Page 77 of Wolves’ Witch

God, I’m so nervous.

What if she didn’t orgasm with Edmond? The big O had always proved elusive. She had high expectations with Edmond after what had happened in the training room. But what if she didn’t? Would it still be good? She’d enjoy it anyway, of course. Like she had in the past. Though, she hadn’t really enjoyed it. It hadn’t lived up to her expectations, her fantasies.

Edmond cupped her face with his big hands. “You are thinking too much, chaton. Feel, not think.”

He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, oh, so gently. Another gentle kiss had her knees trembling. Then he took her mouth with his, teasing her lips apart. The roar of blood in her ears, the rush of heat to her body, drowned out her insecurities, until they slipped away. For such a big man, for one who could be so savage on the battlefield, there was a tenderness about him that stole her breath.

His fingers snagged in her hair, and he deepened the kiss, tasting, teasing, but so tender. Never had a man treated her like this. Like she was the most precious thing in his world. It undid her. She unraveled in his arms.

He released her mouth and pressed his forehead to hers, his breath ragged. “Is this what you want, Isobella? Us? Me? If it is not, speak now, for if I go any further, I do not think I could hold myself back.”

He was asking, as if her body wasn’t already telling him what she wanted. That she was all in. He could take her. He far outmatched her in size. Here in the tenth century, no one would care. But he didn’t, and he wasn’t rushing her. No, Edmond asked, and he would retreat if that was what she wanted. It was in the way he held himself back, in the stillness between them as he waited for her answer. Her heart swelled in her chest. For Edmond. For Aubert.

She stepped out of the circle of his arms.

Edmond closed his eyes. He sucked in a breath and released it with a heavy sigh and nodded. “I understand.” He backed away from her, keeping his eyes closed.

“I don’t think you do.”

Isobella undid the laces on her boot and slipped it off. As it hit the floor, Edmond’s eyes snapped open. She’d always had a choice. Had always stepped into the arms of her previous lovers willingly, but never had it been so unfettered. Never had she owned that choice like she did now. It was liberating, and it was powerful. This was the way it should be. The way it was always meant to be between two people who loved each other. That she had never experienced this before told her everything.

Isobella’s second boot joined the other on the floor. Edmond’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t move. She tugged at the laces on either side of her dress, loosening them enough that she could slip it off over her head. Edmond’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and his musky scent intensified.

She grabbed the hem of her underdress and dragged it over her head. It fell to the floor in a rustle of fabric. Her chemise followed, then Isobella stood before him naked. She’d never been brave enough to do this before. Strip and ask for what she wanted. Being with Edmond and Aubert, she never questioned her courage. She was free to be brave without censure, without ridicule or dismissal.

Edmond and Aubert trusted her abilities. They never mocked her ideas. They believed in her. When she was with them, she believed in her. With Edmond and Aubert, she could conquer the world.

A growl rumbled up in Edmond’s chest, and dark shadows flitted in his eyes. His wolf was close.

“Edmond, I want this with you. Here. Now. More than anything.”

Her words galvanized him into action. His boots, his arm and leg braces he discarded, tossing them with reckless abandon about the room. His sword belt, his chain mail and his padded garment he threw over a chair, followed by his tunic. Edmond fumbled with his laces, his breeches snagging on his erect cock. Then he ripped them down his legs, stumbling in his eagerness as he pulled his feet free and tossed them aside. He was huge. He was glorious. And he was hers.

Edmond grinned, looking for all the world like a man who’d won the lottery. He stalked toward her and scooped her up in his arms. She squealed, then laughed as he dropped her on the bed, his smile infectious. He followed her down, caging her in with his body, with his arms, and dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“I thought you wanted me to stop,” he rumbled.

She wound her hands around his neck. “No. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”

“Ah, Bella.” He kissed her, tugging at her bottom lip as he pulled away. “You are our mate.” He planted soft kisses along her jawline, then nuzzled the curve of her throat as his hand slipped to cup her breast, his impressive erection hard and hot between them. Then, he flipped them so fast it made her head spin. She squealed, then laughed again.

“Let me look at you.”

She eased herself up so she was straddling his hips, and as Edmond’s heated gaze scorched a path over her body, something shifted inside her. The reticence that had always held her back. The fear of being vulnerable and opening herself up to ridicule evaporated. She no longer had a reason to hide, to keep herself small. Edmond would never hurt her. She arched her body, begging him to touch her. Entrusting herself to Edmond’s care.

“So beautiful.” He reached up to palm her breasts. “Know this, Isobella. There is nothing on this earth that could ever make me stop loving you.”