A night like a normal couple should have taken the tension out of the air but it only made Karri want him more, which in turn only made her more uneasy. This mating idea felt like she’d walked into a booby trapped building blindfolded. Something was coming but she didn’t know what it was. Her body told her to just do it, accept the mating because it was her destiny, but her thoughts wouldn’t turn off long enough for her to allow it to happen.

Now, hours after she’d turned in for the night, she stood in the living room staring out the bay window. Noah was back in his office working and part of her yearned to go to him. Surely, with his lion demanding he claim her, he wouldn’t mind the interruption so she’d give him just that. Yet, rather than going ahead with it, she paced back and forth in front of the window.

Her thoughts traveled from one thing to another quicker than she could put all the pieces together. Kat’s boyfriend had been a shifter—did that mean she’d been his mate? Had she been resistant to it as well? So many questions but no answers and no way to even get the answers she sought.

“I thought you were in bed.”

She turned to find Noah standing at the bottom of the stairs. The heat of his gaze lingered on her as he waited for some response but she couldn’t speak as she took in the man before her. His shirt was gone, revealing a toned chest that appeared to be chiseled out of rock. The only stitch of clothing he wore was a pair of faded jeans, sitting low enough on his hips that she could see the curve of his pelvis. “And I thought you were working.”

“I was…am. Shit, I need more coffee.” He dragged his hand over his face as if that would wipe away his exhaustion.

“What you need is sleep.” No, what we both need is each other. Sleep, work, and worry could all wait. Something sparked within her and she held out her hand to him. “Come here.”

“You’re not still having nightmares, are you?” He came to stand in front of her and took her offered hand in his.

A nightmare had indeed woken her but she didn’t want to think about that; she wanted to focus on him. Leaning into Noah, she looked up at him, their lips inches from each other. “No more hesitating.” Then, without giving him a chance to respond, she pressed her lips to his. Instantly, the connection between them sprang to life, allowing the warmth of what he’d explained to be the mating desire burn within her. He ended the kiss all too soon, leaving her craving more.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” She looped her arms around his neck. “What about work?” As the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. She was giving him an opening to stop this before it started. While she might have wanted that before, she didn’t want it now.

“It can wait. This can’t. I want you now.” Slipping his thumb under her chin, he forced her head up enough to give them a better angle as his lips found hers again. He traced his finger down the curve of her neck before coming back up to tangle his fingers in her hair, drawing them closer as his tongue slipped between her lips. “I knew it.”

“Huh?” she asked breathlessly.

“I knew you’d taste like sugar. Sweet, sinful, and delicious.”

With each kiss, her longing seemed to grow until she met his kisses with an eagerness of her own. She hooked a finger through his belt loop, pulling him against her until she wasn’t sure where he ended and she began. This heat and desire was what she had been waiting for. Whatever had changed, she welcomed because she wanted him with every ounce of her being.

He took her hand in his and led her toward the sofa. “We could go upstairs but I need you now.”

“I don’t care where we are but this is prefect.” Every night she had curled up in his bed, since the spare bedroom that had belonged to Liam was now Noah’s office with an extra bed just pushed into the corner. It only seemed fitting to have him claim her there in the living room where they spent most of their time together.

Suddenly free of all the things that held her back before, she made quick work of getting his jeans undone enough that she could slip her hand between the rough material and his bare skin. She freed his shaft from the constraints of his boxers, running her hand down the length of his hard-on. Teasing along the length of him as his pants dropped to his ankles, she gave him a moment to step out of his jeans before pushing him down on the sofa.

“What are you doing?”

She slid her hand along his chest, feeling his smooth skin and tight muscles. Then she dropped to her knees before him, trailing her palms down his chest until she could take hold of his manhood. Gently, she caressed down the length of him.

“Sugar.” Catching on to what she intended, he wrapped his hand around her wrist.

“Let me.” She leaned forward to kiss the tip of him before taking him into her mouth while working his erection at the base with her hand. Groaning, he tangled his hand in the strands of her hair, holding her close. She worked up and down the length of him, milking the life out of him.

He moaned her name before placing a hand on her shoulder. “I can’t claim you as my mate like this and I’ve waited too long for you to hold on much more. I need to be inside of you.”

