Beloved

21

Dante lay on his side next to Gaia with his head propped in his hand, listening to her breathe. Too dark in the room even for his Alpha wolf eyes, he mentally envisioned how her long lashes would be lying against her cheeks, and her mouth slightly parted, invitingly soft and plump. He replayed the first time he'd felt her soft lips pressing against his own. It had been magical.

It pained him to remember how much of a prick he'd been to her when he'd first learned she was his mate. He'd been worse than a prick.

He didn't very much like the person he'd been just a few short months ago. He vowed never to be that person again.

This fragile flower laying beside him, this innocent young woman deserved a mate who would give her everything. She deserved a mate who would be her everything. That's the person he wanted to be.

He loved going on dates with her, and just spending time with her. He loved her playfulness and her innocence. He loved her intelligent mind and her generous heart. He loved kissing her, talking with her, holding her close, and breathing in her delicate scent. He could stare into her eyes for the rest of his life and it wouldn't be enough time. He loved her.

He deeply inhaled her summer at the beach house scent a final time before rising to begin his workout. He was already ten minutes behind.

Gaia was groggily preparing coffee when he returned. He entered the house and saw her in the kitchen, her back to him with her hair in a floppy bun atop her head, wearing the kimono his mother had bought her. She was stretching, presumably yawning. He thought she was absolutely adorable when she stretched her arms out like that. Still stretching she slowly peered over her shoulder, watching him approach her, and blinked sleepily. His breath hitched, but he couldn't help the smile that cracked his face.

He walked right up to her and peered down at her. "Hey you, good morning." He saw that a steaming dish smelling of savory ham and cheese was resting near the stove, and she'd already pulled out two mugs and had the cream ready. She was spoiling him.

"Good morning." Gaia peered up into his eyes and rolled her lips between her teeth. Her eyes closed when he leaned down and kissed her cheek, and sighed happily when he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love how you spoil me with coffee and breakfast every morning. I might have to keep you." He peppered her neck and shoulder with small kisses before parting from her to get a glass of water.

"You deserve to be spoiled. You do so much for me, I should be finding more ways to spoil you." She saw how hard he worked and how stressed he could get since taking on the Alpha duties after his parents had left, and now with a full load of college courses he had very little time to relax.

Dante drank his water down before he turned to her, shaking his head, "Gaia, you are the one who deserves to be spoiled." He set the glass down and held his hand out to her, "Come here, babygirl," he pulled her close when she was within reach, holding her to his chest, burying his nose in her neck. He tightened his embrace as she wound her arms around his neck. "I am spoiled enough, my beautiful little mate. You are the one who deserves to be spoiled, and I mean to be the person who spoils you rotten." He lifted his head from her neck to look in her eyes. "I love you, Gaia Miller. Do you accept me as your mate?"

"You love me?" Gaia felt her heart beat wildly with happiness. Tears sprung to her eyes and she tried to blink them back as she bounced around on her toes. "I love you! Yes! Yes, I accept you as my mate, Dante."

Dante grinned and stood up straight, lifting her off her feet as he did so. She wrapped her legs around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder.

He kissed her neck below her ear, smiling when she shivered, and whispered, "I want to make love with you. Whenever you're ready. Take your time."

Gaia's eyes popped open. "O-okay."

The brewing cycle of the coffee machine ended. Dante lifted his head to look at Gaia as she lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. His gaze travelled from her eyes to her mouth. He leaned in and kissed her soft lips, delighted when she responded. He broke the kiss and leaned back with a smirk.

She was already flushed, her pupils dilated when she opened her eyes, and he could smell she was aroused. He loved that he had that effect on her. It was only fair, as she had the same effect on him.

"We'll take it slow, babe. We have no need to rush anything, and I don't want to rush anything with you."

Gaia smiled softly and nodded, then she tilted her head. "Coffee?"

"Mhmm," Dante kissed her forehead, setting her on the counter, then poured coffee in the two mugs, adding cream to hers just as she liked it best. He gave her another kiss on the forehead as he handed her mug to her. He loved that she was the perfect height for forehead kissing, and she seemed to like forehead kisses, which was a bonus. He smirked at her as she wrapped both her small hands around the mug and brought it up to her nose to inhale deeply before taking a sip, peering at him over the rim as she brought it to her lips.

