I saw her clearly as she moved through the darkened room and slipped into bed, her hair damp, woven into a braid that hung over one shoulder. If I’d been a decent male, an honorable one, I would have left, figured out how to woo her, show her what a good and caring mate I was, ease her into this gently.
But I wasn’t any of those things. And so I stood there and waited until I was confident she was asleep, and then I moved toward the opposite side of the house, broke in easily enough, and slipped inside.
I stood there a moment just taking in the sights and smells of my mate’s home. This was her dwelling, and it was saturated with the sweet aroma of her. My cock gave another mighty jerk, and I growled in annoyance as I reached down and adjusted myself so the fucking length wasn’t tenting my slacks anymore and making walking unbearable.
I could have found her without eyesight or sense of smell. I could have found her without any of my senses and with her in the center of a million people. We were forever connected, and I’d never let her go.
I made my way into her house, letting my fingers run along the counters, along the smooth, slightly textured wallpaper as I walked down her hallway before stopping at her partially open bedroom door. I placed my hand flat on the wood, pushing it inward. It gave a light creak, but I wasn’t worried about her knowing I was here.
In fact, hearing her startled gasp would have had my cock jerking in pleasure.
I stood there unmoving, the room dark, a little bit of the moonlight shining through the window. And I couldn’t tear my gaze off her as she lay in the center of the bed, a small form under a cream ruffled comforter.
I was unhinged… even more so than I normally felt. I gritted my teeth at the uncomfortable sensation, because this sense that I had no control wasn’t something I was familiar with. It scraped at my skin like a wire brush, slowly tearing at my flesh layer by layer.
It fucking grated on my damn nerves, but at the same time I’d never felt anything so consuming before. I’d never experienced anything that made me feel… alive.
I was moving toward my mate before I knew what I was doing, and when I stood over her, my body made a looming shadow across the mattress. I inhaled deeply and held in my groan of satisfaction at her scent. I was a greedy fucker and reached out to run my finger along the slight swell of her alabaster cheek. Her skin was like silk and smelled even better, sweeter… intoxicating.
My cock jerked, the bastard reminding me over and over again that it was a lead pipe between my thighs. I was sick for letting my gaze lower to her chest, where the comforter didn’t conceal the swells of her breasts that were the perfect fucking size underneath her sheer camisole. Her nipples were hard, the outline of her areolae clearly visible. Fuck. She shifted slightly on the bed so she was now fully on her back. The movement had her shirt tightening around her upper body so much that her breasts now strained against her clothing.
Gods.
My fingers twitched to touch her further, but instead I lifted my hand and ran it over my mouth, the scruff underneath my jaw and cheeks scraping my palm, sounding so fucking loud in the room. I focused on her neck, her head turned to the side so I got an unobstructed view of the graceful arch. I’d never seen such a tempting, gorgeous strip of skin before.
I could see the steady beat of her jugular, and my bloodlust roared, causing sweat to break out along my forehead, my body becoming strung tight.
I was so fucking thirsty for her.
But I knew I wouldn’t be able to satiate my thirst with just anyone. Not anymore. Not since I’d found my mate. She’d be the only one who would do from this point on, the only one I wanted to sink my fangs into. What coursed through her veins was the only sustenance I wanted to take into my body.
To survive off of.
“Fuck,” I whispered harshly under my breath and forced myself to turn, to leave her room, her house, and make my way across the yard and deep into the woods that surrounded the property.
I took a few steadying breaths, but they didn’t help. I knew my need for her, the primal urge to claim her would only grow the longer I wanted to fully make her mine. My fangs ached, my mouth watered, and my throat became as fucking tight and dry as the damn desert.
I continued to imagine her pulse throbbing under her skin. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. All I wanted was that sweet, thick red sustenance that pumped through her veins, but I knew in the state I was in, it would be far too dangerous for her. I’d gorge myself on her, no doubt become so fucking intoxicated from her flavor I’d lose reality.