Page 132 of Freed By the Witchbone Knife

“Careful, lass. Or I’ll knot ye before you’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” I gasped out. “Please, Axel. I need—I need⁠—“

“Trust me to know what ye need.” His fingers finally pressed harder against my clit, circling with purpose. “Gonna give it to ye. Gonna knot ye so full you’ll feel me for weeks.”

His thrusts became shorter. More grinding than thrusting. I could feel it starting—the base of his cock beginning to swell.

“Deep breaths, sweetheart.”

The knot expanded, stretching me impossibly wider. The burn was intense, right on the edge of too much, but then it was inside and we were locked together and⁠—

Oh God.

“Fuck—Axel—I can’t—it’s too much⁠—“

“You’ve got it. You’ve got all of me now.” His hand around my throat gave a reassuring squeeze. The other abandoned my clit and came up to cup my breast, to hold me tightly against him as his hips rocked against mine without pulling his cock free. The knot dragged against my inner walls with every tiny movement, sending shockwaves through my entire body. “How does it feel?”

“Full,” I managed, my voice breaking. “So full. Can feel you—everywhere⁠—“

“Good. That’s how it should be.” He released my breast and found my clit again. He worked it faster, movements growing more insistent. “Now come on my knot, Rebecca. Show me you’re mine.”

I shattered with a cry, my eyes wide, staring at the rich wood ceiling. The pleasure was immense. Deeper than anything I’d ever felt. Starting in my core and radiating outward in waves that seemed to go on forever as I milked his cock, my whole body shaking, clenching around his knot so hard it had to hurt.

Axel roared, his own release slamming into him. I felt him pulse inside me, felt the heat of his come flooding me, filling me. Felt every hot lash as my sex throbbed in time to him. The knot kept it all locked inside, not a single drop escaping.

Then his teeth sank into my flesh.

Right where my shoulder met my throat.

There was no warning.

Just the piercing hot flash of pain as I cried out again, jerking to get free. But his hand tightened around my throat, the other coming around my waist to keep me pinned to him. To ensure his knot didn’t harm me if I pulled free.

Pain and pleasure merged, became indistinguishable.

Something shifted. Like a door opening inside my chest. Warmth flooded through me, not my own. A presence settling into place beside my heart—constant and solid and Axel. I could feel him there. Not his thoughts, per se, but his emotions. The fierce possessive love. The relief so profound it made my breath catch. The joy. The lingering thread of fear that this was too good to last.

I gasped, tears streaming down my face, a mix of pain and the joy radiating from him. “I can feel you.”

“Aye.” He pulled his teeth free and began licking the wound, his tongue soothing the sting. “The mate bond.”

I tried to crane my neck to see the bite but I couldn’t.

His arms tightened around me, his forehead pressing against me.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too, Rebecca.” His voice broke. “So fucking much.”

I felt those words land somewhere deep in my chest. He’d carried centuries of loss and solitude, and he’d just handed me something precious, something I suspected he’d never given another living soul since becoming a wolf. My throat went tight with the magnitude of it.

I reached back, threading my fingers into his hair, anchoring him to me. “I’ve got you. We’ve got each other.”

He made a broken sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sob, then carefully rolled us onto our sides, spooning me, still locked together by his knot. One arm wrapped possessively around my waist, the other pillowing my head.

“How long?” I asked aloud, my voice hoarse from screaming.

“At least thirty minutes.” He pressed kisses to my shoulder, my neck, the bite mark. Anywhere he could reach. “Maybe longer. First time knotting takes a while.”