He lifted her from the counter and they ate breakfast together. Then Dante headed into his office to get a bit of work done.

Since school began at the end of summer Gaia often used the mornings to work on her own studies, though she was only taking a half load at school. But she also had the journals Arianna had left for her, which she was two-thirds through the first journal of the second of three stacks. She settled at her desk and opened her laptop to complete the paper she was writing for first semester freshman English.

When she was happy with her first draft she stretched and rolled her shoulders, then sat in the comfy chaise lounge with the journal she was currently reading until it was time to prepare the midday meal.

Today she wanted to use the leftover chicken she made the night before and quickly piled chunks of fresh mozzarella on top of pulled chicken with slices of onion and bell peppers into hoagie rolls and arranged her creations on a baking sheet which she slid into the preheated oven.

She heard Dante descending the stairs as she was sliding the sandwiches onto plates and smiled. She set both plates on the island at their seats and looked up just as he entered the kitchen. Her smile dropped when she saw his stern expression as he stared intently at his phone.

He sat in his stool still scrolling his phone, his brow slightly furrowed. His nose twitched and he tore his eyes away from his phone to look at the platters in front of him, and the adorable expression of concern on his mate's sweet face. He smiled at her and set his phone on the island beside his plate.

"This looks amazing, babe," Dante kissed her cheek. "Thank you." He picked up his glass of water and took a sip.

"You're welcome," Gaia said, smiling at him. "What has you frowning so early in the day, though?"

Dante glanced toward his phone with a grunt. "The alpha of Low Hills is asking all the alphas in the region to meet up to discuss the growing number of rogue invasions everyone's been experiencing."

"When is he calling the meeting for?"

"This coming weekend."

Gaia's mouth quirked, "Short notice."

Dante shrugged. "Yeah, part of the job, though." He took a large bite of his sandwich, groaning with appreciation with the flavors and textures.

Gaia's brow furrowed and she tapped the edge of her plate with her fingertip. "Are rogues attacking us more?"

"We've had a few extra sightings at our border we share with the human town in the last few months in comparison to the last few years, but we've not been attacked since we've put the new measures in place." He felt fear radiating from Gaia and studied her.

She was pale and wide-eyed, trembling.

He wanted to reassure her. "I've tightened border patrol and Brent has developed new tactics for handling rogues that I think could benefit the other packs. We don't want our neighbors and allies lost to a senseless rampage."

Gaia whispered, "No, no we certainly don't want that."

Suddenly understanding where her mind might be, Dante turned in his stool to face her and pulled her stool between his legs and wrapped his arms around her. "Gaia, my beautiful little mate, I won't let anything happen to you or anyone we love, and I certainly plan on sticking around for awhile."

Gaia took a deep breath, relaxing at his words. "I love you, Dante."

"I'm the luckiest wolf in the world," he murmured against her temple.

Gaia giggled. "And don't you forget it." She planted a chaste kiss on his mouth.

***
Gaia loved Dante's kisses, from the initial chaste brushing of his lips against hers their second date to the the more intense and passionate make out sessions that had developed over the weeks following that delightful weekend. And she loved his hands gliding over her skin under her clothes. She was increasingly frustrated with herself for not quite feeling up to explore more intimate carnal pleasures, especially since he'd confessed he was ready to do so.

Leaving for the conference at the end of the week made her realize she wanted to complete the mating ritual with him, that she was ready, just nervous. And she knew she was nervous mostly because what was taught in class was vague and left too much to the imagination.

She decided she wanted to complete the mating ritual before they left, and she'd told him during their afternoon walk. His eyes had momentarily darkened, and he'd asked her if she was certain. When she asserted she was, he kissed her forehead and said he'd let her choose when.

And tonight was the night.

After her nightly self care routine she slipped into the closet and chose a pretty silk camisole and shorts set. Then she let her hair down and fluffed it out, looking at her image in the mirror before heading for the bedroom.

