Annella lost her breath as Alec all but ripped his clothes off in his eagerness to join them together. She hadn’t lain with a man before and they needed to take things slowly and carefully, otherwise he’d hurt her when they joined together for the first time and if that happened, he’d blame himself and then she’d never get the chance to come together with him again in this way.

She pressed one palm to his bare chest where fur had rippled across his flesh only moments before, giving proof of just how very close his bear was to rising and taking over. “I’ve never been with a man and I want to experience only pleasure at your touch.”

“Help me.” He panted, chest heaving and his claws slicing out and back in.

“Mayhap you need to shift first.” She tried to push him back but he shook his head and closed the distance between them.

“No, what I need to do is kiss you again.” He growled under his breath, snatched his wrist dagger and pressed it into her hands. “Use this on me if you need to.”

She’d never be able to take a blade to him. She dropped it down beside her then gently, she stroked his shoulders and arms, the breadth of him so thick and strong and below the planes of his wide chest, his abs rippled, layer upon tight layer. Itching to touch more of him, she tiptoed her fingers along the delicious trail of dark hair narrowing down his rigid belly then halted where it thickened around his manhood. Sweet heaven. He was far bigger than any man should be, although she’d find a way to fit all of him inside of her. She looked deep into his eyes, ran her thumbs across his warm lips and a whole lot breathless, murmured, “Be gentle with me.”

“Cut me or kick me in the balls if I’m not. That should at least get a response out of me that I won’t be able to miss.” He caught her hands, pressed them back against the plaid behind her head then rubbed his chest against her breasts. “You feel so good, your skin so soft and smooth.”

“Let me touch you, to try and calm your other half.” She drew in a deep breath, tugged on her trapped hands to free them but made not one dent in securing her release. “Let me free my hands or else I’ll kick you in the balls right now.” Something she’d never be able to do, but telling him so, would hopefully be enough.

“One moment.” He lifted up a touch, let her hands go then dug his claws into the ground to keep himself from trapping her again. “Done.”

“I have an admission I’d like to make too since we’re being brutally honest.” Looking deep into his eyes, she cupped his hips and stroked over his backside. “Having lived amongst so many warriors there have been times I’ve accidentally stumbled across them coupling with maids in the woods. Once, I wasnae nearly quick enough to leave and I witnessed far more than I should have.”

“What did you see?” He dipped his head and kissed her, with breathless urgency, his desire still clearly beating at him even though she’d tried to distract him a touch with their conversation.

A whole lot breathless, she broke their kiss and murmured, “The warrior dived in under the lass’s skirts and she fairly screamed with the pleasure he bestowed upon her.”

“Even though I’ve never slept with a woman, not when our shifter kind always waits for our chosen one, I’m not unaware of what happens either. I can’t wait to dive under your skirts, that’s if you ever wore them, which I’m not asking you to, and by the way, if you’re trying to slow me down with this kind of talk, then I can tell you right now it’s not working. I have to touch you, Annella. All of you.”

“I’ll find a way to tame your other half. I want this joining to be the first of many between us, for you to never fear hurting me, and I promise I’ll wear skirts for you at some point in time, just so you can dive under them.”

“For now you’re not wearing anything at all and I say let the diving begin.” Claws extracted from the ground, he stroked down her body, caressed her arms and her sides before he scooped her bottom and licked along her inner thighs. He rumbled his pleasure, his eyes ablaze with the shifter gold as he locked gazes with her. He separated her folds below, appeared ready to devour her, as if he intended to leave not one inch of her body untouched and liquid heat rushed through her and pooled in her core. She arched into him and he moaned and licked his lips. “There is a feast awaiting me right here and I’m about to lose my mind at just the sight of you.”

“Then feast as you please.” Clearly there was no slowing him or his other half down. Longing, desire, and a complete and utter need for him consumed her as well, a myriad of intense emotions that tumbled one over the other within her. No more would she live centuries apart from him. No more would she visit him within the dream realm when she’d rather be standing at his side each and every day, whether that be in her time or his. Alec was hers and tonight, she intended to forge a new future, one in which they lived only at each other’s sides. She wouldn’t tell him yet though, not when he’d asked only for small steps, but she would share her hopes and dreams with him when the right time presented itself.

“Thank you, my sprite.” Fingers firm on her legs, he hooked them over his shoulders until her bottom lifted right off the plaid and she lay completely and fully exposed to him, his silky midnight-black hair brushing sensually against her skin as he bent his head between her open thighs. “There is nothing more tempting and beautiful than what lies before me. You’re so pink and lush, and weeping. It’s all for me, only me. Are you ready?”

“Always.”

“Good answer.” He eased one finger inside her folds then went deep, his delicious, carnal touch making her wriggle down against him for more and he obliged, stroking inside her channel then rubbing his thumb across her nub. He touched his tongue to the place where her mounting pleasure stemmed from and she grasped his head and moaned as he sucked her nub between his lips and devoured her.

