The gentleness.
In a life where violence and territory and blood wars reigned, it was nice to have a reprieve. A tender lover's touch.
The human side of him craved this.
It craved her.
Bride bit her bottom lip as Vane nudged her legs apart. His breath scorched her thighs. He closed his eyes and laid his head against her thigh as if he were savoring just being with her. The tenderness of that action brought a lump to her throat.
She ran her fingers down his stubbled cheek, letting the manly feel warm her even more. He nipped her fingers playfully.
She smiled down at him until he nudged her legs farther apart and took her into his mouth. Bride hissed in pleasure as her legs went weak.
It was all she could do not to fall. He devoured her. There was no other word for it. He licked and teased until her head spun, and when she came for him, it was forceful and deep. Bride cried out as her body was turned inside out by his touch.
Vane growled at the sound of her pleasure, at the taste of it. Like all males of his kind, he took pride in her orgasm. There was nothing sweeter than hearing the screams of a lover climaxing. Nothing sweeter than knowing a male could fulfill the female.
He kissed his way up her body slowly until he was again on his feet. She looked up at him with awe shining bright in the amber depths of her eyes. He took her hand into his and led it to his throbbing erection.
Bride swallowed as she sank her hand deep into the denim. His short, crisp hairs teased her fingers as she found what she sought. He growled deep in his throat like a wild animal as she wrapped her hand around the hard length of him. The man was huge and he was already wet and straining.
Cupping her face, he kissed her passionately while she stroked him. Her body thrummed with heat at the thought of having his hard cock deep inside her.
He pulled away from her, then quickly jerked his boots off. Bride held her breath as he reached for his fly and unzipped it.
She watched in a passion-numbed daze as he slid his pants down and she caught her first sight of him in all his glory.
Commando!
There was nothing sexier than a man who dared to wear nothing under his clothes. Then again, there was nothing sexier than the man in front of her.
He was bold and commanding. Wild. And he made her shiver uncontrollably.
Tossing his pants into the corner, he moved her away from the wall. Bride was thankful her dressing room was larger than most. It had been designed to accommodate women with baby strollers or toddlers. And it gave them plenty of room to maneuver.
Vane moved around to her back. She stared at him in the mirror. He was a full head taller than she was and the sideways, hungry grin on his face undid her.
"You are so beautiful," he said, his voice deep and hungry.
She'd never felt that way. Normally, she avoided looking at herself in mirrors. But there was something terribly erotic about seeing the two of them reflected in the three mirrored walls.
He brushed her hair from her neck, then nibbled the sensitive flesh there. He slid his tongue around the beads of the necklace.
His hands cupped her breasts before he trailed one hand back to the dark auburn triangle of hair between her legs.
Somehow, he lowered them slowly, in unison, to the floor. She wasn't really sure how he did it without breaking his hold. The man was incredibly strong. She leaned back against him where his body was hot and prickly. Masculine.
His tongue swirled around her ear, then plunged deep inside at the same time he entered her from behind. Bride cried out in pleasure at the sensation of him filling her.
He lifted his head so that he could watch her face as he thrust himself even deeper.
Bride couldn't speak or think as pleasure overwhelmed her. All she could do was watch him make love to her. Watch his hand pleasure her in time to his forceful thrusts.
Vane growled again at the feel of her wet, welcoming body. Her body was much softer than a she-wolf's. Born fighters, they were hard-muscled and tough. A she-wolf would be trying to bite him. She would be clawing his arm, demanding he give her more satisfaction. Demanding he move faster and harder until she came again.
But not Bride.
She didn't make any demands as he took his time, with slow and easy strokes. She didn't try to throw him out. Instead, she leaned back against his chest and made the most incredible sounds of pleasure with every stroke his body delivered to hers. She completely surrendered herself to him.
The trust it took for her to do that…
He'd never known anything like it.
He'd spent so many months dreaming of what she would be like in his arms. Now he knew.
She was divine. She reached over her head to sink her hand in his hair so that she could hold him close. "Oh, Vane," she breathed, nuzzling her cheek against his.
He felt his powers growing as he kissed her cheek, and he quickened his fingers. She jerked and moaned in response to him. He felt himself growing even larger. The wolf in him was snarling in satisfaction.