In Passion

ESTELLA

My heart was swelling, filled to the brim with happiness. It felt like it was about to burst, and I was scared I wouldn’t be able to contain it.

I know it sounds over the top, but I’m not exaggerating. I was brimming with joy.

It felt like a dream.

And I was scared I’d wake up to find it wasn’t real: Max setting up a place for us (he didn’t admit it, but I knew it was true), telling me he wanted us to be together, and even having a plan…

It was a lot to take in, and since I couldn’t deny that I still loved him, I let myself enjoy his warm embrace. But only for a moment.

After a few minutes, I pulled myself together and got up from his lap. He didn’t try to stop me, which I appreciated.

I needed to clear my head after all that, so I started washing the dishes at a snail’s pace, trying to keep my emotions in check.

Then he was there, right behind me, kissing my neck and sending shivers down my spine.

How was I supposed to think straight when he was touching me like that? It was hard enough when he kept his hands to himself.

“Max,” I said, trying to pull away without making a mess in the kitchen.

Needless to say, I didn’t succeed at either.

“Yes, darling,” he murmured, his lips still on my skin.

He was making it harder and harder, and I had a feeling he was enjoying it. It wasn’t fair.

“Can you stop?” I pleaded.

“Not anymore, darling.”

“You’ve managed to do so for years if what you said is true,” I reminded him.

“It is true, and that’s exactly why I can’t hold back any longer. I need you. I always have.”

When he slipped his hand under my T-shirt, reaching for my breasts, I yelped in surprise, splashing foam everywhere.

“Shhhh,” he whispered in my ear, and my skin started to burn as if I had a fever.

“I have to rinse the plates,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Did I sound convincing? Not even to myself.

“Fuck the plates,” he growled, spinning me around to face him.

He didn’t let me protest anymore as he kissed me so deeply that my head started spinning.

In that moment, I decided that nothing mattered but being with him. Just like this.

I’d wanted this… well, I could exaggerate and say I’d wanted this my whole life, but I won’t.

I’ll say that I’ve dreamed of this since I first understood what desire and love meant.

So I kissed him back hungrily, and believe it or not, I even tore his T-shirt off with my soapy hands, touching every muscle I could reach, and Max had plenty of those.

After a few moments, he broke the kiss and looked from me to the torn cloth with a surprised look in his eyes. I bet he was shocked by my sudden display of strength.

“I think you’re overdressed, darling,” he finally said.

Without saying a word, I started undressing in front of him. Unlike the last time he’d seen me naked, I didn’t feel embarrassed or insecure. Quite the opposite.

If I do say so myself, I was quite seductive, and it had the desired effect. Dear, stoic Max was clenching his fists at his sides, ready to pounce.

And pounce he did.

In the blink of an eye, he had me perched on the counter with him kneeling between my legs.

If I weren’t so turned on, I would have blushed. It was something I’d never done before.

Laurent had tried a couple of times, but I was too ticklish down there, and I always ended up giggling and pushing him away.

But this wasn’t the time to think about Laurent.

All I’ll say is that I wasn’t ticklish when Max did it. In fact, it felt so incredible that if he hadn’t been holding me, I would have fallen off the counter during my climax.

I was seeing stars when it was over.

He nipped the inside of my thighs, making me yelp, and looked up at me. He looked more wolfish than I’d ever seen him in human form, and it did strange things to me.

I felt a sudden urge to devour him, if that makes any sense.

But he beat me to it, scooping me up in his arms and carrying me to the bedroom.

“Why not in the kitchen?” I pouted as we went upstairs.

“We’ll have time to try it out, darling.” He winked, and before I knew it, I was tossed onto the bed.

The way I bounced on the mattress made me giggle. I know it was the wrong time for it, but I couldn’t help it. Not that Max seemed to mind.

He was too busy undressing to join me on the bed, which was enough to stop my giggling.

I tried not to look shocked.

I mean, I’d felt him earlier, and I knew from descriptions (that I never asked to hear, mind you) that male werewolves were… well, anatomically enhanced.

But seeing it was something else.

“Don’t look so horrified, darling.” He chuckled.

“I’m not horrified,” I tried to scoff and failed. “I’m just a little surprised.”

“When has lying to me ever worked?” he asked as he crawled onto the bed, stopping inches away from me.

“Okay, fine. It’s a little scary now that I’m getting a proper introduction.”

“Did it kill the mood?”

“Hell no!” I blurted out. “I mean…”

“I know what you mean,” he murmured, pulling me by the ankle and kissing my calf softly.

He continued kissing up my leg and then my body until he was between my legs, his pelvis barely touching mine.

I reached up, wrapping my arms around his waist. I wanted him as close to me as possible, and he didn’t disappoint.

Without thinking, I pressed myself against him, causing a growl to rumble from his chest. A sigh of pure bliss escaped my lips, and we were just getting started.

His eyes seemed to darken, flickering with a silvery glow every now and then.

I don’t know why, but the idea of his wolf witnessing what we were about to do filled me with a strange kind of excitement. A little twisted, I know.

But when he finally entered me, I didn’t care who was watching. The entire pack could have been there, and I wouldn’t have given a damn.

I just felt everything. To the max (pun intended).

MAX

There were no tingles or sparkles when I made love to Estella for the first time.

Most of my kind claim to feel them. Even Delta once confessed that she felt them the first time with her mate.

In a rare moment of vulnerability, she admitted that she still felt them when she thought about their moments together or whenever they were close.

But it wasn’t like that for me. Not at all.

Instead, it was warm. So warm, as if waves of heat were radiating from our bodies, wrapping us in a cocoon.

It felt like we were melting into each other, being reborn. It was more than anything I could have ever imagined.

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. But I certainly didn’t anticipate seeing her wolf (who wasn’t supposed to awaken until I marked her) trying to surface.

During her climax, her eyes glowed a bright silver, causing my wolf to leap with excitement in my head, urging me to finally mark her.

But even in that state of euphoria, I wouldn’t do it without her consent. I turned the mating mark into a hickey and held her close as I thrust into her again and again.

There was no other place I’d rather be than inside her. So, I stayed and made love to her until we were both spent and fell asleep just as we were.

Naked, content, and finally one.