Their lips met again and again and their tongues invented games to play. She wanted to be closer to him so she didn’t stop her hips when they ground hard into his. He pulled his mouth from hers and then crushed it down to hers with a passion that she loved.
Mine. Her wolf smiled, a big canine grin.
Ours. Ashlee corrected her.
But then, all of her focus was on Tristan. The feelings that just kissing Tristan aroused in her body were unlike anything she had ever felt before. Her nipples hardened under her shirt, and she wanted the offensive material off, now. Tristan seemed to understand her desires. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. He kissed her one more time, hard, then pulled the shirt from her body. Buttons flew and fabric ripped as he threw the shirt into the corner. Tristan ran his hands up from her stomach to her breasts.
She shuddered under his touch and he grinned at her. She was going to have a lifetime to see that smile, but she knew she’d never forget how it looked right this moment. Tristan’s appreciative grin was sincere, focused, and adoring.
She reached up to pull his shirt from his body, but ultimately he had to help her. Her hands shook and she couldn’t make them work. Shirtless, he reached down and took one of her fingers in his mouth. He sucked, hard, and she thought she might die from the pleasure. Her panties, that had already been wet, were suddenly soaked. He inhaled sharply and she blushed. He seemed to want to be even closer; he pressed his nose over the apex of her thighs and took a long deep breath before he brushed his nose over the top of her pants.
They were wolves, and they could smell each other’s arousal. The more turned on Tristan got, the more he smelled of musk and heat, the kind of hotness she’d only known from a sauna. It was a total turn-on.
She was embarrassed. She’d just drenched her underwear, and he knew it. From the grin on his face, he loved it, so she decided not to worry about it and to lose herself in the moment. It wasn’t a hard task as he pulled her bra off and took one of her nipples in his mouth. She made a sound that must have been a whimper; he grunted in response.
Why was she so fortunate? What had she ever done to deserve to be touched in such an intense manner by such an extraordinary man?
Still on top of her, he pulled her pants from her body, followed immediately by his own. Ashlee took a moment to admire Tristan’s nearly naked physique. He could have been sculpted from stone; his muscles were chiseled and she could see his hard shaft pushing through his tight blue briefs. She reached out to grab the tip of it through the cotton and he hissed. Ashlee pulled his briefs off and he followed suit by removing hers.
They were both in a complete state of undress and she was so hot she was afraid she might set off the smoke alarms if he didn’t touch her immediately.
She pressed her mouth back to his. She missed his taste on her tongue. Tristan growled, a sound that was all wolf, and her animal responded. If she’d been part cat, she would have purred, but being a wolf, she started rubbing his body instead. Up and down around his neck, his stomach, his abdomen—anywhere she could reach, she stroked him with her tongue. Tristan closed his eyes and threw his head backwards for a second before he growled again and pushed her down on the bed, his body pressed on top of hers.
Ashlee gripped Tristan’s shoulders tight and squirmed with pleasure at the feel of his body heat melting over hers. Her body throbbed everywhere now. Tristan reached down and touched her wet core with his hand.
“Oh god, Ashlee, you are so wet, I love it.”
He took his finger coated with her pleasure and sucked it in his mouth.
“Hmm.” He closed his eyes.
“Tristan?” Ashlee wasn’t sure what she asked for. She’d never been this turned on before; she’d thought she’d had orgasms, felt real pleasure. She’d been wrong. Inside of Ashlee, her wolf squirmed and begged for more—more scents, more tastes, more…Tristan—and he obliged, leaning back down and stroking her hard, throbbing clit with his hands. Her hips rose off of the bed in answer. His fingers slid inside her, and their sexual play drove her crazy. A pressure built inside of her. Never, never had she felt anything so intense. She thought she might explode from it.
Ashlee’s head thrashed back and forth on the bed. She sucked in her breath. “Tristan, please, I can’t.”
“You can.” His intense voice had lowered an octave, and it sent shivers throughout her body. Fingers slid in and out, over and over. She exploded. Ashlee saw stars before her eyes. Inside and out, Ashlee came around his fingers.
Tristan moaned while on top of her. His kiss swallowed every cry that fell from her lips. While she still shivered, he entered her. One fluid, strong movement and he filled her. Ashlee’s sheath had to stretch to accommodate the size of him. It was a glorious pull; her body soon made space for him and every inch of Tristan brought tingles of pleasure throughout her body.
“Tristan…you’re so huge.” Ashlee couldn’t believe the sexy purr that was her own voice.
“You were made for me. As you can see, we were made for each other.” Tristan’s long stroke inside of her brought on a groan. “Oh god, Ash, I can hardly breathe for wanting you so badly.”
Tristan picked up the pace of his thrusts and Ashlee moaned with excitement.
Feeling wanton, she slid her hands down his back to grasp his hard, toned ass.
“You’re bad, Ashlee. I’m going to love doing this with you forever.”
Forever. Just yesterday that would have terrified her. But since she’d woken up this morning and met her wolf, Tristan’s promise of forever felt exactly right. He would never leave her. Tristan kissed her cheeks and she realized tears rolled down them.
She started to come again and right at that moment they were both bathed in a warm, white light. She felt her body’s release and Tristan’s followed moments after. She felt like she was floating in pure light, she and Tristan together. A soothing calmness overcame her. Her thoughts seemed to flow out of her and into Tristan’s mind even as his entered hers. Is this what they meant by mating ritual, why it was more than just lovemaking?
She could hear Tristan in her mind. Pieces of his soul entered her body and took root there. For the first time in her life she felt complete. There was no gaping wound of insecurity, no feelings of being less than what she should be. Tristan filled her. At the same time she could tell the same thing happened to Tristan. He closed his eyes, his mouth forming a smile. Whatever pieces of her he had received, he liked them. She closed her eyes and tried to determine what parts of Tristan’s soul would now reside with her.
Deep within her she could feel Tristan’s soul show itself. Loyalty—it was coded in her psyche now, a deep blue line she could find if she searched for it. His intensity—no surprise, it was a cardinal red, his belief system, his unerring optimism. His love of her—
this last one was the thickest cord; it was black and if the others resembled silk, this one was steel rope. They attached her to Tristan and they flowed from his soul into hers.
“You didn’t tell me this was going to happen.” She teased him because she knew she could. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt now Tristan would always love her, never leave, and be forever loyal to her.
“I didn’t know. No one ever talks about the mating ritual. It’s considered to be very private, and I can see why. My Ashlee, you have the most beautiful soul.”
She closed her eyes, content to just float with him in the white light and the colored cords they’d made together until it passed. And if it never did, that was fine by her too.
Tristan’s eyes flew open. When had they fallen asleep? It didn’t matter, the white light was gone and in its place was pain. Unbelievable, unbearable pain. It filled his every pore, dripped from his eyelids, made his belly turn.