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My clothes lay in a heaped pile at my feet, with only the flower crown adorning my head, I pause wondering if I should remove it too. But my gaze snags on the little mirror hanging from the wardrobe. My breath catches.

My blond hair is a stark contrast to the vibrant pink and purple petals, the hues making my skin tone look far more pale yet delicate. My hazel eyes pop too. I look good. Really good. Maybe even like a fairy prince.

My fingers brush the crown as I admire myself. I’ve never considered myself attractive before but right now I feel… beautiful. Like I’m a delicate flower.

The sound of the front door closing and the shuffle of logs from the living room has my heart pounding. He’s coming.

Step after step, the floorboards groan under his weight. Each creak and groan has my energy rising, until my lungs seize with a tight breath. Striding into the bedroom, Arden watches me from the threshold, his grin still plastered across his face.

“Let me see you,” he whispers, I can still hear the gravel of lust in his voice.

I turn to face him, no longer watching him in the reflection of the mirror. His gaze travels from my legs up to my dick, to my stomach and chest, to my face and finally the crown.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.” He steps forward, his hand reaching for me.

I reach back, letting the distance close between us. Arden wraps an arm around my lower back, pulling me against him. His head dips and I tilt my head back, capturing his lips with mine.

We kiss in silence, yet my heart pounds in my ears and my body vibrates with excitement. His canines graze my lip and I open my mouth, willing his tongue to slide against mine. I can taste his earthy tones, I can smell his natural musk and my mind grows silent. My thoughts becoming quiet echoes in the back of my skull.

“Take me, mountain man.”

CHAPTER 18

ARDEN

Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.

My beast is screaming at me to take this man and make him mine. I’m no longer Arden. I’m reduced to a simple instinct. Mate.

Blake’s lips part as he pants. His eyes grow lidded, his pupils expanded well past the normal human limit. The hazel of his irises swallowed by the black depths of lust. His body is reacting to me. Recognizing me. I can feel his soul reaching for my own. And I don’t try to stop it. I lean into my primal urges, knowing there is no going back now.

He’s chosen me. He’s accepted my vow, he’s accepted my crown. And now his body will accept mine.

I trail my lips along his jaw, biting and sucking at his skin. Blake moans, his hands pressing against my chest, his hips pulsing forward, his dick rubbing against my thigh.

I want to bend him over the back of my bed, to press his back into an arch and watch my mate present himself to me. But I can’t just yet.

“Hands on the wall,” I growl in his ear, watching the way gooseflesh explodes across his shoulders, meeting the blush that creeps down his throat.

Blake whimpers, unable to pull away from me. So, I guide him to the wall, moving his body like he’s a doll, placing his palms flat on the surface, tilting his hips up and using my thighs to spread his legs.

His balls swing, heavy between his legs, and I can’t help myself from giving them a loving tug, earning myself a gasp from Blake’s lips.

“Stay,” I command.

He does.

Turning to the bed, I reach for the beam. Unscrewing the largest plug from the wood, I grasp it between my fingers. It’s not as thick as my knot, but it’ll help him adjust while I prepare him for what’s to come.

Snagging the lube from the bedside table, I squirt a copious amount into the tip of the bulb, using my fingers to spread it over the toy. With my digits covered in slick, I drop the bottle and return to my mate.

He hasn’t moved an inch. His cheek presses against the wall, his eyes trained on me. He’s so beautiful like this. Mind empty from thoughts, body burning with desire. I’ll be there with him when he comes back to me, after I’ve mated him. I’ll hold him all night, keeping him safe.

With his legs spread and his back arched, his hole is on display. His rim is still rosy from this morning and as I slick my finger over his fluttering entrance, he’s warm to the touch.

Mewling and shaking his hips at me, I chuckle, slapping his ass, listening to the reverberating clap bouncing off the walls.

“Daddy…” Blake hisses.