Chapter 44
+25 Points
Jake lay still, listening to the rhythm of Lyra’s breathing against his chest. Her fingers traced lazy patterns across his skin, and he could still feel the aftershocks of what they’d shared vibrating in his bones. He’s thought about this moment a lot over the last week, but nothing had prepared him for what it would feel like to truly have her.
It wasn’t just the sex. It was the trust. The closeness. The way she’d looked at him while he was inside her.
He brushed his hand down her bare back and kissed the top of her head. “Hey,” he murmured.
“Mm?”
“I’m going to get something to help clean you up.”
She stiffened slightly. Just a fraction, but he felt it.
Jake tilted her chin up until she met his eyes. “There’s nothing weird about it,” he said softly.” You trusted me. Let me take care of you.”
Her eyes searched his, still a little guarded, but she nodded.
“Okay.”
He kissed her forehead, then eased her off his chest and slipped out of bed, grabbing his boxers. He headed into the bathroom, wetting a cloth to clean the blood off himself, trying not to think about it too much. He slipped on his boxers before grabbing a second cloth, wetting it before returning to Lyra. He crouched beside the bed, reaching for her.
“I can…” She started to sit up.
Jake shook his head. “Just relax.”
Carefully, he helped her shift back slightly before reaching between her legs to clean her. He moved with a tenderness that surprised even him. As he wiped between her thighs, he tried not to think too much about the blood. It wasn’t a wound. It wasn’t even about the pain. It was the proof of what she’d given him.
His chest tightened.
“You okay?” he asked, watching her face.
Lyra nodded, but her voice was quiet when she answered. “A little sore. But okay.”
Jake kissed her knee and set the cloth aside. “Let me get you some water.”
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He padded back into the bathroom, grabbing a small disposable cup and filling it from the sink. When he returned, she’d pulled the sheet around herself and was sitting up, watching
him.
She took the cup and sipped before setting it aside. Her eyes lingered on him, more serious
now.
“What are you thinking?” he asked softly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.
“You were gentle.”
“I tried.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “You deserve gentle.”
Her gaze dropped to her hands. “I didn’t expect to feel… this raw after.”
Jake moved closer and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms arounder. She curled against him without hesitation, her legs folding over his thighs as she pressed her face into his neck.
“It’s not just the physical,” she whispered. “It’s like… you broke something open inside me. In a good way… I think.”
He held her tighter, stroking her hair. “I feel like you fixed something in me, something I didn’t even realize was broken until now.”
She was quiet for a long moment. “Do you think it’s always like this with fated mates?”
He considered the question. “Maybe. But I think part of it is just you. You’re different, Lyra. Stronger than you know. Letting me see you like this… be with you like that… it felt like…” He sighed, searching for words. “It felt like I was chosen.”
Her breath caught, and when she pulled back too at him, her eyes were glassy.
“You always say the right thing.”
He smiled faintly. “Only with you.”
She kissed him softly and he could feel it, the connection between them, so raw that it left him breathless.
Jake pulled back enough to rest their foreheads together.
“Sleep now,” he whispered. “I want to hold you all night.”
She nodded, letting him lower her back onto the bed. He joined her, pulling the covers over
both of them as she curled into his side. Her head tucked beneath his chin, her breath warm against his chest.
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As he listened to her breathing deepen, Jake closed his eyes, his hand gently stroking her
arm.
He had never felt more grounded in his life. Not as Alpha. Not as a wolf. Not even as a man.
He was hers.
**
Jake woke to the scent of her. Honey and strawberries, so sweet that it made his stomach growl.
Sunlight spilled across the bed, casting a golden light over her bare shoulder where it peeked from beneath the sheet. Her black hair was spread like a halo across the pillow. Her body
tomach. was draped half over his, one leg curled over his hips, her hand resting
He didn’t move for a long moment, not wanting to disturb the perfection it. Last night played through his mind in vivid flashes. Her soft cries, the way she’d clung to him, the trust in her eyes when she gave him everything.
He was so hard it almost hurt, but he didn’t want to wake her.
Lyra stirred.
