Moon Marked

24| Mark of Persistence

Aurelia

He wrapped a towel around my body, forgoing one of his own as he began to gently run it over my skin. It was such a comfort to be cared for by him, the relief twining with each beat of my heart as he carefully made sure I was tended to in every single way I could think of—to have me, to hold me, to make a home with me—just like his vows had promised.

Adriel had seen me like this before, soaked from head to toe. He had seen me dripping in water on three occasions now—once like this, once when he had walked me through the waterfall at the entrance of his pack, and once at our first encounter back at the sanctuary together, when I had been reciting my devotions to the moon and when I had been begging the power that held me together to present me to my mate. Little did I know then that I had finally been listened to, and little did I know that things would end up like this—with him pampering me in this massive house he had built for me, and with me teasing him so that I could get him to fuck me in every inch of it.

There was such a deep-set hunger in his gaze as I watched him, his eyes trailing every droplet of water that touched me where his hands had yet to reach, his chest heaving with every controlled breath, his need for me presented in the primality of his masculine features. His arousal towards me was more prominent now that the water hadn't softened his desire for me, his cock curving with a readiness, his every thought written so clearly in the lines on his face.

He wanted me so badly, and it was taking everything inside of him to contain that wild feeling—the exact feeling I had been trying to get him to unleash since the moment I'd found out he was mine.

It wasn't like I could blame him for the possessive ache of emotion that simmered between the bond we shared. All I wanted to do was lick away every bit of water that dared to touch him where I wasn't. It was such a stupid thought, to be jealous of an element that had no choice but to cling to his body, especially when it was a thing with no consciousness.

I knew that he was already mine, it was an unyielding feeling that clung to the best and worst parts of me, but my wolf couldn't help herself as she forced me forward.

I stumbled slightly with the force of her thoughts, his hands moving to my waist as he caught me before I lost my balance.

"Careful." He murmured, a tender warning that warmed me right up as I angled my head to the crook of his neck and took in a deep breath of his scent.

It was such a comforting aroma to be surrounded by, a heavy and spicy scent that filled me up as if I had been fed a three course meal.

His fingers pressed harsher against my hips as I moved closer to him, my wolf urging me to get rid of the distance between us as the towel in his hands fell to the floor. My wolfish need was at the forefront of my mind as I felt his chest rumbling with a growl, and without much control over my actions, I licked a line straight up the slope of his neck.

His entire body stiffened in response to my intimate act and I froze in shock at what I had just done, listening to him take in a deep breath.

Licking was a term of endearment in wolf form, and to lick one's mate was an enticement towards a more physical form of attack.

Adriel and I might have struck an agreement in human form, but this motion had superseded that. It wasn't like I had planned for things to turn out like this, but in doing so, I knew there was no way his wolf would be able to ignore my call for him now.

His hands moved against my body as if he was preparing himself for something that I had yet to understand, and when he had comprehended the invitation I had just given to him, his hold on me twisted and in seconds he'd turned me around and had me pushed up against the edge of the sink. I struggled to breathe for a moment as his hand wrapped around my throat, watching him in the mirror in front of us and taking account of the way his eyes had lost all their colour.