Such intense sensations stormed through her as her chosen one knelt between her legs, his balls drawing tighter and higher into a thatch of black curls covering the apex of his groin. He was beautiful, big and sexy, sinfully scary and all hers. Feasting her gaze on every inch of him, she took in his very large cock, the plump head darkening and a drop of his essence leaking from the tip. She reached down, gently palmed his balls then stroked his length.

“You taste incredible.” With one low growl, he lifted up a little, pushed her knees farther apart then dived back and consumed her. He thrust his tongue inside, rumbled as more of her heat pooled at her core then lapped, greedily. He devoured her and she wouldn’t have been able to stop him for the world, didn’t wish to either.

She bucked as he stroked harder and faster and she clutched his head as he spread her legs even wider and continued to take and take. He licked her flesh in the most intimate way, increasing her pleasure with every swipe of his tongue. ’Twas such exquisite torture, her desire for more rising to a staggering height. He sucked and she arched, could no longer hold on to the here and now.

“Alec.” She cried out his name as she flew, her core pulsing as wave after wave of wild pleasure barreled through her. She soared and a stunning display of vivid colors burst behind her closed eyelids. Her body thrummed until she slowly came back down.

“That was beautiful to see.” He kissed her mound, nibbled upward, over her belly until his nose brushed the underside of her breasts. He cupped both mounds, thumbed the peaking tips then sucked one nipple before moving languorously to the other.

“You seem to have calmed a touch.”

“Feeling you come around my tongue helped tremendously.” He caught her hand, nuzzled her palm then bit the center and soothed the bite with his tongue. With his gaze lifted to hers, he smiled. “I feel less on edge, would feel even less so if I could make you come on my tongue all over again.”

“I’m no’ sure if I could move if you did that a second time.” Her limbs had turned to jelly.

“Please?” He twined their fingers together. “You’re mine to make love with, mine to devour, mine to consume. Heart, body and soul, I want all of you.”

“What happened to your small steps?”

“Try and walk away from me right now and I’ll tackle you to the ground.”

“I see.” Tears misted her gaze and she sniffed. “Try and walk away from me right now, and I’ll tackle you to the ground as well.”

“I need to embed my scent into you, and for yours to be embedded in me.” He licked higher, over the tops of her breasts, her neck then along her lower lip. “Your intoxicating aroma is settling my bear.”

“There’s no stopping this bond or what is to come.” She rubbed her breasts against the wicked heat of his chest then traced one finger over the mark she’d placed earlier on his neck. The need to bite him again, to ensure her mark was brought back to vivid and blazing life, rolled fiercely through her.

She stroked his bulging biceps then down his sides and back up again over the solid breadth of his back. His body, all superbly honed muscle and rippling strength, was all hers to touch and adore. Gently, she cupped his face in her hands, his delicious mouth and fevered gaze drawing her ever deeper into him. This was the most beautiful place, right here under this bower, the moon shining high above and the stream trickling only a few feet away. The lush grass underneath her made the softest bed and the man on top of her, the most heart-melting covering. Never would she relinquish him or their bond. “I love being here with you.”

“I need to bite you again, to stamp my mark on you so everyone knows you’re mine.” He tipped her head to one side and licked her neck, sucked her skin deep inside his mouth then with his teeth firm on her flesh, he bit down and marked her.

Her core rippled with pleasure and she opened her heart fully to him, her need to meld their lives together consuming her. “Bite me again,” she whispered as she sank her fingers into his hair. “Now.”

“I will, over and over until you tell me to stop. Bite me the same time as I bite you.” He palmed the back of her head and drew her mouth toward his neck while he settled his own mouth once more against her flesh. He licked over her skin and she nibbled the sensitive hollow where his shoulder and neck met. His pulse throbbed under her tongue and she scraped her teeth back and forth. She needed to brand him completely and fully as hers.

“Alec, I wish to be yours, to hold you deep within me, to be a part of you, just as you will be a part of me. Forge the merged link of the mind and ensure we need never be parted again. Take me now.”

“I can’t take away the initial pain of our joining.” He stroked down her sides, nudged her legs farther apart with his knees. With his shaft in hand, he rubbed the thick head against her wet folds below. Hot and slick, he continued to caress her tingling flesh with his cock alone and she rocked, her hips moving of their own accord.

“Then you’ll need to make it up to me later.” Hungry for more, she sucked on his neck, clamped down on him and bit him and as she did, he bucked and moaned against her. A low rumble vibrated in his chest and she hooked her legs around the backs of his legs and gripped his butt. “Make us one.”

“Aye, no more shall we be apart.” Determination flared in his gaze and he grasped her hips, thrust deep inside her and tore through her barrier below in one fast move.

“Oh goodness.” His mind surged into hers, tunneled deep and she panted as he created the private pathway that would only ever be theirs. Such a stunning connection. She grabbed ahold of it, cemented it within her own mind then along their link, whispered into his mind, “Naught has ever felt so right, as if you’re now exactly where you belong, deep within me.”

