"Don't tremble," he whispered, his tone soft but commanding. "Even if the whole pack stands outside this door, none will take what's mine. And none would say otherwise to something we haven't accepted to plead guilty."
Yueshuang's breath hitched, her body betraying her mind. The warmth of his chest, the steady drum of his heartbeat, the intoxicating mix of his scent, all blurred the edges of fear and reason.
Her fingers tightened weakly on his sleeve, her resistance melting as her wolf instincts overrode logic. She could only nod faintly, her voice barely a whisper. "Alright…"
Her voice trembled on that single word, "Alright…" fragile, uncertain, yet carrying the weight of surrender.
Something in Lian immediately shifted. The moment the sound left her lips, his restraint snapped like a bowstring drawn too long. He caught her chin gently but firmly, tilting her face up toward his. His gaze burned, molten gold and shadow, before his mouth claimed hers again, rougher this time, all the words he couldn't say poured into that desperate kiss.
Yueshuang gasped softly against him, her hands instinctively clutching his robe as if to anchor herself. His lips moved with a hunger that was both worship and punishment, tracing her jaw, her throat, the hollow beneath her ear where her pulse fluttered wildly. The faint tremor of her breath only spurred him on; his hand slid to her waist, drawing her closer until she could feel every tremor that wracked his body.
But this time, the desperation began to transmute into something deeper, more deliberate. His mouth returned to hers, but the bruising pressure eased, replaced by a devastating exploration. He sipped at her lips, coaxing them to part further, and when they did, he delved inside with a slow, intimate stroke of his tongue. It was a tasting, a claiming of the most private spaces. The taste of him, of midnight rain and sun-warmed cedar, flooded her senses, a familiar intoxicant that made her head spin.
Her fingers, which had been fisted in his robe, loosened and slid upward, tangling in the silken dark hair at the nape of his neck. A low, approving groan vibrated from his chest into hers. Emboldened, she met the languid dance of his tongue with a shy one of her own. The sound he made then was pure, undiluted hunger, and his hands began to move with new purpose.
One hand remained splayed at the small of her back, a firm, warm pressure that arched her into him. The other rose from her chin, his thumb stroking her cheekbone as his fingers threaded through her hair, carefully dislodging pins until the dark tresses cascaded down her back like a waterfall. He fisted his hand gently in the freed locks, tilting her head back just so, granting him deeper access, and he took it, his kisses becoming wetter, hotter, more consuming.
He broke from her mouth, his breath a ragged gust against her slick, kiss-swollen lips. His gaze, dark and heavy-lidded, devoured the sight of her, flushed, disheveled, and pliant in his arms. He trailed a path of open-mouthed kisses down the column of her throat, his teeth scraping lightly over the frantic beat of her pulse. Yueshuang cried out, a soft, broken sound, her head falling back in surrender. The coarse silk of his robe abraded the sensitive skin of her collarbone, a delicious friction that made her shiver.
"Lian…" she breathed, her voice half a plea, half a surrender, as his lips found the delicate shell of her ear.
He stilled for a fraction of a second at her plea, his entire body tensing as if fighting for control. Then, with a shuddering exhale, his forehead pressed to hers, his breath uneven. For a heartbeat, silence reigned between them, their hearts pounding in synchrony, their marks burning faintly against each other's skin. The air was thick with the scent of their passion, of her floral perfume and his masculine spice, mingled into one.
Then, softer, he kissed her again, slower, lingering, reverent, as though sealing a silent promise neither could speak aloud. It was a kiss of profound ownership and even more profound devotion, a balm on the fever he had just stoked.
Only then did he pull her gently against his chest, wrapping her in the safety of his warmth, tucking her head beneath his chin. Lian pressed a lingering kiss to her hair, his voice rough with restrained emotion, "Good girl. Rest now. We've hidden longer secrets than this. Even with our son, no one ever knew. They won't start now."
Her heart stuttered at his words, their son, but before she could speak, his scent enveloped her again, heavy and lulling. The world dimmed around her as she surrendered to the warmth of his hold, her mind flickering between fear and a strange, dangerous comfort.
Outside, thunder rolled again, but inside, it was only his heartbeat she could hear.