Chapter 83 DANE

I waited, every part of me straining at the edge of control, for her answer.

I had sensed over the last few days that she was holding herself back from me in a way she hadn’t before. I wasn’t sure why.

Now I knew. This “higher powers” bullshit.

I served the goddess, sure. Serving her didn’t make me good or evil. It just made me practical. There was no such thing as fate or destiny. Only how you chose to act in any given moment.

If Aurora believed she was being claimed by some kind of darkness, the answer was simple. Tell it no. Don’t serve it.

We are all no more and no less than the person we choose to be.

“Well?” I asked.

Aurora’s eyelids fluttered, as if she’d just lost some big internal war with herself, and she nodded.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. I don’t have the strength to fight against what I want anymore. Especially now that you want me, too. I waited so long…”

Her cheeks were wet with tears. I brushed them away, then kissed her again, keeping my lips soft against hers.

If I knew anything about Aurora, it’s that she had been treated plenty of ways over the years, but very few of those ways had been kind, tender, or loving.

I wanted her to know what it felt like to be loved tonight.

I should have given her that so long ago.

I rose, gently pushing her until she lay on her back on the bed, and I could brace myself over her.

Everything was bullshit except this.

Everything was fucked up, but I believed her.

I slipped an arm beneath her and moved us both so that we lay on the bed. My hips were between her open thighs, and I wanted nothing more than to forget the world and sink inside.

But like I said, she deserved to feel loved.

“Dane,” she said, sounding shy. “I haven’t been with anyone since…”

A low growl rumbled through me at the thought of her being with someone else. “Since when?”

“Since you,” she whispered.

It was like a giant hand reached out and grabbed me by the throat.

Fuck.

When I spoke, I couldn’t help that my voice sounded like it was being dragged over gravel. I looked down at her, pale and silvery in the darkness, and stroked hair away from her gorgeous face.

“You haven’t been with anyone since me? And that… that was your first time.”

I remembered the way she winced. The smear of blood. I remembered the way that guilt had gnawed at me, even then, believing the things about her that I had.

I lowered my forehead to press against hers. “Fuck, Aurora. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I treated you back then. Let me show you what it’s supposed to be like.”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. Then she said, “I’d like that. And I want…I want you to teach me how to please you.”

I started kissing down her neck. I couldn’t get enough of her skin, soft and sweetly scented and so addictive. “The only way I’ll be pleased is by watching you feel pleasure. If I do something you like, tell me. If I do something you don’t, tell me.”

I kissed lower, and she moved against me. “I love every way you touch me, Dane.”

The breathiness of her voice made my already hard cock ache. Bringing her out here to my grandfather’s house had been pure instinct. All I wanted then was to be alone. No distractions. Away from the pack and their poisoned thoughts toward her.

But now I was doubly glad I’d brought her here.

This time, there would be no interruptions.

This time, I would make her mine. Over and over again, as many times as she wanted. As many as she could handle.

I lowered myself onto her soft body, aligning my hardness with her sex. She gasped and arched against me. So damned responsive, it pushed me toward the edge like I was some out of control teenage boy.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to regain control.

Tonight was about her, and I was going to take it slow. Even if it was sheer fucking torture for me to draw out the moments until I was inside her, it would be the sweetest torture I could dream.

“It feels so good…” she whispered. Then she paused. Even though the light was dim, I could see her cheeks flush deep pink.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I’ve changed in so many ways. I’ve had so many experiences, and I love that I’ve been able to do that. But when it comes to this…I still feel like the naïve virgin you took to bed five years ago.”

I laughed quietly and kissed my way back up to her ear. “Then let’s change that. By the time we’re done, I promise you won’t feel naïve anymore.”