Page 46 of Howl About That

"No." Her voice was hoarse but determined. "I need to tell you something and I can't wait another moment."

Here it comes.

The moment when she told him she loved him, but it wouldn't work. When she explained that things were too messy, too complicated, that they should go their separate ways before he hurt her again.

He stepped aside, gesturing her into the warmth of the estate, and then led her to the living room. The fire he'd built earlier cast dancing shadows across the living room walls as he led her toward the couch. Keiro settled onto the leather cushions, bracing himself for rejection. But instead of maintaining distance as he'd expected, Poppy sat beside him and turned to face him directly.

Her hands captured his, warm and surprisingly steady. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

The words hit him like lightning. He opened his mouth to speak—to apologize, to take responsibility—but she squeezed his hands tighter.

"No." Her blue eyes held his with fierce intensity. "Let me finish. I shouldn't have pushed you away, but I let fear win in the moment. I let eleven years of independence and survival mode and doubt get the better of me."

Her voice gained strength with each word, the Alpha authority he'd fallen in love with reasserting itself. "You weretrying to protect me. Protect our future. And I saw it as you trying to erase me."

Keiro's chest tightened as understanding dawned in her expression.

"But I understand now that everything you've done—buying my pride land at the auction, looking into my father's murder—it was all because you loved me. Because you saw someone you care about struggling and you wanted to make it better." Her smile was tremulous but genuine. "I understand that although you love imperfectly and make some pretty bold decisions at times, you love me completely."

The admission broke something loose in his chest. He squeezed her hands tighter, his voice rough with emotion. "Poppy, I love you so completely it scares me sometimes. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, but I realize I've done two things that severely hurt you, and for that, I'm sorry."

"I know you are." Her thumb traced across his knuckles in soothing circles. "And I know you're so used to fixing and controlling things that sometimes you forget to ask me before you do something. But I've also seen you grow and change over the past week. I've seen you trying."

"I've seen you trying too." The words came out fierce with conviction. "I've seen you trying to envision a future where you don't have to carry everything alone. But I also know it scares you to let go of that control." He paused. "I just want to help you carry the load. I want to see you live, not just survive. And I want to be by your side every day for the rest of my life."

Her smile transformed her entire face, chasing away the shadows of doubt and fear. "I meant what I said last night—that I want to build the house with you. The house being our future together. And maybe an actual house we can live in too, one you can design of course."

His heart hammered as hope unfurled in his chest. "So what are you saying right now?"

"I'm saying I know things are still messy and complicated, but I choose you, Keiro." Her voice carried the weight of absolute certainty. "And I want to complete our bond. I don't want to let another second go by without you knowing that you are my safe place, my true home." She paused. "I'm ready to face whatever comes next with you—fully bonded and fully committed to learning how to share the load."

Words felt inadequate for the magnitude of what she was offering. Instead, Keiro released her hands and cupped her face. Then he kissed her with every ounce of love and devotion he possessed.

The kiss was fierce and deep, sixteen years of loneliness and sacrifice pouring into the connection between their lips. She kissed him back with equal intensity, and through the bond, he felt all her love and hope and excitement for their future flooding through him like wildfire.

Keiro's hands slid from her face into her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss. It wasn't gentle or tentative. It was a claiming, a confirmation, a desperate sealing of promises. His wolf roared in triumph, a primal demand surging through his blood.

Mark. Bind. Now.

When he finally broke the kiss, his breathing ragged, he rested his forehead against hers. "We don't have to rush this," he managed. He forced the words past the instinct that wanted to strip her bare and complete the bond on this very couch. "Let me cherish you. Let me make this moment everything you deserve."

She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, her blue gaze molten with a need that mirrored his own. "I know you want to go slow. I know you want to savor." Her fingers tracedhis jaw. "But my lioness isn't asking for that right now. She's demanding your mark and demanding to complete our bond."

The raw honesty of it shattered his restraint. A slow, fierce smile spread across his face. "Then let's not keep her waiting."

Poppy moved with a swiftness that stole his breath. In one fluid motion, she was off the couch, her fingers working the buttons of her blouse. The firelight painted her skin in gold and shadow as fabric fell away. There was no shyness, no hesitation—only the fierce, beautiful urgency of a woman claiming what was hers. He stood up from the couch, mirroring her, his own clothes soon discarded in a heap beside hers. The air between them crackled, thick with the scent of their mutual need.

Her eyes tracked over him, a predator appreciating her prize, before she nodded toward the thick bear pelt rug spread before the fireplace. "There."

He didn't need further instruction. He moved to the rug and stretched out on the soft fur, the heat from the flames licking at his side. The sight of her approaching, naked and magnificent, her body a masterpiece of powerful curves and lean muscle, was a vision that branded itself into his soul. He wanted to memorize every detail of this moment as she knelt over him and straddled his hips—the way the firelight gilded the slope of her shoulders, the defiant set of her chin, and the dark fall of her hair against her skin.

"Look at me," he commanded softly.

Her eyes, dark and fierce, locked with his. In their depths, he saw the echo of her lioness—proud, possessive, and finally ready.

The feel of her weight settling against him coupled with the heat of her core against his throbbing cock drew a ragged groan from him. His hands found her hips, his grip anchoring them both. She reached between them, her fingers wrapping around his cock, guiding him to her entrance. The first press was an exquisite torture. Then she sank down, taking him in, inch bydevastating inch. The sensation was absolute, a perfect, tight heat that threatened to unravel him immediately. He hissed through clenched teeth, his knuckles white where he held her.

When he was fully sheathed, she braced her palms on his chest, her head tipping back and a satisfied sound tearing from her throat. For a moment, they were utterly still, connected in the most fundamental way, the bond between them humming so intensely.