Page 24 of Safety Hazard

His mate. Me. The designation no longer felt foreign or frightening but right, as though I’d been waiting all my life to earn it.

“I love you,” I said, the words I’d been holding back for weeks finally breaking free. “I love you, Shepherd Blackwood, even though you leave wet towels on the bathroom floor and track mud into the house after your runs.”

He laughed, the sound joyful and relieved, then pulled me into his arms. “And I love you, Evan Matthews, even though you alphabetize the breakfast cereals and lecture me about proper fire extinguisher maintenance.”

“Proper maintenance is critical to—” I began automatically, then stopped as I caught his teasing smile. “I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

“You are,” he confirmed, his expression fond. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

His mouth claimed mine in a kiss that started gentle but quickly deepened, passion igniting between us as it always did, immediate and overwhelming. His arms tightened around me, lifting me effortlessly until my legs wrapped around his waist.

“Bedroom?” he murmured against my lips.

I shook my head, already working on the buttons of his shirt. “Too far. Here.”

His eyes widened in surprise—I was usually the one insisting on proper locations for intimate activities—then darkened with heat. “Who are you, and what have you done with my rule-following inspector?”

“I’m still me,” I assured him, succeeding in getting his shirt open to reveal the magnificent chest beneath. “I’m just… expanding my protocols to include spontaneity in appropriate circumstances.”

His laugh was warm against my neck as he carried me to the couch, laying me down with a gentleness that belied his supernatural strength. “And this is an appropriate circumstance?”

I reached up to trace the strong line of his jaw, the platinum band on my finger catching the candlelight. “We just got engaged. I think that qualifies.”

“Can’t argue with that logic,” he agreed, his hands already working on the buttons of my shirt. “Though I should warn you—” his eyes flashed gold briefly, “—the wolf is very, very happy right now. Might be a bit… intense.”

The implication sent a thrill through me. Two months of intimacy had taught me exactly what that warning meant—less control, more possessiveness, an edge of the animal that always simmered beneath his human surface.

“Good,” I said simply, pulling him down for another kiss. “I want all of you. Every part.”

Something flashed in his eyes—gratitude, love, relief at being fully accepted—before he claimed my mouth again, this kiss harder, hungrier than before. His hands finished with my shirt buttons, pushing the fabric aside to expose my chest to his touch, his mouth.

“Mine,” he growled against my skin, the word more animal than human. “My mate. Forever.”

“Yours,” I agreed without hesitation, arching into his touch. “Always yours.”

The confirmation seemed to ignite something primal in him. His movements became more urgent, more demanding, as he stripped away the rest of my clothes with efficient impatience. I helped as best I could, my own hands equally eager as I pushed his shirt from his shoulders, reached for the fastening of his slacks.

When we were both finally naked, he paused, looking down at me with an expression of such raw love and desire that it stole my breath.

“I still can’t believe you’re mine,” he murmured, his hand tracing the line of my jaw, then down my throat to rest over my heart. “That you chose me.”

“Best decision I ever made,” I assured him, covering his hand with mine, the ring cool between our heated skin. “Though it wasn’t really a choice. Not after I knew you.”

His smile was brilliant and just a little feral, his canines slightly too sharp as his control continued to slip. “Show me,” he demanded, his voice roughening. “Show me how much you want this. Want me.”

Understanding his need for confirmation, for possession, I sat up, pushing him until he was seated on the couch. I slid from the cushions to kneel between his spread thighs, looking up at him through my lashes.

“I want you,” I said simply, my hands stroking up his powerful thighs. “Every part of you. The man and the wolf.”

Before he could respond, I leaned forward and took him into my mouth, reveling in his sharp intake of breath, in the way his hands immediately tangled in my hair. I’d become quite skilled at this particular activity over the past months, learning exactly how to use my tongue, my lips, my hands to drive him wild.

“Fuck, Evan,” he groaned, his hips lifting slightly despite his obvious effort to stay still. “Your mouth… so perfect…”

I hummed around him, the vibration making him groan again, his hands tightening in my hair to the edge of pain. I loved him like this—on the knife’s edge of control, his strength held in check only by his concern for my safety. It was a heady power, knowing I could bring this powerful creature to the brink with nothing but my mouth and hands.

Just as I felt him approaching the edge, his breathing harsh, his muscles tensing beneath my touch, he pulled me away with a growl.

“Not like that,” he said, his voice barely recognizable through the rumble in his chest. “Want to be inside you. Need to claim you.”