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Her heartbeat was completely out of control, and it thundered through every part of her body. She felt it in her lips every time she looked at his mouth. When she saw the deep craving in his eyes, her blood heated as the answering sweetness echoed in her core. “What’s that?” she dared to ask.
“Shifters believe we’re destined to be with one special person. Our fated mates were separated from us before our souls inhabited these bodies, but we’ve retained a connection with them, a pull we can’t deny. It’s not the same as just being attracted to someone. It’s much more than that. It’s finding the other part of who you are. Stephanie, I always believed that was you. I just didn’t know how to express it back then. I didn’t even know how to be sure.”
She shivered despite the heat that rampaged through her body. “And now?”
“Now I know. We were always supposed to be together. Life separated us for a while, but fate brought us back into each other’s lives. I can feel it every time I look at you. My wolf lives inside me even when you see me looking like this, and it knows. It can’t stand the idea of being without you. It wants to protect you and take care of you. It wants you, and so do I.” He pressed a kiss against her lips, his mouth soft but demanding enough to let her know he truly meant every word.
Stephanie closed her eyes and fell into that kiss, her body melting in his arms. She was a woman of science. She liked and appreciated logic and reason. What Bennett had just told her defied all that, but damn it if it wasn’t the most romantic thing she’d ever heard. She kissed him back, finding his mouth both new and familiar. As she did, Stephanie searched herself for any sign of that connection that Bennett had just spoken of. Was that it? That thread of unending yearning she’d always felt for him, that sometimes haunted her in her dreams or flashed through her mind at the most inappropriate moments? The one that she’d ignored all these years and that had come to life again? She wasn’t sure, but she wanted to find out.
“I want you, too, Bennett. I don’t know anything about fate, not in the way you’re referring to it. I do know that I always thought we’d be together forever, no matter how ridiculous that sounded when we were so young. I also know that nothing else along the way has compared to you.” Abandoning all the logic and reason that’d guided her through so much of her life, Stephanie kissed him again.
Bennett’s strong arms closed around her upper legs and lifted her from the ground. What a thrill it’d been when he’d done that to her back in the day, making her feel weightless, and it was no less thrilling now. Stephanie yielded to the dizzying feeling of being carried down the hallways as she kissed him, her tongue roving over the soft surface of his.
Her arousal went to the very marrow of her bones as he kicked open a door at the end of the hall. He loosened his grip, slowly letting her slide to the floor. Stephanie noted the hard bulge at the front of his jeans, igniting an ache of need inside her.
Stephanie reached around behind him to find the hem of his t-shirt, a blaze of excitement firing through her trembling fingers every time they brushed against the heat of his skin. Lifting his shirt over his head and tossing it on a nearby chair, Stephanie took in the raw delight of his torso. A few angled lines of thin scars traced over his muscled chest. A dusting of dark hair was just the right amount to drive her wild as she ran her palms across his pecs and down his strong abs. It narrowed at his navel and disappeared into the waistband of his jeans, reminding her of what was yet to be discovered. As with everything else between them lately, this was the same person she’d always known, yet he’d grown into a whole new man. “Damn, the years have been good to you.”
Bennett’s warm hands glided down her arms. “I like to think there’s more to me than just my chest.”
“Oh, there is.” She dragged her lips across his wide chest, leaving kisses in her wake. “Your abs, your arms, your lips.”
He bent his head and plundered her mouth, pressing his lips hard against hers as his tongue stroked inside. His hands gripped her backside and held her firmly against him, reminding her once again of just what he had waiting for her.
Stephanie’s breath had disappeared from her lungs by the time he pulled back, and she watched with dizzy pleasure as he pushed her flannel off her shoulders and twisted his hands in the material of her fitted tee. “You,” he said as he pulled it off and revealed her bra. “You’re the one who the years have been good to.”
