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I didn’t realize how long I’d been holding my breath until then. With a sharp inhale, I rubbed my bandaged arms and smiled weakly, still struggling to wrap my head around Everett’s confessions. “Do you really mean all that?”

“I never say things I don’t mean. You know that.”

Inexplicable shyness gripped me. I supposed I felt undeserving of Everett’s love at that moment, when I had spent the entire day doubting if we were even right for each other. I still thought that he might turn around and decide I was too reckless and stupid to be his mate. “What if something happens and you change your mind…?”

“I’m not going to change my mind without warning, Aislin. I’ve thought a lot about it already, and I know that even fated mates need to communicate. If something happens, we’ll talk it out. We’ll get through it. But I’m getting to know you better every day, and all that you are is still what I want.” Everett pushed closer, reaching out to take my hands.

His palms were soothingly warm. I couldn’t resist being drawn back into him, magnetized to the comfort of his chest. Through our connection, I felt that my slowly mounting happiness inspired by his words was reciprocated when I leaned my face against his pecs, just below his collar bones hidden by his t-shirt. My touch relieved him. Our physical contact repaired his damaged soul, bridging the gaps I made when I had left last night. His body relaxed, his arms sliding around my shoulders and holding me close.

“I want to give you everything you need,” I told him, my voice muffled into his chest. “Even if I’m still learning too, I want to try to be the best I can be with you.”

“It’s funny, but I thought I had everything I needed until you came into my life.”

Everett calling anything funny was unusual, but I guess that was the charm of it. I laughed quietly and his body quaked with laughter that matched mine.

“I’ll protect you and give you everything you need, too,” said Everett, burying his nose in my hair to kiss my head.

Joy blossomed in my heart. It felt so right to be with him. “I’m glad you’re my fated mate. I love you, Everett.”

The sheer bliss living in our connection exploded right then. I felt everything he did, and vice versa, and right now our shared happiness ricocheted off one another like lasers between two mirrors until it filled the entire space with blinding light, and it was so warm and revitalizing, it healed us both. I pulled back and craned my neck, brushing my nose against his chin. Everett touched my jaw and tipped my face closer until we kissed, and we stood together like that for minutes, relishing each other’s presence.

The reassurance of his love despite my doubts was enough to make my decision for me. I wanted to spend the rest of my life being as close to him as possible. Never did I want to leave his side. My aspiration was to be the best mate I could be for him, to help him lead effectively and see Eastpeak flourish. And with me in Eastpeak, I could ensure that the alliance with Grandbay remained strong. Besides, it wasn’t like I’d never see my friends and family again. They would be just next door. Everett felt these revelations through our connection. I could tell by the way he clutched me closer, accepting my unspoken choice.

We needed a break from the solemn aftermath of the attack, and I could think of no better way to move forward from it than with Everett. His hands traveled down my sides and cupped my butt. His touch alone birthed a hot, fluttering fire in my body, our fated bond once more igniting with desirous intensity. I wanted to show him how much I loved him.

Everett led me to the bed, leaning me down onto it until I was reclined on my back. His body settled between my thighs, immediately picking up a rhythm of grinding his hips against mine. Fingers dragged along the dressing on my arms, touching lightly, aware of my sensitivity, until reaching my hands. Then he clasped his fingers in mine and pressed me into the mattress, tucking his nose below my ear and kissing my neck. His stubble deliciously tickled my skin. With each hard press of his body, I felt the bulge in his jeans swell. My body craved him.

When he stood up, I didn’t want our bodies to separate. But he only peeled away from me to remove his shirt and undo his pants. I tolerated the distance by doing the same, starting with my pants, but he was naked before me and hungrily dove back down, pulling off my shirt. With each second, he grew more desperate to feel me. “I don’t think I could live without you now,” Everett breathed against my neck. “Without this.” He squeezed my breast, catching my eye with a heady stare.

“I’m pretty addicting, aren’t I?”

“God, are you ever,” growled Everett.

It seemed like forever since I’d been able to joke. My confidence returned, knowing how badly Everett wanted me.

“I need to be inside you.” Everett’s lips closed around mine while his fingers drifted to my groin, sliding into the slick wetness between my labia. His rubbing fueled my fire, roaring my lust back to life. “Is this for me?”

“Yeah baby. This is all yours,” I purred, leaning back.

He didn’t need to be told twice. Everett grabbed my inner thighs and opened me up wide, stroking my pink lips with his cock. I loved the way his hips rippled, and how the veins sitting just under his skin pulsed with excitement. The beautiful, sharp edges of his manhood wreathed in dark blond fuzz left me dripping. It amazed me that as much as I was his, he was all mine too. Hooking my ankles around his hips, I drew him in, begging for him to enter me.

Everett leaned forward, supporting himself on his elbows on either side of me. His body took on a steady throb as he pushed inside me. All at once, I felt him fill me. I sighed as our union drew us closer. He kissed me everywhere, up and down my neck, along my jawline, on my cheek and then my mouth, where he shoved his tongue inside and batted against mine. I suckled on his, enjoying the taste of him. He enveloped me in his musk and sweat. The sounds of his grunting filled my head, intoxicating me. I could lose myself in him, every time we were together like this. He made me forget everything wrong in the world.

Our pace quickened with shared pleasure. Tightness in my body warned of my quick ascent toward climax, and my short breaths and tender moans urged Everett to come along with me. He bit my lip, thrusting faster to keep up with me. The desire had pent up so intensely between us that it exploded within minutes.

I was left panting, dizzy, and overcome with ecstasy that seized my body the same time as him. He released inside me, bringing our orgasm to fruition, and I slipped away into dreamlike bliss beneath Everett.

“I love you,” he said between breaths. “Ais, I want to mark you.”

It wasn’t just the blistering love chemicals of our sex that made it so appealing. It was the natural chemistry we shared, our fated bond achieving finality. “Mark me,” I murmured to him, kissing his cheek.

I was ready to become his.