THE AWAKENING

Cassandra awoke slowly from a delicious dream, one that made her body yearn for Tieran in a way that made her want to cry with frustrated desire.

But as her eyes fluttered open, she realized she was not alone. Her frightened startle quickly turned to gasps of pleasure as Tieran’s mouth closed over exposed nipple.

“What are you doing?” she asked, twisting and raising her arms above her head to give him better access.

“Making love to my True Mate,” he murmured in answer, nuzzling her soft skin and moving to the next nipple. “We’ve gone too long without touching and I aim to rectify that if you are willing.”

“God yes, I’m willing,” she said in a breathy moan, so grateful. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’m sorry my head wasn’t clear. If I’d listened to my heart I never would’ve been confused,” he admitted quietly, pausing as he humbled himself before her.

Her heart sang to hear him admit that she was the one, not Serra.

“Never again will I give you cause to question my love and admiration.” Tears trickled down Cassandra’s face and he wiped them away, pressing his mouth against hers, coaxing her mouth open with the soft touch of his tongue.

Their tongues tangled and danced, sliding against one another as they linked hands, drawing out the tension between until it was near unbearable.

This was what she’d craved and been missing with Tieran. She felt the difference in his touch, the way he held her reverently, tenderly, as if he were afraid of losing something precious and dear.

“Tieran,” she cried, burying her face against his neck as he maneuvered her gently to her side, mindful of her swollen belly.

He caressed her stomach, splaying his large hands across her midsection, palming the life housed within her body. Her heart felt full to bursting with a previously unknown emotion and it both frightened and exhilarated.

She didn’t know how this would all end, but she knew if she had Tieran by her side, it would be all right. She rolled away from him and presented her backside to him, knowing he couldn’t lie on top of her due to her size.

When he hesitated, unsure, she nodded. “I need you, Tieran. The babies will

you around me this instant, I might have a heart attack.” He

pearled at the sensual invasion and she groaned at the pleasure of being deliciously

every plane on his body as he grew in size, half-beast,

against a pleasure spot that immediately made her pant with need, arching her back like a cat in

the veins in his neck to bulge. “I want to bury myself so

up to her, cupping her breasts from behind as he slowly made love to her

it wasn’t enough. She made a sound of frustration and rolled

she positioned herself on her hands and knees, lifting her backside to

the sight of her heart-shaped ass and her softly furred woman’s folds parted in dewed invitation, he couldn’t restrain

and plunging inside her again, this time, going balls deep. Cassandra moaned and closed her eyes as waves of

he gripped her tight, rocking her body as he built a heart-pounding rhythm. The fleshy head of his cock rubbed her pleasure spot perfectly, creating a

possible of Tieran into herself, needing him as much as he

plateau first, shocked by the keening sound that ricocheted from her chest as she came with

sweet essence, bathing her core with slippery liquid that only further cemented their bond both

and shaken by what they’d experienced. Several moments passed where nothing but the sound of their harsh breathing

Tieran was her True Mate and she was his. She didn’t need to see inside his mind to know he

what she saw — a man who was more than a man and entirely hers. Cassandra’s smile reflected

giddily. For the first time in her life she felt as if she belonged. “I never realized I was waiting my entire

stray strands of hair drifting toward her face. “Too bad I was so reluctant to admit what my

say your mother called you the most stubborn of her pups,” Cassandra quipped, eliciting a rueful chuckle from Tieran. She slid her hand down her

will make them perfect,

huh? Already the proud