Page 25 of Rebel for Claws
"We should tell the others," she said breathlessly, but she didn't step away. If anything, she swayed slightly toward him.
"Yes," Alaric agreed, though neither of them moved to leave. "But first..."
First, I need to taste those lips that have been tormenting me since last night.
Alaric cupped her face with both hands, his thumbs tracing the delicate line of her cheekbones as he searched her violet eyes for any hint of resistance. The mate bond pulsated like a living thing, electric and demanding, making his wolf pace beneath his skin.
"Vivian," he said, his voice rough with barely contained desire. "I know you pulled away last night, said you needed more time. But I really would like to kiss you right now."
Her pupils dilated at his words, and he caught the slight tremor in her breath that told him the mate bond was affecting her just as powerfully.
"Yes," she whispered, the single word sending fire racing through his veins. "You can."
Alaric leaned in slowly, giving her every opportunity to change her mind, but she tilted her face up to meet him halfway. When their lips finally touched, tentatively at first, the world shifted on its axis.
Sweet mercy.The kiss started gentle and exploratory, but when Vivian responded by pressing closer to him, her hands fisting in the front of his thermal henley, something primal and desperate ignited between them.
The tentative brush of lips transformed into something deeper and hungrier. Alaric's hands tangled in her silky hair as she opened for him, and he swept his tongue against hers with a possessiveness that should have terrified him. Instead, it felt like coming home.
She tastes like something wild and sweet and everything I never knew I was missing.
Vivian made a soft sound against his mouth that nearly undid him completely. His wolf surged forward, demanding he claim her properly and make her undeniably his. The mate bond hummed gloriously between them, urging him to lift her onto his massive oak desk and take everything she was offering.
Control. Don't lose control. Not yet.
With immense effort, Alaric broke the kiss, though he couldn't bring himself to step away entirely. They stood forehead to forehead, breathing hard, the air between them crackling with unspent desire.
"That was..." Vivian's voice was breathless, her violet eyes dazed.
"Incredible," Alaric finished, his thumb stroking across her swollen lower lip. "That kiss was unlike any other."
Unlike anything I've ever experienced. Like she's the oxygen I've been missing my whole life.
"It was pretty intense," she agreed, though he caught the way she deflected, putting up those walls again even as her body remained pressed against his.
She's scared. Scared of what this means and what we could be together.
"We really should contact the others," Vivian said, stepping back slightly but not moving completely out of his reach. "Lena, Maya, Zoe, Elena, Kieran, Malcolm, Logan, and Damon. They're all players in the Lunar Prophecy, and they need to know about this secondary prophecy we've uncovered."
Alaric nodded slowly, though every instinct screamed at him to forget about prophecies and responsibilities and focus solely on the woman in front of him. "We'll have to reveal that we're fated mates. Are you ready for that kind of announcement?"
Ready to let the world know you're mine?
Vivian considered this, her strategic mind clearly working through the implications. "I'll keep it only amongst this prophecy group for now. We don't need to make it public—that kind of pressure and focus on us right now would be counterproductive when we're trying to expose Thorne's corruption."
"Agreed," Alaric said, relief flooding through him. "I don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to us. I want to keep you as hidden as possible until we can eliminate the threat Thorne poses."
Keep you safe. Keep you mine.
The possessive thought should have concerned him, but Alaric found he was beyond caring about propriety. The mate bond had awakened something fierce and primal in him that had been dormant for far too long.
"So we gather the prophecy group," Vivian said, her voice steadier now though he could still see the lingering heat in her eyes. "Share what we've discovered about our bloodlines and about the secondary prophecy. And plan our next move against Thorne."
"Yes," Alaric agreed, though his gaze lingered on her lips, still swollen from their kiss. "But Vivian?"
"Yes?"
"This conversation isn't over," he said. "What's between us—the mate bond, this intense connection—we'll need to address it properly. Soon."
