Page 83 of Fated
Lena.
She was curled against him, bare back flush to his chest, warmth seeping into every inch of him. His heart rattled in his ribcage at the realization—they must have shifted back in their sleep, human forms drawn together as naturally as their wolves.
He became acutely aware of her.
The gentle rise and fall of her ribs against his chest, each breath drawing his own lungs into synchrony. The impossible softness where his calloused fingers rested against the dip of her waist. Moonlight transformed her skin into shimmering gold, warm and yielding beneath his touch. His hand had found her hip in sleep, fingers splayed possessively. Want swept through him as he registered the press of his erection against the silk-smooth curve of her lower back.
A sharp exhale slipped through his lips.
Lena stirred, sighing as she shifted, her movement sending a jolt of pleasure sparking through him. His muscles tensed, pulse hammering as she stilled, body going rigid when she registered exactly what she was feeling. Kai held his breath, waiting for her reaction.
Like a drowsy cat, she turned over, golden-brown eyes blinking up at him, wide with surprise. Then, just as quickly, her lips curved, and a soft giggle escaped—light, airy, like the first notes of a song. “Looks like we fell asleep,” she murmured, voice husky from sleep but laced with amusement.
Kai’s shoulders relaxed, tension bleeding from his muscles as something warm and tender unfurled beneath his ribs. “Yeah, looks like it.” He chuckled, the sound vibrating between them.
He reached for her without thought, fingertips tracing the soft terrain of her skin. The contact was a tether grounding him even as his body hummed with the sheerrightnessof touching her. “I really enjoyed tonight.” He mapped her form with reverent touch, eyes never leaving hers—ribs, shoulder, the elegant curve of her spine—before anchoring at her waist. “Orion’s…content. Happier than I’ve felt him in years. This…this was good for us.”
Lena’s lips softened into a gentle smile, her warm exhale caressing his skin. “Elara feels the same. It’s like…she’s found something she didn’t even know she was missing.”
Kai’s gaze traced her features—the corners of her eyes, the pink that bloomed across her cheekbones like sunrise, those parted lips that trembled with unspoken words. “I’d like to do this again,” he offered. “Often.” His thumb stroked slow circles against her skin.
A flush bloomed across Lena’s cheeks. Her smile widened, lashes sweeping downward even as she held his gaze. “Me too.”
The words wrapped around them like silk, pulling them closer. His hand never left her body, his touch becoming more exploratory as he traced her silhouette, mesmerized by the feel of her beneath his fingertips. She moaned, and the world tilted sideways. The soft, breathy sound—barely more than a whisper—traveled from his ears straight to his groin, igniting a fire that threatened to burn through him.
His gaze snapped to hers, pupils blown wide with desire. The air between them crystallized, dense with pheromones and intention. Though the forest stretched endlessly around them, their world had collapsed to the centimeters between their bodies—a space charged with static that raised the hairs on his skin with each breath they shared.
Lena leaned in first, lips brushing against his—tentative, hesitant, testing. That first whisper of contact sent a current racing from his mouth to his core, a single spark flaring beneath his skin. Deep within, Orion rumbled in approval, the wolf’s satisfaction flooding his nervous system.
Kai answered her question with hunger—mouth molding to hers, tongue flicking against her bottom lip—asking in return. She granted him entrance, and the kiss transformed like a gentle rain becoming a summer storm. Hesitation washed away, leaving only a deep, unfettered connection that resonated through him like thunder.
His body reacted—not just human desire but wolf instinct surging through his muscles. He rolled her onto her back and settled his weight above her. The contact of skin against skin made his blood hum, Orion’s presence lending primal intensity to every sensation, awareness sharpening to hunting focus on every gasp, every subtle shift beneath him.
She moaned into his mouth, fingers weaving through his hair. Her nails scratched his scalp, sending shivers racing down his spine. He pulled back to press kisses along her jaw, down the column of her throat. The scent of her arousal filled his lungs as she rocked against him. The friction of her rubbing against his body drew a sound from him that was more wolf than male—a feral call that vibrated against the hollow of her throat where his lips pressed.
His teeth scraped against her pulse point—the place where he’d mark her after their mating ceremony, their wrists blazingwith the glow of Selene’s blessing. He sucked gently as she trembled beneath him, fingers tightening against his skin.
“I need you.” Her voice trembled with want. “Please, Kai… I need to feel you.”
He froze, holding her still, forehead pressed against hers, chest heaving as his fingertips pressed into her flesh. He was so close to losing control, to greedily taking everything she was offering him. Orion’s presence surged forward, the wolf’s desire a primal undercurrent that threatened to overwhelm his human restraint.
“Lena.” His hands flexed against her hips. “I want you too, but...” He swallowed hard. “If we go too far—I don’t know if I could stop. I don’t know if Orion would.”
She cupped his face, anchoring him. “I’m not ready for the claiming marks,” she admitted, voice gentle but unwavering. “But I am ready for this. I want to share this with you, Kai. Onourterms.”
Orion spoke with quiet authority, a steadying heat at the base of his skull, radiating certainty through their shared consciousness.“I will not mark mate without her consent.”
The conviction in his wolf’s words settled something deep inside him. He exhaled, letting the tension seep from his body as he relayed Orion’s promise to Lena.
Her smile was radiant, and when her mouth found his again, he let himself go.
Kai’s lips moved over hers with purpose. Searching. Tasting the softness of her. Coaxing breathy moans from her throat. She melted beneath him, body shifting, arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer. Her hands sliding down his back ignited every nerve ending, his need tightening as control frayed at the edges.
He broke away to taste more of her, trailing wet kisses down her neck, across her shoulder, and over the elegant line of her collarbone before descending to the gentle swell of her breasts.
His tongue flicked against the tightened peak of her nipple, the texture a delicious contrast to the smoothness surrounding it. Lena’s body responded—back arching like a bowstring, offering more of herself to his mouth. Her fingers twisted in his hair, the sweet-sharp pain at his scalp heightening his arousal. The taste of her skin—salt and honeyed warmth—pulled a sound from deep in his chest, half reverence, half possession, as he drew the sensitive flesh between his lips.
When he moved to worship its twin, her whimpers transformed to urgent, broken sounds that vibrated from her chest against his mouth. Her legs restlessly tangled with his, hips seeking pressure, friction,completion.
