AARYN

Aaryn wasn't sure what had happened, why he'd suddenly needed her so desperately, what had triggered his Alpha power, but even buried in pleasure, he shook with it. It was an effort of will to stop himself gripping her hard enough to leave bruises, to stop himself taking hold of her hips and pounding into her like an animal.

When Elreth groaned his name, her back arching, seeking him, her fingers white-knuckled on the back of the couch, it all conspired to push him to his limit. His breath hissed through his teeth as he fought with the beast within to keep himself in check.

Elreth dropped her head between her elbows and pushed back against him and he almost came. He gripped her shoulder and her hip, growling as he fought with himself—and to his delight, it only made her abandon herself.

Her beautiful shoulders stretched up as she took her weight on the back of the tall couch, but dropped her head towards her knees. She opened to him, small cries and whimpers breaking in her throat with every thrust.

Her long, lithe back rolled and the jiggle and bounce of her ass was an image that would live in his mind for the rest of his life.

"El…" he groaned.

"Please, Aaryn."

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you," he rasped.

Then, the vixen, she turned her head to catch his eye over her shoulder and, without slowing, without stopping pushing back into him, she grinned wickedly. "I dare you," she whispered.

Aaryn howled.

Shuddering with sheer desire, he let go of her shoulder and gripped her hair, wrapping the long, soft curls around his hand, reeling her in until her head was pulled back and her throat bared.

Then, still pumping into her steadily, he curled over her to open his mouth on her neck.

Her back brushed against him, his skin beginning to pebble and the hair on his arms standing tall. He sucked on the column of her neck and she groaned his name again, a sound so thick with desire, he wondered if there were anything more beautiful in the world.

Then, when he came off her neck, but turned his head to kiss her hair, intending to whisper something reassuring before he let himself go, she shocked him by turning her head and taking his lips, her tongue plunging into his mouth just as he took her, and his entire body jolted.

"Fuck, El! I love you. I love you… oh shit… hold on!"

She dropped her head again as Aaryn straightened and let himself off the leash. Still holding her hair, his grip on her hip tightened and he began to pull her back into his thrusts. No longer working for control, his thighs slapped into her, harder and harder, and he began to shake, groaning the mating call over and over.

Elreth was no longer calling his name, but a keening cry rose and fell, her voice growing higher and higher, urging him on.

He could feel himself inside her, deeper and harder than ever before. She clenched around him, drawing him in. Then, with her head tugged back and eyes closed, Elreth began to lose herself.

Aaryn could barely think as he watched her body prickle and jerk as she climbed towards that ever-promising summit of pleasure.

"You're so beautiful," he rasped. "So fucking beautiful, El."

"Don't stop! Please!"

She pulled her head down and he released her hair, watching it unfurl then cascade over her shoulders and neck as she groaned and dropped her head, letting go of the couch so her shoulders dropped too, changing the angle. Aaryn's flattened his hand between her shoulder blades and used the leverage to pound even harder. He could feel himself inside her, reaching her limits with every thrust.

They both whimpered.

Pleasure exploded in lights and jolts, in rhythm with their joining, each burst thicker and more overwhelming than the last as Aaryn called her name and she answered him, frantic and thoughtless.

Everything within him drove forward. He needed her. Closer. Always closer. None of it was enough. Elreth broke apart, shattering, gripping him, her body shuddering and jerking as she screamed his name and Aaryn lost himself.

It was instinct to bend forward and open his teeth over her shoulder to hold her in place as he pounded into her, erratic and aggressive, his hands on her breasts, her nipples like rivets against his palms.

His orgasm hit like a boulder bouncing down the mountainside, crackling through him, then gaining momentum, carrying him with it, helpless against the avalanche of passion, love, and heat that overwhelmed his entire body.

It seemed to go on forever, strange calls and grunts echoing in his chest in time with his final, frantic pumps… then he slumped, sweating, breath heaving, over her.

For a long minute the only sound in the cave was their twin breaths, heaving, filling the space with harsh rasps. Then Aaryn blinked and realized he was still biting her shoulder. He sucked in and pushed himself up to examine the skin. He hadn't broken through, but there were red marks on her pale skin the form of his teeth.

With a sigh of relief, he kissed the marks, laved them with his tongue. His breath still came deep and too quickly, but he pulled her hair off the back of her neck and kissed the spot under her ear that she loved too.

"Are you okay?" he whispered in her ear, hesitant. Afraid he'd lost himself too much and she might be hurt.

But Elreth snorted and finally raised her head, turning her head to look at him, her eyes red and shining, sweat a sheen on her brow. "Are you kidding, Aaryn? That was… what was that?"

Aaryn chuckled with relief—and a touch of embarrassment. "I… I don't know. I've never felt that way before," he said honestly.

"Well, can we figure it out? Because I'm on board," Elreth said breathlessly. "Like, anytime."

They stared at each other for a second, then Aaryn shook his head in disbelief. "You're incredible," he murmured, then kissed her.

Elreth smiled and kissed him back and neither of them spoke again until they could breathe normally.