Chapter Twenty-Three
Conrad
“Mate me.” The two words I’d so longed to hear echoed in my ears as the man of my dreams held me tightly, the taste of him still on my lips. His hand slid down, intertwining his fingers with mine and taking a step toward the house before stopping abruptly. “Where are your clothes?” he asked, amusement touching his words.
“In a backpack behind that tree.” I pointed to where I’d left my clothes.
“So, you planned this?” He squeezed my hand gently, settling his head on my chest.
“Not the first time.” I shrugged. “But when Travis found me under your window the night they rescued those omegas, he tossed me a pair of sweats and told me it was the last free clothing I’d ever get from him so come prepared.”
I’d anticipated a slight giggle at Travis’s words, but instead, Jasper gasped and I froze. The last thing I wanted to do was make him feel uneasy.
“I’m sorry, omega mine. I should’ve told you.”
He yanked my arm as he sped to the front door, leading me inside, shutting it behind us.
“You have been protecting us this entire time?” His hands cupped my cheeks as his eyes held mine.
“Of course.” I kissed the top of his head, pouring my affection into the small gesture. “It is my honor and privilege to protect you.”
“How did I get so lucky?”
“There is no luck in this, omega mine. Fate sent you to me because we were destined for each other. You and I fit together the way it was meant to be.”
His head tilted up, glistening with unshed tears. “I might have never met you because of my foolish choices all those years ago.”
“Those choices gave us Owen.”
He nodded at my statement. As much as the horror of his former life would always be there, in the background of our lives, it did bring us our child. Not that I wouldn’t have traded places with Jasper in a heartbeat and taken every last beating, every last harsh word.
“You, alpha mine, are—” He never finished the statement with his words, instead answering me with a kiss, a kiss that stole my breath away. “Make me yours.”
I scooped him up, carrying him to the bedroom. He already was mine, but the palpable need echoing between us took away my ability to coherently have that discussion, my tiger pushing against me to give our omega what he’d asked for.
Weaving around the boxes left to unpack another day, he held on to me, nuzzling my chest as we arrived in the bedroom. I refused to think of it as his—the need for it to be ours, overwhelming.
“Are you sure?” I let him down and began to slowly undress him. I knew he was, every part of him exuded his need, from his scent, to the way his body shivered slightly when my fingers skimmed his skin, to the way his eyes darkened as he caught sight of my very hard cock. Oh, he wanted this, but it was so much more than sex, and for that reason, my tiger was clawing at me to hear the words.
“There is nothing I want more, and not just because you are there all naked, your scent filling me with need.” He settled his hands on my chest. “I want you for who you are, the strong protective alpha who listens, goes out of his way to instill kindness into this world, and looks at my son—our son as the miracle he is. I want you for the way you make me feel safe, confident, and, yes—badass. I want you for the way my heart races just at the thought of you, the way I miss you before you have even left, the way you fill my dreams. I want you for everything that you are, Conrad.”
He was undressed in seconds, his body slamming against mine as our lips both laid claim to the place we would soon mark each other. Jasper was going to be mine in all ways. There was no better feeling than embracing that knowledge.
I laid him on the bed, crawling in beside him so we were face-to-face. We lay, just watching each other, our fingers dancing on each other lightly.
“I love you, omega mine.” I sealed my words with a kiss that became two, which became more, our bodies inching closer together as I restrained my need to mark him, wanting to not rush what I felt to my core would be one of the most important days of my life.
His cock pressed against mine, both hard as a rock, neither of us pushing to do more than making out like high school loves until his wolf broke through, letting out a growl not of intimidation or warning, but of raw lust.
It was all my tiger desired to decide he, too, needed to be present, my teeth elongating ready to mark him as mine before we had actually mated.
Jasper found my cock with his hand, giving it a playful tug as I reached down and mimicked his action, earning me a groan.
“Lower. Touch me lower.” He pleaded as his lips caressed the place he’d claimed as his on the crux of my neck.
I rolled Jasper over, my lips seeking out his as I slowly let my fingers travel down his body to where I knew he wanted them most, stopping to trace the muscles on his chest, to tweak his sensitive nipples just enough to send shivers down his body, but not enough to cause pain. I found him slick, and he immediately pushed into my hand.
“Patience,” I faux scolded. Not that I had an ounce of it myself, circling him, teasing his entrance before pushing in a finger.
“I’ve been patient since our first run. I have none left.” He bucked his hips into my hand, and I found myself unable to deny him, adding a second finger as his hand tightened around my erection. “I need you inside me. Please.”
I withdrew my fingers and settled between his legs, knowing I had to watch his eyes this first time, to get completely lost in him. Jasper grabbed my face, pulling it to his and nipping my lip, showing me his wolf was ever present, his canines already elongated. Lining up with his hole, I gently entered him. A sigh of longing escaped his lips as his legs wrapped around mine, pulling me to him as I eased in all the way—the feeling of completeness like nothing I’d ever dared dream about, much less felt before.
We lay like that, as one for a minute, both of us staring into each other’s eyes until I was no longer looking at Jasper, I was looking into his wolf’s eyes. It was all it took for my tiger to take over, and the slow leisurely lovemaking I’d wanted for Jasper was put into the next time category as both of us began to move. It took all the strength I had not to come with that very first movement. I slammed into him as he pushed back with equal vigor, his breath bated, his hands seeking mine as we continued our movements all passion-filled and powerful while holding hands so gently. It was perfection, and long before I wanted it to be, it was over. I felt his cum shooting out between us as he raised his head to reach my shoulder, his teeth sinking in, causing me to go over the edge, coming inside him as my teeth found his shoulder and marked him as mine—our animals both purring. Who knew wolves did that?
“You are mine.” I kissed the place where I’d marked him as my knot filled him. “And now, all the world will see.”
“As you are mine.” He kissed his mark in kind. “They were right, you know.” He rolled us on our sides.
“About?” I had no idea who or what he was talking about, but I was so lost in the sensations of our completed mating, I didn’t even know what day it was.
“About knowing with just one drop.”
“You saw? You know?” I grabbed his face with both hands, needing to smother it with kisses.
“Oh, I know it all, Jasper. But mainly, I saw a future with you. I’ll share the details with you if you shower with me.”
I squinted and kissed his mouth before peppering his cheek with tiny kisses. “Race you, after my knot subsides anyways.”
We didn’t race. Instead, we lay there, basking in the afterglow of our coupling and reliving the images we flooded into each other’s mind.
Life was good.