Lhars had spent two hours making his quarters at the City ready. Luckily the primary Clan’s Second’s chamber was only across the courtyard from the female hall. He’d struggled even turning his back on it, knowing Kyelle was in there and there were so many males around. But if he couldn’t take her away for the Solitude, he could at least give her something to remember.

He’d spread fresh furs on his sleeping platform, lit candles on the bedside tables, made a platter of snacks, and filled a wineskin and a waterskin. He’d realized that the best time to be alone with her would be while everyone had gone for the evening meal and was distracted. While he didn’t think any of the males would fight him for her, it was instinct to get her as far from other males as he could.

But when he turned to look at the room, it still looked bare. Females did things, things he didn’t understand, that softened a room and made it feel welcoming. For a moment he considered asking Zev to ask Sasha what he might do, but before he could find the courage to ask his brother for such a humbling thing, the door opened behind him and he whirled.

Kyelle stood in the doorway, eyes wide and blinking, watching him, her face uncertain.

Lhars had a moment of quiet panic at the fear on her face until she breathed his name and smiled.

Rocked with relief, he rushed to her, pulling her into his chest and taking her lips in kisses that were quick and insistent. He’d told himself he needed to take care, to slow down, not to press her too quickly. But as soon as his arms circled her, she molded herself to him and lifted her chin without any hesitation.

Cupping her head, he pressed her back into the door, and without breaking the kiss, he shoved the bolt lock home with a small thunk.

”Thank God,” he whispered. “I was so afraid—”

”Don’t, Lhars,” she breathed, pulling him harder into her kiss. “Don’t be afraid anymore. You’re mine. I want you. That’s enough.”

Lhars gave a breathless growl and tried unsuccessfully not to let the kiss grow more desperate.

Unwilling to stop touching, to lose her warmth, he struggled at first to find her buttons and begin to undress her. She fumbled too, with his, but both of them laughed and kissed, pulled back when they needed to until they were both naked from the waist up.

Kyelle broke the kiss as she pushed the jacket off his shoulders and down his arms, then she pulled her head back to look at him, biting her lip.

He preened as her eyes followed the curves of his muscles. Then she raised a hand to trace the lines on his torso and he huffed, his stomach clenching with sheer heat.

”You’re… beautiful,” she whispered, breathless.

He snorted. But then her eyes slid up to meet his and the look of sheer delight in her gaze broke him.

With a groaning huff, he pulled her close again.

”I love you, Kyelle.”

”I love you too, Lhars. I always have. I’ve just been blind. Confused. I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. He didn’t want to focus on the pain of the wait he’d endured. He wanted to focus on what they could have now. So with a happy sigh, he descended on her, lips, tongue, hands, his breath tearing in and out of his throat, and to his utter delight, she rippled under his hands.

The minutes that followed seemed to happen outside the real world. He was aware of nothing but the tug of the tie on her furs as he unknotted it, the feel of her skin as he slid his hands under the waistband, then back and down, to cup her gorgeous ass and slid the furs from her. Then the incredible sensation of her hands on his furs, of her touch—tentative, but enthusiastic—as she worked his trousers down.

He’d turned her at some point, he wasn’t sure when. But he stepped out of the puddle of his furs and drew her towards the bed, she came eagerly.

When they reached it, she sat, scooting herself back in a graceful crawl, her eyes calling to him to follow. And follow he did, prowling after her, crawling over her until she lay back on the pillow and he was cradled between her thighs, his hands stroking and her hands clawing up his back.

Kissing, touching, stroking, the sound of her sighs… the world became very small. His nose was full of the scent of her, his hands full of her softness. His mind consumed with his eagerness to have her. His body shook with it. He was going to struggle to control himself.

He kissed his way down her neck, letting his teeth graze the side of her neck, his fingers trailing down her throat and she shuddered, her skin pebbling under his hands.

And feeling that, fire burst to life in his veins, roaring from his heart, through his bloodstream, threatening to burn him to a crisp.

He loved the salt on her skin, the tiny sighs she made—and the ones she didn’t when her breath caught. Then she shifted, raising her knees and tilting her hips. It brought them together and when he rolled his hips, pressed his hard against her soft, they both made small cries.

He couldn’t stop kissing her, but he’d been about to slide down her body, to taste her breasts and explore her, but his body jangled with every pass against her, and Kyelle’s breath was already coming in short puffs.

He couldn’t stop stroking her, convincing himself that she was actually in his arms—that she wanted to be.

As he arched his back to rub himself against her again, he held the pressure at the top of the roll and she tipped her head back and gasped his name.

Lhars shuddered, his body trembling as his wolf fought to take her. Outside a male shouted from across the city, the world invading for a moment, and a growl puttered in his throat as a wave of possession washed over him.