You Belong To Me

Chapter Eleven: Gene

Oh, God.

Have you ever been so overcome with emotion, that it feels like everything inside you is going to burst from the intensity of it all?

Have you ever been so overwhelmed, you weren't quite sure what to do, but you knew that your life would never be the same afterwards?

Because that is exactly how I felt when our lips finally met.

Kissing Wren was like tasting heaven.

It felt so good, and so damn right that I never wanted to stop doing it.

There was just something about the way he held me, as if he'd done it before, time and time again, that made me feel like I was safe. Protected.

Like nothing in the world would ever hurt me again so long as he was with me.

And f**k, the way he kissed me?

It made me feel like the most treasured, most precious being in the universe, like I could do anything.

And right now, I was floating. I was hovering above the earth, held up by the pure heart-wrenching passion of his kiss.

And then…

I fell.

I fell with a moan that sparked something in him, that changed his hold from gentle to possessive.

I am lifted suddenly, my lips tearing away from his for a second before crashing down on them again.

We're ravenous, absolutely hungry for each other, as he backs us up until my back crashes into the wall behind me, and I know without looking that we've left a huge dent there.

His fingers dig into my ass, and I curse, pulling at his hair to angle his head the way I want it, but he growls his disapproval, nipping at the corner of my lip in warning.

I fight him for control, teeth gnashing, tongues tangled, bodies burning and aching with a need so urgent, it becomes the only thing I can focus on.

He holds me with one hand, moving the other to my collarbone, wrapping it slowly around my throat until my every breath is controlled by his grasp.

He pulls back, tilting my head so his large hand covers the entire length of my slender neck, his thumb caressing the edge of my jaw gently.

His eyes are a deep, mesmerising black, and I can almost feel his wolf scratching at the surface, calling out to my own.

"Mate," he growls, his voice so deep it causes his chest to rumble against me.

My own eyes glow a deep violet as my wolf responds in kind, suddenly needing his mark burned into my flesh.

Our lips lock once more, and I cede all control to him, letting him dominate the kiss. He groans his approval, his hand squeezing ever-so-slightly around my neck. My fist tightens in his hair, and our kiss turns wild, a prelude to the kind of s*x awaiting us.

I am burning, everywhere.

I am in need, and I can't bring myself to stop until it has been satisfied. I grab the collar of shirt and tear it off his body, needing to feel his bare skin beneath my palms.

His lips leave mine to trail urgent, hot kisses down the side of my face, his chest pressing against my breasts. Wren's tongue licks at the inside of my ear and I cry out in pleasure, arching my back in sheer bliss.

I know what he's going to do when he removes his hand from around my throat and runs his mouth to the curve between my neck and shoulder.

He growls, deep and low, when he catches the scent of my arousal, and I close my eyes in anticipation of his bite.

I feel his canines grow against my delicate skin, seeking the right spot for him to leave his mark on me.

Is this really how you want this to happen? Against a wall in an airplane? Just like most of your other s****l encounters with men?

This is different, my wolf argues.

Is it? Then prove it.

What if…

He won't. He's yours, just as much as you are his.

I sigh, not entirely sure if it's in disappointment or relief.

"Wren?"

He lets out a possessive growl against my throat when I tug at his hair, his embrace tightening around me. One of his canine's breaks skin, and I moan from the pleasure that suddenly rushes through my body.

My wolf wants this. Hell, she's practically aching for it.

But I don't.

At least, not like this. Maybe I'm selfish, but I want the moment he marks me to be just between us.

I want privacy, I want intimacy.

I want him to do this right.

I pull his head back when he starts to bite down. He fights me, his animal instinct having taken over entirely. I feel the longing in his soul, and can practically taste how much he wants me.

"Wren."

He snarls, his teeth long and sharp in his mouth, his eyes a mystifying onyx. He can feel my reluctance, the permission I had granted him being taken back as gently as I could without making him feel rejected.

"You would deny me this, mate? You want to take what belongs to me?" he growls, his voice laced with an ethereal tone.

It's so damn hot, I almost forget that I'm trying to get through the fog of lust and possessiveness in his brain.

