Skyler's lips met mine, and the world caught fire.
It wasn't gentle. Wasn't tentative or careful. It was five years of longing compressed into a single moment—desperate, consuming, overwhelming. His hand cupped the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair, while his other arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against him.
The bond exploded between us. Golden light burst behind my eyelids as the connection that had been dormant, damaged, dying, suddenly roared to life. I felt everything—his relief, his fear, his love so intense it made my knees weak.
My wolf howled in triumph. *Mate. Finally. Ours.*
I kissed him back with equal desperation, hands fisting in his shirt, years of denial crumbling to dust. He tasted like coffee and pine and home, and I couldn't get enough.
