LEO
The rhythm built slowly at first.
Long, deep strokes that made her gasp every time he bottomed out. Leo braced himself on his forearms, watching her face. The way her eyes fluttered closed when he hit a particular angle. The soft sounds she made when he ground against her clit at the end of each stroke. The way her nails scored trails down his back that made the predator inside him purr with satisfaction.
“Yes.” She breathed. “Right there, Leo, don’t stop?—”
He didn’t stop. He took her slow and deep, savoring every sensation—the drag of her walls around his cock, the way her body gripped him when he pulled back, the wet heat that welcomed him when he thrust home. She was perfect. Responsive and demanding and vocal about exactly what she wanted.
“Faster,” she demanded, her heels digging into his ass. “Leo, please?—”
He gave her what she wanted. Faster. Harder. The careful control he’d maintained all night started to fray at the edges. She met him thrust for thrust, her hips rising to meet his, her body taking everything he gave and demanding more.
The bed creaked beneath them. The headboard knocked against the wall. Neither of them cared.
“Yes, yes, right there?—”
He was losing himself in her. In the tight grip of her body, the sounds she made, the way she said his name like it was a prayer. The creature inside him pressed close, demanding, but he held it back. Not yet. Not without her permission.
His teeth found her shoulder, grazing the exact spot where a claiming bite would go. The spot where he would mark her as his, permanently, irrevocably, when they were both ready. He scraped his teeth across her skin, not breaking it, tasting. Promising.
Junie shuddered beneath him, her walls clenching around his cock. “Leo?—”
“I know.” He kissed the spot, soothing it. “Someday. Not tonight.”
“Someday.” She agreed, breathless. “But right now—right now I need?—”
He knew what she needed. He shifted his angle, hitching her leg higher over his hip, and the next thrust made her scream. He moved faster, harder, chasing her pleasure and his own. His balls tightened, the pressure building at the base of his spine, but he refused to come until she did.
“Let go,” he growled against her ear. “Come for me, Junie. I want to feel you come on my cock.”
She shattered.
Her orgasm hit like a wave, her inner walls clenching around him in rhythmic pulses that dragged him over the edge with her. Leo buried himself deep and came with a roar he couldn’t suppress, spilling inside her as pleasure blanked his vision.
For one perfect moment, there was nothing but her. Nothing but this. Nothing but the overwhelming rightness of their bodies joined, their breaths mingling, their hearts pounding in sync.
They lay tangledin the sheets, neither willing to separate.
Leo had rolled them so Junie was draped across his chest, her hair tickling his chin, her fingers tracing idle patterns on his skin. His arm curled around her waist, holding her close. Inside, the predator was quiet with satisfaction, contentment humming through his bones.
“That wasn’t sex.” Junie’s voice was quiet.
“No.” His voice was rough. “It wasn’t.”
She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes soft in the moonlight. “What was it?”
He considered the question. Considered all the things he could say about mate bonds and animal instincts, about fate and choice and the terrifying precipice they were standing on.
“A promise,” he said finally. “That there’s more when we’re ready.”
“More like… more sex?” Her lips curved. “Or more like…”
“The claiming.” He traced the curve of her shoulder, the exact spot where his teeth had scraped without breaking. “When we’re both ready. When you’ve chosen—not accepted.”
“I have chosen.”
“I know.” He pressed a kiss to her hair. “But choosing me isn’t the same as choosing the bond. The claiming is permanent, Junie. Once it’s done, it can’t be undone. You deserve time to understand what that means.”