I loosen my grasp on his hair, and cup his jaw as gently as I can. I trace the sharp edges of his canines with my fingers, and say, "I do want this. I don't want you to think otherwise, but not here, bear. I want to take my time getting acquainted with your body, learning everything that turns you on. I want the moment you claim me to be just for us."

The tension in his body eases, and his teeth shrink back to their normal size, the white melting back into his eyes with each second.

His grip doesn't ease, though, and he pulls me even closer against him. Wren rests his head on the crook of my neck, his breath slowing until it's steady and regular.

I hold him there, content to just feel him against me like this, my fingers massaging his scalp in slow circles.

"I'm sorry I lost control like that," he whispers.

"I get it. I got a little carried away as well. You want to put me down, bear?"

Wren reluctantly lets me down, lifting his head from my chest to look down into my eyes.

My legs are a little unsteady, but Wren holds me against him until I can stand on my own.

He lifts his hands, cupping my face and capturing my lips once more. This time, the kiss is so gentle, it takes my breath away.

When he pulls away, I bite down on my lips to keep the taste of him in my mouth. His eyes are intense, yet soft, heated and affectionate, all at once.

"Just for us," he says, though I think this is more to himself than me, but I nod anyway.

"And nobody else."

Dinner is not as awkward as I thought it would be, since Rehan and Maddox pretend that nothing happened between Wren and I. They ignore the way Wren's hand rests on the small of my back when we enter the room, and refrain from commenting on the state of Wren's tousled hair and the blush on my face and neck.

They're actually so interested in each other that our heated make-out session in the other room almost feels inconsequential to them.

Abby, the flight attendant, serves us our dinner and disappears while they chat about some historical event or other.

Wren joins in, firing questions at Maddox, his thigh brushing against mine each time I move.

I'm the only one who seems to be slightly out of it, but nobody pays me much attention so I'm free to go through the motions.

I can still feel the pleasant sting of his bite from earlier, and heat from his body beside me does nothing to ease the ache between my legs.

I'm pressing my thighs so hard together, it almost hurts. My appetite is gone, and I pick at the fillet mignon almost absently in an attempt to get my mind off of Wren.

But I can't.

I sigh inwardly when he casually slings his arm over the back of my chair, his posture relaxed for the first time since I've ever met him.

Every now and then, he leans down to whisper something to me that actually makes me smile, and I find myself chuckling along with him.

I try to ignore the hunger in my belly and focus on the conversation, which has since moved to art, but I know I'm a goner when the dessert tray is wheeled in.

For the next five minutes, I watch Wren take his time with a slice of chocolate cake, licking at the spoon and his lips after every bite.

Halfway through, I'm so damn turned on I have to excuse myself because I'm overheating.

Nobody really says anything, allowing me a graceful exit from a somewhat uncomfortable situation.

I close the door to my bedroom, and lean against it while I try to slow my heart rate and calm down.

Because what the f**k was going on right now?

What the f**k had I been thinking, kissing Wren like that? I'd only succeeded in proving him right by giving in, and I knew for a fact that there was no way he was going to let me off the hook as easily now.

But did I want him to? Honestly?

I'd kissed him just as hard, reacted just as intensely as he did, if not even more so. Just the memory of what he tasted like was enough to make certain parts of me ache with need, and I pushed away from the door.

I strip and hurry into the shower, keeping the water cool to help soothe my nerves and temper the heat coursing through my body.

By the time I shut the water off, my heart is beating steadily and my breathing has returned to normal. I pick an oversized t-shirt and slip it on, then tie my slightly damp hair into a bun at the top of my head.

I slide under the expensive sheets and punch at the pillow a few times before laying my head down.

I groan in frustration, and roll over onto my other side, pushing the sheets off me angrily as thoughts of Wren invaded my mind again.

My tossing and turning continues for another hour, and by the time the clock hits ten, I'm laying face down with a pillow over my head, screaming silently into the comfy mattress.

I toss the pillow off the bed and sit up, scratching at my eyes before I sigh and get up.

After using the bathroom, I come back into the bedroom and pick the remote up from the end table. I wait while the screen lowers from its place in the wall, then scroll through the different movies available.

I select something boring, that I know will help me sleep, then settle as the opening credits start to play.