Dante was sitting on the bed, already in silk pajama bottoms, scrolling through his phone when she slipped out of the closet. His eyes shifted up, darkening as he watched her approach. He slowly set his phone on his nightstand and reached for her hand, guiding her to stand between his legs as he looked up at her face.

He reached for a loose coil of her hair and twisted his finger into it. "You're so beautiful, but I love when you wear your hair down." He stroked his thumb across her cheek and down her jaw, trailing his fingers along her neck where he would put his mark. He could feel her heartbeat quicken. "You're certain you want to do this babygirl?"

When Dante's fingers brushed her marking spot, she felt the tingles to her core. "I'm certain."

Eyes still locked with hers he kissed the palm of her hand he was holding. "Because it's our first time, there may be some discomfort. Remember, you can say stop at any time, and I will stop. I mean for you to know pleasure tonight, I mean to mark you, but if you want to stop, we'll stop. Understand?"

Gaia nodded. "I trust you." She felt a sense of calm settle into her bones saying those words, and she relaxed with a soft sigh.

He gently pulled her onto the bed with him, guiding her legs so she straddled his lap, and brushed his lips across her mouth. When she didn't pull away, he pressed his mouth more firmly to hers. As he kissed her, he slowly stroked his hands over her body, loving the feel of her skin without the obstacle of her bra, and he was delighted to add more of her secondary sensitive spots to his map he was forming of her body.

A purr rumbled deep in his chest as he smelled her arousal. He gently sucked her lip, and when she moaned, his tongue slid into her mouth to explore. Then her tongue was dancing with his and she sighed as his hands and fingers skimmed the dips and ridges between her neck and shoulders, the curve of her breast, the top of her hips, around her meaty buttocks and thighs and down to her pretty little ankles.

Her hands originally on his shoulders for balance began to slowly stroke his shoulders and neck, then up into his hair, and down his arms, and over his chest. She surrendered herself at his first kiss, letting him lead her through their first experience with sex.

His hands slid back under her top to cup her breasts and flick her nipples, causing her to gasp and moan.

One of his hands stroked up to hold her head as he moved his mouth's exploration over her jaw and down her neck, testing the sensitive spots between her ears and shoulders, teasing her marking spot, eliciting a whimper from her.

He smiled and lifted her top over her head, rolling so she was lying on the bed beneath him. He kissed his way down to take a pert breast into his mouth, his tongue and teeth massaging her nipple until it was hard, while his fingers rolled and flicked her other nipple. Then he kissed his way to her other breast and let his free hand stroke her hip and thighs. After teasing both nipples into hard pebbles he continued his explorations down to her belly, delighting in her sighs and moans as his mouth and hands made contact with her sensitive spots. Her arousal was thick in his nose when he knelt between her legs to kiss her soft inner thighs. He let his hand skim her skin just within the hem of her shorts, her breaths coming in soft pants and her moans lusty.

He slid his hands to the top of the shorts and tugged. She lifted her hips and he pulled the fabric down her legs, taking a moment to appreciate her naked body, the flower slick with her juices nestled at the apex between her thighs. His eyes travelled up her body meeting her half lidded eyes, watching him drink her in.

"Goddess, you're beautiful," Dante breathed. He kissed her abdomen, then her hip bones. "You smell so delicious baby girl, I want to taste you." He kissed down to her thighs once more, chuckling as she wriggled her bottom.

Gaia gasped and opened her eyes wide when his tongue brushed her core and circled her clitoris, then her eyes fluttered closed and she moaned when he said, "So wet, so sweet."

He was causing sensations she'd never dreamed possible to alight within her, and doing things to her body she'd never dreamed any lover might do. Her hands reached for him, stroking his hair as he licked and nibbled, his ministrations tightening something in her lower belly, making her want to arch her back.

He reached a hand up to play with her nipple earning him a throaty moan, and when her hand stroked up his arm, he guided her to stimulate her nipple before stroking his hand down her body and between her thighs to slip a finger into her dripping slit while his mouth and tongue stimulated her clit.

She moaned and her hand in his hair clenched at the intrusion of his finger, then slowly relaxed and he curled his finger so he was stroking her g-spot. When he felt her muscles relax he added a second finger.

Gaia felt wound up tight enough to burst when Dante murmured, "Cum for me, baby, let me taste your sweet nectar."

