-Adrian-
"What color are your eyes?" my little wolf asks, her voice curious and soft.
I chuckle darkly, running my fingers along her arm. "Isn't this against the rules?"
She tilts her head, avoiding my question entirely. "Are they dark?" she persists.
I lean in, kissing her collarbone, letting my lips linger on her skin with undisguised hunger. "No," I murmur against her.
She reaches up, taking my face in her hands. Her touch is gentle yet purposeful as her thumbs graze over my nose, then trace the outline of my lips. The intimacy of the gesture catches me off guard, making something dangerous stir in my chest.
"I've never been without my sight before," she confesses, vulnerability threading through her words.
"You don't have strangers blindfold you for hours all the time?" I tease, my voice rough even as my heart pounds at her exploration of my face.
She giggles, the sound pure and light. "Nope," she says, popping the 'p' playfully. "I'm pretty boring."
"Nothing about you is anything but exquisite," I tell her, my tone fierce with conviction. The truth of it settles deep in my chest—this woman is extraordinary in ways I can't fully comprehend.
She snorts softly. "You are extremely good for my self-esteem."
"I don't lie, remember?" I remind her, watching as her lips curve into a smile. "And if you could see how fucking perfect you are when you come apart under my hands, you wouldn't doubt it for a second."
Her cheeks flush beautifully at my words, and I can't resist leaning in to kiss one heated cheek, my lips lingering longer than necessary.
Her fingers move higher, tracing my forehead and eyebrows with delicate precision, as if trying to memorize me through touch alone.
"How old are you?" she asks suddenly.
I hold her tighter against me, licking a slow path up her neck that makes her shiver. "What? Scared I'm old enough to be your dad?"
She moans and leans further into me, her body responding instinctively to my touch. "No... but really, how old are you?"
"I'll be 24 in a few months," I answer honestly. "What about you?"
"How old do you think I am?" she counters, a challenge in her voice.
I laugh, the sound edged with darkness as I run my hands down her sides. "Are you trying to trick me? I thought it was against universal law to assume a woman's age."
"Is that your way of avoiding guessing?" she teases, her fingers still exploring my face.
"Yes," I chuckle. "So tell me."
"I just turned 21 a few weeks ago," she reveals.
I'm not sure why I ask my next question. I don't know her name or what pack she's from, but I'm dying to know the details of her life. "How long were you with your mate?"
Her face falls immediately, and she pulls her hands from my cheeks. The loss of her touch feels like physical pain, a void that shouldn't affect me this deeply.
"Three years," she answers in a soft, sad voice that makes something in my chest constrict painfully.
How is she not marked yet? Nox demands inside my head, his voice laced with disbelief and anger.
Obviously this guy is a fucking moron, I respond, rage building at the thought of someone neglecting her.
"You found each other when you were 18?" I ask aloud, trying to piece together her story, my voice harder than intended.
"Yeah..." she says in a sweet, soft voice. "The day after my birthday."
I stroke her hair, feeling its silky texture between my fingers, a territorial gesture I can't seem to control. She doesn't move, and her face remains expressionless, as if she's retreated somewhere inside herself.
"When did you guys reject each other?" I press, needing to understand, my jaw clenching with tension.
I can feel nervous energy rising in her as she answers. "Technically he never accepted my rejection…but I guess to answer your question, earlier this afternoon."
Something dark flares inside me. I pull her closer, leaning to whisper in her ear. "So he felt betrayal pains?"
"Yeah... I guess so," she admits, her voice small.
"Is this the first time you've cheated on the bond?" I don't know why I ask, but something feral claws at my insides at the thought of her being with other men. The idea burns through me, irrational jealousy for someone I have no claim on.
She chews on her bottom lip before answering, the gesture oddly vulnerable. "Yes... but if I can survive the years of his indiscretions... then he can deal with this one night."