Dipping his head, Bennett pressed kisses down her throat and along her collarbone. He lingered at the curve of her shoulder, seeming to find pleasure in even the most mundane of places. He worked his lips down to the tops of her generous breasts as his hand slid around her back.
She knew exactly what he was doing, but she still felt a small shock as he easily unclasped her bra with one hand. “I see your skills are still sharp.”
“You never know when they’ll come in handy.” Bennett flicked her bra to the side. He cradled her breasts in his warm hands and laved her nipple with his tongue before sucking it into the heat of his mouth.
Clinging to him, Stephanie tipped her head back and lost herself in the pure pleasure of his adorations. He still knew just how to touch her, even in as small of a gesture as running his hands over her hips. The only difference was that they knew what they were doing now and didn’t have to sneak around in the back of a car. He held her with confidence and let her know his desires. Yes, all of this was far better after forty.
Bennett reluctantly pulled away from her breasts to unfasten the button of her jeans. He shimmied the denim down off her hips, once again kissing his way through his latest discovery. His lips burned against her stomach and dipped below her navel. He stripped her panties away, and a groan of appreciation rumbled in his throat.
Stephanie was just reaching for his fly when his arms wrapped around her and her feet left the ground. She bounced softly onto the mattress, laughing, and was pushing herself up onto her elbows when Bennett resumed his kisses once again. She surrendered, falling back onto the sheets as he gently pushed her knees apart. He kissed the inside of each thigh before going for his intended target. His mouth was hot, moving slowly at first as he found her sensitive pearl. Once he had her warmed up, though, his tongue and lips became far more demanding. Her legs trembled and her breath came in stuttered gasps. Her core tightened and twisted as he pushed her further, finding just the right spot and flicking the tip of his tongue against it. She was vaguely aware of him taking off the rest of his clothes in the process, but her mind wanted only to focus on what he could make her do.
She tipped over the edge, gasping and crying out, tortured by the sheer delight welling up inside her body. A brief chill tingled against her skin as Bennett pulled away before coming up onto the bed with her, easily sliding his hardness into her silky depths.
His manhood filled her, creating an all-new ecstasy within her as the echoes of her orgasm rippled against him. She’d hardly had a second to catch her breath, but as his hips moved against hers, she found that she didn’t want to. Stephanie ran her hands down his back as she clung to him, reveling in the feeling of his skin against hers, his weight above her, and the way their bodies fit together so perfectly.
Bennett let out a heavy breath as his girth swelled inside her. Stephanie gripped him harder, wanting this for him but feeling that tight coil building again within herself as well. She cried out as they peaked, her body burning and her mind wild as they crossed into oblivion.
She laid with her head on his chest afterward, feeling her body relax in a way she was sure it hadn’t in a long time. Man or wolf, fated or not, all she really knew was that it felt right.
Until an alarm blasted through the room.
Bennett pulled his shoulder out from underneath her and jumped out of bed. He searched for his pants and pulled out his phone. “I’ve got all the security cameras tied to this, and some of them are going off.”
Her heartbeat quickened. That’d happened a lot that night, but now, it was out of fear. Had the Bloodmoon Crew found them? She clenched her teeth and waited, wondering what she ought to be doing. Where would they go? How could she defend herself?
“Oh. It’s just Rambo.” He turned the phone to show her the little Pomeranian making his way out of the yard and back up onto the porch. “I let him out after dinner but then got a little distracted.”
As Bennett threw on his pants and stepped out of the bedroom to fetch the dog, Stephanie tried to slow her racing mind and heart. It was just Rambo, and everything was fine. But how long would it remain that way? She and Bennett had found something remarkable between them, but they were still in danger.
6
Bennett opened his eyes and studied the sleeping form next to him. Her hair had come loose from its braid and was splayed out over the pillow. The sheets and blankets were pulled up just below her shoulders, leaving just enough skin to remind him that she was completely naked underneath. He rolled on his side and pulled her against him, kissing the back of her neck.