Her back arched and her soft cries filled the room as her juices gushed, coating his fingers and tongue. He squeezed his member and lapped her juices as she writhed, then he licked, nibbled and stroked every inch of flesh between her thighs until she was coiled tight and ready to explode once more. "Cum, baby, say my name."

Her back arched and she cried out, "Dante!" Then she moaned, "Please!"

Fingers stroking her entrance and thumb on her he clit, he lifted his head to peer up at her, "Please what, baby?"

Gaia moaned and writhed, stroking and grabbing his hair.

Dante bent his head and went back to sucking on her clit.

When she was wound tight once more, the fist in his hair pulled, she panted, "Dante! Please, I need..."

"Tell me what you need, Gaia."

"You... I need you."

He smiled and kissed his way back up her body, chuckling when she groaned in frustration when he settled between her legs and her hands came in contact with the waistband of his pajamas, but moaned when she tasted herself on his lips and tongue.

Her one hand held his head in place, and her leg wrapped around his waist as she kissed and licked her juices from his face, gasping when she felt his member flex and bump her core. Her other hand skimmed down his back to dip under his waistband and began to tug.

He swiftly pulled off his pants, momentarily fighting them off his long legs, then rolled with Gaia so she was straddling him once more. He groaned as she moved her hips so her core slid and dripped against his hard length. He sat up, pressing his body and lips to hers, the new position putting her hips directly above his erection, bumping against her slick core. She rutted, slathering him in her wetness.

"Ready, baby girl?" When she whispered 'yes', he wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her so he could position his cock, "Okay, lower yourself."

Gaia furrowed her brow. "What?" She could feel his member at her entrance.

"This is your first time, baby. It'll be more comfortable for you if you set the pace."

"Oh. Okay." Gaia closed her eyes and slowly knelt, feeling every ridge of his cock stretch her as she sank down toward his hips.

Dante closed his eyes and sucked in his breath as he was slowly enveloped in the slick warmth, and groaned, "You're so tight, little mate, so wet." When she stopped halfway down, he opened his eyes. "That's it, baby, pause when you need to. Let yourself get used to it." He kissed her mouth and groaned when he felt her muscles relax around him and she slowly resumed her descent to his base. "Oh, goddess!"

Gaia panted. Oh goddess, indeed! She could feel every inch of him inside her and it was incredible, and just slightly uncomfortable. She felt like rolling her hips might help, so she did that, and her eyes nearly rolled back.

Dante put his hands on her ass and began to guide her hips. He leaned forward to suck and nip her nipples. Soon he knew she was wound tight by her moans and soft cries, and he whispered, "Cum baby girl, let me feel you."

Her back arched as she cried out, her muscles milking him, bringing him closer to his own release. He continued his assault on her breasts, teasing her sensitive nipples with his tongue and teeth. When he sensed she was peaking, he rolled them so he was hovering over her and began to stroke deep, loving how she fit him, rocking her hips to meet him as her legs wrapped around his waist.

Gaia stroked his arms, neck, and chest, her fingers brushing across his nipples, flicking them. She smiled at his throaty groan, and continued to stroke her hands over every part of his body she could reach.

She was bringing him to his own climax quicker than he wanted, so he braced himself on one arm and brought his other hand between them to rub her clit with his thumb, and kissed and sucked on her marking spot. When his own release was about to spill, his canines extended and he bit her neck as he pumped his seed deep within her.

Gaia bucked and arched, digging her fingers into his flesh, crying out as he roared, her walls milking him until he was spent.

Panting, and slightly dizzy from his own release, he watched her come down from her high, smiling at her murmurs. And then her eyes fluttered open.

"You okay, baby?"

When she nodded, he said, "I need to hear your words, baby. I need to hear you say it."

"I'm..."

Dante's brows rose as he waited.

"I'm... oh, I feel amazing."

Dante smiled. "Good." He planted his mouth on hers, murmuring, "That's what I want to hear." He stroked her cheek and rolled them so he could heft her in his lap, and pulled the bedding down. Then he laid her beside him and turned off the lamp. She helped him pull the bedding up, and snuggled against him