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“What do you smell now?”

He shivered. “Leather and musk, deep and earthy, like sweat and fur.”

“Is sweat and fur good?” I asked, leaning in, my breath on his face, his on mine.

“Yes,” he whimpered. His hand slipped around my wrist, the first time he’d ever touched me, and I trembled.

“Are you all right?” I needed to check. “Because you’re touching me.”

“I can’t… help it.”

“Neither can I,” I murmured before I took his sweet mouth.

I didn’t want to be gentle. I wanted to eat him.

But I didn’t want to scare him. Because, hell yes, I wanted to fuck him, have him break apart under me, cry and beg and scream my name. It was more than that, though, which had never happened before. I wanted him wrapped around me as he slept. I wanted to hold his hand. I wanted him to crave me like a drug. It was brand new, so I kissed him slowly, softly, carefully as I traced his lips with my tongue, pressing inside after long moments as my hands slid up his sides, pulling him forward, molding him to me.

When he wrapped his arms around my neck, I smiled against his mouth before I rubbed my tongue over his, tasting him, deepening the kiss and clutching him tight. One hand slid down over his tight round ass, and I fisted the other in his hair, making sure he couldn’t move. I devoured his mouth, letting him have only the quickest gasp of air before my lips locked with his again, nibbling, then biting, the mauling endless because all I wanted was more.

He fit perfectly in my arms, and when he moaned as I pressed my fingers against his crease, writhing against me, I broke the kiss and held him out at arm’s length.

“Look at you.” My voice cracked as I swallowed hard.

His eyes were nearly closed, and his lips were deep red and puffy. His cheeks were flushed, as well as his throat, and he was panting.

“You’re a virgin,” I said gruffly.

Quick nod from him. “Is it bad that I have no experience?”

“No, it’s not bad.” I lifted him off his feet, and he instinctively wrapped his long legs around my waist. “It’s amazing. You waited for your mate.”

“Yes.”

“And then your mate was an idiot,” I muttered. “Forgive me.”

“That sounded like a demand.”

“I want the sex,” I whispered, carrying him to the couch and sitting down, hands tight on his thighs as I pulled him forward so he could feel how hard I was. “I want you wrapped around my cock, but before that, I am going to rim you until you scream.”

He gasped, and his flush darkened, the black of his eyes absolutely liquid.

“But I need you to understand that I am going to make up for lost time. I’m going to show you that I deserve a mate, and that I’m not broken.”

“Who said you were broken?” he asked, and I heard the defensiveness in his voice that could combust so quickly into anger. “Tell me.”

The swell of emotion roared through me, and I shivered hard. He was so possessive of me, so ready to take my side, and it was doubtful he even recognized that in himself. His wolf would stand between me and the world, and it was overwhelming that all he was belonged to me. I had no idea what I’d done to deserve him, but I would thank the universe every day for the gift that he was.

“Deacon,” he pressed me, “who thinks you’re broken?”

“Everyone. Family, friends, and certainly every person I’ve ever been to bed with, been in a relationship with, anyone who wanted to keep me when all I wanted to do was run.”

“But that’s not how you feel with me,” he whispered, grinding against the bulge in my jeans, his hands on my face as he stared into my eyes. “Is it?”

“No.” I shuddered. “I could never leave my mate. That’s why I was so careful not to come anywhere near you. I knew once I got close, there would be no keeping me away.”

“And if I say no now?” He leaned back, hand on my chest, as if to hold me away from him. “What if I order you to leave?”

It took me a moment to get my voice to work, because how dare he even insinuate anything so vile? But he was testing me, and I deserved every bit of it. “Do you hate me?”