Page 83 of Buckle Up, Buttercup

Hadrian screams, a guttural, primal sound that shakes the walls of the nest. In my chest, that thing between us snaps tight and sparkles, and he’s fucking there.

Another orgasm obliterates rational thought, giant rolling waves of pleasure radiating from my core. I don’t let the bite go, terrified to lose that sense of him, all those emotions swirling in him that I can feel now.

“Baby,” he gasps out. “You won’t lose me. Never.”

Oh gods, he can feel that worry now.

Pulling my teeth from his skin, I admire the way dark blood wells beneath the surface. The tiniest crescent indentions mar his skin. Frowning, I pull back. “I don’t think that’s even gonna scar. Damn, I bit as hard as I could.”

He chuckles and pulls me close, kissing my lips tenderly. When we part, he breathes hard against my mouth. “Baby, it’s jus⁠—”

His body jerks, wings flaring up into a protective position. His body shakes as he grits his teeth and cries out. It’s a pained sound that has me running my hands up his throat and along his jawline, my magic sparking from my fingertips.

“Hadrian, baby, talk to me!” I shout.

But then that pained sound morphs into pure pleasure as his eyes roll into his head. His hips jerk with another orgasm, and the pressure of him stuffing me full has bliss shattering through me. The welling bites at my neck throb with piercing emotion.

His.

Mine.

A sense of possession so primal and strong, I can barely breathe around the strength of it. Gasping for air, I lean forward and press my ear to his chest.

Thwomp.

Thwomp.

Thwomp.

His heartbeat speeds up slightly, catching up to mine until they’re thumping along at exactly the same cadence. Even the muscles of his heart know he belongs to me.

The new bond is like a physical highway for emotion back and forth. It’s so fucking beautiful, I don’t know how I existed as a being without knowing this level of comfort. Of safety. Of just having someone ten thousand percent in my corner.

Any worry I ever had about our relationship, even the silliest ones that just stemmed from this bullshit with my brother, those are gone as I listen in amazement to the steady thud of our joined heartbeats.

“Mine,” I whisper into his skin. “You are all mine, Hadrian Alkazar.”

Hadrian

I can remember my grandmother once telling me that there was nothing in the world like the first moments after a mating bond snaps into place. She was right, of course, because as I stroke Bluebell’s hair and stare into those beautiful blue eyes, I can’t fathom not having this.

A heartbeat? That sound I’ve obsessed over my entire life? I produce it on my own now, and it’s synced in time with hers. Only ever hers.

It’s not like I doubted she was mine, once I started allowing myself to consider it. But this? It’s a whole different level of knowing. It’s surety in the most astounding of ways. Every cell in my body exists to be near her, to be part of her, to create life with her.

To love.

Bluebell smiles at me, her fingertips skating up my jawline to my horn. As she plays with the base, heat sears through me like flame.

More? How can I possibly be ready for more? I’ve never come so much as the last quarter hour.

“Mate,” she says, her voice throaty and sounding well used. “I’m not ready to leave this nest, not at all.” She rubs at her chest. “But we’re gonna miss the entire dance if we don’t head downstairs. You okay with that?”

I know why she’s asking, because I can feel how torn she is in her heart. She’s on the organizing committee, and she’s debating how to tell me she feels compelled to be present despite what we just did. I get it, because I get her so very deeply.

“We need to put in an appearance.” I roll her onto her side. “Even if it’s just for a little while.”

She smiles. “Guess you’re basically a mind reader now, huh?”