Chapter 334

Jackson snarls his possession and his want as he repositions himself, pressing the tip of his cock again at my entrance, his chest heaving with desire and restraint.

“Please,” I beg, shaking my head, sliding my hand down to his lower back and pressing urgently there. “Please, Jackson, I want it –“

He groans hard as any remains of his restraint breaks, as he allows his hips to shift forward, pressing into me truly for the first time. My head snaps back on my neck and the moan that breaks from me is loud, feral, as I feel him beginning to fill me. He moves slowly, holding back for my sake, not wanting to hurt –

But I groan, and shake my head, and lift my hips hard against him as I tighten the leg over his hip, forcing him forward – wanting more – wanting all of him –

Jackson gasps and then emits a hard, guttural groan as he slides all the way into me at last, filling me to the hilt, losing himself completely to the sensation. I cry out, panting, gasping and shaking at the way he fills me, how incredibly good it feels when I stretch to accommodate every thick inch of him, the insane pleasure that starts to build in my core and spread throughout my whole being.

Our bodies take over, my hips rising to meet Jackson at every stroke as he holds himself above me, drawing his hips back and starting to pulse and then – at my urging – to pound himself into me again and again. I’m gaspingly lost to it as Jackson takes a tight hold of my ass, pulling me close and angling me so that he thrusts even deeper, an act that has my head hanging back and my mouth muttering gibberish about more, and harder, and faster.

My mate obeys, snarling and giving me all of himself, so hard and steady and rough and tender that I forget who I am – forget that the rest of the world exists. Jackson’s hips slap hard into my ass as his cock presses again and again into a point within me that I didn’t even know was there, that has the growing, curling sensation within me quickly reaching it’s tipping point – ready to spill over.

“Go,” Jackson growls, and I lift my head just slightly, opening my eyes to meet his above me. “Break for me, Ariel.”

I moan as I obey my Alpha, as he slams himself into me and makes me shatter into a million pieces. Again and again the pleasure crashes through me, sweeping me away with it as I am suffused with light, as my toes curl, as my whole body goes tense and I gasp for breath, my head ripped hard to the side, baring my throat.

I feel it, then, his lips on my neck in that spot that he loves. And then the gentle press of his extended canines against it. I moan, long and heavy, pressing my neck towards him, my wolf howling for it – begging for his mark. “Please,” I whisper, begging.

Jackson’s teeth press sharp against my skin for a long moment, but then he pulls away. A warm lick of his tongue replaces his teeth as his pace increases still – and I turn my head back to him, confused – wanting it – wanting his mark –

But he presses hard into me again one last time, so deep and low that I feel myself break again as he reaches that point too. I feel him still as he roars, as he spills himself into me, thick and hot. My hips pulse up against Jackson as he comes to his end, urging my mate forward, wanting him as deep as he can go at this moment.

I cling to Jacks, my arms around his neck, my face buried against his shoulder, shuddering and shaking as I hold him through his own sensations, a rich feeling of rightness traveling throughout my entire body, suffusing it so that I’m sure I must be quite literally glowing.

Jackson collapses against me for a moment, but then quickly slips to the side, well aware of the fact that – as I pointed out earlier – I am a very small person and he could probably crush me with half a thought. He takes me with him, though, tugging me tight against his chest, wrapping me up in his warmth.

I rest my head against Jackson’s sweaty chest, my eyes closed, allowing myself to catch my breath, every inch of me aware of every inch of him. And I swear as I lay there that I lose all concept of the world around us – that nothing exists at all except my mate, and me, and this sense of completion that I feel.

I have no idea how much time passes. Neither of us say a word, just holding each other and breathing, I think trying to put our minds back together.

When I do finally find words again, the only thing I can think is…

God, fuck, that I’m…I’m going to need to do that again. And again and again and again.

Jackson starts to laugh a little, his head tucked down against my neck as he breathes deeply, catching his breath.

“What?” I murmur, lifting my head a little, curling my body even closer to his, wanting as much of me touching as much of him as possible. “What’s so funny?”

