Page 7 of Witchwolf

Fuck, mages were weird about this kind of thing. For a human of magical descent, coming of age, their first sexual encounter, constituted an awakening.

That was literally what they called it—their Awakening.

From what I’d heard, a young mage’s Awakening was usually negotiated by their families—akin to an arranged marriage, if only on a temporary basis. It bound allegiances, agreements, gave families a sense of debt to one another.

It was stiff, bordering on cruel from where I sat, but in the old families, the goal was to negotiate the strongest possible mage to take their progeny’s virginities. Perhaps the idea was to Awaken the strongest magic.

Allowing a werewolf to serve as the catalyst to a mage’s Awakening? It wasn’t done.

I drew back. “Why me?”

Had his family arranged something terrible for him? Offered him up to someone he didn’t want? Maybe this was his way of getting back at them, and I’d be hard pressed not to stick it to a bunch of uppity mages.

Dakota laughed again, still thready and nervous. “Whynotyou? You’re gorgeous. Hot as fuck. I can honestly say I can’t think of anybody I want more than I want you right now.”

A satisfied, buzzing feeling played at the back of my skull, like the wolf inside was proud to hear it.

“So, yeah,” he went on, “I’m kind of nervous. I just... expected to get laid? Not, like, go home with a guy in a freaking mansion who looks like somebody peeled him off the cover of GQ or something.”

“This isn’t a mansion.”

I didn’t know what Iwouldcall it, given that it was over four thousand square feet and more space than I’d ever needed on my own. But it was, like, on the line between a big house and something that over the top, right?

Disbelieving, Dakota arched a brow at me. “Okay, well, given the cost of a crappy apartment in San Francisco, I think you can understand why this might look kind of mansion-y.”

I shrugged. It wasn’t like I’d picked out the biggest, nicest house I could afford and arranged it to show off. Genuinely, I needed enough space for the pack. That meant extra bedrooms and enormous sofas and—well, it didn’t matter. “Fair enough, but it’s not the size of my house that’s got you on edge.”

Dakota bit his lip. His deep, dark eyes searched my own, and I stared back. I wasn’t afraid to fall into them, not when he looked at me like that.

After a few breaths of silent staring, he flinched. “I don’t want to, I don’t know,seem... like a virgin? Or make this a chore.”

I hummed. His cringe softened something in my chest, and I bent over him for another kiss, this one soft and lingering.

“Don’t worry about that.” I dragged the tip of my tongue across his jaw toward the very corner. Dakota gasped when I sucked his earlobe into my mouth. “You’re so sexy,” I growled in his ear. Burying my nose in his hair and breathing deep was an indulgence I was all too happy to give myself. “And you smell fucking incredible. You could’ve slept with zero men or a hundred, and it wouldn’t change how much I want to bury my cock in that sweet ass and make you mine.”

Dakota whimpered, throwing his head back into the pillows, exposing the smooth, golden-brown column of his neck to me.

The sight of it went straight to my cock. My teeth felt sharp and overlarge in my mouth.

Bite him. Mark him. Ours.

My wolf was a demanding little fucker, and I wasn’t a perfect man. I was just a good enough one not to take more than what was offered to me.

Still, my balls drew tight when I grazed my teeth harmlessly across his flawless skin. I thrust against his cock hard, desperate to get inside him already.

Under me, he shivered.

“Are you sure you want this?”

Dakota bit his bottom lip. It was a dusky rose color and so goddamn plush that all I could think about was sucking it into my mouth. I’d treat him like my own personal chew toy, bite every inch of his soft, smooth body.

“Yes,” he rasped. “A lot.”

He squirmed. An unbidden growl rumbled low in my throat, even before he shifted his legs apart. The warm inside of his thigh pressed against my hip, and I hitched my leg to spread him wider.

“Fuck me.”

His words shot through me like an alpha’s command, leaving me no choice but to obey him.

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