Chapter 85

Mira

The ceremony was a blur of shadowy faces and howls of joy. I hardly remember the vows, the readings, or how anyone looked beyond the man who stood in front of me.

All I could see was Dominic, and I was perfectly fine with that limited view.

He wore a dark grey suit but no tie, his dress shirt unbuttoned to reveal a bit of thick chest hair. His hair was oiled and an attempt had been made to tame it into place, but the coils were rising up again in defiance of gravity and beautification. He was cleaned up but still wild, and I wanted to sear this image of him in my memory forever.

When our lips met to seal with ceremony, time was held suspended in the breath between us. And then the outer world crashed down around us, and we were swallowed up by the celebratory energy of the crowd.

Arms embraced me, hands slapped him on the back, and the whole time our eyes never left one another. I felt like I’d drunk a bottle of champagne, my head was so light on my shoulders and my cheeks were sore from smiling.

“Are you alright?”

Dominic titled his head at me as he reached across our mental link.

“I’m better than I’ve ever been before!”

I reached my arms up in the air and twirled around like a cyclone. Others were around us and observing, but everything I did was just for him. When I faced him again, his eyes had changed and they were traveling slowly down my body and up again. I could read his thoughts without trying, and felt emboldened to finally see them through.

I took a sip from my champagne flute, then pressed the cold glass to the side of my neck. Condensation dripped down my collar bone and under the light toilet of my sleeveless dress. It was still new to me, having another person so aroused by my body. It felt powerful, and I was beginning to enjoy it.

His jaw tightened as he watched me, and soon he was making his excuses and pushing aside the few people who stood between us. I could feel both his aura working to drive people away and his desire like a magnet pulling me to him.

His arm wrapped around my waist and he lifted me up to kiss my lips. My body felt limp in his embrace and it took effort not to fully collapse into him. Those around us cooed like doves in approval of our enthusiastic love.

“We should go,” he whispered into my mouth, teeth nibbling at my bottom lip.

I pulled away from him, and we froze. It was like a challenge, one last failsafe in case either one of us had been bluffing all along. I knew he would accept if I told him I wasn’t ready, that I needed to wait, that maybe I wasn’t sure about being fully married to him after all.

I took a step back and offered my hand to him. He looked at it, then me, then smiled with his whole face which was rare for such a stoic man. He took my hand, and the crowd parted around us as we walked out of the circle of people and benches and decorated bowers.

“Make him a man, Mira!”

There was laughter and encouragement and a few more suggestive comments that followed us, and Dominic seemed more uncomfortable than I was.

“They’re not all bad ideas…”

I could see his ears turn pink in the moonlight, and the shock on his face at my words. My wolf was taking control, and I was ready to give into the desire I’d ignored for so long. Feeling impish, I brought Dominic’s hand to my mouth and bit the meaty pad of flesh below his thumb.

“Ouch!” He balked, trying to read my expression. “What was that for?”

Before he could get an answer, I was off and running. Cheers went up from the few on-lookers who were closest to the tree line as I disappeared into the woods. I could feel that Dominic was still standing there, not sure how to react to my sudden departure. I sent a question out to him, choosing my words carefully.

“Are you coming?”

Almost instantly he too started running, and my heart started to beat faster at the thrill of being chased. I’d had a head start, but his legs were longer than mine. I kept my pace and waited for the inevitable, and sure enough it wasn’t long until I felt the tremor of his footsteps and he was on me, grabbing me, lifting me and carrying me the rest of the way to our destination.

The structure that awaited us could only be described as a Love Nest, and it was beautiful and soulful and sultry. A platform stood a foot off the ground covered in several mattresses, then outfitted with pillows and soft goods. Small tables and stools were on the edges, and on one side a tray of fruit and an iced bucket of champagne.

Dominic didn’t look at any of it, but walked directly to the center and placed me carefully onto the plush cushions. He had to kneel to set me down, and then stayed that way looking down at me. My hand was on his leg, caressing the hard muscles of his thigh and witnessing the hardening between his legs.

I was nervous, like I was wading into water up to my chest. But I wasn’t afraid, and I wanted to plunge into the depths with him.

I pulled myself up to kneel with him, my mouth finding his as my fingers got lost in his hair. He pulled me to him, his tongue parting my lips and exploring inside. His hands rubbed up and down my back, then lingered near the top of the zipper where the dress closed at my shoulder blades.

“Yes.”

He growled in response as he separated the sides of my dress, the cool air on my skin in contrast to the heat form his fingers. I leaned back enough so that the fabric loosened over my shoulders, starting to fall and pool around my my hips and thighs.

I looked up at him, wanting to watch him watch me. I reached up and pulled a clip from my hair that let it fall feral around my shoulders and kissed the top of my bare breasts. I wish I could have taken a picture of his face: so aroused and yet so protective of the body on display in front of him.

He seemed almost afraid to touch me, all arrogance wiped out of him, and so I took his hand and brought it to rest over my heart.

“Mira…”

He moaned, and his hand squeezed and pinched and rolled over my chest. My head fell back in pleasure, in awe that I had waited so long to feel like this. When he bent his mouth down to tease my nipple, I nearly screamed.

Breaking the spell, we laughed together, the mixture of desire and joy intoxicating and new. I raised an eyebrow at him while eyeing his fully clothed torso. He picked up on my hint, and I had never seen a person remove their jacket, vest, and shirt so fast. I spread my hands across his chest, tugging his chest hair, playfully pinching him the way he did to me.

My hands made their way down, just above his belt. He held them there, looking at me.

“We can take this as slow as you want to,” he whispered out loud, ever chivalrous. “I want this to feel good for you.”

The smile on my face threatened to split my face in half. I shook my head softly, in disbelief not negativity.

“I want to see you,” I responded quietly.

He let go and let me discover for myself. I carefully unbuckled his belt, my touch light on the button and zipper of his trousers. When I let my hand slip inside, taking hold of him, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he twitched in my hand. I kissed his stomach while I softly stroked him, until he could take no more.

In a quick movement I was on my back, my dress tossed away. He buried his head between my thighs, taking a beat to breathe in my scent. When his tongue parted me to taste, I saw stars bursting behind my closed eyelids.

“You taste like honey,” he mused from below.

When his body lifted and was replaced by cold air on my skin, my eyes flew open and I pouted. He stood to remove his clothing completely, and my mouth dropped open as I took the full sight of him. In the moonlight, on our wedding night, I swore I was looking at a god on earth.

He knelt down between my legs, his fingers tracing the meridians of my thighs. I reached for him, inviting him to come closer, to claim me.

He leaned over me, aligning out bodies, hovering over my entrance that was throbbing in anticipation. The old Mira had disappeared, and now I was insatiable for my lover.

“Take me.”

Dominic entered me, my body unfolding to welcome him, and my voice echoed off the trees. A pinch of pain was followed by building pleasure, and his mouth and tongue never stopped their ministrations on my face, neck, and chest. I dug my nails into his back, urging him on, feeling the animal inside my awakening.

Let me out.

A wave was cresting inside me, and I felt my wolf reaching the surface. Claws were sharpening, our bodies were morphing together, and I reached a release unlike anything I’d ever felt, I howled into the night.

Our bodies paused as we took into the moment, Dominic slipping from me as his own transformation finished. His dark fur was gleaming in the candlelight, and the silhouette of his arousal taunting me.

“I want more.”

I just saw the surprise on his face, before I flipped over onto all fours, and he took me from behind.

We lost time and all sense of reality as our bodies moved together, until finally I collapsed in ecstasy among the pillows.