Page 254 of Rise of the Reborn Beta

My grin widens. I touch it again. Press. Roll the pad of my thumb across the smooth surface.

Her hips shift against me. I feel the heat of her through the loosened towel, wet and slick against my thigh.

I slide my hand from her hair. Down her neck, tracing the line of her throat. Over her collarbone where the old crescent moon scar sits, pale and familiar beneath my fingertips. Lower. My hand cups her breast, full and heavy in my palm, the weight of it settling against my skin. I circle her nipple with my thumb, slow, barely there, and it pebbles hard beneath my touch. She gasps, her back arching off my chest, pressing herself into my hand.

I kiss her.

Deep. Slow. My mouth covers hers and I taste her, apple and heat and the breathless sound she makes against my lips. My tongue slides against hers, and she meets me, her hand fisting in my hair, pulling me closer. The bond flares between us, that golden thread pulling taut, and sparks shower down my spine.

My other hand trails down her stomach. Fingers dip between her legs. She's soaked, wet beyond the shower, slick with her own arousal, her core hot against my fingertips. I stroke her clit in soft, teasing circles, barely pressing, just enough to make her whimper against my mouth.

I swallow every sound. Kiss her harder. Slide one finger inside her, then two, curling slow. She bucks against my hand, meeting my rhythm, her hips rolling in tight, desperate circles.

I pull back just enough to look at her. Flushed from her cheeks down to her chest. Lips swollen from my kiss. Eyes dark gold, glassy with need, her breath coming in short, shallow pulls.

I position myself at her entrance. The head of my cock presses against her slick, hot opening, and I push in. Slow. Inch by inch. Her walls clench around me, tight and wet, pulling me deeper. I don't stop until I'm buried to the hilt, balls deep inside her, my hips flush against hers.

She moans, long, broken, raw, and her nails dig into my shoulders hard enough to sting.

I hold still. My right hand finds the sapphire mark at the nape of her neck. My left finds the crescent moon scar on her collarbone. I press both at the same time.

The effect is instant.

Arlene's entire body seizes. Her back arches off the mattress, her core clamps down on my cock so hard I see stars, and a shuddering orgasm rips through her, wave after wave, her walls pulsing around me in rhythmic clenches. She cries out, my name torn from her throat, her gold eyes blown wide.

I thrust into her as she comes. Not slow anymore, deep, hard strokes that drive me to the root each time. She meets every thrust, her hips rising off the bed to take me deeper, her legs wrapping around my waist to lock me against her. I kiss her through it, swallowing her moans, swallowing the way she shakes apart beneath me. The bond blazes between us, gold light pulsing beneath our skin, and my wolf snarls with satisfaction.

Mine. Ours. Ours.

I thrust again. Again. Her core flutters around me, still coming, still clenching, and I bury myself deep and grind against her. She keens against my mouth, her fingers raking down my back.

The blanket slides off us. Neither of us reach for it.

Afterward, I keep Arlene against my chest, one arm locked around her waist. Her breathing settles as I bury my face in her hair and breathe her in.

“Never a third time.”

She lifts her head. “What?”