23. Treasured moments

**MAEVE**

My mind backpaddled to that night two years ago when I had the vision of the wolf—the brown fur flashing in and out of my sight. And then last night when Xander shifted. I was both mesmerized and horrified by the sheer enormity of his size and transformation.
Was I truly destined for Xander?
The connection, the love, and the pull towards him…are these all real? I had no doubt that I was drawn to him before, much before I discovered his secret and now that I was aware of things, I was not completely repulsed. It surprised me too, but that was the truth.
Xander tugged me closer to his chest. I intently listened to his heartbeats. The realization that they were beating for me was like a balm to my ragged soul. The connection we shared was overwhelming - an enrapturing of the body and soul.
Sighing, I was starting to get up when Xander halted my actions. “What happened?”
“I badly need to get out of this thing,” I said, pointing at the scrubs I have been wearing. After the incident, I was so shaken that I barely changed the clothes. And when Xander appeared before me, everything tosses and turned on its own.
The fierceness of his glowing eyes, followed by the revelation, caught me by surprise. And now, when the adrenaline receded back, the tiredness crept in.
Xander held me while I stood and rose along with me. “Come, I will help you, kitten.”
Why did the childish nickname felt so endearing? For heaven’s sake, I was a grown up, and yet the desire to be loved burned so bright that I instantly melted into his touch.
“Okay.”
My bedroom was unkempt, precisely the way I had left it before I rushed to the hospital. As someone who has lived alone all her life, I was not high on home décor. In fact, I sucked at it. My sense of aesthetics was exceedingly terrible, and I liked my furniture ancient.
But, right now, I felt deeply embarrassed when Xander’s gaze landed on a heap of discarded clothes over the ottoman.
Note to self: do the laundry next time before I bring a hot guy over.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, quickly reaching over to stack them somewhere else. The second I turned, my body clashed against his hard wall of muscles, and his base instinct caught me from stumbling back.
“Relax, you don’t have to worry about those.” He tapped my nose playfully, but the small ghost of a smile rapidly vanished. Instead, a scowl took its place as Xander gently stroked the corner of my lips. The split lip was something relatively minor and was swollen full.
“It’s nothing,” I dismissed, trying to lighten his scowl.
Xander did not say anything, emitting only a low-slung growl and harsh slather of breath. The beast in him was roused up and wanted nothing more to howl the way I have seen him that night near the woods.
“Please, let it go,” I whispered, taking his chiseled face into my hands.
The leathery musk off him was almost like an addicting drug, pulling me closer like a gravitational force.
“I will try.”
Taking a couple of steps back, he took the hem of my scrubs and pulled over. The pants were next, leaving me in my undergarments. It surprised me how easily I have slipped into my comfort zone in front of him.
“Come,” he beckoned as I followed him to the bathroom.
I dazedly watched his man fill in the tub, adjusting the temperature and turning around to fetch me. And through this all, the restraint in him was palpable. Xander was as aroused as I was, and yet he put me ahead of himself.
His fingers lightly brushed my back before unclasping the bra and letting it fall down to the floor. On instinct, my arms crossed over my chest. The waistband of my panties was no exception, either. The caress of his touch along my skin danced, driving me closer and closer to a state of bliss.
“So beautiful,” he breathed against my skin. The touch trailed down my spine, catching each of my globes in his hands.
Xander guided me towards the water-filled tub and helped me settle into it as the warm, lavender-scented water engulfed my body. For the first time, the bruised skin came in contact with soap, and I immediately winced before I could stop. The realization that the hidden bruises around the ribs were not as frivolous as I thought hit me hard.
“I have half a mind to tear that man apart,” Xander gritted out as he stelled into the edges.
“Don’t do it,” I implored. The last thing I wanted for him was to end up on the wrong side of the law. “He has already been arrested anyway,” I said, leaning back.
“That is not very comforting to hear.”
I did not say anything and merely absorbed into the divine pleasure of the moment. All this while, he helped me relax into the bath, soaping each corner and crevice of my body with the utmost gentleness he could afford. Once completed, he wrapped my body in a huge towel and led out of the bathroom.
This moment…whatever it was between us felt surreal as well as obvious. It was no secret that Xander and I have been attracted to each other. But watching him fight the inner battle almost tore me apart.
Unable to structure the words, I turned him around by the shoulder and smashed my lips against him. Yes, it did hurt, but the warmth of his mouth compensated well.
“Please, Maeve,” he rasped as if holding on to the last thread of control. “Please.”

**XANDER**

Everything about this moment, everything about her was addictive. My mind was a blur of thoughts and surging emotions as I unclothed and bathed her. A fierce hunger pulsated through cell and muscle.
My wolf howled inside my brain.
Claim her.
Mark her.
And yet, I had to consider it. Maeve was no shifter. She might have been linked to the witches, but her body was purely human. And no way she could endure the libido of a horny wolf who was going to take the mate for the first time.
I had no intention to mark her right now, respecting the vow I made to give her time and space as required. But fates, I was torn apart by the blazing need.
I kept saying the word ‘please,’ not knowing whether I wanted to ravage her or prevent it from happening.
“Xander, please talk to me,” she whispered in that same honeyed voice. “You look like you will explode now.”
“I do,” I replied throatily. “I want to have you, taste you…and I don’t know if I can be gentle.”
Maeve closed whatever little distance we had, plastering her body against mine with the veil of towel between us. “You won’t hurt me. I know that.”
Her naivety made me chuckle a little. Maeve has no idea of the depth of my lust for me. And that little restraint I held on to snap like a twig when her skin touch mine.
With one hard yank, I snatched the towel off her body and backed her against the bed. Maeve flattened her back on the mattress as I straddled her naked body. For the second time tonight, her arms clasped over her generous breasts, but I was hungering for more this time.
“No.” I took her hands away, pinning above her head with one hand. Leaning down, my mouth closed over one of her nipples. Maeve jolted, letting out a bedraggled moan.
“You. Are. Mine. To. Take,” I growled. Everything about her body was sinful and delicious, that would remain with me for a while. The wolf in me was alive and on fire, every muscle tensing as I prepared to ravage her.
Testing her reactions, my hand slid down between her legs and unmistakably found her dripping. Fuck. Every sense of mine was heightened, creating a hard hammering of my heart that I didn’t know how long I would resist her.
“Xander…” Her voice croaked and then gasped as I drove two fingers into her channel. My cock was at the point of sheer agony, the pre-cum leaking in abundance.
Maeve buckled her hips on her own, demanding more than what I was giving her.
“Patience, kitten,” I smiled as I hurried the fingers in and out.
The sight of her writhing under my touch was intoxicating. All I wanted to do was fuck her – hard and fast like the savage I was.
Pulling back, I roughly shoved down my jeans and drove inside her in one hard thrust. There was no holding back. There was no gentle way to make her the first time. And Maeve, for her part, could not stop the raging climax either. By the time we crashed against the bed, sweat and hormones coated us inside out.
I claimed what mine, and mine alone.
*There was just one thing that remained – Maeve would be marked, and she would rightfully be mine and forever.*

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