Chapter 42
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Finneas
We were in bed about two weeks after the scare when she asked about the bite.
She’d been tracing the back of my neck, her fingers light on the skin there, running over the spot where a mating mark would go.
I don’t think she knew what she was touching.
Or maybe she did and she was working up to the question, because Andrea never asked anything without thinking about it first.
“What does the bond actually do?” she said. “The full version. You’ve told me pieces but I want to know all of it.”
I shifted so I was facing her. Her belly was between us, round enough now that we’d learned to navigate around it, and the low light caught her green eyes.
“The bite goes here.” I touched the back of her neck, right at the nape. She shivered. “Both of us. You bite me, I bite you. At the same time.”
“That sounds... primal.”
“It is.”
“What happens after?”
“The bond locks in. Permanent. You feel what I feel, I feel what you feel. Not thoughts, not words. Emotions. If you’re happy, I feel warmth. If you’re scared, I feel the fear. If you’re angry...” I paused. “I’ll probably feel that one a lot.”
She smacked my arm. “Continue.”
“It doesn’t fade. It doesn’t break. Once it’s done, it’s for life. Some mated pairs say it’s like having another heartbeat in your chest. You’re never fully alone.”
She was quiet, her fingers still on the back of my neck. “So if I was sad, you’d know.”
“Instantly.”
“If I was in danger.”
“I’d feel it before you told me.”
“And you’d feel all of this.” She gestured at herself, at the belly. “The back pain, the heartburn, the three am bathroom trips.”
“I’d feel that you’re uncomfortable. Not the specifics.”
“Small mercies.” She was quiet again, turning it over the way she turned everything over, carefully, from every angle. “I want to do it. But after Alex. I want to be fully myself when it happens. Not the exhausted, swollen version who can’t see her own feet.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“I haven’t seen my feet in three weeks.”
“Still beautiful.”
“Shut up.” But she was smiling, pressing back against me, and Alex kicked against my palm.
“He’s voting yes,” I said.
“He’s kicking because he’s out of room. Don’t project your agenda onto our unborn child.”
I laughed against her hair and held her tighter and felt the weight of what she’d just agreed to settle into my chest. The mating bond.
She said yes. Not yet, but yes. After everything I’d done, after all the damage, she was choosing to tie her soul to mine permanently, and the trust in that choice was bigger than anything I deserved.
The next evening she told me to stop treating her like glass.
I’d been hovering since the hospital scare. Checking on her constantly, following her between rooms, hovering at the bathroom door. I couldn’t help it. My wolf wouldn’t let me be more than ten feet from her.
“Finneas.”
“What?”
“You’ve checked on me four times during dinner. I was sitting down the entire time. Eating pasta.”
“You looked uncomfortable.”
“I’m in my third trimester. I’m always uncomfortable. This is just my life now, I’ve made peace with it.” She put her fork down. “I’m pregnant, not dying. Stop treating me like I’m made of tissue paper.”
“I’m not...”
“You followed me to the bathroom earlier. The bathroom.”
“I was getting water.”
“The kitchen is in the other direction.”
She had me. She knew it. The dimple showed.
“Come here,” she said. I didn’t move fast enough so she grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me toward her.
“I’m fine,” she said against my mouth. “The baby’s fine. Now stop hovering and come to bed.”
Andrea grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me toward the bed, her green eyes flashing with that mix of frustration and fire I’d missed for months. “Stop hovering and come to bed,” she said, voice sharp but breathless, like she’d been holding this in as long as I had.
I followed without a word, my heart slamming in my chest as she pushed me down onto the mattress.
The bedroom was dim, evening light filtering through the curtains of the Kingsley estate, casting shadows over her swollen belly, round and full with our kid.
She was still petite everywhere else, blonde waves tumbling over her shoulders, that dimple popping as she smirked down at me.
Fuck, she was beautiful, and seeing her like this, confident and done waiting, snapped something inside me.
She climbed on top, straddling my hips, her weight settling careful around the bump but pressing her heat right against my cock through my pants.
Her hands fisted my shirt again, pulling it up and over my head, nails scraping my chest as she tossed it aside.
“I’ve missed you,” she said, leaning down to kiss me hard, her lips demanding, tongue pushing in like she owned me.
“I missed you too,” I growled against her mouth, hands sliding up her thighs, pushing her nightshirt higher.
