Amber

Devon looked at me seriously. "We need to talk about what you said earlier."

I tried not to cringe at his expression. It reminded me of people better left forgotten, so I played dumb, although I knew what he was talking about. "What part?"

"The part where you said I could mark you."

"I thought I was clear about it."

"You know my wolf will never be able to let you go. I could barely force myself to let you go before marking you. If I mark you, it's forever."

I met his eyes. "I know. But I don't see a way around it, and honestly it'll be far from the worst thing I've experienced."

"That doesn't—"

"Will it help you with your wolf?" I asked, and then I realized I had interrupted him. "Sorry."

"It will, and don't apologize."

"And we don't have to do...anything else right away, right?"

"No, we don't. Most do, but it's not required."

I swallowed, nervousness building in my stomach. I looked up at his handsome face and met those steady grey eyes. "Then I'm ready."

"You look like you're ready to meet a firing squad, not to let me mark you."

"I'm nervous," I said.

"Could I at least kiss you first, Amber?"

My heart pounded like it was trying to escape from my chest. "Okay."

His chair scraped back along the floor as he pushed away from the table. His hand grabbed mine in a gentle grip, and he pulled me closer to him. I ended up on his lap, my legs across his so they rested on one side, and he leaned into my neck. I tensed, thinking he was just going to do it after all, but then he moved back and looked at me.

I wasn't meeting his eyes, more out of habit than anything else, so again he forced me to look at him. "You can still back out."

"I don't want to," I said, and it was probably true. He was warm, and I actually felt safe being this close to him.

Then, his lips found mine, soft but at the same time firm, and his tongue swept into my mouth. I was glad I didn't try to stop him in my surprise because it felt amazing and sent a heady heat throughout my body.

I'd never felt anything like this before, and I put my arms around his neck, partially for support, but mostly because I craved closeness with him.

His lips wandered down the side of my neck, and I whimpered at the sensations he was producing.

Then he stopped and looked into my eyes. "And you're sure?"

"I'm sure." Suddenly, I'd never been more certain. Being trapped in a bond with a man who could make me feel like this suddenly seemed like a great plan.

In retrospect I should have let him kiss me when he first asked. I probably would have never left if I had known what I was leaving.

His eyes flickered golden as he held my gaze for a moment longer. I tried to look certain.

Then his teeth scraped my skin, and he bit down, hard into my flesh.

It did hurt, but I didn't make a sound. Unlike with the Lyndons, my silence was so he wouldn't feel bad, not to avoid further punishment.

Then there was a rush of something as it locked into place between us. I could practically feel the connection as it established itself more firmly.

And then, "Are you alright, Amber?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can I talk back?"

His body relaxed, although there was one part still hard against the side of my hip. "Just think back at me."

I inhaled and exhaled. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." Excitement bloomed inside of me. This was actually really cool, and it felt good, like it was meant to be. "I can't believe this. Wait, can you hear all my thoughts?"

"Only the ones you direct at me, and your feelings if they're strong and they leak through, or you let them. You can close the connection between us if you want to, as well. You'll figure it out. It seems it's almost as simple for humans as for us wolves."

"This is really awesome," I told him and smiled at him. He returned my expression with a smile of his own, his eyes crinkling in the corners, just slightly. He really was attractive, and suddenly I remembered that I was sitting on his knee, like it was nothing.

He also remembered—or maybe he had never forgotten—and his smile grew. He pulled me closer again, and our lips came together. I could feel the stubble of his face against my own, but it teased me, and his mouth...

I had no words to describe the things he was doing to my mouth with his. My thoughts blew away with the feel of him, this wasn't like what Jasper had done to me, meant to cause pain and suffering, this was clearly all for my pleasure—and his too, it seemed.

And something spread inside me that I hadn't felt before, and it took me a moment to understand that I was feeling something of what he was feeling, a mixture of his pure happiness, and relief, and a thousand other things that were relatively foreign in my experience. They were good things. I had never been as happy as he was right now, and feeling it was like getting too close to the sun, it began to burn.

I pulled away and scurried off of his knees, my heart pounding like I was running for my life. His feelings came through again, concern and slight disappointment. "Sorry, I need a minute. It's too much."

"Of course. I'll never make you do anything you don't want to do."

I nodded, and I left him sitting there as I fled to my room.