He took a cautious step closer, and I reached out slowly, giving him time to pull away. My fingers traced the scar across his snout, then buried in his fur. It was impossibly soft and warm beneath my palm.
Something in my chest settled. This was real. This was magic—but it was real. And I was safe.
“You’re like something out of a Christmas story,” I whispered. “I guess…you are.”
He nuzzled my hand, and the gesture was so gentle, so trusting, that tears pricked my eyes again.
“I believe you,” I murmured. “About the recognition, about caring too much. I see it in you too. All those scars—you keep fighting even when you know you’ll lose. Just like me.”
The shift back was quicker—a blurring of forms until Kenai stood before me again in human form, breathing hard from the transformation.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice hoarse. “For not being afraid.”
I reached out and set my hand on his chest, feeling his heart racing beneath my palm. I had seen it with my own eyes—magic.Literal, fucking Christmas magic. If that was real, then maybe true love could be too.
His hands came up to cover mine, warm and steady. “Your heat’s getting stronger again.”
“I know.” I could feel it, narrowing everything down to him, to the need thrumming through the bond. “I don’t want to fight it anymore. I want you, Kenai. Will you have me?”
His answer was in the way his eyes darkened, the way his hands tightened around mine.
“I know what you need.” His smile was devastating. “And I’m going to give it to you—all of it. But we do this my way, remember? You’re going to let me take care of you.”
His mouth found mine, and this time I didn’t hold back. I kissed him desperately, hungrily, letting the heat finally take over. My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer—needing more contact. I groaned into the kiss as his hard body pressed against every inch of me, and for once, I let myself stop thinking and just feel.
But even as the desperation built, even as my body demanded more, Kenai kept his pace aggravatingly slow. His hands teased despite my whimpers of protest, despite how I threw myself against him.
“Beautiful,” he murmured against my skin. “So beautiful when you stop fighting it.”
“Less talking,” I managed. “More—oh?—”
His laugh was low and warm. “Patience, Sylvie. I told you, this time we do it my way. I’m savoring this.”
“I’m going to die. The heat is going to kill me, and it’ll be your fault.”
“So dramatic.” But his hands were moving lower now, finally giving me some of what I needed. “Trust me, Sylvie. Let me make this good for you.”
And despite everything—despite my fear, despite my walls, despite every instinct telling me not to trust this—I did.
I surrendered.
Chapter Eleven
Kenai
I’d never seen anything more beautiful than Sylvie’s surrender. I knew what it cost her. She was smart, ambitious, and completely capable of taking care of herself. I wanted to show her that she didn’t need to—that I understood her trust was the most precious thing she could give me. A gift, and one I would not squander.
I kissed down her throat, taking my time despite the rut clawing at my control. Her pulse fluttered beneath my lips, rapid and wild. My hands slid under her robe, finally touching bare skin again, and she arched into me with a gasp that went straight to my cock.
Every brush of my fingers made her shiver, making those little sounds I was quickly becoming addicted to. I pushed thefabric aside slowly, giving her time to object, but she only undid the tie to help me remove it completely.
“Perfection,” I murmured, taking in the sight of her flushed skin, the way her chest rose and fell with quick breaths. I traced the curve of her ribs, her waist, watching her face as I explored. Her eyes were half closed, lips parted, and when I brushed my thumb across her nipple, her whole body jerked. “Look at you, baby. Look how good you are for me.”
She was mine. The bond could come later, but it was inevitable—I knew that now. I was made for her, and I would do whatever it took to please her.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and lifted her legs around my waist, the heat of her delicious cunt pressed against me, already soaking wet. I sank my fingers into her thighs as she nipped at my neck. I walked us back to the bedroom and dropped her onto the bed so she was spread out before me.
She reached down and spread herself open for me. “Please, Kenai.” Her pupils dilated. “Please, alpha.”
