After everything that happened, I was exhausted. I ended up falling asleep on the front porch. There were times when I could feel Cedric close by, but when I’d wake up, he’d be gone. I knew he was watching me, though. His paw prints are all in the snow.
My phone rings inside the house, and I rush in to get it. It’s Amelie.
“Hey,” I answer breathlessly.
“Hey. Are you okay? You didn’t come home last night.”
I rub a hand over my chest, wishing the ache would go away. “I’m at Cedric’s. We shared blood last night and what I saw wasn’t good. Afterward, he shifted and ran out of the house. He hasn’t changed back yet.”
“Oh, no. What did you see?”
Tears cloud my vision. “The moon and tiny magical strings floating around the air. Cedric wasn’t even in the vision. It all felt so lonely and cold.”
Amelie sighs sadly. “Things change, Laila. Tyla and Sebastian’s first vision indicated they wouldn’t be bonded. The future is always changing.”
“How do I change it?”
“I don’t know,” she murmurs, “but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. What you need to do is talk to Cedric. He’s probably thinking the worst right now.” The words I couldn’t protect her echo through my mind. There was so much guilt in Cedric’s words when I heard them in his mind.
“He won’t come back,” I huff. “He’s close by the house, but I can’t get him to shift.”
Amelie snorts. “Seriously, Laila? You may not be able to make him shift, but you sure as hell can bring him back. What good is that magic of yours if you don’t use it.”
The idea of forcing him back doesn’t appeal to me, but if it’s the only way …
I’m already dreading this. “Fine,” I give in. “If he hates me for this, I’m blaming it on you.”
We hang up, and I march right back outside. I can feel Cedric’s eyes on me. “Please come back to me,” I say through our bond. The guilt I felt from him last night comes back with a vengeance. He blames himself for what we saw in the vision like he’s failed me somehow. Lips trembling, I shake my head. “We’re going to work this out, Cedric. Nothing bad is going to happen.”
A few minutes later, I can see his glowing gray eyes through the trees. “I felt it, Laila,” he answers back. “You weren’t in the vision, but I could feel you slipping away from me. I’ll never be able to live with myself if something happens to you.”
I stalk toward him. “We can’t worry about that. It’s only going to drive us both insane.”
He growls, baring his fangs. “Easier said than done. I have to stay on alert. It’s the only way to protect you.”
His muscles tense, and I know he’s getting ready to run away, but I can’t let him. The last thing I want is to use my magic on him. “No,” I snap as I get closer to him. He turns away from me and starts to take off for the woods. “I need you with me, Cedric,” I cry. He stops instantly and slowly turns his face to me, his glowing wolf eyes on mine. Tears stream down my face, and I fall to my knees. It’s as if all the emotions from last night have finally gotten to me. “I need the man I’m in love with to be by my side,” I tell him. Slowly, he pads over to me and rubs his head against my face. I look right into his wolf eyes. “It’s true, we don’t know what our vision means, but we can’t let the fear tear us apart. We control our future. It doesn’t matter if we have hours left with each other or hundreds of years. What I do know is that I need you right here and now.”
Cedric’s body shimmers, and he shifts back into himself, lifting me into his arms. Breathing a sigh of relief, I kiss him feverishly hard. He breaks from it first and rests his forehead to mine. “I love you too,” he whispers. “Fuck, I wish you knew how much.”
“Then show me.” He looks into my eyes, and I kiss him again. “Make love to me, Cedric. I don’t want to waste any more time.”
No more words are spoken as he carries me back to his house and into his bedroom. He sets me down and stands behind me, his breath on my neck, making goosebumps fan out over my skin as he slowly unbuttons my shirt and lets it fall to the floor. He kisses my neck and trails his lips down to my shoulder. Moving aside my bra's strap, he gently glides it off my shoulder and down my arm. I feel him hard and ready up against my back, and I ache to reach around and touch him.
My breaths come out in rapid pants, so I close my eyes to concentrate on the feel of his hands taking over my body. Everywhere he touches, my skin burns like fire, but in a good way. Still, behind me, he slides his hands slowly up my stomach and over my breasts, massaging them with his warm hands. He leans down so I can reach my hands up to his face and run my fingers through his hair. I grip a handful of his soft tresses as he kisses and bites tenderly on my neck. His hands grow more urgent, and a moan escapes my lips.
