Which was good, because she didn’t want that tonight. A foreign hunger raced through her and she wanted him to sate it.

Alaric’s inner wolf craved Felicia’s submission during their mating and he felt humbled she was giving him this freely. Humbled because he loved her. Part of him wanted to tell her now, but he couldn’t find the words. They caught in his throat because he was afraid talking would screw this up. He just wanted to show her how he felt and for once his animal and human side were in agreement. Words weren’t what Felicia needed, actions were.

He ran his hand down her delicate back until he reached the base of her spine. As he leaned forward to kiss her there, he caught her gaze on him. Bright and hot. The blatant need in her eyes was as clear as if she’d told him exactly what she wanted out loud. He feathered a few light kisses along her back before grasping her hips.

The time for foreplay was over. For so many years he’d been waiting for her. For this bonding. He already knew she was wet, even more so after her orgasm, so he didn’t test her slickness with his fingers. He didn’t need his hand to guide his cock to her tight opening, but mainly he didn’t want his callused hand on himself. He only wanted to feel Felicia wrapped around him.

His cock knew exactly where it wanted to go. Despite the searing need inside him, he slowly eased into her tight sheath, careful to let her body adjust to his width.

She pushed out a long breath as he buried himself inside her. A long growl escaped him. He couldn’t have held it back if he’d wanted it to. The feel of her soft folds holding him captive was almost too much. She was so damn tight.

That was the only thing that kept him still instead of pounding into her like his inner animal demanded. “Are you okay?” he managed to rasp out.

Her inner walls clenched around him and when she looked at him over her shoulder, he saw the raw hunger in her eyes. “I won’t break and I don’t need you to be gentle. Not right now.”

That was the only answer he needed. Drawing back, he began rhythmically thrusting into her over and over, feeling her clamp around him tighter with each movement. Her inner walls convulsed in quicker successions the faster he moved.

She was tight but her body molded to him perfectly. As if they were made for each other. “I’ve fantasized about this for years,” he murmured, barely getting the words out.

As soon as he said it, her back arched and she grasped the sheets beneath her in a death grip. The way her inner walls convulsed tighter and tighter told him that she was close to climaxing again. He planned to make sure she did. One of his hands tightened on her hip and he reached around with the other and palmed one of her breasts.

In this position it felt heavy in his grasp. He tweaked her already hard nipple, fascinated by how she clenched harder around him each time he teased her breast.

When she moaned and began milking him even faster, he let go of his control. His canines instinctively lengthened with the need to mark her. Palming her stomach, he pulled her until her back was tight against his chest.

Her climax flowed through her trembling body as he fastened his teeth onto her neck. As he broke the skin—claiming her—her entire body jerked under his hold. She cried out his name but he barely heard it as he let out his own shout.

With a sharp jolt, he came inside her in long, hot thrusts as she wrung everything from him. His growl was primal and probably heard by everyone in the house, but he didn’t care. He wanted everyone to know Felicia was his.

As his climax subsided, he wrapped his arm around her stomach and slowly withdrew from her. Lowering them both to the bed, his eyes widened when he saw a small bonding symbol that had formed directly below her upper shoulder. It was an infinity symbol.

His chest tightened as he traced the slightly raised character with his finger. He’d never believed in any sort of destiny bullshit until he’d met Felicia. Seeing this was more irrefutable evidence they were meant to be together. Tattoo-like symbols always appeared somewhere on the body of true mates after they bonded. The symbol often related to the owners’ heritage, so his would likely be something ancient Germanic. Right now he didn’t care where it was on his body or what it looked like; he knew he’d have one if she did. He just wanted to hold his mate.

Before he could move, she turned to face him and curled her entire body around him like a silky ribbon. Her soft curves melded to him as her dark hair spilled seductively over his chest.

His breathing was still shallow, matching hers as they lay there. He didn’t sense any discomfort from her but still… “Did I hurt you?” The thought of doing so tore a hole inside him.

He could feel her smile against his chest as she shook her head. “That was amazing. I didn’t think the first time would be like that, but…wow.”

Alaric pushed out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Even though they’d mated there was one more thing he needed to tell her. With a finger, he lifted her chin from his chest so she had to look at him. “I should have said this before, but I love you Felicia, and it has nothing to do with being mates. Even if my wolf hadn’t chosen you, I would have.”

Her blue eyes darkened as he’d come to learn they often did when her emotions changed. “I feel the same way. I was half in love with you a month into our correspondence—even though I wouldn’t admit it to myself. When I thought you were going to mate with someone else, I knew I loved you. I…” She shook her head and swallowed hard.

Unable to stop himself, he kissed her. Her tongue met his in an erotic dance he knew he’d never tire of. As she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, he fisted her hips and moved her so that she straddled him. He knew she’d be too sore to make love again but for now he simply wanted to hold her. They had the rest of their lives together to pleasure each other.