Chapter 6 Lira

Lira

My cheeks had already been pink from the cold, but they flushed a deeper, burning shade as his question echoed between us.

"Yes" I had whispered, my voice so small that it barely felt like mine. Embarrassment spread through me like fire. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. What kind of woman reaches her age and still says yes to that question? Wasn’t it pathetic that no man had ever wanted to know what her insides felt like?

But his reaction wasn’t what I had expected.

I had braced for disgust, irritation, something. I had thought he would look at me the way every man had: as something to tolerate, not to crave. But Kael didn’t. He looked… pleased.

That confusion only made my chest tighter. “You don’t seem angry,” I said when he didn’t move. He wasn’t leaving, but he wasn’t coming closer either. His expression was unreadable, stoic, calm, terrifyingly controlled. That was what made him dangerous. The fact that I never knew what lurked behind that mask.

“Why do you think I’d be angry?” His tone had been smooth, mocking even, and that alone sent a shiver crawling through me.

“Because being a virgin means I’m inexperienced,” I said, lowering my gaze. The words tasted bitter. “And unwanted.”

His face darkened. That sharp, deadly look of his made my heart jump, and then his hand was on my arm, firm, possessive, claiming. Before I could ask what he was doing, he guided my hand down to something hard.

I froze, realizing what it was his cock, thick and hot even in the cool air.

“Does this feel like something that would happen if you were unwanted?” His voice was a low growl, husky, vibrating through my chest. The wind caught his words and carried them to my ears, making the moment somehow more intimate.

I should have pulled away. I didn’t. Curiosity, and something much darker, got the better of me. My fingers moved of their own accord, brushing against the ridges of veins that pulsed under my touch. He groaned, deep and guttural, the sound vibrating through his entire body.

I swallowed hard, my curiosity dissolving into awe. He was big. Too big. My hand didn’t even fit around him fully. “I…I don’t think that would fit inside me,” I muttered, voice trembling.

Kael shifted closer between my legs, his body solid and heavy. I was spread open for him, the water and air making my skin sting, the heat between my thighs throbbing relentlessly. My body ached for him, for relief.

“Take a deep breath,” he said softly, his gaze never leaving mine. “You need this, don’t you?”

I nodded without hesitation, shame forgotten. My entire being screamed for him.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he murmured, his voice gentling in a way I’d never heard before. “I’ll be gentle.”

Something in me melted. This side of him, still powerful, still dominant, but somehow tender, broke me open completely. No one had ever said those words to me. Not a man. Not anyone except my mother. And she was the very reason this moment was so wrong.

I nodded again, trusting him, surrendering. My body relaxed beneath him, every nerve alive and waiting.

He leaned down, his breath hot against my skin, and kissed me. His lips were warm, his tongue coaxing mine apart in a slow, possessive dance. The taste of him, salt, heat, danger, flooded me.

Then I felt him at my entrance. Even before he pushed in, pleasure rippled through me. My body seemed to recognize him, to open for him, to need him.

“Oh, wow…” I gasped as he began to thrust slowly inside me. I felt myself stretching around him, the pressure exquisite, the burn of being filled for the first time making me tremble. My nails dug into his arms, the sensation too much and not enough all at once.

He stopped, just for a second, brushing his lips against my forehead. “Are you okay?” he whispered.

I looked up at him, this man towering over me, his body hard and vast compared to my small frame. The way his muscles flexed above me, the way his warmth surrounded mine, it felt like being swallowed whole by something sacred and sinful.

“You’re so big,” I muttered breathlessly.

He gave a low chuckle that vibrated through my chest. “This may feel a little uncomfortable.”

Then he drew back, the motion slow, teasing. The slide of him moving through me made me whimper, the friction making sparks scatter behind my eyes. He was still holding back, I could feel it, restraining himself for my sake.

“Kael,” I breathed, arching beneath him, feeling a hunger clawing at me from within. “Please… give it all to me. I can take it.”

His gaze darkened instantly. That flicker of restraint burned away. His fingers tightened on my hips as his body tensed, and then he thrust into me with a force that made my vision blur.

My cry shattered the night.

This, this was what sex with your mate felt like. It was overwhelming, hot, dizzying. Pain and pleasure tangled into something I couldn’t name. My legs wrapped around him instinctively, desperate to hold him, to keep him close, to never let that connection break.

He groaned my name, deep and rough, and the sound hit me harder than any touch. “Lira.”

I moaned in return, my voice shaking. “Oh, God. Kael.” Saying his name like that felt forbidden, but right. So right.

His thrusts quickened, his body pressing me into the earth as his mouth found my breast. He circled my nipple with his tongue, sucking until I cried out, then moved to the other, his hand teasing what his mouth left behind.

Every inch of me was alive. My pulse thundered in my ears, the night air cool against my fevered skin. My moans mixed with his low groans, the rhythm of our bodies lost in the sounds of water dripping, the wind whispering through the trees.

I could feel something building inside me, tight, hot, unbearable. “I’m going to cum,” I moaned, arching up to meet his thrusts.

“Cum for me, sweetheart,” he growled against my neck, his voice so deep it seemed to vibrate through my bones.

And I did. My body convulsed, trembling violently as the wave hit me. My vision went white, and I screamed his name as pleasure tore through me. Every nerve exploded, and I couldn’t stop shaking.

He didn’t stop. Kael kept moving inside me, drawing out the pleasure until it became too much, until I was gasping and clawing at his shoulders. My body was his rhythm, his instrument.

Then, with a low groan, he pulled out, his hand stroking himself as he came. Hot spurts spilled onto the grass beside us.

For a long moment, there was only our breathing, ragged, heavy, tangled. Then he moved away, and the night felt suddenly too quiet.

I lay there, staring up at the stars, my body still thrumming, my mind trying to catch up with what I had done.

The realization hit like a blade. I had just slept with my mother’s husband.

Regret slammed into me so hard I felt sick. My wolf purred contentedly inside me, utterly unbothered, which made me hate her too. I wanted to scream, to cry, to run.

“No… no…” I whispered, pushing myself up and reaching for my nightgown. My hands shook as I pulled it on, the wet fabric clinging to my skin.

“Lira,” he called out, but I wasn’t listening. My chest tightened painfully as tears filled my eyes.

I had betrayed the only person who had ever loved me unconditionally. The woman who had raised me, shielded me from the world. And I had done this to her.

“I’m a horrible daughter,” I choked out, my voice breaking. My thighs were sticky with what we had done, the evidence of my sin. I ran my fingers through my hair, wanting to rip it all out.

“No, you’re not,” he said firmly.

“I am!” I sobbed, the tears falling freely now.

I didn’t know if I was guilty because of what I did or I was guilty because I didn’t feel a shroud of guilt for what we had just done.

“Listen to me!” he thundered. The sheer power in his voice froze me. I took a shaky breath, silent.

And in that silence, we both heard it,

a faint crunch of grass. Had someone been watching us?