Her fingers twitched on his skin, then slid lower, brushing over the waistband of his boxers. He sucked in a quiet breath, his body reacting instantly to her touch. She shifted against him, the friction of her thigh brushing against his hard length.
Her eyes fluttered open. Sleepy, silver–blue and impossibly soft.
“Hi,” he whispered, brushing a lock of hair from her face.
“Hi,” she whispered back, her mouth curving in a lazy, satisfied smile.
She kissed him, slow and teasing. Jake groaned into her mouth as her hand dipped beneath the waistband of his boxers, wrapping around him with practiced curiosity.
“Lyra,” he warned, voice thick. “I won’t last if you keep touching me like that.”
“Good.” Her voice was still husky from sleep. “I don’t want you to.”
She pushed the covers aside and straddled his hips, baring herself completely to the morning light. Jake’s breath caught. She was vision with sun–kissed skin, soft curves, the faint pink marks he’d left across her chest last night.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he said hoarsley, his hands settling on her thighs.
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She reached between them and freed him from his boxers, lining him up with her entrance. Jake gritted his teeth as the heat of her slid against him. Then she sank down slowly, her head falling back, her mouth parting in a gasp as her warm center enveloped him.
“Fuck,” he groaned, fingers digging into her hips.
She was still tight, still warm and wet from the night before, and every inch of him felt consumed by her.
She started to move, slowly at first, rocking her hips in small, delicious circles. Jake’s hands gripped her waist, guiding her as she rode him with increasing confidence.
“Eyes on me,” he said roughly.
She looked down, eyes heavy–lidded with pleasure, and the connection} the chest.
ke a punch to
“Look at you,” he gritted out. “So in control. I love watching you like this. So fucking perfect.” Lyra leaned forward, bracing her hands on his chest, and changed the angle. He hissed as she rolled her hips just right, sending shockwaves through him.
He met her rhythm, thrusting up to meet her, pushing deeper. Her pace stuttered, and he felt her tightening around him. She gasped, the telltale quiver starting in her thighs.
“That’s it,” he urged. “Let go for me.’
She whimpered, riding him harder now, her nails digging into his chest as her body tightened around his. Her release hit, sudden and fierce, her body trembling as she cried out his name.
Jake let go with a roar, spilling into her with a final thrust. He held her there, both of them gasping, locked together in the aftermath.
Lyra collapsed onto his chest, still trembling. Jake stroked her back, his other hand tangled in her hair.
“Morning sex is definitely a new favorite,” she murmured, voice muffled against his skin.
He chuckled. “Noted. Thoroughly.”
They lay there for a while in a warm, sticky heap before Jake pressed a kiss to her temple. “Come on,” he whispered. “Let me get you cleaned up.”
She groaned in protest, but didn’t resist when he scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom. He turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature before stepping inside with her still in his arms.
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The water cascaded over them as Jake set her down gently. He washed her hair with slow, tender hands, then soaped her up with deliberate care, his fingers gentle on her hips, her thighs, between her legs. She leaned against his chest, letting him take care of her completely.
“Why do you always look at me like that?” she asked quietly.
Jake kissed her shoulder. “Like what?”
“Like I’m made of something precious.”
“Because you are.” He kissed her neck.
She turned in his arms, tipping her face up to his. He kissed her again, s groaned against her lips.
“Lyra. I have to get to the strategy meeting this morning.”
reverent. He
“I’m not stopping you.” She kissed his neck, his shoulder, his chest right over his heart.
“You’re making it hard to leave.”
Her hand slid between them. “That’s not the only thing that’s hard.”
He laughed, grabbing her wrist. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
She looked up at him, her gray eyes swirling.
“I have to go to this meeting,” he whispered. “I missed yesterday and today I need to debrief the warriors about the witches.” He kissed her forehead. “In the afternoon I have to go into the human city to sign some paperwork for some investments, so I won’t be back until after dinner.”
She sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek into his chest.
“You’re supposed to meet Rockwell at the hospital at ten,” he reminded her, trailing his fingers along her spine.
“I know.” She kissed his chest again. “I suppose I should dry off.”
She turned to leave the shower and he caught her hand. “Will you be here when I get back tonight?”
She grinned. “Nowhere else I’d want to be.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
