Chapter 168: Ruin the moment

His scent hit me with the force of a sledgehammer, instantly shattering any attempt to gather my scattered thoughts. The world narrowed down to the taste of his lips, igniting a feral fire deep in my core. His powerful body pressed against mine as if he were trying to erase the very boundary between us—until there was no "him" and "me," only us.

He kissed me with raw, ravenous hunger. Deeply. Devouring me as though he intended to swallow me whole, sending a breathless tremor skittering across my skin with every passing second. My nipples hardened painfully against the fabric of my t-shirt, and a heavy, molten wave of desire crested within me. I didn’t want to fight it; I didn’t want to think. I only wanted to drown in him—to drown completely in this beautiful madness.

"Missed me?" he rumbled against my lips. His scalding breath scorched my skin, and the low, resonant vibration of his wolf’s voice sent another shiver coursing down my spine.

The meaning of his words barely cut through the hazy fog in my brain, but when it finally registered, a soft smile touched my lips.

"Yes... so much," I breathed out, sliding my hands up his broad shoulders. Beneath my palms, his dense muscles pulsed with lethal strength—a power that could shatter bones effortlessly, yet held me with painstaking care, as if I might break under a fraction too much pressure.

"Jane..."

He growled low in his chest, a sound so primal it made my legs go utterly weak even while seated on the freezer lid. His fingers tangled in my hair, tightening to tilt my head back and expose the delicate line of my throat. He claimed it immediately, pressing his hot lips against the sensitive skin beneath my ear.

A sharp, electric thrill shot through my body, mingling with the fever raging inside me. When his other hand slid down to cup my hip and pull me flush against him, a soft gasp caught in my throat—the firm, unmistakable press of his erection between my thighs was overwhelming.

"You look fucking incredible," he rasped right into my ear, nipping gently at my earlobe. Every word seared my skin just as deeply as his kisses. "But if you keep bending over like that in the kitchen, our cook is going to end up blind, crippled, and living off my disability checks."

A fleeting mental image of Derek with a white cane and dark sunglasses in the kitchen flickered on the edge of my mind, only to dissolve instantly under another surge of intense heat. My breasts throbbed from the friction of my shirt, and the ache between my legs pulsed so fiercely I could feel the tension inside me winding up to a breaking point. A few seconds more, and I would lose my mind completely.

"I don’t see what Derek’s eyes have to do with anything..." I gasped out, straining upward to catch his lips, craving the touch of his mouth like oxygen.

"If I catch anyone staring at you," he growled between ragged breaths, his fingers digging possessively into my waist, "I’ll destroy them. You are my mate, and every single curve of your body is forbidden territory for anyone else’s thoughts. They better keep their eyes glued to the floor when you walk by."

A wave of goosebumps rippled over my skin as his words landed, pulling everything inside me into a tight, aching knot. He smelled heavily of arousal—it hung in the air between us, thick as smoke, blending with my own scent to create a head-spinning cocktail. I was on the verge of snapping, ready to let him take me right here on the freezer.

"Magnus..." I whispered, resting a palm against his cheek, feeling the rough stubble and the tight set of his jaw. In that moment, I wanted only one thing: for him to never stop.

"Mooooom! Daaaaad! Everything’s getting cold out here!"

Matthias’s loud yell, packed with pure outrage and impatience, shattered the quiet pantry air so violently I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Magnus swore softly under his breath. He gently lifted me down off the chest freezer, holding me steady until my feet found the floor, before grabbing the forgotten tub of ice cream from the edge.

"How on earth do people with kids ever manage to make more kids?" he muttered darkly while I struggled to get my breathing back under control. "They’re always right there. Constantly ready to ruin the moment."

I barely managed to suppress a nervous laugh. My brain hadn’t quite returned to reality yet, and my body was still humming from his touch.

We stepped back out into the kitchen, and the first thing that caught my eye was Derek’s unusually pale face. Setting a cup of tea in front of me and a fresh coffee in front of Magnus, the cook studiously avoided making eye contact. But from the way he had suddenly turned laser-focused on his tasks, I knew with absolute certainty that he had heard every single word.

Heat scorched my cheeks like an open flame.

"Did you bake this?" Magnus asked softly, picking up a piece of the apple pie as if nothing out of the ordinary had just transpired in the pantry.

"I did," I nodded, spooning a generous scoop of ice cream onto Matthias’s warm slice while doing my absolute best to pretend nothing was amiss. "I thought you didn’t like sweets..."

"From your hands, I’ll eat anything," He stated simply, before taking a bite.

His words slipped straight into the deepest corners of my soul, triggering a sudden rush of warmth and embarrassment. I couldn’t even put a name to the emotion swelling inside my chest—it felt like a massive avalanche, sweeping away everything in its path.

***

Stepping out of the car, I stretched my aching back muscles after the long drive and took in our surroundings. We had been driving for so long that the road had blurred into a single endless ribbon, and Magnus hadn’t uttered a single word about our destination the entire time.

He had simply gotten behind the wheel, instructed me to get in, buckled my seatbelt, and pulled away.

Now, an open field stretched out before us. Endless, bathed in brilliant sunlight, its yellowing grass swaying under a gentle breeze. It made the earth itself look like it was breathing in calm, steady rhythm—a stark contrast to the frantic flutter in my chest.

"Magnus, are we—" I turned toward him, finally ready to demand an answer, but the words cut off in my throat.

He was beside me before I could even blink. Reaching out, he gently yet firmly cupped his hands over my eyes. In a fraction of a second, the world dissolved into a warm darkness, leaving only his hands and his voice behind.

"Don’t look," he murmured, his lips practically brushing my ear. "Just walk. I’ve got you."