His mate was insatiable. Garrett had known it would be powerful, any chance he got to bond or connect with his mate.

But he’d still been taken aback by the strength of the feelings inside him, the control it took to take things slow with her and not just throw her on the ground and have his way as the animal inside him demanded.

But he wasn’t going to take her like that, not now, when she still knew so little about him. The truth about him, anyway.

But he could tell from her hungry expression, from the wetness he could still taste deliciously on his tongue, the way she thrust up against him, that they were going to come together tonight.

It was just what his mate wanted, and there was no part of him that was able to say no.

He pulled a condom packet from his pocket and tore it open with his teeth as he stepped off the bed to take his pants off.

She made an adorable little purring noise as he undid the button, and he enjoyed her look of admiration and then shock as he dropped his pants, then his boxers to the ground.

As someone raised in the wild, he was comfortable naked. Then again, he’d never had someone looking at him like this.

He came onto the bed with her, wanting to feel the contrast of her body next to his, so much pale softness compared to his tanned, muscled heat.

She spread her legs immediately, and he could see it now. The look in her eyes that was only for him, the confirmation that she thought he was special, that she wasn’t like this for anyone else.

That she was also caught up in this whirlwind neither of them could fully understand.

The air was full of her scent, her heat, feminine and sweet and incredible. He parted her legs even more and slid a finger slowly between her folds.

He grimaced at the tightness there, knowing he might hurt her if he came inside. He slid another finger in and could barely get it to fit. It was hot, feeling her walls pressing against him, but at the same time, the last thing he wanted was to cause pain. “Dawn…”

“Keep going,” she said, thrusting against his finger. “I… can adjust.”

He smiled, knowing she was right, and let himself get caught up in the moment instead of worrying. Enjoying the feel of her body around his fingers, the way her breasts trembled and fell back against her chest. Her small hands clutching the covers. Even the creak of the cheap hotel bed.

He wanted to take her somewhere better. Heaven knew she deserved the best things in the world. He’d build her a little spot of heaven and pray he would be able to live there with her as well.

But for now, he just treasured the soft flush of her cheeks, the way her still-red lips were parted in anticipation as his fingers worked her closer to release.

He felt her clench against him as she went over the edge in release, and the feel of her coming as her cries echoed in the moonlight was almost enough to send him over the edge no matter how much control he was trying to maintain.

As her muscles pushed against him, again and again, so wet and hot he could barely stand it, he felt her slowly begin to relax. Maybe he was imagining it, but it felt like there was a little more room.

Still, the last thing he could do was hurt her. He was born to only please her, to make her happy for the rest of her life.

She pushed up on her elbows, looking exhausted but not ready to stop, fire in her beautiful gray eyes, red hair sticking to the sides of her face, making her look even more fiery. She pushed at it with one hand as she glared at him. “I hope you don’t think you’re getting away with just that.”

He smiled ruefully. “Dawn, I don’t know if I can. There’s no rush.”

She blinked at him, pushing more of her hair off her forehead. Then she pushed up onto her knees and moved toward him so they were thigh to thigh.

She ran a hand through his hair, looking at him tenderly. “Garrett, we never know how much time we have here. So yeah, in a way, there’s no rush. At the same time, all we have is this moment. If we put things off, thinking we can always have them later… sometimes that doesn’t turn out to be true.”

He nodded, knowing the truth of what she said and the real pain behind it. She took his hand and pressed it over her heart, letting him feel how it was beating.

“I don’t know about you, but I want this. This feels… better than anything ever has in my life. Now that we’re here, don’t you think we should go all the way?”

The bear in him roared in triumph, and he no longer had any strength to resist. He would just have to try to go slow for her. Try to make sure things were fine.

Because dammit, he wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything in this world, wanted her silky heat against his hardness, wanted to know she was his.

He picked up the condom, sliding it roughly over his length, wishing he could be bare with her, skin to skin.

Later.

“Okay, sweetheart,” he said, taking her shoulders and gently laying her down beneath him. He spread her legs gently, getting between her thighs, letting his member touch her wet, hot entrance. He could feel her so clearly, even through the condom. “God, Dawn, you’re amazing. You’re everything I want, and—”

“Shut up and come inside before I can’t take it anymore,” she snapped. But her tone wasn’t angry, just full of a desperation he could feel inside himself.

Slowly, carefully, he pushed inside her, bringing them together until they were hip to hip. Her arms wound up around his shoulders, and he propped himself up with a hand on each side of her head.

They were together. Somehow, he’d managed to get inside her, and now he was overwhelmed by the smooth, tight heat.

Oh hell, was it always like this? Or only when with a mate? He had no idea, but he was glad he was experiencing it for the first time, here with her, the woman he would love for all time.

If only he could tell her the same.

She pulled his head down, one hand curling affectionately in his hair. “I want you to move.”

He loved when she demanded what she wanted, loved pleasing her, knowing she was bold enough to ask. So he began to move inside her, carefully at first and then with smoother, quicker control.

Her breath hitched, her sex clenched, and her nails dug into him as he continued to stroke, sometimes fast, sometimes languid, grateful for the condom in helping him keep control of himself.

She was writhing, moaning, sweating, and all of it the hottest thing he’d ever seen. She arched back, biting her bottom lip, cursing, scratching his back as the tension built inside her. If she felt half as amazing as he did, he had no idea how she was holding on.

Aside from the sheer physical high of it, there was the emotional component as well, the way their bodies came closer with each thrust, as if they were one person. The way he was fully inside her as no one else could be. That she was looking at him only, that he was the one bringing her pleasure, clutched tightly in his arms.

The thought nearly took him over the edge, and he paused, sheathed deep inside her, hearing both of them pant.

Then, because he didn’t think he could hold on any longer, he kept moving, thrusting deeper and harder this time. She began to let out little screams of anticipation, and he felt high with the thought that she would soon come, clenching around his sex.

He thrust in extra deep, pinning them together, and she came, thrashing wildly in his arms and screaming out his name.

He joined her, feeling liquid heat rush over him like lava, warming from the inside out as hard spurts emanated from his tip, wrenching and exhilarating at the same time.

He could feel her release around him, gripping and releasing, and his eyes locked on hers, lost in a haze of pleasure, her lips still parted as she called his name.

He swore he could have blacked out from the sheer pleasure of the moment, and he closed his eyes briefly as he felt the last pulses of her sex.

It was over.

He was spent, still inside her but slowly recovering, feeling the aftershocks of her body, seeing her hands fall limply to the sheets on either side of her utterly satisfied face.

“Oh, Garrett. That was everything,” she said, reaching up weakly to put her arms around him. He lowered himself for a quick hug from her, then pulled back and out of her to clean up.

“I’ll be right back.”

She sat up a little shakily and watched in confusion as he ran through the door. He did a quick cleanup in the bathroom and then came back in with her, swiping up his boxers as he went so she wouldn’t feel awkward with him in her bed.

Then he jumped into the sheets with her, grabbing her and pulling her in tight, so he could curl around her and protect her with his bulk.

She tensed and then let out a little sigh, relaxing into him. “Did we really just do that?”

“We did.”

She laughed and put her hands over his that were wrapped around her waist. “We’re crazy. You know that?”

“No,” he said, nuzzling into her, knowing he wouldn’t be able to leave, that he would be spending the entire night in her arms. “We’re just perfect.”

As he heard her laugh and snuggle into him, he knew he was right.