Chapter Eleven.

Flynn's POV

I should have told him to stop. My pride whispered it, my fear screamed it—but the moment his knuckles grazed my collarbone, the words died in my throat, and my brain conceded to the desires of my body.

No one had ever touched me like this. Not with reverence. Not with patience. Not with this quiet kind of hunger that felt as though I was so special.

He was careful. Too careful. The cloth trailed along my arm in slow strokes, down over the fragile bones of my wrist, the back of my hand, dipping into the water before rising again. My breath betrayed me, coming uneven, like each stroke tugged something raw inside me so when the kiss came, I couldn't hold back.

I tried to search his eyes as he kissed me gently but his eyes were closed.

Somehow, I felt safe around him. I couldn't explain it but my wolf always dropped her protective shield anytime he was close by. It felt like her saviour was around and she didn't have to bother.

His lips, I couldn't deny, were warm and felt so good against mine—It was soft, uncertain, yet answering every unspoken pull between us.

At first, it went gently. Ray took my upper lip, then the lower one before twisting his tongue with mine. But now, it was more passionate. He kissed me so hungrily like a starving man who just found food.

Fionna and I could feel his wolf growling but not in anger but a deep possession of desire. I too let out a moan and before I caught myself with the turn of events, Ray joined me in the bathtub, body to body, skin to skin.

“I need you,” Ray let out, his voice hoarse and almost inaudible. “But if you want me to stop, say so.”

Heat surged through me. My wolf howled inside me, but it wasn’t out of fear. It was recognition. It was want.

I looked at him, this time his eyes were open and staring at me hungrily, not to harm me in the way those drunken bastards were about to but he stared at me with so much gentleness despite the desires.

Not saying a word, I closed my eyes and instead of recoiling, I leaned forward, my fists clinging to his damp shirt as though he were the only thing keeping me afloat. His taste hit me—wild, smoky, dangerous—and I craved more before I even knew what I was doing.

The hunger frightened me. No one had warned me it could feel like this, like fire eating me alive and still leaving me begging for more but, I loved it, I loved the way I felt. I didn't fight it, so did my wolf.

The steam curled around us, thick and fragrant, carrying the faint scent of oils the maids must have poured into the bath. It wrapped us in warmth, but none of it compared to the fire that licked at my skin with every brush of Ray’s hand.

“We must stop,” I began to think, zoning out of the moment.

“Damn, Flynn? Seriously?? Now?” I heard my wolf smack in disappointment. “This is not the time to think, girl. We can do that later.”

“Aren't we supposed to know if he can be trusted?” I answered back, my harm alarm in my brain kicking off for the first time.

I sensed Fionna roll her eyes.

“I would know that, won't I?

Between the back to back conversation, Ray sensed I was off, to bring my attention back, his lips left mine and began to trail down the curve of my neck. Teasing my nerves in untamed passion as he moved down and stopped at my bosom.

A moan slipped out, shocking me with how shameless it sounded. I wanted to swallow it back, but his answering growl only made me tremble harder, tightening my grasp around him. Ray, feeling the delicate tremor of my muscles, smiled. He sure was enjoying the play.

“You don’t know what you do to me,” he rasped against my skin as he teased me around my nipples, his breath ragged, his control fraying.

I didn’t answer—at least not in words. I, too, was so caught up that my throat felt numb.

His wide eyes searched mine again, filled with something that made the harm alarm in my brain grow numb too. That look… it was permission without saying the word, need without asking.

No doubt, I wanted him. I wanted more of his hands, his mouth, his heat pressing into mine. The realization terrified me, but instead of running, I clung to him.

Immediately, Ray's wolf came to the surface. His eyes turned golden-yellow just like the day he rescued me from my clan.

For a moment, he stopped. I can't say if it was to tease me further or if he was rethinking before he crossed the line but he gazed at me taking in all the images of me before hungrily, but patiently pulling me backwards and taking my nipples in his mouth as his hands slid down my arms, mapping every inch of me and pulling me closer until there was no space between us.

I gasped, my body shivering at the sensation. My heart hammered so loud I thought it would burst.

I opened my eyes, I wanted to have pictorial memories too.

The steam from the bath curled around him, clinging to the strands of his hair, painting his skin in a warm glow. I have never seen a man shine this bright ever before. I liked the way he held unto me, possessive but gentle.

My eyes traced the water droplets sliding down his back as he bent over each one a spark to tinder. I was barely holding back.

For the first time, my wolf didn't let him do all the action, she took over without permission and. titling my neck forward, we hungrily planted my lips on his neck. Ray let out a soft growl. He tasted like something dangerous and necessary all at once. My wolf and I were perfectly aligned, united in one thought and that was when we both realized in shock. “He is our mate.”

We both shivered when we realized Ray wasn't at my nipples anymore but down between my thighs. Lifting it over his hip, and pinning me to him he gave me one last stare as if to confirm if it was a green light or not.

The pressure made me gasp, heat flaring between my legs so strong I thought I might shatter. My wolf didn't help, she pressed at the edge of my skin, clawing to get out, to merge with his.

I should have been terrified. Instead, I wanted to surrender.

His mouth trailed back to my neck, lips tracing the curve, teeth scraping, finding the place where my pulse hammered hardest.

And then I felt it—his canines lengthening, pressing against my skin.

He was about to mark me.

My wolf roared inside me, pushing forward, begging for it. My body arched, offering, trembling with need I had never imagined I was capable of.

His breath hitched as he pressed harder, just on the brink of piercing my skin, of binding us forever—

And then, before he could go on to mark us, a loud bang landed on the door.

“RAY!”