She stood before him for a moment, studying him as though trying to memorize every detail of the face she had decided belonged to her dream.
“You know,” she murmured, “I think I like this dream.” Her fingers rose once more, brushing gently through his hair before she smiled.
“Because you don’t look at me like I’m broken.”
Something shifted in Cassian’s expression.
“You aren’t broken, my dear.”
The certainty in his voice made her smile fade for a moment.
She lowered herself onto the edge of the bed beside him, her shoulder brushing against his arm as she leaned closer.
The invisible bond between them seemed to respond immediately, sending another gentle warmth through both of them.
Cassian felt his wolf stir beneath his restraint, but this time there was no demand, only recognition.
Lena rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“Then stay,” she whispered.
Cassian looked down at her, his expression softening as he realized that, for tonight, she was not asking for promises or explanations.
She simply did not want to be alone.
His hand settled gently over hers.
“I’ll stay.”
Outside, the rain continued to fall over the sleeping city, while inside the quiet hotel room, Lena finally allowed herself to forget Nathan, the Pairing Authority, and the future she had lost.
For a brief span that evening, she was not running from her heartbreak.
She was simply holding on to the one person who had appeared when she needed someone beside her most.
Lena stayed pressed against his side for only a few heartbeats before the wine and the lingering ache in her chest pushed her further.
She shifted, turning toward him on the mattress, then swung one leg over his thighs until she was straddling his lap.
The sudden change in position made the room tilt for a moment; she steadied herself with both hands on his shoulders and looked down at him through half-lidded eyes.
Cassian’s hands rose instinctively to her waist, not to pull her closer but to hold her steady.
“Lena—”
She cut him off by leaning in and kissing him again, deeper this time, messy and open-mouthed. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Her fingers threaded into his hair and tugged, angling his head so she could taste him more fully.
The bond flared hot and bright between them, flooding both of them with the same dizzying warmth that had followed the first kiss.
Cassian tried once more.
His grip on her waist tightened, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to create a small space between their bodies.
“You’re drunk,” he said against her lips, his voice rough.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Lena only smiled, the expression soft and stubborn.
She rolled her hips once, deliberately, feeling the hard line of him through their clothes.
The friction dragged a low sound from her throat.
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” she murmured.
“I want you.
Right now.
Don’t make me stop.” She kissed him again before he could form an answer, her mouth soft and insistent against his, tasting of wine and something warmer, more urgent.
The kiss deepened as her hands moved between them, fingers finding the button of his trousers with deliberate focus.
She worked it open, then the zipper, the metal teeth parting under her touch.
Cassian’s control slipped another notch.
His wolf surged forward, restless and demanding, and the scent of her arousal—sweet, open, already wet for him—made coherent thought nearly impossible.
Heat coiled low in his gut, sharp and insistent.
He caught her wrists, stilling her just long enough to speak.
“Lena.
Look at me.” She did.
Her eyes were glassy from the wine, dark with need, but the intent behind them was clear and unbroken.
She was not confused about what she wanted at the moment.
She was choosing the only comfort that felt real—choosing him.
Cassian held her gaze for another long second, searching for any flicker of hesitation, any shadow of doubt. New chapters come out on g.com first.
There was none.
Only need, loneliness, and the quiet, inexorable certainty of the bond pulling them tighter together with every breath.
His hands released her wrists.
The moment he let go, Lena finished opening his trousers and shoved the fabric down just far enough to free him.
He sprang heavy and warm into her palm, already fully hard, the head flushed and slick.
She stroked him once from base to tip, slow and deliberate, feeling the thick vein pulse under her fingers.
Cassian’s jaw tightened, and a low, almost involuntary growl rumbled from his chest, vibrating against her.
She rose onto her knees, the mattress dipping beneath her weight.
With one hand she pushed her own underwear aside, the damp fabric clinging for a moment before yielding.
Then she guided him to her entrance and sank down onto him in one slow, continuous motion.
The sudden stretch made her gasp—sharp, open-mouthed, her head falling back as her eyes fluttered closed.
She took him deeper by degrees, thighs trembling against his as her body adjusted around the thick length of him, until she was fully seated, impaled, her soft heat clenched tight around every inch.
For a moment neither of them moved.
The bond locked tighter still, heat flooding every nerve, every pulse point, as if their bodies had been waiting for exactly this.
Then Lena began to ride him.
She moved with a clumsy, urgent rhythm at first—lifting and dropping, rolling her hips so that every downward stroke dragged him against the places deep inside that made her shiver and clench.
The wet glide of her around him was exquisite, slick and perfect.
Cassian’s hands slid under her sweater, palms gliding up the bare, warm skin of her back, then lower to grip the soft curves of her ass.
“Lena…” he called her name, the single word rough with restraint.
“Shhhh…” She placed a finger across his mouth, silencing him as she continued to move.
She did not know why, but she only knew that if he opened his mouth again, he would still be asking whether she truly wanted this.
She did not want to hear that.