The door clicked closed. Really? He’d said she was his true mate. She was naked in a hot shower with water dripping off her. He wasn’t getting in with her?
Then she realized… Noah’s never… He’s a virgin. He’d been taken as a kid, and the robot voice had seriously discouraged all fraternizing. When would he have had an opportunity? Of course he wouldn’t just jump her in the shower.
She shut off the water and grabbed a towel to dry off. She glanced briefly at the bathrobe, but left it draped where it was. The wolf was clearly going to need some encouragement.
When she stepped out, she gasped. Flowers and candles filled the room. Noah was still lighting a few of them.
“After the way I spoke to you last night, the way I spoke to you at that place, I wanted tonight to be special. You haven’t had a chance to see my very best side,” he said.
The man had no idea how sweet he was. After everything he must have been through, being isolated from his family and other close social contact that wolves needed to be halfway normal—for years—and he was apologizing for all the stress he was under.
Sydney dropped the towel and stalked him across the room. “It’s just me. I used to tug on your fur when I was a baby. You don’t have to impress me.”
A long breath spiraled out of him, as if he’d been holding it since they were children. He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a long time. He smelled clean and fresh from the shower. She wondered if he’d gone next door for that.
He wore only a pair of sweatpants—no shirt or shoes. She wanted to snuggle into him forever.
“You should feed.”
The pulse danced in his throat, calling to her. She very much doubted that she ever could have taken enough of Noah’s blood to endanger him, particularly when he was strong enough to throw her off him, but now with the claim, there was no way she could take too much.
“Are you still mad at me?”
He kissed the top of her head. “I was never mad at you. I was worried for you. I was afraid if the wolves knew, they might turn on us. I don’t know how that would go. I need to keep you safe.”
Sydney’s nose wrinkled as she looked into his eyes. “Really? Because I don’t remember it exactly that way.”
He sighed. “Part of it was just irrational macho wolf stuff. Okay? Is that what you want to hear? But that’s not me. That’s not how I feel. It was just an instinct. Are you still mad at me?”
In answer, she gripped the back of his neck and pulled his mouth to hers.
“Y-you need to feed,” he murmured.
“Oh, I can do both. Just let me take care of you.” Sydney shoved him back on the bed. She knew he was nervous, that he had to worry he wasn’t wolf enough for her because he hadn’t had a million conquests before. And she had experience.
When she shoved him back, he went because something had changed in her when they’d bonded and she’d fed from him. There was no doubt now that she’d be a normal vampire. She’d shoved him, and it had actually moved him. Unlike the weak push that wouldn’t have budged him two nights ago.
He seemed impressed, and she flushed. But then she was more interested in other things. “You had to have done more than just run in the exercise yard all those years.”
“I might have lifted a few weights on occasion,” he said.
She laughed. “Such modesty.”
“I’m a wolf. There isn’t a modest bone in my body.”
Like most of his kind, they didn’t shy away from or get weird about nudity. Even captivity hadn’t changed that trait. He’d put on the sweatpants for her comfort, not his. She pulled them off and drank in the sight of him.
That is yours. Forever, a dark voice in her mind whispered.
She straddled him and licked those perfectly chiseled abs and the lovely lines that framed his hips. His cock jumped when her tongue stroked it. He gripped the mattress so hard, his claws were starting to come out, and so was the mattress stuffing.
“You poor deprived thing,” she teased.
He chuckled. “What have I gotten myself into?”
Sydney slid up his body and positioned herself over him. She let out a sharp whimper when she took him inside her. He was so warm. Much warmer than a human. Their eyes met.
“You okay?” he asked.
She felt the blush rise up her throat and into her face. “Yes. You’re just warmer than I’m used to…” Way to kill the mood, Sydney. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
Noah’s hand rested on the side of her cheek. “Hey. I don’t care. You’re mine now. Nothing before that matters. I know sex and feeding often go together with vampires. You didn’t know I was your mate. You didn’t even know I was alive. I would never expect you to be miserable or alone. Ever. Okay?”
She nodded and began to move. She smiled when his breathing became more erratic, then she let her fangs come out and bit him. She hadn’t realized how hungry she’d been. This time it wasn’t overwhelming. He tasted like peace and love and comfort and safety, and she couldn’t believe she’d been drinking anything less for all these years.
Lust and tenderness, protectiveness and love made the blood sweeter than anything she’d ever had before. His hands dug into her hips, and a moment later he’d flipped the two of them.
The combination of his blood and the way his body rubbed against hers, sent her spiraling into the best orgasm of her life. It caused her fangs to clamp down harder, urged her to drink more deeply as she bucked and writhed underneath him.
He let out a roar when he came.
“Wow,” he said, as he collapsed on top of her.
She laughed and licked the last bits of blood that strayed down his throat.
They laid sprawled together for several minutes, and then Sydney started to cry. “I thought for years that I was never going to see you again.”
Noah held her hands in his. “Mates always find each other. Always. Destiny pulled you to me.”
Sydney wanted to say that was nonsense, but she wasn’t so sure right now. If Jacob hadn’t betrayed her and taken her to the city, would Noah have been motivated enough to fight so hard to get out?
“We should go downstairs,” he said. “I need to get a sense of how loyal they’re still feeling after they’ve had time to sleep on it.”
Noah pulled the sweatpants back on and blew out the candles around the room. Sydney forced herself to get out of the fluffy bed and went to Shira’s closet to find something to wear.
“Holy crap. This chick had a ton of knives.” Sydney gawked at the rows and rows of sharp, pointy weapons designed to do maximum damage and the array of holsters to conceal them. “Why would she have all this when she had claws?”
Noah poked his head in. “It’s not always convenient to shift to wolf form for fighting. With her size, she probably took all the advantages she could find.” He left Sydney alone in the closet to continue her search.
He was right, the alpha had been just about her size. It wasn’t a perfect match, but it was close enough that nothing but the most form-fitting clothing would reveal an ill-fit.
She chose a red tank top and jeans from the closet, making sure the top displayed Noah’s mark. They’d smell it on her, of course, but she wanted them to see it. If they saw how hard he’d marked her, it could only make him look better. Then maybe they wouldn’t notice her claim simmering just below the surface.