Shay drew back, and her half-lidded, lust filled eyes met his. She was beautiful. Her golden hair flowed around her, brushing over her radiant, flushed skin, and her pink lips were kiss swollen. Her full breasts bounced with her movements, teasing him with her well-loved, hardened nipples, and her muscles quivered all around him. Her oils coated his cock and thighs.
He lifted his hips as she came down on the next stroke, driving his cock deeper still.
“Oh, fuck—mmh!” Shay shuddered. Her eyelids shut, and her head fell back.
Drakkal caught her neck and jaw in his right hand, pressing the pads of his fingers and thumb against her cheeks, and forced her face back to his. “Look at me.”
Panting, she opened her eyes and met his gaze again.
“Do not look away,kiraia,” he said, punctuating his words by repeatedly driving her down upon him. “See me, and know I see you.”
“I see you,” she rasped, her body shuddering as her sex contracted, hungrily sucking him deeper. Her grip on his fur tightened. “And I fuckingfeelyou.”
Drakkal’s breaths became erratic as pleasure rocketed outward from his cock, racing along his every nerve to set his body alight with overwhelming sensation, but he would not yet give in. “Who do I belong to?” he demanded.
Her eyes bore into his, glassy with desire but equally fierce as she bared her teeth. “Me.”
He quickened his pace, keeping his jaw clenched for several seconds before grating, “And who doyoubelong to?”
Her motions stuttered, and her moans escalated with every thrust of his cock. Her sex constricted around him, and her inner walls quivered as she came, producing a hot flood of her oils.
“You,” she cried. “Oh, fuck me.You!”
With a roar, Drakkal slammed her down a final time, forcing his bulging knot into her tight pussy. She gasped at the intrusion, her body tensing. He didn’t allow her to look away—didn’t allow himself to look away—as he came undone. He ground his thickening cock deep inside her as his seed burst from him, grunting and growling his satisfaction with each powerful spurt.
As the frenzy of their lovemaking died down, Shay relinquished her hold on his fur, glided her hands up to his shoulders, and slid her arms around his neck. Panting, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his. Her spasms eased into delightful shivers. Drakkal wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
Shay hummed contently, her eyes drifted shut, and her lips curled into a smile. She and Drakkal maintained their positions as they slowly descended from the new euphoric pinnacle they’d reached, as Drakkal’s body pumped all its seed into her—and as her body milked it from him. Warm and sated, Drakkal lapsed into thought.
He would never have believed this degree of contentment possible were he not feeling it now. Certainly, he’d longed for it since his youth, but life had suggested early on that it was unattainable, that he’d have to settle for whatever he could find instead—that he’d have to settle for what was realistic. Twenty years ago, he’d mistakenly thought he’d found that. He’d thought he’d found a mate…or at least as close to a mate as he’d ever have.
It was different with Shay, so different that there really was no comparison;thiswas it. This was what he’d truly craved, what he’d always needed.Shewas what he’d always needed.
Shay’s acceptance of his claim had been rapturous. Knowing that she was for him—and he for her—had so strongly cemented Drakkal’s purpose that it cast his entire life before finding her into doubt.
Long ago, he’d been forced to walk a path he’d never wanted any part of, and he’d spent a long time lamenting the choices stolen from him. He’d found friends along the way. Better than that, he’d found a brother he would never otherwise have known. But he’d never had reason to be grateful for the way things had gone. Not until now.
Not until Shay.
Each step he’d taken had brought him here, to her. He wasn’t certain of what he believed as far as ancestors and spirits, wasn’t sure of the truth behind reality and fate, but he could see now that all the hardships, all the suffering and pain, had made him into the person he had to become to find Shay. Amonth ago, all of it had seemed random, the results of an uncaring universe without discernable pattern, without any sense of justice, morality, or purpose. Now it all made sense.
Shay had given his past meaning it would otherwise never have held. She’d givenhimmeaning. The years had shaped him into exactly what he needed to be for her—a protector, a partner, an equal.
For the first time in two decades, he had peace.
He had his true mate.
And if anyone tried to take her from him, he’d rip them to fucking shreds.
SIXTEEN
Shay stared at the security feeds and blindly dipped her fingers into the bowl of Kalatharian nuts Kiloq had left on the desk during his shift. She knew he’d done so out of kindness rather than forgetfulness—after trying them for the first time in the break room five days ago, she’d developed a crazy craving for the pale green nuts. Lately, the rest of the crew had taken to leaving bowls of them everywhere, making sure she always had access. She was touched by their thoughtfulness. It was especially appreciated while she was working—the nuts made a perfect movie snack, and her job had her staring at screens for hours and hours at a time.
Though she was forced to sit in one place for long periods of time, her job, thankfully, wasn’talwaysa boring one. The surveillance feeds from inside and immediately around the building were slow and uneventful, their monotony broken only by the occasional shift change or the arrival of a client, but the screens covered much more than that—Drak and Arc had eyes on all the surrounding streets, too, and those were always bustling no matter the time.
She’d seen fistfights and street performances, a foot chase or two, and had even spotted a couple pickpockets working their trade on the crowds. People watching had proven endlessly entertaining, especially when Shay didn’t even know the species of many of the people she was watching. Hell, she could have even had free porn if she wanted, given the frequency of unsuspecting couples who ducked into nearby alleys for quickies—though she suspected Drakkal wouldn’t have appreciated her watching those encounters. None of them could have compared to her mate, anyway.
My mate.