Chapter 134

My whole body ached.

I was lying half on top of him, my cheek pressed against the center of his chest, his skin warm and damp beneath mine. Every inch of me felt used. Every muscle sang with the deep, satisfied soreness of having been completely unraveled and put back together again.

Neither of us moved.

He was still inside me, softening slowly, his arms wrapped around my waist like he didn’t trust me not to vanish. I didn’t want to. I never wanted to move again.

After a long stretch of quiet, his hand lifted lazily to push the hair back from my face. “You’re alright?”

I nodded against his chest. “That was... beyond anything.”

He huffed a breath that was almost a laugh, almost a groan. “I wasn’t sure if I went too far.”

“You didn’t,” I said quickly, then looked up at him. “You gave me exactly what I needed. Exactly.”

He studied me for a moment, then leaned in to kiss my temple. “You’re a menace.”

“I was minding my business until your thigh got involved.”

“Dangerous,” he murmured, his smile barely there. “I’ll have to keep an eye on you.”

Eventually, he pulled out with a soft groan, and we both winced. I hissed a little, legs trembling. He wrapped me tighter against him.

“Water,” he said.

I nodded, dragging myself upright. We moved slowly, limping our way over to the table where bottles were lined up in neat rows. My thighs burned. My inner muscles ached. We passed one back and forth in silence, each of us drinking until our breathing evened out.

A laugh slipped from my mouth before I could catch it.

He looked at me sideways. “What?”

I gestured vaguely between us. “We’re gonna be sore as hell.”

He chuckled, voice low. “That’s what you get for taunting me in your sleep.”

We took turns wiping down with a warm cloth and found bruises on each other that made us both laugh and wince. I pressed my lips to the purple bloom rising on his shoulder.

“I like this one,” I said.

“Do you?”

“It’s proof.”

“Of what?”

“That I survived you railing me.”

He laughed again, pulling me in for another kiss, this one slower. Sweeter.

After, we collapsed on the bedding again, limbs tangled. I felt the next wave building in my body, slower now, different. But first, I turned to him, heart pounding.

“Can I?”

His brow furrowed. “What?”

“I want to mark you.”

He stilled.

“You don’t have to,” I said quickly. “Only if you want me to. I know it’s not normal—especially since you’ve already marked me—but... I want to.”

He reached for my hand, threading our fingers together. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

His free hand touched the side of my face. “Then breathe with me.”

I did. We inhaled together, exhaled. Inhaled again. When I dipped my head toward his throat, his hand stayed there, grounding me.

My canines lengthened. I could feel it. An edge of power that hadn’t been there before. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was him. I sank my teeth in gently, just enough to break the skin. He tensed but didn’t pull away.

His breath hitched. My heart was racing.

When I drew back, the mark was already sealing. My mouth tingled. I licked the trace of blood from my lips and tasted something sharp and addictive that made my core clench with fresh need. Heat roared back into my body, sudden and blinding. I barely managed to kiss him before the hunger returned, stronger than before.

He held my face like he couldn’t believe me.

Then we both sighed and sank back onto the nest.

Later, after a nap, we ate meal bars and curled up beneath the covers again. This time the sex was slower but still soaked with desperation. Every brush of skin sparked a low, aching hunger. My legs straddled his hips, my knees pressed tight against his sides. His hands roamed my body like he was starved.

“I need you,” I whispered, already panting. “I can’t stop wanting you.”

His fingers dug into my hips. “I know. I feel it too.”

He guided me down on him, both of us moaning like it was the first time again. I whimpered at the stretch, the pressure, the way my body clung to him like it never wanted to let go.

“Fuck, Amelia,” he breathed. “You’re dripping for it.”

“I can’t help it,” I gasped. “I need you so bad. Please don’t stop touching me.”

He sat up and wrapped his arms around me, his lips dragging along my neck. “You’re so warm. So tight. Ride me, darling. Show me how much you need it.”

I rocked against him, desperate, whimpering into his shoulder. Every inch of my skin buzzed. My moans turned frantic as he rolled his hips up into mine.

“Faster,” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re taking me so deep. Fuck, I feel you squeezing.”

“Feels so good,” I cried. “I’m gonna come again. Please—Richard—”

He moved one hand to rub my clit, hard and fast. My body snapped tight, my moan splitting into broken sobs.

“There it is,” he growled. “Let it happen.”

I came with a scream, trembling violently. My thighs quaked, my breath coming in ragged bursts. He flipped me fast, pinning my wrists above my head, and slid back inside with one hard thrust that made me choke on a moan.

“Still hungry?” he asked, breathless.

“Yes,” I gasped. “I want more.”

He drove into me like he meant to ruin me. We didn’t hold back. There was nothing gentle now, just raw, overwhelming need. The heat between us burned high and wild.

When he came, he shouted my name like a plea. I followed him over the edge again, shaking apart in his arms.

We clung to each other, sweat-slick and panting, until the tremors passed.

After a long silence, I pressed my cheek to his shoulder. “Something’s different.”

He was still inside me, both of us still trembling. "It should be fading by now," he murmured. "My rut usually starts burning off around this point. But with you like this... it feels like it’s just getting stronger."

I swallowed hard. "Is that bad?"

He shook his head slowly. "No. It just means your heat’s stronger than I expected. It’s not just affecting you, it’s pulling me deeper too."

“I’ve never felt this. Not just the sex. My wolf. She’s louder now. She’s not a distant whisper. She’s in me. Awake.”

Richard’s breath caught. He looked at me fully. “You’re feeling her?”

“I think I always was, in tiny ways. But now it’s like I’m not alone in my body anymore. She’s real. She’s strong.”

“That’s what it means to come into your heat. Your instincts sharpen. The walls come down.”

I nodded slowly. “It doesn’t feel out of control, though. It feels like I’ve been missing her my whole life and now she’s here.”

“You're perfect,” he said, voice low. “You were just waiting. Your wolf needed the right moment.”

“She likes you,” I whispered. “She trusts you. She wanted this.”

His hand traced down my back. “Then we’ll take care of her. Both of you.”

Tears pricked my eyes. “I didn’t think this would ever happen. I didn’t think I’d ever feel whole.”

“You are whole. Every part of you.”

I kissed him again, soft and grateful.

“Do you think you can stay awake a little longer?” I asked.

He looked like death warmed over, but he nodded. “For you? Yeah.”

We didn’t mean to start anything. But the way he looked at me when I curled up beside him, the way I slid my hand under the waistband of his shorts, it was inevitable.

We moved slowly, softly. My head on his chest, his hands in my hair, our bodies rocking together like we had all the time in the world.

It wasn’t about release. It was about staying close.

He came with a quiet groan, burying his face in my neck. I followed a moment later, gripping his hand.

We didn’t talk. We just breathed.

Sleep came quick after that, with my body still wrapped around him, his arms snug at my waist, and him still nestled deep inside me. Neither of us had the strength or desire to pull away. We just breathed together, trembling and satisfied, our heat softened only by the weight of exhaustion.