Page 97 of A Wolfe in the Woods

I swallowed hard. “I do.”

“Okay, then be careful,” she told me, “but don’t hide.”

I responded by helping her up quickly, laying her back against the couch cushions, slow enough for her to see every intention. She settled in, body softening beneath my hands…waiting for me to claim her.

I slid between her thighs and eased them open, just enough to admire her. Taking in the sight of her wet, glistening pussy. Then her legs parted wider, slow and instinctive…a quiet, unconscious invitation.

Her scent hit first. Warm. Like sugarcane split open, revealing the golden center. Soft and sweet.

I catalogued it all. Her breath, her warmth, her heartbeat, her eyes flashing with expectation, and the faintest tremor of uncertainty over what came next.

I pushed into her slowly, deeper, feeling her body open around me. She kept her eyes fixed on mine, refusing to look away. She was tighter than the first time, but I could feel her stretching little by little to accommodate me. I thrust in and out of her slick heat, lowering my mouth to kiss her, then dipping to bite and suck her nipples. All the while, my gaze never left hers.I wanted to watch every reaction I drew from her—every flicker of pleasure, every tremble in her breath. Seeing what I was doing to her fed something dark and electric inside me. Her pleasure ignited mine, a perfect loop of heat I never wanted to break.

But she didn’t break. Didn’t shy. Didn’t flinch.

Her strength might not’ve been physical. It was quieter, something that steadied the beast even as it prowled just beneath my skin.

Why shouldn’t I indulge? My heart raced, wanting to sync to hers—match breath with breath, pace with pace. That was where I’d find her.

Eyes closed showed the ember behind the dark. Eyes open sent sparks igniting across our skin.

She whispered my name. Soft. Steady. Like she knew exactly which part of me she was calling for.

My chest tightened. The storm outside quieted. The fire dimmed to an amber hum.

The wolf pressed closer—its instincts threaded through mine, holding us in the same breath, the same rhythm, the same rising fire. Her fingers found mine and laced together, and the connection sharpened. I felt myself slipping into that inner space again. The space where I imagined her, standing like a small flame in the dark. Unbreakable. Luminous. Her presence alone pushed the shadows back.

I wanted her.

All of her.

And every version of the future that dared to include her.

This wasn’t lust or instinct alone. I began to recognize that this was something that felt like abeginning.

I moved deeper, letting my rhythm find her body, guided by the rise of her breath. She tightened around me, and the wolf hummed low inside my chest. Our hearts thundered againstone another, a ferocious drum, and we moved like that—steady, consuming.

She arched back and let a trembling breath spill out. “Jonathan…” she whispered, lost, dazed. “Don’t stop!”

My vision sharpened, firelight turning her cheeks to molten gold.

Her gaze clung to mine even when pleasure tugged her under, even when her eyes fluttered and rolled for a fleeting second. She fought to hold the connection.

“Stay with me,” I growled, firm and low.

Her breath hitched, her eyes locking onto mine, trembling with the strain and want. Unblinking. Pulled to me like a magnet. She wanted to see everything I did to her—and I wanted her to watch.

My shifts had always carved out a lonely place inside me. Invisible but real. Now that space wasn’t empty. She was there, taming the beast. Soothing it. Soothing my soul.

I’d spent years trying to rebuild Juniper Hollow—fix what was broken, force it into becoming home. But here, with her…

There was nothing to fix. Nothing to repair. Here I was already home.

With our eyes still locked, she gasped, then cried out, “Come inside me. That’s what I want.”

The words hit like a spark to dry tinder. It threw me for a moment—because she meant it, every syllable. Her stare was a magnetic pull anchored to her plea, a small nod in her expression signaling to me she was protected, reassuring me even through this pleasure.

Oh gods…I was risking everything.