Months of separation, of me fucking up and her forgiving me anyway, of holding back because of the scare at the hospital, it all boiled over.
I’d been careful, too careful, treating her like she might break, but she wasn’t having it tonight.
My fingers dug into her ass, pulling her closer, and she ground down, moaning loud enough that it echoed off the walls.
“God, Andrea, you’re so fucking perfect,” I murmured, voice rough with need.
“Look at you, carrying our baby, still the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. I could worship this body all night.”
“Clothes off,” she ordered, sitting back to yank her shirt over her head, her tits full and heavy now, nipples hard.
No bra, just her, bare and pregnant and mine.
I stared, cock throbbing, and she reached for my belt, unbuckling it quick, zipper down, tugging my pants and boxers off in one go.
I kicked them away, hard and leaking already, and she wrapped her hand around me, stroking firm from base to tip.
“Fuck, Andrea,” I rasped, hips bucking up.
She was in charge, and I let her, but my restraint was fraying.
Her pussy was wet when she shifted, rubbing against my length, slick and hot.
“You’re incredible, you know that? The way you take what you want drives me insane.
So strong, so goddamn sexy.” She positioned herself, sinking down slow, taking me inch by inch, her walls clenching tight around my cock.
The belly pressed between us, but it didn’t matter, it was part of her, part of us, and it made this hotter, more real.
I reached up, hands gentle on the curve of it, feeling the warmth.
“This belly... fuck, it’s gorgeous on you. You’re glowing, baby. My perfect girl.”
We both groaned loud, no holding back, her hands on my chest for leverage as she started riding me, hips rolling deep and steady.
“Harder,” she demanded, voice breaking, and I gripped her hips, careful of the bump but rough everywhere else, thrusting up to meet her.
The bed creaked under us, skin slapping, her tits bouncing with each drop.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I said, one hand sliding up to cup her breast, thumb flicking her nipple.
“These tits, full and perfect, just begging for my mouth. You feel so good, Andrea, so tight and wet for me. You’re a goddess.
” She arched, moaning my name, loud and unfiltered, and I couldn’t stop the words spilling out.
“That’s it, ride me like you own me. You’re doing so good, taking my cock so deep.
I love how you move, how you squeeze me, fuck, you’re everything. ”
“Touch me everywhere,” she panted, grinding down, her clit rubbing against me.
I did, hands roaming, squeezing her ass, tracing the curve of her belly, feeling the life we made.
Months of pain, of me almost losing her for good, poured out in every thrust. “I love you,” I muttered, sitting up to kiss her neck, sucking a mark there, my wolf howling inside with relief.
“Love every inch of you. This body, this heart, you’re mine, and I’m so damn lucky. ”
“I love you too,” she whispered back, fingers in my hair, pulling me closer. But she wasn’t done being in charge. She pushed me flat again, riding faster, pussy fluttering around my cock, chasing her release. “Don’t hold back, Finneas. Fuck me like you mean it.”
That did it. I flipped us careful, keeping her on her side to protect the belly, spooning behind her as I slid back in from behind.
One arm under her head, the other hand between her legs, rubbing her clit while I thrust deep, hard, the angle letting me hit that spot that made her cry out.
“Like this?” I growled in her ear, teeth grazing her shoulder, pounding into her wet heat.
“You take it so well, Andrea. So fucking responsive, your pussy’s gripping me like it never wants to let go.
You’re amazing, baby, coming undone for me like this. ”
“Yes, fuck, yes,” she gasped, loud and desperate, pushing back against me.
Her body trembled, walls tightening, and she came hard, pulsing around my cock, her moans filling the room.
“That’s my girl,” I praised, thrusting through it, my fingers circling faster on her clit.
“Come all over my cock, you’re so beautiful when you let go.
Perfect, every time.” I followed right after, burying deep, spilling inside her with a grunt, holding her tight as waves hit me, whispering against her skin, “Fuck, you milked me dry. You’re incredible, Andrea. I can’t get enough of you.”
We shifted again, her on top once more for the aftershocks, slow rocks until we both stilled. She collapsed onto my chest, belly resting safe between us, my hand tracing lazy patterns down her spine. We were both breathing hard, sweat-slick and spent.
“That was overdue,” she said.
“Months overdue.”
“Your fault.”
“Entirely.”