“Our bond will be complete if we do this,” he said softly against my lips.

  I’d already known that, but the fact that he seemed to be giving me an out, while unnecessary, was sweet.

  “I’m ready, Foster. For all of it.” My words were steady and strong when I stared into his eyes.

  My fingers took hold of his cheeks, stroking the thin layer of hair there before I kissed him with everything I had. I didn’t want him to doubt what I wanted or how I felt about him. He deserved more than that and needed to know the depth of my feelings.

  He pulled back. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” I smiled and wiggled beneath him.

  He nodded, and any concerns I’d seen before were gone with a blink.

  Foster removed my underwear faster than any other item of clothing he’d taken from my body since entering this room, and I had my legs resting against his waist when he positioned himself over me again.

  His fingers dipped into my slit, his thumb pressing over my clit while another dipped inside me. I arched up, moaning and reaching for his face again.

  He gave no resistance to me pulling him closer. Our mouths pressed together, opening for and tasting one another with an urgency unlike any I’d ever felt.

  Foster replaced his fingers with the head of his cock, and I was more than grateful that I’d gotten an IUD just a couple of years ago. Having any sort of barrier between the two of us wasn’t what I wanted in the slightest.

  His eyes locked on to me, and with just one heated look, shivers raced down my spine. My fingers dug into his shoulders while he pressed into me. My muscles tightened in anticipation. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t ever had sex, but relaxing to make things easier seemed impossible when I knew what making love to Foster truly meant.

  There were no second thoughts, but that didn’t mean nerves of excitement hadn’t ignited inside me.

  Foster must have sensed that, because before my thoughts could spiral too far, he was kissing me senseless, demanding my focus to be solely on his mouth and nothing else. At least up until the point he was fully seated within me, and my pussy contracted so tightly, I thought I was already going to orgasm.

  I was breathing so heavily, it felt like I wasn’t breathing at all.

  “You still with me?” Foster checked.

  I nodded and pressed closer to him. “Always.”

  The pull I’d been feeling since last night intensified the moment he began to move again. Our eyes remained locked, and the heavier my chest became, the brighter Foster’s eyes shone.

  One of his hands tangled in my hair while he kept a steady pace, pumping in and out of me with reverent movements and never removing his focus from me.

  My pulse raced, and the faster my heart beat, the faster Foster moved and the more on fire I felt. My moans grew louder, and I threw my head back when the urge to cry out in pleasure became too strong to ignore.

  Foster stayed with me the whole time, never slowing or pulling back, even though I could sense an underlying layer of concern coming from him through the bond that was tightening between us by the second.

  “Andie,” Foster said, his tone one of warning.

  I met his eyes again, and they had darkened from the light blue they’d been moments before to more of a violet color.

  “You’re glowing,” he added when I was too interested in his changes to notice mine.

  One glance to my left and right proved his words to be true, and my eyes widened in surprise. I was pulsing with the same violet color.

  Foster must have mistaken my shock for fear, because his movements slowed, but I quickly moved my hands to his ass, keeping him in place. “Don’t you dare stop.”

  “Thank fuck,” he nearly growled.

  Within an instant, the slow and patient Foster was gone. In his place was the possessive alpha I’d already fallen in love with.

  He gripped my hair tighter and angled my head before kissing me again. His pace increased, and my hips met his thrusts with eagerness while the connection between us exploded in a shower of emotion around us.

  My chest expanded, and every muscle inside my body thrummed with energy. There was so much love inside my chest that I wanted to funnel directly into Foster until there were no doubts of his worth left in his delectable body.

  “I…love…you…so…fucking…much.” Each word he spoke was punctuated with even sweeter kisses.

  I tried to return the sentiment, but I was too close to tumbling blissfully over the metaphorical edge to speak any longer.

  Foster placed one of his hands under my ass, changing the position of his thrusts, and I nearly came undone right then.

  With my eyes forced closed, the darkness I should have been surrounded in was diminished by a glowing tether I knew led straight to my soulmate. The one man I would always be able to count on. Who would love me fiercely—not despite my faults, but because of them.

  Foster’s pace increased, and the rumbling in his chest echoed through my mind. I gazed up at him, soaking in the love and protection and fear I could feel from him as if it were my own.

  Sparks of magic flickered around us, and I couldn’t fight off the heat wanting to claim me any longer. I cried out once more, my nails clawing at Foster’s flesh, and I fell into the abyss, unafraid, because I knew he’d be there to catch me.

  Explosions of euphoria began at my core and spread through the rest of my body while Foster slowed his pace and stiffened above me, grunting and lowering his head to mine.

  Both of our hearts were racing, but in sync, and the connection between us soothed any of the worries I’d been holding on to.

