Page 37 of Howl About That

She climbed over him and straddled his hips, the heat of her just brushing against his cock, making them both shudder. The moonlight sliced through the bedroom windows, painting her body in stark relief against the dark of his bedroom. Her skin glowed and her dark hair was a wild cascade over her shoulders. His gaze traveled from the fierce set of her jaw down to the perfect, full curves of her breasts, and his wolf growled with satisfaction.

His hands moved of their own volition, rising to cup her breasts. The weight of them in his large hands was perfect, fillinghis palms as his thumbs swept over her nipples, feeling them peak into hard points.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured, the words rough with emotion.

She smiled and reached between them, her fingers wrapping around his throbbing cock. The sensation was electric, a direct line to his spine as she guided him to her entrance, the slick heat of her a brand against his sensitive tip. Through the mate bond, it wasn't just sensation—it was a feedback loop of pure desire. Her need was a wildfire, and his own want was the tinder. It created an intensity that obliterated every carefully constructed wall he'd ever built around his heart.

She began to sink down, taking him inside her with an agonizing, exquisite slowness. Inch by torturous inch, her tight heat sheathed him, and a groan tore from his lips.

Home.

The word resonated in his soul, his wolf howling in triumphant agreement.

When he was fully seated within her, she stilled, her inner muscles fluttering around him in a maddening pulse. She looked down at him, her expression one of fierce possession, and then she began to move. It was a slow, deliberate roll of her hips, a rhythm designed to drive him out of his mind. He gripped her hips, his fingers digging into the strong muscle there, not to steer but to anchor himself. He would let her set the pace. He would let her take exactly what she needed from him. His role here wasn't to lead; it was to withstand the glorious torment of her control.

Within minutes, her pleasure built like a storm, cresting through their bond. Her movements became less measured and more urgent. He met her thrust for thrust now, driving up into her as she rocked against him. He could feel the telltale tightening of her walls and the coiling tension that promisedher release. His wolf was clawing at the inside of his skin, demanding the ultimate claim. The question was out before he could temper it with logic.

"Let me mark you, Poppy."

She went still above him. Not in rejection but in a profound moment of consideration. He felt the spike of her fear through their bond—not of him but of the irrevocable step.

"Not yet," she whispered as she started to move again.

His wolf whined in protest. But the man understood.

Patience.

She had come this far. She was here, in his bed, giving him this. He would wait for the rest. He would wait forever if he had to.

"Alright," he said softly.

As if his acceptance freed her, she threw her head back and moved faster against him, a desperate chase for the peak. He met her with intensity, thrusting up with a power that made the bed groan in protest. Each thrust was perfectly aimed, finding that deep spot inside her that made her cry out her pleasure.

He felt the exact moment she fractured. Her inner walls clenched around his cock in a fierce, rhythmic pulse and her body bowed as her orgasm tore through her. Through the mate bond, he felt her waves of blinding, white-hot pleasure as if they were his own.

Her climax was his undoing. The sensations through the mate bond and the intense milking of her body around his cock pulled his own release from him with violent force. It ripped up his spine and exploded outward, his seed spilling deep inside her as a ragged groan was wrenched from his throat. His body shuddered and every muscle locked and then went limp as the aftershocks rolled through him.

For long minutes, there was only the sound of their ragged breathing and the pound of two hearts slowing into sync. Butshe didn't pull away. She collapsed against him, her ear over his heart and one hand pressed against his sweat-dampened chest. The simple act of it, of her not retreating back behind her walls, sent a surge of emotion through him so potent it stole his breath.

Gently, he rolled them to their sides, keeping her tucked tightly against him, holding her as if she were the only solid thing in his world. Then he pressed a kiss to her forehead, his lips lingering against her skin.

"You're the best thing to ever happen to me." His words were soft and raw with a truth he could no longer contain.

He felt her smile against his shoulder. "Even though you started by buying my land out from under me and making me cry?"

"Well, it brought you here, didn't it?" he teased as he nuzzled her hair, inhaling her wildflower and rain scent now mingled with his own. "I'd buy a hundred parcels of land if it led to this moment."

She took a deep breath as if preparing to reveal something profound, her fingers tracing his chest. "What if we stopped pretending this is just a business partnership?"

His entire body stilled, and he leaned back just enough to see her face. "What are you implying?"

Her blue eyes were clear, open, and utterly fearless. "I'm implying that I want to explore this. Us. The bond. All of it. The business is the foundation, but it's not the house. I want to build the house with you."

A smile broke across his face, so wide and unguarded it felt foreign. It was the biggest, most genuine smile of his entire life. Joy, fierce and bright, exploded in his chest, momentarily eclipsing everything—the pack politics, Helias's disapproval, the ninety-day deadline. None of it mattered in the face of this.

"Nothing could possibly make me happier," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

He cupped her face and kissed her again. This kiss was nothing like the hungry, desperate ones that came before. It was slow and deep, pouring every ounce of his love, his hope, and his unwavering excitement for the future they would carve out together into that connection between their lips.