Chapter 164: No Place To Hide

FREYA -

Casey stayed still for half a breath after Freya pulled him down to her.

His lips touched hers, warm and careful, but she could feel the tension in his body long before she felt it through the bond. He was waiting for her to stop him, or to tell him that she'd changed her mind.

He wanted her to make the next step because that control mattered to her.

She knew that now. What she wanted was important to him, and that warmed something in her stomach.

Freya pressed closer and kissed him again, her fingers curling against the back of his neck. Her body knew him now. So did her wolf. Both reached for him through the bond with a certainty that would have scared her days ago, but not now. Beneath the Heat, beneath the need, her choice stayed strong.

Casey’s hands lifted to her waist, then stopped before they touched her. He pulled his mouth back enough to breathe against her.

“Freya.”

She opened her eyes and found his face close enough that she could see the strain in his jaw. His pupils were dark, his breathing uneven, but his hands still waited for permission at her sides.

The sight hit her harder than the kiss had.

Casey had the strength to make people lower their heads without saying a word, but he stood in front of her now like he thought she might disappear into smoke if he did the wrong thing.

Freya covered his hands with hers and guided them to her waist.

“I’m not asking you to stop,” she said.

His fingers tightened once. “I need you to be sure.”

“I am.”

His eyes searched hers, and she felt the question move through the bond.

Freya lifted one hand to his face. “You showed me the truth. Now let me show you mine.”

Casey’s breath shuddered out of him, and then he kissed her again.

It wasn't surprise, panic, or a bond snapping into place like in the locker room. It wasn't the desperate kiss from when she had come back shaking and half out of her mind in a Heat. This one belonged to her, and she wanted it.

The bond warmed beneath her ribs, and for the first time it didn't feel like a thread telling her what to do. It moved through her like something answering from the inside.

Even her wolf was pleased as she curled in on herself, covering her face with her tail.

Casey’s hand slid carefully along her back, and everywhere his fingers touched, sparks followed. Freya’s fingers tightened in his shirt as a moan slipped free and she pulled him closer until his chest touched hers. The sound he made against her mouth was rough enough to send a tremor down her spine.

Then his hand stopped, and she opened her eyes in time to see his gaze flick over to the Anchor.

Her chest tightened, but not from fear. From the ache of realizing that even now, with her mouth swollen from his and her hands on him, he was still trying to give her every way out if she wanted it.

Freya kissed the corner of his mouth, then his cheek, then the line of his jaw until his fingers dug into her waist like he was holding himself in place by touch alone.

“I want you.” The words were a whisper.

Casey’s control cracked enough that his forehead lowered to hers. His eyes closed, and the bond filled with him all at once. Hunger, love, fear, and relief tangled together until Freya’s knees weakened. He caught her before she could slip, one arm wrapping around her back while the other steadied her hip.

“Tell me to stop,” he said.

Freya shook her head and slid her hands to his shoulders. “I don't want you to stop.”

His eyes opened. “Tell me to slow down.”

Desire filled her very core at his comment. Not from the Heat, but from the image his words gave. “Casey, I want you.”

Only then did he pull her body flush against his.

Freya’s breath caught as his hands held her, and she wrapped her legs around him before embarrassment could make her stiffen. Casey carried her to the bed like she weighed nothing, but he set her down slowly, his body braced above hers without resting his full weight on her.

For a moment, he only looked at her.

The Heat made her skin ache, but the look in his eyes burned deeper. It was the same love she'd felt inside the bond, that he'd tried to hide.

Freya touched his cheek. “I felt it.” His brows drew together. “When you opened the bond. I felt how long... you’ve loved me.”

Casey’s jaw tightened, and for one second he looked like he wanted to look away, but Freya didn't let him. Her thumb moved once across his cheek, and his eyes stayed on hers.

“I love you too,” she said.

The words left her quietly, but they moved through the bond like a door unlocking. Casey went still above her, and then something in his face broke open in a way she had never seen before.

“Freya.”

She pulled him down and kissed him before her emotions could take over the moment. After that, everything that wasn't just the two of them disappeared.

Casey would occasionally stop the second her breathing changed, and Freya would pull him closer so their lips could touch. Every time she made sure he knew she was choosing him. She would show him with her hands, and the quiet yeses she gave him. And Casey answered slowly, reverently, like her choice was precious to him.

The Heat rose, but it wasn’t what took her. The bond burned brighter, but it wasn’t what made her moan. It carried them, warm and open, while Freya kept her eyes on Casey and gave herself to him because she wanted to.

When the bond finally settled, it didn't return to a tight, constant tugging. It was open and gentle.

Freya gasped against Casey’s shoulder as warmth flooded through her chest and spread through every place the thread had once ached. His body shook above hers, and his arms wrapped around her like he could keep both of them together as the world shifted around them.

Her wolf lifted inside her, calm and satisfied, and Casey’s wolf answered through the bond with a low, steady thrum that felt like... home.

Freya held onto him until her breathing slowed.

Casey’s face was tucked against her neck, his breath uneven against her skin. She was sore in a way she'd never been before and in places she didn't know could be sore, but it felt exactly right.

The bond no longer felt like something tied between them, but instead was something they'd chosen, even though the Anchor still hung from the lamp, untouched.

Casey lifted his head, and Freya saw the question before he asked it. She traced his face with the tips of her fingers. “I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered.

His eyes softened, and the bond warmed with him.

Freya pulled him back down, held him close, and let herself rest against her Mate.