Chapter 180: Greedy for him

Three days of a dense, hypnotic haze and relentless, mind-blowing pleasure blurred together in my throbbing mind into one endless, dizzying whirlwind.

Every single hour had been woven from the heady scent of my Alpha and the deep, rumbling timbre of his voice, which had soaked into my very skin. From his commanding, possessive hands—relentlessly demanding, yet infinitely tender—that left not a single inch of my body untouched.

I had lost all sense of where I ended and he began. We had simply dissolved into one another, burning down to ash in that hungry, primal flame.

Surfacing back into the real world proved physically taxing. Resting limply against his broad, slick chest within the deep porcelain tub filled with warm water, I felt only a heavy, satiated fulfillment and a quiet, absolute harmony.

Serenity coursed through my veins alongside my blood.

Magnus’s heavy, searing palm slid over my bare shoulder with lazy, animalistic ease, tracing down my waist to curve over my hip. Yet these slow, deliberate touches no longer held that raw, mind-shattering frenzy. There was only a profound, protective tenderness and the contented affection of a predator who had finally sated his hunger.

Beneath my cheek, his heart maintained a steady, soothing cadence—the sweetest lullaby in existence.

"You’ve gone very quiet," he hummed softly, his chest vibrating with a low chuckle that coaxed a raspy laugh from my own lips. "It feels almost unusual not to hear the sound of your bright voice after all that exploding magnificence."

Look at that—my formidable mate was actually making jokes.

"You ran me ragged, Mr. Alpha. You didn’t even stop to consider how I’m supposed to recite my vows at the altar tomorrow with a shredded voice. Absolutely no one will hear me," I murmured, slowly raising my head. I glided my wet nose playfully along his chest before looking straight into his grey eyes.

He smiled broadly—a rare, uninhibited grin. In those eyes, usually as cold as steel, lay such an uncovered pool of warmth and genuine amusement that everything felt, for a fleeting moment, like a breathtaking dream.

"The only thing that matters is that I hear you swear to be mine forever," he drawled, his lips curving into a wicked smirk. "That I hear you promise to delight me every single day with the sight of your exquisite, naked body. That I hear you scream only my name in ecstasy and tell me how much you love my cock... Let everyone else turn a blind eye. They can preserve their fragile little minds."

"I did not say that!" A sudden wave of heat scorched my cheeks at his shameless words, setting me trembling.

I couldn’t recall whispering such filthy confessions aloud. Then again, I had lost control of my body too many times over those three days, drifting completely out of reality into an ocean of pure instinct.

"You did, my soul. And trust me, that was by far the mildest thing you screamed into my ear," Magnus chuckled softly, the vibration running through his chest. "Though my personal favorite was when you begged me to take you harder and knot you... If I had only known how badly you craved that node—"

I slapped a wet palm over his mouth, utterly unable to listen to any more of his ungodly filth, even as everything inside me fluttered with wild, shameless joy.

I believed him.

I believed every word, because my newly awakened self was hopelessly, madly obsessed with her mate. She was ready to sing his praises and purr beneath him without stopping for a single second.

And she was insatiably greedy.

Greedy for him. Now, she and I were one indivisible entity; I could no longer tell where her primal instincts ended and my human thoughts began. A little more time, once the chaotic storm of hormones settled after my first heat, and we would fully fuse into a single, harmonious bond.

Magnus pressed a soft kiss to the palm resting over his mouth. Taking my hand gently in his, he pulled it away and looked into my eyes with sudden gravity.

"Never be ashamed of yourself or your true desires, Jane. I stand ready to fulfill every single one with absolute devotion. To be meticulous in everything that concerns my beloved woman."

A hot rush rippled through my relaxed body at his words, settling heavy as lead in my lower belly. The dull, tender ache between my thighs still lingered, yet I felt a sweet, responsive clench deep within at the mere sound of his voice, throbbing anew with building need.

And then I felt him. I felt his length growing hard and heavy once more, pressing purposefully against my stomach.

Slowly, I trailed my hand down his broad chest, watching with deep satisfaction as the storm-grey sky of his eyes darkened into pitch black. My palm slid past his sculpted abdomen, wrapping confidently around his root, establishing a slow, rhythmic stroke.

Magnus sucked in a sharp breath through gritted teeth, his fingers tightening in my wet hair while his other hand glided down my thigh—reaching the place that was now slick not merely from the bathwater, but from the desperate desire rekindling inside me to become one with him again.

I pulled my hand back from his rock-hard length and, bracing my palms against his solid torso, smoothly lifted myself up to ride him. Magnus watched me from below with raw, primal hunger. His gaze glided greedily over my wet breasts, over my bruised, bitten neck, before his hands clamped hard around my hips, holding still as he waited for me to guide him inside.

We hadn’t tried this position once over those three agonizingly sweet days. He hadn’t relinquished control even once during my heat—dominating, commanding, taking—and now a light, nervous flutter rose in my chest. Yet it dissolved the second my eyes met his.

I felt that unyielding, possessive grip, his long fingers digging into my skin with enough force to leave marks.