Page 36 of Howl About That

She cupped his face in her hands and crashed her lips against his, the world exploding into sensation and need and everything she'd been denying herself for far too long.

FOURTEEN

KEIRO

The kiss was everything—not the tentative exploration of their first time, but a surrender so complete it felt like coming home. Her lips moved against his with a hunger that mirrored the raw need clawing through him, her taste flooding his senses until control became a distant memory. His wolf surged forward aggressively, demanding more, demanding the bond completion.

Claim. Mark. Now.

Keiro had orchestrated this dinner with meticulous care—the salmon with saffron beurre blanc, the candles, the careful selection of a wine that complemented both the food and the promise of the evening. He couldn't deny the overboard attempt to impress her, and to create a space where business could bleed into something more personal. He was sure she'd seen right through it.

The past week of clipped phone calls and rushed lunches had been a special kind of torture, his wolf growing restless and the mate bond a constant, maddening pull. Now, with her in his lap and her fingers tangling in his hair as she kissed him like she was starving, he wasn't about to question the gift she was giving him.

He didn't break the kiss. He couldn't. Instead, he stood in one fluid motion and lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms locking around his neck with instinctive grace. Then he carried her from the dining room, their lips still locked together, and the mate bond intensifying with every step.

"Stumbling a bit there," she breathed against his mouth when he misjudged the first step to the grand staircase.

"Sorry, I'm a bit distracted," he managed against her lips, taking the grand staircase two steps at a time, driven by a singular focus.

The corridor to his private chambers seemed to stretch for miles, every second an eternity with her scent weaving around him and her heat searing through the thin fabric of her dress. He soon fumbled with the door handle while still claiming her mouth, but he shouldered it open and carried her inside to the four-poster bed that dominated the room. He laid her down gently, the yellow sundress a splash of sunlight against the dark sheets. But she pulled him closer before he had a chance to reach for the delicate straps, her kiss turning demanding as her hands reached for the hem of his henley. He reluctantly broke away to yank it over his head, tossing it aside. Then her dress followed, the delicate straps giving way under his trembling fingers.

Tonight wasn't about rushed passion. It was a devotion and a worship he needed her to feel in every cell. He wanted to map every inch of her, to show her with his hands and mouth what words still failed to convey.

He lowered his mouth to the column of her throat, tracing the rapid pulse there with his tongue before blazing a trail downward to her breasts. Then he lavished attention on each one, alternating between featherlight licks and deep, sucking pulls that drew sharp gasps and low moans from her lips. The sounds were a symphony to his starved soul.

"Keiro, I need more…"

He knew exactly what she wanted.

He trailed kisses down the toned plane of her abdomen, savoring the way her muscles jumped under his lips. Then he nuzzled against the lace of her panties, breathing in the sweet, intoxicating scent of her arousal. His cock throbbed painfully against his jeans, but this was about her right now.

He hooked his fingers in the lace and drew them down her legs with deliberate slowness, her body shivering with anticipation. When he finally lowered his mouth to her, he didn't dive in right away. He teased, kissing the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, and licking a slow, maddening path inward that made her hips arch off the bed.

"Please." Her hands fisted in his hair, not pushing, but holding on as if she might float away.

He obeyed willingly, and he tasted her fully, his tongue sweeping through her slick heat before delving inside. He built a rhythm with his tongue, then added the slow, deep thrust of two fingers, curling them just so. She cried out her pleasure, the sound echoing off the stone walls of his bedroom. Within minutes, he felt her tighten, her thighs clamping around his head as her back bowed off the bed.

"Let go, Poppy," he growled against her, the vibration tipping her over the edge.

Her orgasm crashed through her, a tidal wave of sensation that he felt through their bond—a dazzling burst of pure ecstasy. He drank it in, gentling his touch as she shuddered and gasped beneath him.

When he finally lifted his head, she was staring at him through hazy, sated eyes with a soft smile on her swollen lips. He started to move to kiss that smile, but she sat up, pushing him back onto the bed with surprising strength.

"My turn," she said, her voice husky with need.

Before he could process her intent, she was kneeling between his legs, her clever fingers making quick work of his button and zipper. Then she pulled his jeans and boxers down, freeing his aching cock, and her blue eyes darkened like a predator admiring her prize. His control started to fray at the edges, then she leaned down and took him into her mouth without hesitation, and the world went white.

"Poppy." The groan was torn from him.

Her mouth was heaven—hot, wet, and impossibly skilled. She worked him with a combination of suction and tongue, her hand stroking in rhythm, and for a dizzying moment, he thought he might black out from the pleasure. He braced his hands on the bed, grounding him to reality. His wolf was howling, desperate to be inside her, to claim and be claimed, but this… this was its own kind of perfection. Then she took him deeper, her throat working around him, and the control he prided himself on frayed into nothing.

"Enough," he rasped, his voice strained with need.

He gently pulled her off and she looked up, confusion and desire warring in her expression.

His gaze locked with hers. "I need to be inside you. Now."

Her smile returned, slow and wicked. "I was thinking the same thing."