She smiled up at him, ran her finger down his nose. “Tomcat. What are you going to do with your little bad wolf?”

His growl strengthened. Sean was losing control, and instead of that terrifying her, Andrea wanted to laugh. Who said Sean could steal all her power?

She let her fingers drift across his cheek, which was flushed and hot. “I’m ready.”

Sean’s hand was hard as he stroked it around her breast. “Be sure, love. I’m big.”

“Bragger.”

“’Tis true. And you’re not fully Shifter.”

Shifters were larger—in all ways—than human males. Kim had told Andrea that salient fact, along with measurements. Eleven inches was common. Female Shifters, according to Glory, were built to accommodate, but Andrea was part Fae, her build more slender than that of most Shifter women. But Kim had learned to accommodate Liam—even without the obvious evidence of her pregnancy, the noise those two made next door proved it.

“I’m willing to give it a shot.” Andrea lifted her foot, toes teasing the back of Sean’s thigh up to his bu**ocks.

The movement opened her to Sean, and his tip slid straight in. Andrea stopped laughing, her breath speeding at the feel of him inside her. Only a few inches inside her, but she already wanted more.

She rubbed her foot on his thigh, encouraging him. His size was surprising but also exciting. What would it feel like when he was all the way in?

“Sean. Please.”

His eyes were his wildcat’s, no trace of the human left. But he softened his touch, gently kissing her lips as he slid his way into her wet and open passage.

Andrea’s head went back on the pillow, her thoughts scattering. Sean was hard and hot, heavy on her, and yet, he touched her with such tenderness that her eyes filled with tears.

“Andrea, love.” Sean closed his eyes on a groan as he slid in. He opened them again, the dark blue returning as he looked at her. “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you.”

Andrea tried to answer, but only a groan came out of her mouth. She lifted herself against him, using her legs to pull him in and in.

It didn’t hurt. Not exactly. Kim had told her that the first time for human females could be painful and about the hymen, a barrier that had to be broken. As far as Andrea knew, Shifter women had no such barrier. Shifters had been bred to mate, and anything that kept them from that had been left out of their physiology.

But Sean stretched her, entering a place that had never been touched. Andrea’s heart soared. Sean had rescued her, making sure that her first time was with a male like him—a hard-bodied, protective, beautiful male who cared about her. Who cared about her.

“Sean.” She loved saying his name, and this was a heartfelt cry of joy.

He was all the way in. Andrea opened her eyes, stared right back into his.

“Andy-love,” Sean rasped. “I don’t know if I can do this slowly. I don’t want to be hurting you.”

“I’m pretty strong, Sean Morrissey,” she whispered.

“You are, but so am I. Stronger.”

More excitement. “Let’s see what happens.” To emphasize her point, Andrea leaned forward and bit his neck.

Sean growled. His eyes flicked from blue to Shifter, back to dark blue again. “You asked for it, love.”

She had. And she loved it. Sean slid almost all the way out of her and then firmly back in, Andrea’s body opening for the stroke. He stayed all the way in for a few seconds, stretching her wonderfully, then he drew back and did it again. And again.

Andrea lost coherence. She held on to him with both hands, one leg wrapped firmly around his thigh, and gave in to ecstasy as she met his thrusts with her own.

They didn’t hold back. Sean stroked into her again and again, and Andrea cried his name and begged with her body for him to give her more.

The bed scraped against the floor, but it didn’t matter. There was no one downstairs to hear, no one in the world but herself and Sean. He was big, he was hard, and she loved every inch of him.

Sean gave up trying to go slowly. After a while, they were riding each other, bodies arching and moving together in a rhythm so perfect that Andrea knew her entire life had been hurtling her toward this wonderful moment.

When she started to climax, she looked straight at Sean. What she saw looking back at her were Sean’s dark blue eyes, intense under black brows, pupils widening as he rode her.

Andrea couldn’t look away. His dominant gaze held her, pinned her, and yet, it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. He was looking straight into her heart. Something inside Andrea started to sing, like a violin string that had been out of tune suddenly tightened and made right.

The vibration warmed her heart, warmed her entire body. She tingled with it, and it poured out of her mouth in her cries of excitement, threatened to flow from her eyes as tears.

Sean shouted her name. He held her gaze as he started to climax, and Andrea couldn’t look away. Sean was buried deep inside her, his thrusts generating little shocks as they locked together.

Shifters mated for life. He was part of Andrea now, as he scalded her inside, his body loving hers. At last Sean squeezed his eyes shut, breaking the gaze, and threw back his head with a fierce, lionlike snarl.

Mine, the Shifter in him was saying, and the Shifter in Andrea answered.

Mine. My mate. My love.

The mate bond. It twined around her heart, tightening as Sean opened his eyes and looked down at her again, his face softening in his pleasure.