Her words hit me like a physical blow. This mate of hers has been unfaithful—repeatedly—to this incredible woman in my arms. Rage builds inside me, hot and volatile, a darkness I can barely contain.
I'd kill him, Nox growls, savage fury in his voice. Any wolf who would betray her doesn't deserve to live.
We don't even know her, I remind him, though the sentiment echoes my own murderous thoughts.
We know enough, he insists darkly.
I slide the shoulder of her robe down, kissing her smooth skin with barely restrained violence, trying to push away thoughts of her mate, of the pain he's caused her. "I think we have better things to do besides talk. Don't you?" I murmur against her skin.
She laces her fingers in my hair, her chest rising and falling faster with each breath. I dip lower, sucking on her breasts until her nipple puckers against my tongue, marking her with my mouth.
"You deserve better," I whisper against her skin, unable to stop the words. "Someone who recognizes what they have in you. Someone who would worship this body every fucking night."
"Like you?" she asks, her voice trembling slightly.
The question hangs between us, dangerous in its implications. I pause, my lips still against her breast, something wild and ancient stirring in my blood.
"If things were different," I admit, the truth burning in my throat, "I wouldn't let you go after tonight. I'd keep you in this bed for days. I'd make you forget anyone else ever touched you."
She inhales sharply. "But they're not different."
"No," I agree, regret heavy in my voice. "They're not."
I trail my fingers down her stomach, feeling her muscles tense beneath my touch. "But that doesn't mean I can't make tonight unforgettable."
Her breath hitches as my hand slips between her thighs, finding her already wet for me. "God, you're always so ready," I groan, circling my finger around her clit, a dark satisfaction filling me.
"Only for you," she whispers, and something in my chest tightens painfully.
I know it's not true—can't be true—we just met. But the words affect me more than they should, making me want to claim her in ways that go beyond the physical, to mark her as mine in ways that would never fade.
"Tell me what you want," I demand, my voice rough with desire and something darker. "I'll give you anything."
She arches into my touch. "I want to feel you inside me again."
I growl, the sound raw and hungry. "You'll have me. All of me."
I lift her easily, positioning her so she's straddling my lap. The robe falls open, revealing her perfect body to my hungry gaze. Even with the blindfold, she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and the thought of never seeing her again after tonight claws at me.
"Guide me in," I tell her, my cock throbbing with need.
She reaches between us, wrapping her delicate fingers around my length. The touch alone nearly makes me come undone. Slowly, she positions me at her entrance, then sinks down, taking me inch by inch.
"Fuck," I hiss as her tight heat envelops me. "You feel so goddamn perfect."
She moans, her head falling back as she seats herself fully on my cock. "So do you."
I grip her hips, helping her establish a rhythm that has us both panting. Each time she rises and falls, I feel myself getting closer to the edge, closer to something I've never felt before.
"That's it, little wolf," I encourage, watching her face contort with pleasure. "Take what you need from me."
She moves faster, her breasts bouncing with each thrust. I lean forward to capture one nipple in my mouth, sucking hard enough to make her cry out, wanting to leave marks she'll remember me by.
"I'm close," she gasps, her inner walls clenching around me.
"Come for me," I command, reaching between us to rub her clit. "Let me feel you fall apart."
Her orgasm hits her hard, her entire body shuddering as she cries out my title. The sight of her coming undone pushes me over the edge, and I follow her into bliss, emptying myself inside her with a guttural groan that sounds almost pained.
As we come down from our high, she collapses against my chest, her breathing ragged. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close, wishing I could freeze this moment in time, tightening my grip as if I could keep her here by force of will alone.
"If things were different," she whispers against my skin, echoing my earlier words.
"Yeah," I agree softly, stroking her hair, my voice heavy with regret. "If things were different."
But they're not. And tomorrow, she'll walk out of my life forever, taking a piece of me with her that I'll never get back. The thought fills me with a darkness I've never known before, a void I'm not sure I'll ever be able to fill.