
I could always see it in her eyes, but now I recognize it.