Heart of a Beast

Chapter 34 | Crystal

He was all male. All animal.

"I have been holding myself back. I have been trying to give you more time to adjust. You only just shifted into your wolf, so I understand how easy it is to be overwhelmed by the senses. And yet, you bared your neck to me more than once and I've held myself back because I didn't think you were physically ready for me. You bore your neck to me again earlier today. You pressed your body against mine. I was ready to take you—I was going to make you mine."

She dragged air into her lungs as he licked his lips and looked down at hers. The memories struck her—the heady smell of his arousal consuming her, his body pressed against hers, his hands squeezing her butt, his mouth devouring hers before laying claim to the place he would mark her—

He released a shuddering breath, snapping her out of her memories. "I'm not capable of holding back now. I need my mate and I need her now. If you open the doors, you commit to being fully mine, and I, fully yours. The choice is yours. If you stay inside and lock me out, I'll understand, but I can't be near you."

"For how long?" she asked, feeling all at once a sense of abandonment and longing to be near him.

She reached up and pressed her palm against the glass.

Closing his eyes, he leaned his forehead against the screen door and raised his palm, planting it across from hers.

"I don't know. A day or two? A long run in the wilderness might burn it off..."

She had been holding her breath without realizing and released it slowly. "I can't wait that long."

His eyes shot open. His dilated pupils stared back at her intently. His nails elongated and pierced through the screen as he curled his fingers. A growl rumbled up his throat.

"I'm your mate," she continued slowly. "I have needs too."

She slid open the first barrier and was struck with the power he exuded and the most intoxicating musk she had ever inhaled. She groaned as he did, her scent striking him just as hard as his had.

Reaching up, she pressed her hand against his, his fingers twining with hers through the screen. The heat radiating off his skin seeped through the mesh barrier and into her pores.

"Cris," he groaned out, "are you sure about this?"

"I'm yours," she whispered as she reached for the handle. "And you're mine."

"Always," was his breathy response.

She barely had the screen open before his mouth claimed hers. A deep-bellied growl reverberated through her.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, he grabbed her rear with both hands and pulled her against him while lifting her up. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his hips as he carried her to her room.

His mouth continued its feasting upon hers, her head clouding in a thick haze of desire and need.

Her back hit the bed before his mouth released hers, only to rip open her shirt and feast upon her flesh. His hands slid down the curve of her waist to her hips and unbuttoned her jeans. He pulled away from her for a second to yank the fabric from her legs.

Her chest heaved as his eyes drank in the sight of her naked body. A sizzling trail lingered across her skin where his eyes traveled over every inch before catching hers.

"Do you know how hard it has been? I have been patient and I have been gentle, and I only hope I have the strength within me to continue to be so when I want nothing more than to make you howl."

He stepped between her legs hanging off the edge of the bed, closing the inches between them as his rough hands slid up her thighs and wrapped her legs around his waist.