Masked By Danger by Christa Wick
Epilogue
Waking alone in bed,Cade ran his fingers through his hair and stretched out all his well-worked muscles.
Silk sheets slid across his skin, the smooth texture reminding him of his mate's body. He rolled to his side, reached out and touched the empty side of the mattress, some of Iris's heat still lingering.
He pulled her pillow to his face, inhaling her scent.
For a few seconds, he considered sleeping longer, but his cock was awake and growing bigger by the second.
"Baby?" he called out, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and planting his feet. He wiped the sleep from his eyes, wiggled a finger in each ear, then yawned.
The sound of running water filtered through his senses.
Wanting to be clean before getting down and dirty was definitely a female thing. Just one of the many little quirks he loved about his mate. She was a blend of strength, sweetness, and endlessly entertaining sass.
And so damn sexy he basically lived with a constant hard-on whenever she was within scenting distance.
Suddenly, an image of Iris naked in the shower crowded his imagination, more blood filling his cock as he pictured her hands gliding over her lush flesh, a bar of soap in hand, her thighs parted—
"Fuck," he lurched forward, vision blurring with need. His hand landed on the door handle. He jerked the door open and entered the hallway.
Guided by scent and the tether between them that just grew stronger every day, he tracked her location.
The hall bathroom, definitely.
Over the weeks since they first began sharing their private living quarters, Iris had taken up the habit of using it instead of the one attached to their bedroom because she woke earlier than Cade most days.
He grinned as he remembered the way she’d tiptoed back into the room a few mornings back, freshly showered, hungrily gazing at him, but doing her damndest to be quiet so as not to wake him. He’d felt her eyes on him as vividly as if she were caressing his skin, stroking his cock.
Best way to wake up, bar none.
Really, it was silly that she went to such efforts to try and let him sleep in. He fucking loved being woken up by his mate.
Having her be the first thing he saw every morning, being able to feel her in his arms the moment his day started was quickly becoming an addiction.
And yes, the morning sex was of course fantastic. But it was more than that.
He loved how she’d mock-grumble cutely about needing to take another shower after he’d get her all disheveled and sweaty again. He’d then “make it up to her” by joining her in the second shower and giving her as many orgasms as it took for her to be near boneless when he’d bundle her up in a towel and carry her back to bed so they could snuggle and watch the sun come up.
As far as morning routines go, he couldn’t think of a better one to look forward to for the rest of his life.
The fact that this was something he hadn’t been able to picture as a possible future over the last twelve years just made it all the more meaningful. Theirs was a hard-fought happiness he would never take for granted.
“Did I wake you?” she whispered when she popped her head out to peer at him from behind the shower curtain, turning off the water while he closed the door behind him.
Cade pushed his wolf at her as he replied, “No. But you should’ve. Then instead of one shower together this morning, we could’ve had two.”
She smiled, responding by pushing her wolf at him as well, her feminine energy feisty and teasing as it curled all around him.
For a she-wolf who’d been apart from him for all these years, she was a damn quick study when it came to figuring out ways to tempt him past sanity.
Hell, just yesterday, she’d tortured him with an early-morning blowjob that had resulted in them having to buy new sheets to replace the ones he’d shredded every time she brought him to the brink and then eased off.
Maddeningly sexy she-wolf.
“Woman,” he warned as he felt her energy heat even more. "I'm already rock-hard."
Feeling another tail flick coming from her wolf had Cade stalking closer and jerking the curtain aside so he could look his fill of his gorgeous mate.
Fuuuck.
Water dripped from her naked body, and she made no move to cover herself up from his hot eyes.
In fact, she stood there with her hands on her hips as if outright daring him to make the first move.
He did.
Tantalizing droplets hung from her nipples that he simply couldn’t ignore any longer. Leaning forward, Cade sucked one nipple into his mouth as he captured the opposite breast with his hand. He tugged her toward him, carefully helping her navigate over the thin lip of tile at the bottom of the shower.
Releasing her nipple with a pop, he tilted his chin toward the door he had shut behind him. A shiver ran through Iris, signaling that she knew exactly what he wanted.
What they both needed.
She pressed the flat of both forearms against the wood, then shimmied her ass backward until she collided with the thick jut of his cock.
To their right, the long vanity mirror reflected their naked bodies, Cade all hard planes and Iris all soft curves, her flesh slick with water.
With one hand on her ass to hold Iris steady, Cade slid the other between her legs.
Hot and wet for him. Damn. Groaning, he dropped to his knees and buried his face against her swollen folds. His tongue dove deep, pushing inside her sex, flicking around as his thumb and index finger toyed with her clit.
Iris jerked, whimpering as she began all but riding his face.
That is, up until he stopped out of the blue.
Startled at his abrupt halt, Iris cupped her hands around his jaw, her darkened eyes worriedly studying his as he ran his gaze over her from head to toe, making note of all the subtle changes in his mate’s body.
"Cade?"
He didn’t, couldn’t answer her, the emotions running through him now simply too intense for words.
He blinked, his gaze softening as he stared at the mate he once thought he’d lost forever. The fierce, button-pushing, alpha-as-all-hell female who he knew he’d never spend a dull day with for as long as they both should live.
Truth be told, had he been human instead of shifter, he would’ve sworn he was one blink away from crying.
"What's wrong?" she asked quietly, sinking onto her knees next to him, her hands folding around his shoulders poised to shake an answer from him if that was what it took.
His mouth stretched into a smile. Then he chuckled. Hell, she was so damn prickly and perfect for him.
At the sound of his amusement, Iris noticeably relaxed before asking again, "What's wrong?"
Shaking his head, he brought one hand to rest against her stomach as he pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you, mate. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
She leaned up to brush a kiss against his lips. “I love you, too. Always have. And I don’t want to even try imagining a life without you constantly driving me crazy.”
Again, so damn perfect for him.
“And to answer your question, nothing’s wrong, baby,” he assured her as he spread his palms out to span her soft belly, feeling the small and precious energy now growing inside his mate.
When he’d first felt it, he thought it was simply wishful thinking. But then the tiny energy in her womb uncurled at his touch, seeming to sense and reach for him as well.
His chest tightened when he glanced up and saw loving understanding light her eyes before her hands joined his.
“In fact, love, I don’t think anything has ever been quite this right.”
—the end—
* * *
turn the page
for an excerpt from the final
book in the series!
Book 3: Marked by Magic
(available 09/17)
* * *
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