I moaned lightly and his eyes flashed up to mine again.
He lifted me effortlessly onto my knees and bent to lick one nipple into his mouth.
A flicker of electricity went through me and I let my head fall back as he cupped the other in his hand, mimicking the motions of his mouth, driving me wild.
His other hand slid down my belly and pressed my thighs wide.
I was whimpering before he even touched me and crying out the instant his fingers toyed with me, teasing me until I was half mad with desire.
He growled against my breast and suddenly he was lifting me up, stepping out of the bath, water running off us as he stormed to the bed and laid me down.
He paused for a moment, gazing down at me, his eyes on fire with lust.
“Luke, please,” I murmured, opening my arms to him.
He crawled onto the bed, but stopped between my thighs.
“I can’t,” I moaned.
“You can,” he smiled and buried his face in my sex.
Longing nearly lifted me out of my body. Every stroke of his tongue sent me flying halfway to paradise, but he never allowed me to climax.
On and on he lapped and flicked, stopping each time I was trembling on the precipice.
“Please,” I begged.
His movements ceased instantly. Then he was crawling up to cage my face in his arms.
“Will you accept me as your mate, Bella?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Forever?” he asked. “This can’t be undone.”
“Forever,” I said.
He kissed me then, his mouth still glistening from my juices.
I kissed him back, surprised to find that I didn’t mind the taste. But nothing he ever did could be wrong. He was my mate already, what came next was a formality. I already knew I was his. I had been from the start.
“This may hurt,” he warned me.
I nodded up at him and he kissed my forehead.
I didn’t care about the pain or anything else. I only wanted to seal the bond between us.
He guided himself against me and I nearly gasped at the sensation.
Slowly, so slowly he eased himself in.
I felt myself stretch to bursting and then adjust.
“Oh, Bella,” he groaned, holding perfectly still.
But it was too much for me, I was desperate for him to move and ignite the spark between us.
“Luke, please,” I moaned, trying to lift my hips to show him what I needed.
“Mine,” he roared in a voice so hoarse I swore I could hear the wolf howling inside him.
He withdrew and plunged into me again, pushing me so close to the edge that I saw stars.
I moaned and trembled for more.
He surrendered with a groan, filling me again and again.
When I begged for release, he nuzzled my neck between thrusts and slid his hand between us.
He bit down at the same moment that his thumb traced circles on me, pushing me over the edge as he filled me and sealed our bond all at once.
The slight pain burst with pleasure and I cried out as waves of ecstasy washed over me endlessly.
Luke shouted my name and then I felt him jetting inside me as we both lost ourselves to the bliss.
When it was over, he pulled me onto his chest and skimmed his fingers along my shoulder blade.
I closed my eyes, listening to his heart beat slow to a steady pound.
In the circle of his arms I felt loved and safe.
We would have more adventures, I knew that. I wasn’t naive. I expected challenges, and moments of sadness in our life together.
But I was home now.
Everything else would fall into place.
For the first time since my fall, it actually felt like everything was going to be okay.
34
Bella
The sun was high in the sky by the time we made our way through the labyrinth and back toward the school.
Luke was on my left, holding my hand with a casual possessiveness that made me want to drag him right back to bed instead of back to school.
Luke had made some calls before we left, so we had some company.
A giant of a man called Reed walked on my right. He was big and burly with a playful twinkle in his eye. I liked him right away. Luke had referred to him as his brother, but I knew their brotherhood had been forged by battle, not by blood.
Behind us, a contingent of other guardians followed. I knew that some were reluctant, and some were glad to be with us. And I was impressed that they all obviously respected the decision they had come to after they had voted on it this afternoon.
When we emerged from the maze, it seemed liked the entire school had gathered in the courtyard. Headmistress Hart was addressing them. The tone of her voice, low and urgent, carried across the cobblestones of the courtyard, though I couldn’t make out her words.
I could see Lark, Cori, Anya and Kendall standing together in a group. They had spotted me and were whispering like crazy.
Headmistress Hart turned and did a sort of double take when she saw us. She shook her head once and then began striding over, her cloak and gown billowing out behind her in the afternoon breeze.
Suddenly, my friends were heading our way too, running at top speed.
Luke growled under his breath and I realized it was a protective instinct.
“They’re my friends,” I whispered to him.
Kendall reached me first, her long blonde ponytail whipping. She wrapped her arms around me.
I was a little shocked that she had apparently missed me so much. We weren’t really great friends. At all. And I wasn’t overly fond of her other friend group.
“Do you have that godforsaken book?” she hissed into my ear. “Give it to me now if you do so I can put it back before Hart catches you with it. Cori and Anya have been sick over this.”
Quick as a thought, I slid the book out of my gown and handed it over.
Kendall pocketed it, and then jogged back toward the school as if she was just
