Epilogue

"We're going to be late," Petra protested, though it was clear to them both that her heart wasn't in the words.

"Just for a minute," Emmett said between kisses, walking her backward toward the bed. "Come on, pretty girl, I swear I'll be quick. I'm dying for a taste of you."

"It's been three hours since the last time," Petra said with a laugh.

"Exactly," he said with a rakish grin. "Far too long."

The backs of her thighs met the bed, and with a sigh that was not nearly as upset as it should have been at the idea of being late, Petra let him push her backward onto the mattress. He knelt on the floor and shoved the hem of her skirt up around her waist, peeling her panties to the side. She knew he'd find her already wet, as she was every time her mate kissed her with such passion, she could feel it in every inch of her body.

He stroked a single finger down the length of her center, then licked it clean, and sent her another mischievous look. "Perfect," he growled and then followed the path of his finger with his tongue. Petra's breath left her in a long sigh that quickly morphed into a moan as he pressed his tongue inside her, then swapped it for his fingers. Emmett knew every inch of her pussy intimately, so she shouldn't have been surprised that he immediately zeroed in on the areas that would get her off the fastest with perfect accuracy. His tongue flicked over her clit, drawing more sounds from her that she couldn't control, gasps and moans that became ever louder as he continued.

She had initially been shocked at how much Emmett enjoyed going down on her. She even told him at one point that he didn't have to do it so often if he didn't want to. Her mate had laughed like she'd just told the world's best joke. "Petra," he'd said, "Making you come is my favorite thing in the entire world. Have you not noticed that every time I put my mouth on you, it makes me harder than steel? Why would I want to do it any less? Hell, if we didn't have so many damn commitments outside this bedroom, I'd do it more."

And then he'd demonstrated exactly how much he enjoyed it, and she'd never questioned it again.

This time, he was underscoring the pleasure he found in hers, muttering praise and grateful words against her flesh as he worked her with his fingers and his mouth. The reverberations of his words, interspersed with the worship of his tongue, pushed her higher, higher, until her back was arching and her legs were closing around his head as if to trap him in place, her hands buried in his hair, the pleasure rushing through her as her pussy throbbed around his fingers.

Eventually, Emmett pulled away, licking his fingers clean, and came up over her to kiss her. "All right," he said with a cheeky grin. "Now I'm ready to go."

"Give me five minutes," Petra said, laughing breathlessly. "I think I'm probably a mess now."

"You're beautiful," Emmett said, kissing her again. The taste of herself mixed with the taste of him made her moan.

"None of that," he instructed, gesturing at his erection. "I've already got to go think about sports statistics for a while to make this go down. Don't you go making it worse with those noises, pretty girl."

"I could make it better," Petra offered with her own mischievous smile. "I mean, we're already late."

In the end, they arrived at Leo and Della's housewarming significantly after the party had begun.

Fortunately, there were enough guests there that no one really noticed their arrival, and when they did, it was just to welcome one of the two new Blue Crescent Betas and his Apex River partner, one of the only werewolves who lived in their territory but was not of the pack. Though initially she'd felt like an interloper in the territory, she'd quickly been integrated into Blue Crescent as much as a wolf from another pack could, and now she felt perfectly at home among her new friends and neighbors.

After Leo had named both Emmett and Raj as his Betas—a move that had raised some eyebrows in the werewolf community—Emmett and Petra had a long discussion about moving in together. As Beta, he couldn't live outside Blue Crescent territory, and Petra was hesitant to leave that of her own pack. In the end, she spoke to her Alpha, who assured her that if she moved one territory over, she would still be as valued as she had always been within the pack and able to contribute just as much. Though she had never admitted it out loud, it was clear to Petra that of their two houses, Emmett's had been the better choice. It was larger and had a bigger garden which, like the house, he was unwavering about keeping orderly. The truth was Emmett liked things just as organized as she did, and with very little effort, their lives had smoothly fit together.

Now their biggest challenge was ever managing to leave the house without being distracted by each other, of which today was a perfect example.

Looking around herself, basking in the glow of the sun and her satisfied body, Petra saw the community that had welcomed her so readily, as well as a few wolves from other packs, including her own. Remembering how she had been so determined to break the bond between herself and the man who now pressed a kiss into her hair, made her want to laugh.

This, her life now, was exactly where she was meant to be.

THE END