  I knew the moment I looked into Foster’s eyes and the tether tying us together pulsed that no matter what else happened, as long as we remembered this moment, this bond, nothing could tear us down.

  We wouldn’t let it.

  10

  FOSTER

  Whatever connection I’d thought I felt to Andie before was nothing compared to the sense of home I was blasted with while we made love.

  For years, I’d thought “home” was a word that would never again hold meaning for me. Not even when the Moon Goddess told me that I had a mate had I thought that would change. But having the bond solidify between Andie and myself, feeling her heart and the depth of her emotions… That finally allowed some of my personal reservations to fade away.

  I knew then that I had to be stronger and better and more capable for Andie. I wouldn’t ever let her down. I would always protect her and support her by giving her my all.

  She lay beneath me, her body quivering with aftershocks. She stretched and groaned, but a smile grew on her face. “That was…everything.”

  I stroked my fingers along her neck, realizing the instinct to sink my teeth into her had never come, which was something I was certain had to be done in order to complete the bond.

  Andie’s magic took care of that, but that doesn’t mean we can’t mark her later, my wolf said, and I agreed with him.

  One day soon, she would not only carry my scent mixed with hers, but she would also wear the mark of my bite.

  I placed a soft kiss to Andie’s lips. “And it’s only the beginning.”

  She blushed and shivered.

  “Forever my mate,” I whispered.

  Andie pressed her hand over my chest. “I can feel the tether, even though logically I know there isn’t anything physically there.”

  “Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” I countered.

  She grinned widely. “Touché. Was that what you expected? I won’t lie. I asked Charlie what would happen, but she didn’t know, and there was no way in hell I was asking Beatrix.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle, trying to imagine that conversation with the old witch.

  “I had no expectations.” I paused, considering not broaching the biting subject just yet, but the thought of keeping anything from Andie nearly gutted me. “Though, I wouldn’t have been sad if I’d marked you right here.” My fingers rubbed the curve of her neck again, and her face scrunched.

  “Marked? Like a hickey?”

  I grinned. “No, Mate. Like a bite. One that would remind all others that you’re mine.”

  Her cheeks flushed, and her chest expanded. “Oh.”

  “But that can wait until you’re ready.”

  She nibbled on her lip, lowered her chin, and cast her eyes to the side. I nudged her head back up. “Or it doesn’t have to happen at all. That would be okay, too.”

  The blush on her porcelain skin deepened. “It’s not that. I was just surprised by how much the idea…turned me on.”

  She wasn’t lying. I could smell her arousal, but I’d thought it was just aftereffects of our bond. As much as I’d love to mark Andie right now, I didn’t want to hurt her.

  “Then we’ll try it soon.” I withdrew from her, and she pouted. “You’re going to be sore.”

  Andie glanced down, and her frown deepened for a moment before she smirked. “Probably, but it would be worth being sorer if we had a round two.”

  My head shook, and I picked her up. “How about we settle for a shower and see what happens?”

  She nodded. “As long as you’re under the water with me, then I can agree with that. For now.”

  For now. She was going to be the very thing that nearly killed me—yet kept me breathing all at the same time.

  The next morning, Andie was groaning when she rolled over. “You were blessed in the dick department a little too much.”

  I glowered. “I told you we shouldn’t have sex again last night.”

  Her lower lip popped out, and her eyes landed on my cock. “But he was asking so nicely.”

  I barked out a short laugh. “I didn’t know he could speak.”

  She reached her hand for “him,” but I snagged her wrist. “Tonight and no sooner, Mate.”

  Her shoulders shuddered. “I like when you call me that.”

  “Good, because that’s what you are, and nothing will ever change that.” I slid out of bed before she could change my mind. “You have training to begin—again—and I need to go to the pack.”

  I didn’t want to leave her, especially after last night, but, at the same time, a part of me was more comfortable being separated because of the bond.

  Assuming things were mostly normal compared to wolf standards, I’d be able to sense her emotions more clearly. I’d know the second she wasn’t okay and, if I was in wolf form, she’d only be a few minutes from me.

  Try talking to her telepathically, my wolf suggested.

  Andie?

  There was only silence in return.

  I’m going to spank your ass if you keep tempting me.

  I glanced back, and she was just getting out of bed, but there was no recognition that she could hear me, which was disappointing, but we’d survived the last five weeks without having that benefit. As long as I could sense she was safe, that was more than enough.

  My wolf hummed but didn’t say anything else.

  He’d been unusually quiet over the last two days, but that was his prerogative. I trusted him to speak up when he was ready to talk.

  We managed to take a shower without having sex, but there was plenty of touching and even an orgasm for Andie, which I’d been trying to avoid, but there was only so much torture I could put myself through when she stared at me with her tempting gaze.

