Chapter 25 #2
“Asking.” He took her hands in his. “Harper Bailey. I know this life isn’t what you imagined.
I know my world is strange and complicated and full of wolves who don’t know how lucky they are to have you.
But I’m asking—begging, if that’s what it takes—for you to stay.
Not because you feel obligated, or because the bond pulls at you, or because there’s nowhere else to go.
But because this is where you want to be. ”
His golden eyes searched hers.
“Is this where you want to be?”
Her heart clenched.
She thought about everything that had brought her here.
The move to Monster Island, hoping for a fresh start.
The collision in the hallway with a huge werewolf who made her pulse race and her mind go blank.
The late nights and early mornings and heated arguments.
The terror of the challenge. The relief of victory.
She thought about what she was leaving behind. The empty apartment in the city. The coworkers who respected her skills but didn’t know her name. The endless nights at her computer, too afraid of rejection to seek real connection.
And she thought about what she’d found.
Elise’s friendship. Irene’s quiet approval. Maisie’s enthusiastic welcome. The young wolves who looked at her with curiosity instead of contempt. Adrian’s family—Derek and Julie, ready to accept her as one of their own.
Adrian himself.
Her mate. Her home.
“Yes,” she said softly. “This is where I want to be.”
The tension drained out of his shoulders.
“Thank fuck.”
She laughed. “Did you actually think I was going to say no?”
“No, but I never want to take you for granted.” He rose and sat down on the bed next to her before pulling her onto his lap. “Have I ever mentioned how much I like these little skirts of yours?”
His hand dipped under the hem to stroke the bare skin above her tights, and she shivered happily.
“It’s a good thing I have a lot of them.”
His hand slid higher and she saw the exact moment he realized she wasn’t wearing any underwear. Heat flared in his eyes.
“Why are you bare, kitten?”
She managed a casual shrug, even though her heart was already pounding in anticipation. “You told me they got in your way.”
“They do,” he growled, and a startled gasp escaped her lips as he flipped her around so she was straddling him, bare flesh pressed against the massive erection straining at his jeans.
“Do you remember that I said the Alpha traditionally claimed his Luna in front of the pack?” His voice was low and dangerous as he slowly unbuttoned her shirt to reveal her breasts, her nipples already taut and swollen.
“I didn’t mean that I would have carried you off.
I mean I would have flipped up your skirt and buried myself directly in your sweet little cunt.
” His thumb brushed over one nipple and she jerked against him, a moan escaping her lips.
“I would have made them watch me claim you over and over again, kitten, until your screams were the only sound anyone could hear.”
Every nerve in her body lit up like a Christmas tree. Even though she knew he’d never do it, the idea of him claiming her in front of everyone was terrifying and completely intoxicating.
His fingers tightened on her hips and he raised her up just enough to free himself from the confines of his jeans. His cock, hot and hard, slid against her slick folds. She reached down, wrapping her hand around him. He was so big that she couldn’t close her fingers all the way around him.
“I want you inside me.”
“Not yet.” He lowered his head and scraped his teeth across her mating mark before moving lower and drawing one taut peak into his mouth.
The wet heat of his mouth, the rough texture of his tongue against her sensitive flesh, made her buck against him.
He took his time, building the need higher and higher until she was grinding herself against him, desperate for more.
“Adrian, please.”
“Not yet, my impatient little mate.” He shifted until the head of his cock nudged at her entrance. “There’s something I want to try.”
Her breath hitched. “What?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he guided her down onto him in one slow, inexorable thrust. She cried out as he filled her, stretching her to her limit in the way she’d begun to crave. For a long moment, he held her there, seated to the hilt, letting her adjust to the fullness.
“Ride me, kitten,” he commanded softly.
She took a deep breath, letting her body relax, then slowly raised herself up before sinking back down.
The friction, the sensation of him moving inside her, was exquisite.
She set a slow, deliberate rhythm, her hands braced on his shoulders, her head thrown back.
Her hair, loose from its customary ponytail, tumbled down her back, and the cool mountain air brushed against her heated skin as she moved.
He watched her, his golden eyes hot and intense, and the look on his face sent a fresh wave of heat through her. This powerful, dominant male, her Alpha, was letting her set the pace. Letting her take control. The trust in that gesture was more arousing than any touch.
She increased her speed, her body moving in an urgent rhythm, her breath catching in ragged gasps.
His hands gripped her hips, guiding her, encouraging her, his own body tensing with each downward stroke.
His knot began to swell at the base of his cock, stretching her further, and she moaned, pushing down harder, taking him deeper.
She was close, so close, hovering on the edge of that blinding, shattering release.
“Look at me,” he growled.
Her eyes fluttered open to meet his blazing gaze. In that moment, she was completely exposed, completely vulnerable, completely his.
“Come for me, kitten.”
The command, combined with a particularly well-angled thrust that sent a jolt of pure electricity through her, sent her tumbling over the edge.
She came with a sharp cry, her body convulsing around him, her muscles clenching him in a frantic, desperate rhythm.
The intensity of her climax triggered his own.
He surged up to meet her, burying himself to the hilt, and a hoarse cry erupted from his throat as he poured himself into her, his knot pulsing as it locked them together.
She collapsed against his chest, her body limp and boneless.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
She was still impaled on him, her body stretched to accommodate his knot, and she could feel every pulse, every throb of him inside her.
The possessive intimacy of it made her feel cherished and claimed and completely, irrevocably his.
They clung together for a long moment, their bodies still joined, their breath still ragged.
She could feel the deep, steady beat of his heart against her ear, a comforting rhythm that anchored her to the world.
The bonfire’s distant celebration had faded to a low murmur, the sounds of the pack absorbed by the vast, silent mountains.
“I love you,” she whispered, the words muffled against his chest.
His arms tightened around her. “I love you too, kitten. More than you know.”
She burrowed closer, content to stay locked in this embrace forever. Tomorrow, there would be work to do—rebuilding trust, integrating new systems, forging a future for a pack that was learning to change.
But that was tomorrow.
Tonight, she had everything she needed.
A place to belong.
Someone who loved her.
And a home, at last.