“Good girl,” I praise.
Her lashes flutter as I add a second finger, scissoring them gently to stretch her. Her hips rock helplessly. I curl my fingers and find the spot that makes her cry out, my thumb stroking steady circles on her clit until the crest builds and breaks through her in shivering waves. She clutches at my shoulders, mouth open against my neck, coming apart with complete, unguarded trust.
I breathe her in, give her every second of it, keep moving through the aftershocks until she sags into the pillows, loose-limbed and glowing. When I slip my fingers free, she’s still pulsing, her slick heat clinging to my skin. I almost spill just from thesightof her.
“Ready?” I ask when she opens her eyes again.
She nods, cheeks flushed, hair wild. “Yes.”
I notch the head of my cock at her entrance, the heat of her a stunning shock even after my hand, my mouth, my patience. I push in a breath, then another, only the barest inch.
Her eyebrows pull together. I still.
“Breathe with me,” I say softly, eyes on hers. “In for four.”
She huffs out a laugh despite the tension pulling her muscles taut. “Okay, coach.”
I smile, holding her gaze as I move another fraction, stretching her around me, feeling the resistance that tells me this is her first time. I’m her first lover.
My wolf howls inside me.First and last. Ours.
“Out for six,” I murmur, clinging to my control.
She exhales, her body opening and reaching for me. I keep it slow—impossibly, teeth-grittingly slow—until her hands slide to my hips and she whispers, “More. Please, Reid.”
I press deeper, her sheath tight and perfect. A brief, sharp catch, a small whimper as her nails bite into my back, and then I’m fully seated, surrounded by her, claimed and claiming. We both go still, breathing like we’ve run a mile.
“Okay?” I manage.
She nods, eyes wet, smiling through it. “Okay. Better than okay.”
Relief and awe crash through me so hard I have to close my eyes for a second.
I kiss her gently as I move, shallow at first, letting her body learn mine and mine learn hers. The bond hums louder, not a command or a compulsion, butus, a shared frequency. She lifts her hips to meet me, finding a tentative rhythm, and her moan of pleasure as we sync is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.
“You feel so good,” I groan, moving a little faster, sinking a little deeper. She gasps, the desire chasing the hurt from her features. “That’s it. Take me. You’re doing so well.”
Her hands frame my face like she’s memorizing me. “I love how you talk to me. It makes me feel wanted. Safe.”
I push deeper, slowly and thoroughly, and her eyes roll. “Youaresafe,” I promise. “Always.”
The fire pops. The cabin breathes with us. I angle my hips and find the place inside her that lights her up. She keens, lashes fluttering, thighs tightening around my waist. I keep that angle,steady and sure, my thumb finding her again and circling until she’s trembling, until she’s whisperingplease please pleaseinto my mouth.
“Let go for me,” I tell her roughly. “Come with me, little wolf.”
She does. Her body clenches around me in a hot, rippling squeeze that drags me straight over the edge with her. I thrust once more and bury myself deep, spilling into her with a hoarse groan I couldn’t hold back if I tried. It’s not simply release; it’s relief, home, a heated vow. I hold her through it, mouth on her temple, her cheek, her lips, as if kisses could stitch the moment into our bones.
When the trembling ebbs, I ease us onto our sides without leaving her, keeping our bodies fitted, smoothing her hair back from her damp forehead. She looks at me, sated and soft and a little stunned.
“You okay?” I ask, stroking my thumb over her cheekbone.
She smiles, slow and hazy. “More than okay.” Her palm settles over my heart, like she’s checking it’s still there. “It was… wow.”
I huff a laugh and kiss her palm. “You’re wow.”
Silence stretches, warm and easy as our breathing evens.
Scarlett tilts her head. “Are we knitting now?”
