The mansion's lights glowed low and golden when Talia stepped out of the bathroom, hands trembling, breath held tight in her chest.
She had no idea why she obeyed him.
No idea why she dressed like this.
No idea why she wanted him so badly she couldn't breathe.
But she did.
The pink lingerie hugged her curves like it had been made for his eyes. The satin ribbons. The delicate lace. The tiny white puff of a bunny tail attached to the back of the panties.
And the ears.
When she slid on the velvet bunny ears, she swore her knees nearly buckled.
She felt ridiculous.
She felt powerful.
She felt wanted.
The hallway to the living room felt endless, her bare feet silent on the polished dark wood floors. The air was warm from the fire, carrying Luka's scent cedar, smoke, male heat enveloping her with every step.
Her pulse fluttered wildly.
The moment she reached the living room entrance, Luka's voice drifted to her. Low. Dangerous. Waiting.
"Talia," he murmured without turning. "Come here."
Her breath hitched.
He was sitting on the long black sofa legs spread wide, elbows resting on his knees, head tilted as though he felt her presence.
His hair had fallen wild around his shoulders, his shirt undone halfway, exposing the broad cut of his chest. His wolf ears weren't visible, but the energy around him heavy, dominant, electric was unmistakably Alpha.
When he finally looked up and saw her…
He went still.
Completely still.
"Talia."
Her name wasn't a name. It was a growl of possession.
She swallowed hard. "You told me to… um… put on the ears."
His gaze lowered slowly.
Taking in the ears.
The trembling hands.
The pink satin.
The tiny puff of the bunny tail.
His jaw flexed. His chest expanded with one sharp inhale.
Then
"Turn around," he said.
Her breath caught. She obeyed before thinking, cheeks burning as she faced away from him.
She heard his breath break.
Soft. Controlled. Devastated.
"Little bunny…"
His voice thickened, darkened.
"…that tail is going to kill me."
She felt heat rush down her spine.
Luka's hand patted the sofa once. Commanding. "Now come here."
She took a step toward him.
"No," he said. "Not like that."
A pause. A shift in tone.
"Crawl."
Her stomach dropped, heat exploding through her.
"Luka"
"No."
His voice was velvet-wrapped steel.
"Not Luka. Not right now."
A beat.
"Say it."
Her lips parted.
"Daddy Wolfy…"
A shudder ran visibly through him.
"That's right," he breathed. "Now crawl to me, little bunny. And wiggle that cute little tail while you do."
Her body obeyed instinctively before her mind caught up.
She lowered to her hands and knees.
The carpet was soft beneath her palms.
The air felt hotter, thicker, vibrating with every second of his silence.
Talia crawled toward him.
Slow.
Her hips swayed nervous, embarrassed, but undeniably aroused.
She reached the edge of the sofa, heart pounding so hard she might faint. She didn't dare look up.
Luka leaned forward, voice a deep rumble right above her head.
"Good girl…"
Warm fingers brushed the bunny tail.
Talia squeaked.
He chuckled darkly. "Sensitive, hm?"
"I I didn't expect"
A sharp but gentle tap landed on her left butt cheek.
Talia gasped, her hands gripping the floor.
"Daddy Wolfy!"
She sounded breathless.
Desperate.
His exhale was a hungry growl.
"Look at you," he murmured, stroking the upper curve of her thigh with the barest graze of his fingertips. "My little bunny… crawling to her Alpha."
She felt dizzy overwhelmed, needy, terrified, thrilled.
His hand slid up her back, slow, deliberate, tracing her spine through the ribbon straps.
When he reached the base of her neck, he curled his hand around it not squeezing, just holding. Guiding. Claiming.
"You're trembling," Luka whispered against her ear. "Do you know what that does to me?"
"N-no…"
"It breaks my control."
She swallowed hard. "Is that… bad?"
"Talia."
He lifted her chin, making her look up at him for the first time.
His eyes were glowing.
Glowing.
"Nothing about you is bad," he said. "You make me want. You make me fight myself. You make the wolf inside me"
His other hand slid down the curve of her hip, stopping at the edge of the lace.
"starve."
Her entire body pulsed.
She couldn't breathe. Didn't want to.
"Luka…" she whispered.
He growled softly. "Try that again."
"Daddy Wolfy…"
His hand tightened around her jaw. Just enough to guide her face upward.
"Good," he murmured. "Very good."
Then he leaned back slightly and tapped his own thigh.
"Up."
She hesitated. "W-what do you mean?"
