Page 4 of Into the Fire: Before

This was a huge part of why we’d moved into Amethyst Commons. We were putting down roots at last, something we’d been waiting to do for so long while I worked on my degree. We wanted to live in an area that thrummed with life, with opportunity and beauty.

I’d intended to take a leisurely stroll, but my long strides ate up the sidewalk as I rushed toward Taryn’s work. I was too excited to reach her. It’d been a long while since I’d been away from her and the house for so long, and I was antsy to share my day with her.

Turning the corner, I couldn’t suppress my elated grin as I spied my destination. A placard hung outside the dark wooden door, swinging slightly in the dusk light.Bean & Leaf.Two huge front windows let me see inside the coffeeshop slash teahouse, from the scattered tables and mismatched chairs, to the faux fireplace on one side, to the built-ins filled with a variety of old books and quirky tchotchkes, to the counter in the very back where a certain breathtaking omega stood chatting with a customer while mixing up a mug of tea.

I stepped through the front door, dark aged wood with another large window looking in, and stood in line at the counter. I pretended to read the menu hanging overhead but kept my attention on Taryn. Her relaxed posture, her calm scent. Her silky dark hair was pulled back in a casual ponytail, wisps floating around her face as she chatted casually with her current customer. Her golden skin seemed to glow in the low lighting.

Finally, the stranger collected their to-go cup and stepped away with a wave. I approached the counter, and Taryn smirked as she leaned forward. “Well, hello, ma’am,” she said, tone serious but smirk flirty. “My apologies for keeping you waiting.”

“I don’t mind waiting for something as sweet as you,” I replied, leaning forward to give her a quick kiss over the countertop.

A tingling energy filtered through the bond, enhancing her warm toffee scent. “I told you you’d rock it!” she said with glee.

I huffed, rolling my eyes. “I haven’t told you a thing about it.”

“Yeah, but I can read your mind.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep,” Taryn chirped. “And you’re thinking about how I was right and you totally rocked your orientation and impressed your mentor and how all the other residents simply bowed down to worship at your feet because they’re smart enough to recognize brilliance when it walks among them.”

My laugh burst from me like a bubble, giddiness and relief in equal measure. “That’ll teach me to doubt you.”

“Hell yeah, it will.”

“Is this what I pay you for?” A blonde woman emerged from the back office in a pale yellow dress, the skirt full and swishing around her calves. She didn't so much as look up from her notebook as she rounded the counter and continued, “To flirt with your mate?”

“Well, you won’t let me flirt with any of the other customers, so I had to adapt,” Taryn replied without missing a beat.

Taryn had told me all about Jennie, the shop owner, after starting work last week.Strict but a big ol’ softie inside,she’d insisted. Judging from the glare Jennie now shot at my omega over the top of her glasses, I had my doubts about that assessment.

Jennie rolled her eyes, consulting the notebook in her hand. “I was going to see about having you sign for the bean delivery tomorrow, unless you’d rather make doe eyes with your lady.”

“Beans!” Taryn replied. “I’ll sign for beans.”

“Good choice,” Jennie replied, marking something in her notebook as she turned back toward her office.

Taryn smirked as she leaned her hip against the counter. “She loves me.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, pulling my phone out. “Flirting with customers, hmm?”

“For the tips. Obviously.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “We’ll see about that, Teacup.”

Ourapartmentdoorslammedclosed…but only because I’d slammed my omega back against it, devouring her mouth with my own. Her hands framed my face, fingers sliding into my wind-tossed hair as her tongue probed against my lips. I opened, immediately running mine against hers. Two identical gasps eased out of us. Even two years after mating, every little graze and gaze still sent sparks erupting under my skin.

Taryn was mine to command, but it was all for her pleasure, and she knew it. She’d joked earlier about my classmates bowing down to me. In truth, I bowed before her. Worshipped at her altar. Praised her body and mind, miraculous in their perfection at every moment.

She was a marvel. A messiah who’d saved me in every way. I’d spend the rest of my life as her supplicant, building her up and breaking her down—in the most delicious ways.

Slowly, without breaking contact, I moved backward, guiding Taryn forward, into the apartment. My fingers slid along the smooth warmth of her skin, under her shirt and up her back to unhook her bra. I smiled into her sighing mouth as I reached under that now-useless strip of lace to palm her breast, my fingers just fluttering over her nipple as she nipped my bottom lip, already wanting more.

I moved my lips over the hinge of her jaw and down its slope, scraping my teeth over the imprint I’d left on her neck. “So damn soft,” I breathed against her pulse point. “Smell so damn good.”

Taryn whined as I pulled the neck of her t-shirt down to lavish open-mouthed kisses across her collarbones to the other side of her throat. My fingers tightened around her breast, the slightest pinch of her nipple.

Goddamn,I could smell her slicking.

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