ELRETH

She had to make the decision to drop her head back and give him her throat, but when she did, and he growled and his lips landed there so gently, her entire body went up in flames.

"That feels amazing, Aaryn," she whispered as he kissed his way down to her collarbones, teasing with tongue and lips.

She shivered and reached for him, burying her fingers in his hair and pulling him closer against her. He growled again and his teeth grazed her collarbone, raising goosebumps that rippled down her arm. She gasped. "Aaryn—"

"I have you," he said, his voice low and harsh, but the quality to it made her heart race. "Let go, Elreth, I have you."

She sighed, leaning back, her head against the tree trunk as Aaryn cupped her ass with one hand and used the other on the buttons of her blouse for the second time that night. Her breath shuddered as the cool night air began to kiss her skin, right alongside her mate. But he was so careful not to move quickly, to bare her too fast.

In fact, he wasn't baring her fast enough. Grasping at his buttons, she worked them free, her eyes fluttering at the sensations he pulled from her skin with simple kisses and licks, the strokes of gentle fingers, and the warmth from his chest.

"I want you, Aaryn," she whispered. "I've never wanted anyone before."

He huffed with pleasure and let his teeth graze the skin above her breast while he worked another button free with one hand.

Since she had the use of both, his shirt was almost entire open now and as soon as she popped the last one, she tore it open and laid her hands on his chest. With eyes closed, she felt her way across his pecs, then down his ribs to those delicious ladders of muscle on his sides. She felt his stomach clench under her touch and he sucked in, latching onto her nipple with a jolt that stole her breath.

For a moment she just clung, startled and gasping at the electric jangling in her gut where her desire spun through her veins to meet the nerve endings that he played so expertly.

Her body twitched and she let out a small cry, but she couldn't even find it in herself to care. She wanted him. So badly.

"Aaryn," she gasped.

"I'm here, El," he rasped against her skin. "I'm here."

*****

AARYN

He felt the moment she lost track of the world and the only thing she was thinking about was him and this heart-pounding electricity between them.

He raised his head for a moment, and raked his eyes down her, his arousal crashing over him like a wave that threatened to shred his control.

She'd dropped her head back—and left it there as he slowly undressed her. Her hair fell against the soft bark of the tree, her eyes closed and lashes fluttering. She bit her lip so he wanted to kiss her to release it.

Her nipple stood proud and he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger as she gasped again and arched harder, gripping his shoulders.

She was… abandoned. He'd never see her this way and cut him deep, the trust she was placing in him.

"El," he rasped, dropping his head to kiss her.

She pulled him in, her own kiss desperate, frantic, and he groaned. He held her against him with one hand, and gently kneaded her breast with the other, and he knew this was a moment he'd remember for the rest of his life.

For one minute he gave in, growling against her skin, gripping her and rolling his hips into hers while she gasped. But he knew it couldn't last.

He wasn't taking her for the first time against a tree. And Reth's words echoed in his head—the wisdom of waiting. Of being able to plan when and how the people would learn of their union. But for a moment, before things went to far, he said to hell with it and indulged himself.

He'd waited too long for this.

With a puttering growl in his throat, he took her hands and brought them over her head again, stretching her this time so she was arched back to her toes. He buried his face in her neck and ground against her, and when she cried his name, he almost lost himself. Keeping her pinned with one hand, he stroked down her side, over her ass, then down her thigh with the other, cupping her knee and pulling it up, holding her there and rolling against her again.

Her mouth dropped open and a tiny, breathless chuckle left his throat at the shocked expression on her face.

"It's going to be so good between us, El," he rasped. "So fucking good, I can taste it."

"I… believe you," she gasped as he ground into her again. She grabbed for him, her fingers digging into his back, the other hand clawed into his hair and she writhed to meet him. "Less clothing," she gasped. "Please."

Aaryn sighed into her neck, arguing with himself.

If he took her tonight, it was true everyone would be able to smell their entwined scents—it would be too strong to ignore. Right now, without the mating, the bond was present, but faint. And since they were together so much, no one would notice who wasn't specifically trying to scent it.

But that meant they had to wait.

Aaryn didn't want to wait.

Rolling into her again, he groaned, resisting the discipline and self-control he knew he should display as Elreth made that little noise in her throat that threatened to send him over the edge, mating or not.

He'd just vowed to her that he'd make the best decisions for her, that he wouldn't let her fall. And here he was, at the first hurdle, already wanting to give in to his own desire, over what she needed.

"Aaryn!" she gasped and pulled him against her.

But with a groan, he let go of her hand and her leg and forced himself to take a step back.

She slumped against the tree and her eyes flew open. "Why the hell did you stop?" she growled.