"Climb into my lap, little bunny."
Her heartbeat stuttered dangerously. "Is that… safe?"
He smiled slowly… dangerously. "No."
She shivered.
"But you're going to do it anyway."
Talia crawled onto the sofa, every movement slow and shaky, every breath shallow. She climbed onto his lap, straddling him, her knees sinking into the cushions on either side of his hips.
His hands came up instantly, gripping her waist, steadying her. Holding her. His thumbs dragged across the exposed skin between the satin and her ribs, searing her.
"Talia…"
His voice was no longer steady.
It was hungry.
She felt his breath on her neck, hot, shaky.
Felt the tremble of his restraint.
"You feel perfect," he whispered. "Soft. Warm. Sweet."
She swallowed. "You're… shaking."
He laughed under his breath a dark, broken sound. "Because I want to throw you onto this sofa and drop every ounce of control I have left."
She blushed so hard she hid her face against his shoulder.
He tilted her chin up. "No hiding."
"I'm not used to"
"I know."
He kissed the inside of her wrist.
Slow. Gentle.
With a reverence that made her eyes sting.
Then his voice deepened again. "But tonight isn't about what you're used to."
She swallowed. "Then… what is it about?"
He leaned closer. His lips brushed her ear. His breath trembled through her.
"Talia…"
A shiver rolled down her spine.
"…tonight is about showing you exactly what I feel."
Her breath spiked. "What… you feel?"
His hands slid down her thighs, curling around them as if claiming the shape of her body in his palms.
"I've been holding myself back," he said, voice from another world. "Since the moment I smelled you. Since the moment you looked at me in that park. Since the moment you ran into my arms when the vampires came."
He moved one hand to her lower back, pressing her closer.
Her breath fluttered.
"You want the truth?" he asked.
She nodded.
His forehead rested against hers, eyes burning into her.
"I want you."
Her breath didn't come back.
"I want you crawling to me like this," Luka said softly. "I want you wearing my ears. Sitting on my lap. Saying Daddy Wolfy like it belongs to you."
Heat exploded through her chest.
Her voice came out shaky. "Daddy Wolfy…"
His hands gripped her tighter. "That's it."
"And… what else do you want?" she whispered.
He growled low and possessive.
"I want…"
He brushed his thumb over the bunny tail.
"…to make you beg for every touch."
She whimpered.
"And I want…"
He touched her jaw.
"…to kiss you until your ears fall off."
Her heart jumped. "Then… kiss me?"
A long, slow exhale escaped him.
"My little bunny…"
He brushed her bottom lip with his thumb, eyes darkening further.
"…if I kiss you now, I won't be able to stop."
Her breath caught. "Maybe… I don't want you to stop."
He closed his eyes.
Fought himself.
Lost.
His lips touched hers.
Not deep.
Not demanding.
Just a soft, hungry, trembling press the kind that makes the world tilt, the kind that feels like the first warm breath after drowning.
Talia gasped softly into it, and Luka's hand tightened on her waist as if he needed to hold on to something real.
"Oh, Talia…" he whispered against her mouth.
"…you're going to break me."
She whispered back, "Then break."
He kissed her again.
Deeper.
Slower.
More desperate.
His hands roamed her back, her hips, her thighs never going too far, never slipping into forbidden territory, but exploring every safe inch of skin he could without losing control completely.
Their breathing tangled.
Her ears flicked with each brush of his lips.
His thumb traced the little bunny tail, each touch making her melt against him.
"Talia…"
He kissed down her jaw.
"…I want more."
She trembled. "Then take more."
He growled softly, lifting her chin again to kiss her properly a full, hot, consuming kiss that made her toes curl.
Then
He tore himself away.
Breathing hard.
Eyes wild.
"No," he rasped. "If I keep going, I'll claim you."
"I…"
She swallowed.
"…I want to be claimed."
He looked like she'd struck him.
"Little bunny," he whispered, forehead pressing to hers again, "you don't know what you're asking."
"Then teach me."
A ragged sound escaped him.
Half a growl.
Half a plea.
"I can't," he said breathlessly. "Not until you're safe. Not while vampires want you. Not when my instincts are this close to snapping."
"So what now?" she whispered.
He wrapped his arms fully around her, pulling her to his chest.
"Now," he murmured against her neck, "you stay right here… and let me hold you."
Talia melted into him.
Warm.
Shaking.
Breathless.
And Luka held her like she was the only thing in the world keeping him sane.
Which…
Maybe she was.