“You’re my chosen one, the other half of my soul, the only one I shall ever live for.” He seized her mouth with his and liquid heat surged through her core. With breathtaking reverence, he deepened their kiss, showing her with his body alone just how very deep their connection ran.

“I cannae believe we actually fit together. I must admit worry flittered through me for a moment, but now I feel only incredibly full and completely at peace.” The sheer depth of her feelings for him rose and keeping them from him was impossible. “Your essence is the very purest I’ve seen, your star within the dream realm shining the brightest.”

“Being inside you feels incredible, phenomenal. Every inch of me is ablaze where we touch. My bear is also in heaven, has calmed right down now that I’ve claimed you and made you ours. This is what he wanted, what I wanted and needed too. I wish I’d seen it sooner.” On the ground either side of her head, he pressed his hands then he rocked over top of her, pulled back and heaved all the way back in again. Moving harder and deeper, he increased his pace and her lashes fluttered down, her heart singing with joy and her body on fire for more. “Look at me, my sprite. Tell me you feel pleasure, that I’m not hurting you.”

“I promise you, there is only pleasure.” He lunged in, until she almost couldn’t take any more of him yet still craved whatever he could give her. Desperately craved. “Go deeper. Please, go deeper.”

Clinging to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and her legs hooked around his backside as he thrust with such a heavenly drive, she accepted all of him, over and over.

“I cannae hold on any longer. Forgive me.” He latched onto her neck, bit down and sent a fiery blast of unadulterated pleasure through her.

She cried out at their raw and primitive joining, clasped him tightly to her and as she bit him in return, he roared his pleasure, dived even deeper inside her, his thoughts a blustery storm of pure heat and lightning that swarmed in and around her own.

* * * *

Alec bellowed and sank balls-deep inside his woman, clamped down on the other side of her neck and marked her again. He bit her hard and then she did the same to him in return and cried out at their fiercely intense joining. Her bite had him soaring to the edge of no return. More, he needed even more. He surged, pumping into her as her inner muscles squeezed and dragged his cock right to her core then together, they careened over a high ridge and soared to the heavens, his essence pulsing into her in one long, hot stream. Carnal thoughts consumed him. He wanted her connected to him in the ultimate way, for his seed to take root and for her to carry his child. “You’re my lover, my chosen one, my everything and all.” Never would he be able to accept anything less than her complete and utter surrender to their bond and all that he was. “Want me, the same way that I want you.”

As he kissed his woman, he locked his mind tightly around hers and laved each of the marks he’d stamped on her neck, nibbled on her tiny earlobe, all of her a heady and intoxicating mix that made his spine tingle and the pressure in his shaft once again build. Hell, he’d only just come, but soon he’d need to come all over again. With his need riding him hard, he gave into his body’s demand and kissed her, cherished the luscious recesses of her mouth as he plunged his cock ever deeper inside her, her fiery heat bathing him below as she clutched his butt and pulled him in.

“Take whatever you need from me. You are where you now belong, my warrior, my ravenous bear, the other half of my soul.”

He moved deeper inside her, and she met each of his thrusts with one of her own, her teeth scraping back and forth over his neck. “Do it. I need every mark you’re prepared to give me.”

“There is naught more beautiful and all-encompassing as this bond.” She clamped her teeth down on him and he roared and whipped his teeth into her neck in return. Her inner channel tightened like a fist around him and she lapped the new mark, inched along his neck and bit him again, her arousal flying down their link and swamping him in it. “Can’t hold on—must—please—”

“I’ve got you.” With her channel contracting, pulsing and sucking him in, he bucked into her, his essence jetting from him a second time, thick and heavy to her core. No one would ever be able to separate them again, not now their connection had been forged like steel into his very heart and soul. She was his, always his, and his bear gripped him tight, clawed then saturated himself in all that she’d so willingly given them.

Damn, if anyone ever attempted to come between him and his chosen one, he’d kill them. He and his bear had stated their claim and he’d never allow another to impinge upon it.

“Dinnae go anywhere.” Her beautiful long lashes fluttered down and she softly sighed. “Stay right inside me where you belong. No separation. I cannae abide the thought yet.”

“You’ll be lucky if I ever leave the sanctuary of your body. You’re my mate, my destiny, my past, present, and future. Where you go, I now go.”

“That’s the most perfect, smallest step I’ve ever heard of. I look forward to seeing what a big step is for you.” She smiled and yawned then succumbed to sleep and he did exactly as he’d promised he would and remained right where he was, his woman tucked tightly within his arms as he carefully wrapped his plaid around them both.

Aye, it appeared he couldn’t take small steps, didn’t even have a chance of doing so. Glad he was too. As a gentle breeze blew and rustled the bower of leaves over their sacred place, he finally allowed the pull of the night to tug him under, or as much as his bear would allow with him still being so deeply entrenched within their enemy’s land.