Brick raised his head to look at what he’d reduced Ivy to. Her arms were above her head, criss-crossed over each other, her chest rose and fell in a fast cadence, and her eyes were closed, her lashes making crescents against her face.

The moment his tongue touched her pussy, the Hunger had surged inside him, and he licked her ravenously, driven to drink her sweetness and make her come, as she shook and trembled at the force of it.

As he had told her he would, he’d settled between her thighs and eaten her until she begged him to stop, her body trembling with the multiple orgasms. And as she screamed her last climax, calling his name, he scooted his hands under her ass, lifting her up to shove his tongue inside her channel to get everything she was giving him. His eyes met hers and held, as his open mouth closed over her, sucking her clit gentler than before, until her cries lessened.

Only then had he lain beside her, gathered her to his chest, and smoothed her hair back with a soothing touch. Once her breathing slowed and her lids parted, he peered down at her.

“Are you okay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I want more of you. My mouth’s watering for it… but it’s going to have to wait. My dick’s throbbing so hard, it’s painful. I need to get inside you and claim you with more than my tongue.”

She sighed, snuggling closer to him. When her fingers trailed down his torso, moving lower, until they ran over his length, he jerked. His heart thumped a thunder at her touch, his fated mate.

Love had begun to blossom in his spirit, and he hoped it had in Ivy’s as well, but having her there in the bed with him was enough for the time being.

Unable to take her teasing much longer, he said, “Ready, baby?” and slapped her ass. “You know what to do. You’re naked. That was the first part. Now, get your soaking pussy on my cock.”

She nodded, and as she climbed on top of him, Brick’s mind went back to all the different women he had been with. Not one had he allowed to be in a position of dominance over him, like he was watching Ivy take.

Lining him up to her core, she pressed down, sliding him inside her at a deliberate pace.

“Oh, God!” she moaned, as another inch disappeared. Her lashes fluttered, and she slammed her hands down onto his shoulders. “I thought maybe you’d photoshopped it.”

Her channel was tight, hugging him, as she continued her descent onto his cock. Her warm essence engulfed him, her scent permeating the room, and the deeper inside her she took him, the more he fought the urge to surge into her and get his own release.

When at last he was fully seated, she leaned her head back, facing the ceiling, with her mouth open. Her arms were limp at her sides, and she breathed in and out deeply.

She whispered, “You’re so thick… Brick… filling me.”

Brick smirked in pride at her reaction to his cock that night, which was the opposite of when he had sent her that text. None of the praise he had received from any of the women in his past could compare to her enjoyment of his body, and he planned to give it to her often. His eyes roamed over her at a leisurely pace, taking in the beauty of her nakedness as she rode him, circling her wide hips in a gentle grind.

“Mine,” he growled deep in his throat.

“Yes, I’m yours!” she cried out, as she raised and lowered herself with her feet braced on the mattress. “Feels so good!”

“Mmmmm… yeah, baby!”

“Uh-huh!”

Her breasts bounced when she increased her speed, and fresh lust for her—and only her—washed over him, as he watched them. Placing his hands under her ass, he helped her move on him, supporting her by lifting her hips, until sweat broke on her brow and her movements slowed.

“Come here,” Brick said, urging her to his chest.

She lay down, and he rolled them over, making sure not to crush her with his weight.

Lifting his upper body with bent arms, looking into her eyes, he said, “I’ve wanted you since I first saw you.”

“And here I am.”

“My mate.”

She raised her hand to cup his cheek, and he dipped down, joining their lips as he began to undulate his hips, thrusting and retreating, and they moaned in unison.

After they parted, Brick said, “Hold onto me, baby.”

She wrapped her legs around him, and grasped the tops of his arms in her hands.

“Is it going to hurt?”

Brick paused to gaze down at her, “Will what hurt?”

“When you give me the mating bite.”

“You’ve gotta do it to me, too. Are you afraid?”

She shook her head, “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”

“Good. From what I’ve heard, it’ll give us both a massive orgasm.”

“Then, let’s get to it!”

In drawn-out movements of his hips like the rise and fall of waves of the ocean, Brick began to make love to Ivy. His cock slid deep into her wetness and felt the sensation of her clamping down around him, holding his length. Her walls hugged him snug and tight, and he stopped a moment to regain the bit of control he still had left.

“Fuck… Ivy… I’ve never felt anything like this,” he breathed down to her, lowering close to her lips. “I’m not gonna last much longer. My need is too powerful, and I waited so long, fighting against the Hunger. My cock feels like it’s about to burst.”

“My battle with myself is over, too, Brick. I’m ready to give myself to you in every way.”

Hearing her, he grabbed the sides of her face and dove down to her mouth yet again. His tongue delved deep, tangling with hers, and she returned the caress the same, as they clamored with each moan and grasped to get more of each other.

Her grip on him loosened, and her arms fell away to the mattress. He increased his speed, as his need to claim her drove him until his cock was pounding hard and insistently inside her.

“Aaahh!” Ivy cried, as he pummeled her. “Don’t stop!”

“Turn your head,” Brick said, as his fangs lengthened. “Bite me back, baby!”

As Ivy came, he sank his teeth into her flesh. When her blood burst into him, the taste of it sent him over the edge he had been teetering on. A moment later, he felt his skin open, as Ivy drew his essence inside her.

In his mind, he saw a stone wall, with fast-climbing trails of vines. His wolf stood in front of it, watching, as they erupted from the earth and spread themselves in ever-reaching tendrils over the rocks. The leaves shivered and shook, as the stems constricted around them. He heard loud pops, as the masonry buckled and crushed under the weight and power of the plant. A piece fell to the ground, and then another, until the structure no longer stood. What remained were broken and dusty fragments on the dirt. After the wall was leveled, the vines raced onward, covering the ground ahead of the steps of the wolf, who was following close behind.

Ahead in the distance, an immense magnolia tree stood. Its flowers swayed in the breeze that carried its scent floating through the air. The ivy spread itself underneath it, while his wolf lay down at the base of its trunk. Turning his head, he faced Brick, his yellow eyes piercing Brick’s, as he lifted his muzzle and let out a howl that echoed through him to his core.

“Do you feel that?” Ivy whispered. “Hear it? It’s like an approaching storm.”

“Yeah. It’s the mating, baby.”

Ivy ran a finger down his cheek.

“By fate.”

“Forever.”

A rushing of thunder went through him, as the legend sealed their souls as one.