There's a knock at my door, and I know without a doubt that it's Wren. I can't even pretend I'm asleep since he can hear the audio from the movie, so I resignedly get out of bed and open the door.

He stands in front of me in a pair of boxers and nothing else.

Why must he always be half naked?

His hair is sticking out at odd ends on his head, and he looks just as tired as I feel. My stupid heart does that stupid thing where it races at the sight of him and I immediately want to jump him and kiss him all over again, but I manage to control myself.

I don't even bother to ask Wren why he's here. I wave him inside, since it's obvious he's had as much trouble sleeping as I have.

I get back in bed and lift the other side of the sheets, a silent invitation for him to get in. He doesn't say anything, but he does move to accept my invitation after closing the door. He props up the pillows behind him while I turn up the volume just a bit.

"This movie sucks," he says ten minutes later.

"I was hoping to find something to help me sleep," I explained, picking up the remote to press pause.

I know he won't say anything, since he'd pretty much said his piece earlier that night already. I take a deep breath before I bare my soul to him.

"I didn't think I'd actually meet my mate so soon, you know. I thought I had at least a couple more decades to be a bellatrix before I had to settle down."

He nods, as if he understands exactly what I mean.

"This goes without saying, but obviously, you'll be bellatrix until you decide you're ready to settle down," he says, turning towards me.

I shrug. "You're going to be alpha after your mother. You're expected to pop out a couple of kids almost immediately after you find your mate. Continuing the lineage is your responsibility.

Wren rolls his eyes, the gesture adorable when he does it.

"I'm twenty-eight. You're even younger than I am. We've barely begun to live, and I've spent most of my life being told what to do by people I thought gave a s**t about me. The last thing I'd ever do is dictate your life."

I process his words, then look down at our hands interlocks between us on the mattress.

"I'm not proposing marriage here, sweetheart. I'm just saying we should try," he adds.

It would be foolish to try to avoid what was staring me in the face right now. I knew Wren was my mate.

I could literally feel it in the deepest parts of my soul. I carried his essence with me when he was gone, and somehow, I always seemed to end up near him without realising it.

That afternoon on Founder's Day, the night at the forest, every moment since then…

It was all very romantic, if I was being honest, but I was straight up freaking the f**k out right now, if I was being honest.

I know he and I were kind of destined to be together for all eternity, but so many things could go wrong.

One of us could die. Literally.

Or we could mess this up so badly that we couldn't actually be together. What if I lied to him, or he did something to hurt me?

What if his parents forbade the union and insisted he marry Aurora? What would happen when I was sent off on another assignment, and I was gone for months on end?

"Stop overthinking things," he warns.

"I am not," I argue indignantly.

"Yes, you are. You're wondering what's going to happen, and what we're going to do when you need to leave again."

I open my mouth to argue, but let out a wary breath instead. I turn towards him, folding my legs in front of me.

"But these are all serious concerns."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"But we barely even know each other," I say.

He scans my features slowly, his gaze so intense I feel like he's looking into the deepest recesses of my soul.

"Then we'll get to know each other," he replies simply. I watch as he shifts on the bed, laying down on his side next to me. He pats the pillow beside his, silently gesturing for me to lay down beside him.

After a while, I slowly get under the covers, adjusting the pillow before I place my head right in the middle. He blinks at me, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction and delight.

He lifts a hand to tuck a few stray locks of hair behind my ear, then cups my jaw, tracing a thumb over my lips.

"You said that we can take this slow. We decide what happens between us because this is ours. Just you and me."

I close my eyes briefly, then open them to meet his questioning gaze.

"God, your mother won't be happy. And Aurora is going to lose her s**t when she finds out."

"Their opinions don't mean anything."

"Your mother's opinion does. You're her heir, and I'm her bellatrix."

He thinks about that, his gaze wary for a second before they darken with determination.

"I won't let her ruin this like she has so many other things for me. I promise."

We snuggle a little closer as we talk, sharing everything from childhood memories to hobbies, aspirations and life-changing experiences.

By the time the crew wakes up in preparation of our arrival at Sioux Airport, our legs are tangled around each other, my head tucked beneath his chin while he holds me in his arms.

I'm listening to the steady beat of his heart with my eyes closed, and I can't help but smile when I realise that being in his arms is my new favourite place in the world.