Page 53 of A Wolf for Winter

He kissed her neck again, loving the way she lifted her chin to grant him access, and gently squeezed the soft, firm mound of flesh in his hand. Her nipple pearled against his palm seconds later, her breath shallow and inconsistent. Her fingers found his hair again, dragging him lower. Grinning, he obeyed, kissing until his teeth teased the erect peak shielded by her dress with a gentle nip.

Then he nearly jumped out of his skin as her hand shot out and palmed the iron-hard bulge in his pants.

“Oh,” she exclaimed, pulling her hand away. Her cheeks turned from carnation pink to pomegranate red. “I’m so sorry. I-I–”

He grabbed her wrist and jammed her hand back onto his cock, groaning as her fingers tightened around him. Stroked. Allen hadn’t realized his eyes had fluttered shut, but when he opened them, he found his woman’s face lit with excitement, wonder, and a little pride. She clearly enjoyed seeing him unravel and knowing she was the cause of it.

But a wolf never came before his mate. Allen dragged his hand down her ribs, over her hip, and paused on her thigh, fingers indenting. He sought her ivy-green eyes, so vivid a green they reminded him of the forests he used to find solace in, and breathed her name in question. Permission. She granted it with a nod, pinching her lower lip between her teeth in anticipation.

With one hand braced on the wall beside her shoulder, one knee bent on the bay window seat, he slipped his other hand under the hem of her dress.

Spirits above, his woman’s skin was softer than satin. Warm and smooth like fresh cream. He could barely concentrate on the feel of her from what she was doing with his cock, but he fought back his own pleasure to focus on hers. When he reached the soaked silk of her panties, his pulse jumped with elation. Hooking them with his fingers, he tore them aside. Then, with a firm yet gentle push, his slipped his fingers into the damp cleft between her thighs. Lilac shuddered.

“Allen.” His name was a prayer on her lips.

“Yes, sweet girl,” he murmured, sliding his fingers over and over her clit. “Tell me what you want.”

“That,” she answered immediately, eyes fluttering shut. She forgot all about what her hand had been doing to him, and he didn’t mind in the least. He wanted to see his woman come apart above anything else. “Faster, please.”

He picked up the pace.

Her breath became little yips and moans. Her hands dug into him, one on his forearm, the other his shoulder, fighting for the leverage to arch her hips into his hand. Her arousal was the most wondrous scent he’d ever smelled.

“You feel incredible, Lilac,” he told her, his own voice a ragged whisper. Spirits above, he was nearing orgasm himself and she wasn’t even touching his cock anymore. Just watching her, feeling her respond to his every caress, was exhilarating. His curled his fingers, delving deep inside her. Lilac arched her spine with a muted cry. “I’ve got you, sweet girl. Now shatter for me.”

Her eyes flew open, her luscious mouth gulping for breath. She looked wild, perhaps a little scared, and Allen pressed a fierce kiss against her lips. “Fall into me, Lilac. Let me make you scream.” She felt gloriously hot against his pumping fingers, her muscles clenching as she raced towards the edge.

“Oh, Allen.” Her voice was a hiss of pleasure. She was so deliciously close. “I’m, I’m—”

Then came a sound that threatened to ruin everything. A protest of a faraway hinge, a scuff of a boot against a worn floorboard, then a questing voice, “Lilac? Are you up here?”

“Rose,” Lilac squeaked in panic.

“Stay with me,” he growled, his voice brooking no argument. “You are mine, Lilac, and I’m not sharing you.”

The meaning of those words thundered through him, convincing him that what he’d only hoped for was actually true. Watching her respond effortlessly to his every touch, the sight of the trust and love in her eyes, sealed the truth in his heart that she was his soulmate, unmarked or not.

But to stay in Annesley Valley was a death sentence. To leave would destroy his soul. And yet, to protect her, to love her, he would gladly accept any fate.

But what would she think when he finally revealed to her that he was a wolf? Despite the green spark, would she reject him like everyone else had?

He could stop everything right now, before any more damage could occur, before—

His woman rasped his name, her spine arching. It was all the reassurance he needed.

I’m not going anywhere, sweet girl, whatever the cost.

Allen redoubled his efforts, his fingers rubbing and stroking and kneading at double time.

It was too much for her to resist. Lilac clenched, her ecstasy flooding against his hand. Her knees snapped shut, brushing against his cock in a control-shattering caress and trapping his fingers inside her as her head pitched back to scream his name.

Allen slammed his hand over her mouth, not hard, but it stifled the sound. Her ivy-green eyes were ringed with white as she sucked in a breath through her nose. Her fingers dug into his flesh, anchoring her to this world even as she rocketed heavenward. Again and again, the waves of her pleasure ebbed and flowed around him. Her eyelids fluttered as her body sagged against the cushions.

“Lilac?” Rose tried again. “Is that you?”

Allen had almost forgotten about her. He smiled mischievously down at the sister Rose sought and started moving his trapped hand again. His touch was lazy and entirely motivated by the pleasure he got when she squirmed with delight under him.

“I don’t feel like hunting through all these boxes to find you,” Rose shouted, “so if you’re up here, Boar wants you down in an hour to hang the garlands and whatnot. And if you find Allen, bring him, too. He’s run off somewhere.”