“I want you so fucking bad right now,” he growls as he slides my pants and underwear to the floor.
He turns me around so I’m facing him and his passion-filled gaze searches over my body. He lifts his hands to my face and holds me gently while he kisses me. Our tongues connect, and our bodies are in flames.
Cedric pushes me toward the bed, our lips never separating as we move across the mattress, and he lays his body on top of mine. He grinds against me, and it makes that delicious ache between my legs heighten.
Breaking the kiss, he gazes into my eyes. “I promise to go slow. You can trust me.”
“I trust you,” I whisper against his lips.
My heart rate picks up, and I slowly exhale. Cedric slides away from me and stares down at my naked body, his eyes tracing over every square inch of my skin. “Will you let me taste you again?” he asks, gliding his tongue up the inside of my thigh and moving my legs slowly apart.
I bite my lip. “How can I say no to that?”
Positioning his mouth at my center, he enters me with his warm tongue, exploring me generously and moaning while gripping my thighs. My body tightens within seconds, and I’m so close to being sent over the edge.
Moaning loudly, I grip his head with both hands to hold him in place. “Don’t stop, Cedric. Please don’t stop.”
He picks up his pace while I move my hips along with the rhythm of his mouth. A scream rips from my throat as the orgasm explodes from my body. His mouth is impressive, and he can hear my thoughts because he looks up at me with that arrogant smile. He watches me the entire time he kisses his way up the rest of my body.
“How did you like that?” he teases.
Breathing hard, I grab my chest. “It was amazing. But I think you already know that.”
He bites his lip and leans down to glide his tongue across one of my nipples. “Kind of. You screamed my name out a lot in your mind.”
Taking a taut and sensitive nipple into his mouth, he rolls it around with his tongue. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I squeeze him tight, trying to pull him closer to me.
“Please stop teasing me and make love to me,” I groan impatiently.
He growls and answers me back by sucking harder on my breast. I swear it feels like I’m going to explode with all the sensations taking over my body. Another orgasm builds, and if he keeps sucking on my breasts, he’s going to send me over the edge again. His cock presses against my opening, so I wriggle to try to get him in position.
He releases my breast and laughs. “You’re so impatient.”
I’ll show you impatient, I say through our bond.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I reach down to grip his length him firmly in my hand. He sucks in a sharp breath and closes his eyes, moaning. Sliding my hand up and down his erection, he moves his hips along with me.
He kisses me deeply, entwining his tongue with mine while positioning himself between my legs. I release my grip on his arousal so I can wrap my arms around his body, pulling him close.
I can feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest. He eases himself inside of me, slowly and gently. I flinch at first with the feel of him entering, but the sensations all over my body take the pain away, and I’m left with nothing but the desire for more of the man I’m in love with—my mate.
“And you’re mine,” he says back to me.
He continues to move gently, but the need inside my body doesn’t want it slow. My wolf wants to be taken by her mate. I can feel the wildness inside of her, so I pick up the pace with my hips and move harder against him.
“I need more,” I beg. “Harder, Cedric.”
He stares down at me with concern in his eyes. “Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m sure,” I groan feverishly.
Instantly, he complies and moves more vigorously, thrusting deeper, and more demanding. Moving my hands to his back, I dig my nails into his skin. If I could shift, he’d be torn up by now.
When I grip my legs tighter around him, it fuels him even more. He gives a few more thrusts and releases inside of me just as my orgasm peaks. It’s the most amazing feeling I’ve ever felt. He collapses on top of me while we lay there to catch our breath. He kisses me tenderly and trails his kisses down my neck.
It sends goosebumps down my body, and I can tell he’s still hard and ready inside me, stretching me and filling me full. He looks up to my face, and by the fevered expression in his eyes, he wants more. “I love you, Laila.”
My eyes start to burn. Our vision does have me worried, but I can’t let it control my life, not when there’s so much living we can do. “I love you too. Just promise me one thing.”
He lifts up on his elbows. “Anything.”
“Promise me that no matter what happens, we’ll get through whatever it is together. No running away, no trying to figure things out on our own. It’s you and me.”
He brings a hand up to my face, his skin warm against mine. “I promise. You and me.”
We may not know what our future holds, but our present is worth living for. I just have to hold onto it and pray to the Great Luna that I’m strong enough to handle what’s coming our way.