“I just…can hear every single one of your thoughts,” he murmurs, shaking his head and grinning at me.

I burst out laughing, giving him a lazy smack on the side even as I press a few fervid kisses to his cheek. “Well then I guess we’re lucky I liked it,” I murmur, tracing a hand long down his side, loving the shape of his muscles beneath my fingers.

He snarls, still possessive and wanting me near. “Told you I was made for you.” He pauses then, stroking a hand over my hair. “I’m glad you liked it. That’s…important to me.”

“Well, what about you?” I ask, lifting my head a little and peering down at him, still caught up in and enjoying very much the afterglow. “Did you like it?”

“Ariel,” he murmurs, looking up at me with half-lidded eyes, shaking his head and opening the bond more so I can feel precisely how incredibly happy he is right now, how simultaneously overwhelmed and peaceful. “If you think, for a single minute, that I’m not quietly plotting how to get you to quit this school and run away with me to live in a cabin in the woods for the rest of our lives, doing precisely that every waking moment…then you’re not nearly as clever as I’ve given you credit for.”

I laugh, smacking him a little and laying down again, snuggling up close. “We can’t do that,” I murmur. “We have stupid responsibilities.”

“Listen, I’m at your beck and call, Princess,” he murmurs, pressing a sweet kiss to my cheek. “The minute you say you’re ready to abandon those responsibilities and I’ll bail with you. Especially if we’re headed to that cabin.”

“You’re my Alpha,” I sigh, playing with his hair with my fingertips, my eyes drifting shut. “You call the shots now, apparently.”

“Yeah, I think we both know that that only applies in bed,” he says, his voice dry, making me laugh.

“Oh, you like being here at the Academy too,” I say with a happy sigh, winding my arm around his waist. “Sex cabin or no sex cabin, we both want to be here.”

He makes a huffy, noncommittal noise, but we both know it’s true. I smile softly.

We lay precisely like that for a few minutes longer, just holding each other, quietly passing our emotions back and forth along the bond, snuggling close. Jackson is playful and sweet in these moments, an abrupt change to the bossing controlling Alpha I took to bed, but not one I mind at all. They’re both different sides to my big, brutal, scary mate – sides just for me, which make them even better.

Little tingles of happiness trace through me as Jackson presses kisses to my forehead, my cheeks, my mouth - but when he trails the tip of his nose down my neck and presses a kiss again to that spot, I go a little still.

“What?” Jacks asks, pulling away a bit, of course noticing the change.

“Jacks,” I say, pulling away a bit and frowning at him. “Why…why didn’t you give me your mark?”

Jackson exhales, long and slow, but he doesn’t break eye contact with me. We sit for a moment in silence and I do my very best to be patient. Inside, though, my wolf dodges from toe to toe, anxious and unhappy to have been denied.

“I really wanted to, Ariel,” he whispers, reaching out and cupping my cheek in his palm.

“I really wanted you to,” I whisper back.

But still, he shakes his head. “Time wasn’t right.”

Dread floods me and I immediately shut down the bond, not wanting him to feel it as I remember what my grandmother said – that if I don’t get that mark that she’ll take him away. And after this?

Losing him?

Impossible – horrible – everything in me rages against it. Tears flood my eyes and I grit my teeth.

“Oh, god, please don’t cry,” Jackson murmurs, wrapping me up close. “I’m so sorry –“

“No, it’s okay,” I say, a little shaky, looping my arms around his neck. “I just…” I sniff. “I really wanted it, Jacks.”

He nods, understanding, and rests his forehead against mine. “I think…Ariel, I want you to have my mark more than anything. But if you have it, it will…change things for me. You will be mine, in my heart, and if I see another man touch you – even look at you…”

He hesitates now, not wanting to say Luca’s name in this moment, not wanting him in the bed with us after the incredible things that passed between us this afternoon – even in name, in spirit. But I nod, understanding.

“I mean…have things changed?” Jackson asks, I think doing his best to keep the hope out of his voice. “Did you…are you choosing to leave him behind, Ariel?” he asks, looking up at me from beneath his lashes.