Page 34 of Love in the Wild

“Thorne, I want you to mate with me. Do you know how?” Eden inquired.

“Yes.” He stepped back. “Stay here.” He rushed deeper into the cave and collected a thick pallet of furs. He set them down near the lit entrance of the cave behind the falls, just out of reach of the spray of the water. He wanted to see her and not be lost in the darkness. He arranged the furs carefully, leaving the leopard skin on top since it was the softest. It would also show his prowess for defeating such a fierce predator. When he was done, he gestured for Eden to get on the fur nest. She knelt and then lay down on her back. He was confused at her position. He got down on his knees beside her and tried to roll her over so he would be behind her while she was on her hands and knees.

“Not like that, at least not the first time,” she said. “Like this.”

His gaze moved over her body to between her legs, and as she parted them, he stared at her feminine folds, which were a dark pink.

“Lie on top of me. I’ll show you. There are many ways to mate—this is one way.” She held her arms out to him, and he crawled up her body, lying in between her bent thighs. She cradled him, held him gently. It felt good to have her soft, giving body beneath his own hard one.

Eden coasted her palms up and down his arms, soothing him with soft murmurs before she slid one hand between them. He gasped as she touched his shaft. He lifted his hips as she guided him toward her. The instant he felt the wet heat of her body wrap around him, he sank into her, feeling a state of bliss he had never imagined possible. He gasped softly, the surprise of the sensations almost too much.

“Oh God,” Eden whispered. “That feels incredible.”

Thorne would have smiled, but he was too lost in the heaven that was Eden’s body. Instinct took over as he began to move, gently at first, learning the feel of her body beneath him, trying not to hurt her. It felt like home—shefelt like home.

As he grew in confidence, he thrust his hips deeper against hers and buried his face against her neck. She shuddered beneath him as a sharp cry escaped her lips. It was a beautiful sound of sweet surrender that drove him to the edge. He emptied himself in a wild rush of physical pleasure. He poured every part of himself, even his heart, into Eden. Drums beat inside his body, his heart pounding a wild rhythm he’d never heard before. He’d heard the distant drums of Bwanbale’s village once, during a celebration, but these were different. Thorne gasped for breath, his body shaking hard as Eden wrapped her arms around his neck.

He collapsed on top of her. It took him a moment before he realized he might be crushing her. He rolled over, but he held her close so that she rolled with him and lay atop his body like a wonderful blanket of silky palm fronds.

He gazed up at her, the roar of the falls now filling his ears again, and he couldn’t believe how blessed he was to have her, to have amatewho had gifted him her trust.

“Are you okay?” Eden asked. Her wet hair hung like liquid sunlight down her shoulders to touch his chest, tickling him in the most wonderful way.

“Yes.” He was unable to say anything else. He felt complete—he feltwhole—with his mate in his arms. Thorne touched her shoulders, then moved his hands down her back, holding her close. He had never imagined being with a mate could be like this. The soft, sweet caresses, the touches that were welcomed rather than snarled at, embraced rather than fought against.

He finally found the words to ask what seemed like a vital question. “Are you okay?”

“It was incredible.” Eden rested her chin on his chest, and he saw the waterfall reflected in her green eyes. He couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight.

“So ... Your first time?”

Thorne smiled and brushed the backs of his knuckles across her cheek. “It was incredible,” he echoed. He really liked that word. It was fitting for anything that had to do with Eden.

“Everything you hoped for?”

Thorne nodded. His body was relaxed. Perhaps he would be ready to mate with her again soon, if she wanted him to. But as much as he wanted to keep her in this secret cave forever, they would have to leave eventually.

“I’m honored to have shared this with you.” Eden moved up his body to kiss his chin, then his mouth and the top of his nose.

He sighed as she kissed his closed eyelids. Her lips were gentle and soft, and wherever she put her mouth his skin burned in the most enticing way.

“I am honored too.” He cupped the back of her head and held her face to his for a long, deep kiss. He liked this kissing, liked tasting Eden’s sweetness—especially after she had eaten mangoes. Kissing was something the animals in his world didn’t do. They didn’t share such intimacy. Whenever he kissed Eden, he felt his bond with her grow stronger.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

She kissed him one more time before nodding.

He helped her up from the bed of furs, and they splashed back into the pool. Eden was calmer now, less shy with her body as she swam naked ahead of him. Thorne caught her waist, pulling her back to him. She giggled and wriggled in his arms like a slippery fish, but he held fast as he kissed her neck from behind. Her breasts filled his hands as he held her, and she arched against him, her rounded bottom rubbing against his hardening shaft.

He didn’t ask this time. By the way she was moaning and rubbing against him, he knew that she wanted him. He turned her to face him so that they stood chest-deep in the water, and he lifted her up against him. Her skin was flushed, her eyes wide, lips parted, and all he could think about was feeling her, tasting her. Ripe mangoes and crisp waterfalls. For a second they simply stared at each other as his grip on her waist tightened and her nails dug into his biceps in silent invitation.

A growl came from the back of Thorne’s throat, a deep sound of domination as he lifted her up against him. Her body opened around his, her legs curling tight around his hips. He gripped his cock, feeding himself into her as she had shown him. She clutched his shoulders, her green eyes dark like the jungle just before twilight. He ignored the sting of the lion’s claw marks. The bite of that pain somehow only heightened his pleasure in this moment—as though by protecting her, he’d won the right to mate with her.

Thorne thrust deep, claiming her in slow, measured movements, enjoying how she responded with soft moans that escaped her throat. Wet skin against wet skin, heated friction built between them, quivering and shivering. Breath broke, hearts raced, and fingers clawed at skin. He fisted a hand in her hair, and she raked nails down his back as he took her rough, took her raw. Harsh and beautiful. Her breasts rubbed against his chest as he lifted her up and down over his body. Eden buried her face against his neck, clinging to him as she cried out in his arms. The sweetest pleasure exploded through him as he came a heartbeat later. For the first time, he felt ... complete. To know the companionship and physical love of a mate, just like this.

His body trembled with the slow, sweet fall into that blissful state that seemed to come when he and Eden mated.

In that moment of joy, he hoped that they had created a new life between them. He longed to have his own son or daughter, and now that Eden was his mate, that dream seemed possible.

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