Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 381 Lucas: Marking

LUCAS

I need to temper my desire, because there's an aggression behind it born of frustration and anger, mixed with relief that she's alive.

But Ava, my sweet mate, meets my passion at every step.

My fingers trail over Ava's skin, savoring each shiver, each gasp. Her pulse races beneath my touch, and the sweet scent of her arousal fills my senses. Aurum's already lost to it, demanding me to claim, to mark, to possess—but I force that primal urge down. Ava deserves better than a rutting beast.

Even if the bond in my chest tells me to leave every inch of her marked for my pleasure.

"Lucas." Her voice breaks on my name as I peel away her shirt.

A growl rumbles through my chest at the sight of her bare skin. The marks I left days earlier have already faded, and something dark and possessive inside me needs to replace them. "Mine."

Her fingers tangle in my hair as I trail kisses down her neck. The taste of her skin, honey-sweet and addictive, makes my head spin. Each breath draws more of her scent into my lungs until I'm drunk on it.

"Please." She arches against me as I unclasp her bra.

The fabric falls away, and another growl tears from my throat at the sight of her perfect breasts. My hands span her ribcage, thumbs brushing the undersides of those tempting curves. Her skin is so soft, so delicate compared to my callused palms.

her toward the bed. Her pants join the

of her nearly bare before me steals my breath. How did I get so lucky? This fierce, stunning woman is mine. My mate. My

underwear. The wolf claws at my control, desperate to claim what's ours. But

makes both man and

drag the cotton down her legs. "As my

of anticipation. Her breath catches as I press a kiss to her hip bone. The

voice carries

patterns on her skin, deliberately avoiding where she

tangle in my hair, tugging

I?" I press another kiss to her stomach, letting my stubble scrape against her sensitive skin. Her whole body arches at the

in a gasp

weight pin her to the mattress. The heat of her bare skin

into my shoulders. "You

me. When I pull back, her eyes are dark with need. "Maybe I need

tries to pull me back down, but I

body. She's perfect—soft where I'm hard, yielding where I'm unyielding. The bond between

in. Not yet. The wolf wants to claim, to possess, to mark—but the man

races beneath my lips. The

me as I lavish attention