When he removed his pants and boxer briefs, I froze. Dimitri was…huge. I’d overheard girls in college giggling about size, but I’d never actually seen a man naked before.
He noticed me tense, and something flashed in his eyes. Uncertainty.
He knelt beside the chaise, bringing himself to eye level with me. “Isabella.” His voice was gentle now, controlled despite the desire still burning in his gaze. “Are you a virgin?”
Heat flooded my face, but I nodded.
Panic crossed his features. He started to pull away, but I sat up quickly, cupping his face in my hands.
“I want this,” I said firmly. “I want you to be my first, Dimitri. You’re my Fated Mate. You’re the only person I’ve ever wanted.”
His eyes searched mine, looking for doubt, for hesitation. When he found none, he nodded slowly.
“I’ll be gentle,” he promised, kissing me softly. “I swear it.”
He climbed on top of me, careful not to press his full weight down on me. One hand braced beside my head while the other guided his cock to my entrance.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly.
I met his eyes as he pushed inside of me slowly, carefully. The stretch burned, foreign and uncomfortable, and I couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped.
He froze immediately. “Breathe, Isabella. Just breathe through it.”
I focused on his face—on the reverence in his eyes, on the way his jaw clenched with the effort of holding still, giving me time to adjust. The bond pulsed between us, warm and reassuring, and slowly, the discomfort began to fade.
“Can I move?” he asked, and I nodded.
He did, slowly, watching my face for any sign of pain. Each movement sent new sensations through me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and he groaned.
“You feel incredible,” he murmured against my ear. “Perfect. Like you were made for me.”
Because I was. My wolf whispered. We were made for each other.
His pace gradually increased as my body adjusted to him, as discomfort gave way to pleasure. When he shifted the angle slightly, lifting one of my legs over his hip to sink deeper, I bit down on his shoulder tomuffle my moan.
“That’s it,” he encouraged, his voice strained. “Let go for me, Isabella. I’ve got you.”
The pressure was building, coiling tight in my belly. And when my orgasm hit, it was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I clapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my cry as pleasure crashed through me in waves, my body clenching around him.
“Fuck,” Dimitri groaned, his control finally snapping. His pace increased, became almost frantic, and then he was burying his face in my neck, muffling his own groan as he came undone.
We collapsed together, breathless. He carefully rolled to his side, pulling me with him so I was sprawled across his chest. His heart thundered beneath my ear, gradually slowing to match the rhythm of mine.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The bond hummed contentedly between us, satisfied and complete. My wolf was practically purring.
But in no time, reality was creeping back in. Cold and unavoidable.
What had we done?
“Isabella.” Dimitri’s voice was rough when he noticed I’d gone still. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
I shook my head against his chest. “No. I just…” My throat tightened. “What if Lady Maia finds out? About us? About what we did?”
His arms tightened around me. “I’ll handle my mother.”
“How?” I pulled back to look at him. “She already hates me, Dimitri. When she finds out we’re—that we’ve—”