"I've known it since the moment we first met. I tried to resist, tried to tell myself it couldn't be real, but eventually I had to face the truth. You are my mate." He took my hand and pressed it over his heart. "I think you know it too."
I nodded slowly, letting the certainty fill me. I'd felt something when we first met too, and every moment since, but for so long it had been a constant struggle between my feelings for Kaden and the mate bond's pull toward Jordan. I'd never been able to fully trust what I felt for Kaden because in the background Jordan was always there. Knowing he was my brother, and that the mate bond was all a lie, removed that barrier to some degree. I couldn't wait 'til I was completely free of the mate bond and could be with Kaden fully, without hesitation or fear of the future.
Kaden looked down at me, and in his eyes, I saw red hot possessive desire. I was helpless to resist as his hands slid up my waist. It had been days since he'd touched me like this, and I craved it like I craved food or water. As he lowered his head to claim my mouth, I softened against him instantly, melding my body to his. I’d never had something feel quite so right in my life. Mate, mate, mate, my soul hummed, growing louder than the mate bond for once, and I finally decided to listen to it.
Kaden’s hand found my hair and wove the strands through his fingers. I moaned at the slight pressure and reached up to press my hands against his naked chest. His skin was hot beneath my fingertips despite the cool night air around us, and I pressed myself closer against him. He was already hard, the hot line of his cock nudging against my hip, and I ground against him a little. Tiny shocks of pleasure went through my body at the promise of what was going to happen next.
Kaden broke away with a growl and took the hem of my shirt in his hands. I lifted my arms obediently, letting him strip me, and then shucked my own jeans off. Once I was naked, Kaden’s eyes skimmed over my body. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the way he looked at me, like he couldn't get enough, and never would.
“Off,” I said, pushing at his jeans.
Kaden arched an eyebrow. “A little demanding tonight, aren’t we?”
“It's your fault for doing that sexy lumberjack routine."
Kaden chuckled low in his throat and dropped his jeans, springing his cock free. I watched, each inch of bared skin taking my breath away. He was so beautiful, each line of his body perfectly sculpted as if by the moon goddess herself. The starlight reflected off his skin, and I wanted to reach out and trace the areas where light faded into shadow and map out every inch of his body to my touch.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I might not be able to hold myself back,” he said.
He tilted my chin up and leaned down to kiss me once more, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, needing to touch him to make sure he really was here, out on this lake with me. Kaden growled into my mouth as he wrapped his arms around my waist and tipped me over, lowering us both to the ground. The jolt of my back hitting the grass was enough to displace Kaden’s lips from mine, but when I went to kiss him again, he pushed me back down with a firm hand.
I spread my legs, letting him settle in between them, pressing close enough that I felt the heat of his cock against my inner thighs. He looked down at me, the hunger in his eyes echoing the deep, pulsing thrum that had started up in my core.
The hand that had pushed me down traced along the front of my body, moving across my breasts, making my nipples hard. Each finger left a trail of fire in its wake, as he moved down, down, down.
“You’re so responsive,” he murmured, fingers just inches from where I actually wanted them.
I shifted my hips, trying to chase that feeling, to get him to touch me where I needed him.
Kaden’s eyes flicked up to mine, a mischievous glint present even in the stark light. "Tell me what you need."
“Fuck me, Kaden.” He was so close, so willing to give, and yet here he was, teasing me.
“I like it when you ask nicely,” Kaden said. “You have such a mouth on you, it’s hard to remember you can be reduced to this as well.”
His fingers slipped inside of me, making me gasp. I was so wet that there wasn’t the slightest bit of resistance. My hips bucked, trying to get more friction, and he pushed me down with his other hand, holding me in place as he slowly pistoned his fingers in and out in a steady rhythm. I moaned as pleasure began flickering inside of me, but I wanted more, I wanted everything Kaden had to offer.
Kaden lowered his head between my thighs and slid his tongue along my clit, and the sudden burst of pleasure made my hips buck up to meet his mouth. He began fucking me with his fingers in earnest, while he sucked on my clit, and I shuddered at the feelings rushing through me. I wanted him inside of me, but I wasn’t going to object to this. He was incredibly talented with his hands and tongue, that much I knew already. The pleasure built steadily, an ache that bloomed out in a wave of heat throughout my whole body. Kaden hummed against my clit in approval as he continued fucking me with his fingers. He enjoyed pleasuring me, and that made it so much hotter.
The pressure built, and the closer I got, the more he upped the pace. I was almost screaming by the time my release came, my fingers digging so hard in Kaden’s biceps I had no doubt I was breaking the skin. He didn’t stop, fingers working me through my orgasm, tongue stroking my clit, bringing wave upon wave of pleasure.
Then Kaden lifted himself up, while my body still trembled from what he'd just one to me. “Now I think you’re ready for me to fuck you."
"Yes, please." Even though I’d just come, my pussy clenched from the anticipation.
Kaden kneeled above me like a dark god, stroking his cock slowly, while he looked down at me like I belonged to him, and no one else. “I’m going to claim you right here, under the stars and the moon for all the gods to see,” he said, his voice edging into a growl. “You’re mine, now and forever.”
Mine. I shivered at the word as it wrapped around my heart.
Kaden lowered himself to me, and with one smooth stroke, he filled me completely. His hands grabbed my wrists and yanked them up, holding me down as he began to thrust into me. I couldn't move at all, completely at his mercy as he pinned me down and claimed me, over and over.
“I’m yours,” I whispered. “Any way you want me.”
Kaden growled, and on the next downstroke, his mouth found mine and he plunged his tongue between my lips. I could feel Kaden’s possessiveness with his kiss and with the way his cock pulsed inside me.
He pulled back suddenly and lifted my legs up over his shoulders, changing the angle so he hit me even deeper. I gasped as he entered me again, feeling impossibly stretched and full.