Chapter 55

I left Elder Fritz with chills running all over my body. I needed to see Ryan as soon as I could. My heart felt heavy in my chest, weighed down by this new information that the elders had picked out a mate for Ryan.

Even my concerns that Diana was the secret blood provider to Jacob didn't seem important for the moment, and slipped to the back of my mind.

I kept too distant with Ryan all the time. I could not do that anymore, he could pick another mate, and no one could blame him for how many times I had denied him. We shared love, but we kept it a secret so no one would know. Up to this point, I even delighted in the secrecy, but not when I'd just learned the elders had matched him with another.

Even if I felt urgent, I still proceeded with caution. I could not forget how Jennifer had tried to trap me today, and that she was likely spying on me.

He meets me at his door, whether it's from smell or some indication of his powers, he seems to know whenever I am arriving. Beckoning me inside, I noticed that he surveys the area behind me once more before closing the door.

I throw my arms around his neck and pull his face down to kiss me. He smiled between kisses as I grip him tighter and nip at his ear.

A low growl of pleasure uttered from deep in his chest as he wraps his strong arms around my waist. My body curved into him.

We were only in the front entry of his mansion at that point. He pulled back from me a little to glance around. While he only had a few trusted servants from Starstream working there, he suggested, "Let's go to my room."

I nodded and held his hand the whole way there. He kept gazing down at me with happiness.

"Is everything ok?" He asked as we entered his room.

"Everything is fine," I responded, not entirely truthfully, but I wanted to avoid Diana right now. He might not have heard about it yet, and it would ruin this moment.

I was reaching for his shirt, and up his firm sculpted abs.

"You look a little sad today, or something," he said, his keen eyes looking at me while I tried to distract him.

I shrugged one shoulder, and graced my hands over the top of his pants. There was already that bulge and I stroked it a few times before leaning down to kiss his skin at the top of his pants.

He moaned a little, enjoying all this attention.

With his eyes burning with desire, he picked me up and carried me to the bed, we were kissing fiercely the whole time. My body rippled with my need for him. I had waves of yearning filling me up, and I could feel all the blood rushing to that warm place between my legs.

As he lowered me to the bed, I touched his face. Under the longing that dominated his expression was bliss. He was so happy right now.

"I love you," I said, one of the few times I ever said it first.

"I love you more than anything in this world," he said, leaning his large body over mine, motioning thrusts between my legs.

With a teasing laugh, I said, "You always have to show me up?" But we were lost in the next moment as I rubbed myself on him, enjoying the sensations pulsating through my body.

When I began unlacing my dress, he helped me eagerly. I helped him take off his pants, we were both eager to be together fully naked. Our bodies wrapped into each other. I enjoyed his warm skin on mine as we maneuvered over and under each other.

"I want you inside of me," I whispered, and he shivered with pleasure as I ran my hands down his hip bones.

I slipped him inside of the dark space between my legs, wrapping my legs and arms around him like an embrace while he thrust inside me slowly at first. We shifted positions and he took me from behind for a while, but I wanted to see his face, so I pulled away from him and turned over on my back.

He responded with a satisfied smirk and lowered his body onto mine. I spread my legs as he crawled over me, inserting himself again. I was gazing up from his chin to his face, the warmth of love was powerful in his eyes.

Even the sensations of mating were nothing to the pleasure of his gaze when he looked down at me. I could see how much he loved me and lived for me, and I never wanted to let this go. I never wanted to lose this.

His thrusts became deeper and deeper inside me, and I had the strange thought that I wished he could touch my soul and open me up to the mating bond. I knew he sensed it, and I could not, but whatever barrier the Moon Goddess instilled, I wished he could tear down that wall inside me so that I could never lose him.

His mind opened up to me. I saw images of how much he adored me. I saw all the little motions, tilts of my head, curvature of my lips, the way I finessed my wrists when I gestured. I was so touched by how many small moments I saw from his memory to confirm his love.

With his mind open to me like that, I began to think hard of the little moments I loved most of him. I wanted to share that with him as well. As soon as I tried, it must have worked, because his eyes shifted to look at me.

I thought of his large wrists, that wolfish gleam to his eyes when he looked at me, his protectiveness, his ferocity at the games, how nobly he fought Jacob and how proud I was of him. Then I moved to smaller images like the deep snort when he almost laughed, and how safe I felt in his embrace.

He kissed me, thrusting deeper and deeper as our minds merged for a second. I got lost in all the pleasure and connection, and with rising beats in my body, I shuttered and shook in orgasm.

Afterwards, he lay beside me, his large body curved behind mine so that the full force of his body heat enveloped me. He kissed the back of my neck, and I felt more connected to him than I ever had even without words. We were beyond words at that moment.

Finally, he broke the silence. "That was amazing."

He could not see my face, but my eyes were watery. I wasn't sure why tears were spilling out, and I wiped away the one that dripped over my nose.

"What's wrong, Alyson?" He asked, he could smell my tears. It's hard to hide emotions from Ryan.

I sniffled a little, all my worries from the last few days were suddenly overwhelming, but I couldn't let that ruin our beautiful moment.

"I feel like you're not telling me something," he said softly as if this hurt him. It must remind him of all those months I held back from him.

"I'm sorry," I said in a faint voice. "I'm just tired that's all. There's a lot going on lately. And this was really amazing, so I am touched."

It was not untrue.

"I'm worried about losing you someday," I confessed.

"What?" he snorted like a laugh. "As long as I have life in my body, I am yours."

"Promise?" I said.

"Yes," he said.

"Ok," I said, holding my fist to my heart as if that would make this promise be an unbreakable vow. But at the same time, I knew he had not been offered Diana yet.