Tonight, it was just us—Darius and me, tangled in the heat of our bond, the air thick with the scent of pine and earth and him. His lips moved against mine, slow and deliberate, a kiss that felt like a claim and a promise all at once. My hands found his shoulders, fingers digging into the hard muscle there, grounding myself in the reality of him. My mate. My alpha. Mine.
His hand slid further beneath my shirt, his calloused fingers tracing patterns across my ribs, sparking heat that bloomed deep in my core. I arched into his touch, a soft moan escaping me as his lips left mine to trail along my jaw, down the sensitive column of my neck. The mark he’d given me two nights ago pulsed under his breath, a living reminder of our bond, and every brush of his lips against it sent shivers racing t