Eagerness filled her now. Letting him go, she straddled his lap. With one quick tug, she pulled the nightshirt she was wearing over her head, leaving herself naked, like him.

He kissed her neck, nibbling down her jawline to her shoulder. She let him have a few more minutes of exploration, since he finally made it to her breasts. Wrapping his mouth around her nipple, he flicked his tongue over the bud, drawing it to full hardness. He teased over the other one, tweaking it until it stood at attention. She moaned in ecstasy when he licked one hardened tip.

“Noah,” she gasped, desire rushing through her.

He let her nipple slip from between his lips as he gazed up at her. “What do you want, sugar? Ask and it will be yours.” His eyes gleamed and his lips curved up into the cocky grin. He grabbed her hips, adjusting her quickly so she was arched above his shaft. “Ride me, sugar, so I can give these beautiful breasts of yours the attention they deserve.”

Purring softly, he caressed every inch of her body, sending moans of ecstasy from her lips. His touch was incredibly tender, as though trying to memorize every curve with his hands and mouth. Heat soared through her blood, like a fire burning just below the skin, impatient and demanding. He kissed a path down her neck, his thumb playing over her nipple. Sensations collided and threatened to overwhelm her. She wiggled her hips, his shaft rubbing against her folds.

“I want you.” She arched her back, pressing her chest against his to feel the soft purrs coming from within him through every ounce of her body.

With every touch, he seemed to ignite the fire within her until she was ready to beg for more. She couldn’t get enough of him. Dropping his hand between them, he slipped a finger between her folds, finding her clit. Teasing along that bundle of nerves with his thumb, he then delved a finger inside her. A demanding moan she barely recognized vibrated in her throat as she arched toward him, meeting his thrusts.

“Noah!” His name echoed off the walls as she rode his hand. The need for him to be buried deep within her core increased with every stroke.

“Are you ready for this, sugar?” He pulled his hand away before quickly adjusting himself so he could slide his shaft into her.

“Yes. Noah, I need you now!” She dug her nails into his shoulders as she tried to keep from screaming her desire for all to hear.

She wasn’t sure if it was her own need or his that had him giving her what she needed. Halting the teasing caresses, he grabbed hold of her hips and eased her down onto him. He kept the pace slow, taking it slowly, filling her inch by inch.

“Faster…please Noah, faster.” Halfway in, he slid out before thrusting back in, filling her completely with his manhood. His strokes fed her with heat until a wildfire spread within her. She rocked down on him, increasing the pace as he continued to pump into her.

The tension between them was gone, replaced with a unique understanding of what the other wanted. He’d warned her that the connection between mates was unlike anything she had ever experienced and now that it was beginning to fill her, she understood what he’d meant.

Lean forward. His voice drifted through her thoughts as if he’d said it aloud but he’d gone through their mental link. Even before she did as he asked she knew he wanted to claim her nipple with his mouth, to suck the hardened bud and allow his teeth to graze over the soft skin.

Their bodies rocked back and forth, up and down. Never once did he lose contact with her nipple, nor did he pull too hard to cause her pain. When they moved, they were as one. Her muscles clenched around him as her release neared.

“Noah.” His name came out on the edges of a moan as he tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling slightly.

He let her nipple go and brought his mouth up to hers to swallow her cries with a kiss. Their breaths became ragged as he rocked in and out, finding the perfect rhythm, bringing ecstasy within reach. Upon that release, she dug her nails into his shoulders, arching her body into his, her head thrown back in pure ecstasy. He continued to drive his shaft into her, until with one final slam home, his own release followed.

“My gorgeous mate.” He held her against his body, his shaft still nestled deep within her as their breathing began to return to normal.

Mate. I’m his mate now. She expected the same feeling of fear to rush through her, but it didn’t. His soft purrs vibrated through her, making her want to make love to him all over again while also comforting her, as she adjusted to the new connection between them.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Exhaustion peeking through, she snuggled against his body. “It’s weird. Almost as if I’m looking at the world for the first time. I see things so differently now…clearer.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

While it saddened her to think she’d get used to this—lose the newness of it—she knew she would. Until then, she’d enjoy the fresh insight and allow her outlook on the future to shift to what her life now become. Noah had come to mean something special to her, and while she wasn’t ready to admit she was falling in love with him, she understood their lives would revolve around each other until they took their last breaths.

Mated and linked for eternity.