  I was in the kitchen making her tea when there was a knock on the door. Surprise filled me when I got a whiff of Charlie’s spicy scent in the air and didn’t hear the door open.

  Maybe she wasn’t alone and was trying to pretend she was respectful of boundaries. No, that wasn’t it. I couldn’t sense anyone else.

  I opened the door to find her smiling at me with her arms crossed. “Good morning, Foster.”

  “Charlie.” I moved to the side so she could come in.

  “Is Andie up?” she asked, jumping over the couch and lounging across the cushions.

  I nodded and headed back to the kitchen. “She’ll be out soon.”

  “Great. I’ll just wait right here.”

  Charlie was freaking me out a little with her polite demeanor. I grabbed the mug for Andie and went back to stare at Charlie until she told me what the hell was going on.

  She ignored my intense gaze and stared up at the wall, whistling, like this was completely normal.

  “Charlie,” I grumbled.

  She raised a brow. “Foster.”

  “What the hell is going on?” I demanded.

  Charlie finally sat up and stared straight at me, then looked down the hallway before lowering her voice. “Don’t tell Andie.”

  I took several steps closer to my mate’s best friend, prepared to kill someone. “What?”

  Charlie actually blushed, something I’d yet to see from her. “Um, last night…everyone in the coven, might have, um…”

  “Spit it out, Charlie,” I seethed.

  “We know you guys had sex,” she spewed, then covered her mouth, glancing to search for Andie again.

  “How?” My voice was low and clipped.

  “An explosion of sex-induced magic might have blasted through and probably turned on every member of the coven.”

  Fuck.

  Andie chose that moment to exit the hallway. She glanced from me to Charlie and back, her eyes staying on me when she asked, “What’s wrong?”

  I couldn’t lie to her. She’d know and I didn’t want to, but I also didn’t want to freak her out. Andie had lived a solitary life for the last several years. She wasn’t used to sharing her business with others, and this was more than just normal “business.”

  Logically, I knew the coven and even the pack would know we’d had sex the moment they sensed our bond, but knowing we’d had sex and knowing the moment we’d had sex because of a rippling effect of magic were two totally different things. At least, they would be for my mate.

  My long strides closed the distance between me and Andie. I gripped her shoulders and directed her to sit on the couch next to Charlie.

  Her mouth downturned. “What’s going on? Was there another attack?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  Charlie was glaring at me. She didn’t agree with my decision to tell Andie, but it was better coming from me than from some asshole who might say something to her unexpectedly.

  I kissed her forehead. “Everything is fine, but Charlie wanted to warn us that the coven is going to know we bonded.”

  Andie let out a heavy sigh. “Oh. Okay. That’s not really a bad thing, right? Unless we have to worry about the Supernatural Council more because of that. Oh, my God, I didn’t think of that.” Her eyes focused on mine. “What did we do?”

  I shook my head and rubbed my hands up and down her arms. “This has nothing to do with the council.”

  Her gaze whipped between me and Charlie again. “Then what the hell is going on?”

  “There was a surge of energy when we bonded,” I said, hoping she’d come to her own conclusions with as little information as possible.

  Andie glanced at Charlie. “Yep. A fact I wasn’t really going to talk about publicly.”

  Charlie scoffed. “Right. Like I would have given you a choice.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Not the point here, Charlie.”

  Andie gripped my chin and forced my eyes back to her. “Then what is?”

  “That surge of energy we created, it expanded through the whole coven last night,” I said softly.

  She tilted her head to the side, then her eyes widened and she gasped, covering her mouth. “No-it-fucking-didn’t.”

  Charlie fanned herself. “Oh, it sure did.”

  I growled, and she tried to edit her statement.

  “I mean, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Seriously. I’m sure nobody even really noticed,” Charlie said.

  Andie covered her face with both hands. “I’m never leaving this house.”

  Charlie grabbed her elbow, tugging her arm down. “We won’t leave you alone until this blows over. If anyone says anything to you, Foster will bite their head off—literally—and I’ll send magic right up their ass if he’s not around. At least, anyone but Beatrix. She’s the only one who can make my life hell.”

  Andie groaned. “Shit. Your parents. How am I supposed to face these people?” Her hands began shaking in front of her. “Oh, my God. Are they going to know every time we have sex?”

  I shook my head, holding her hands between my palms. “Absolutely not.”

  “How can you be so sure?” she asked, a crease deepening between her brows.

  “Because I will build us a cabin in the middle of nowhere if that’s the case and you can teleport us there whenever we want. But let’s hope that’s worst-case scenario.” Though, it didn’t sound like a terrible idea to have Andie all to myself outside the coven. Maybe I’d make that thought come to fruition after the Moira mess was over.

  There was another knock on the door, but this time, it opened without any of us saying anything.

  “I hope you’re not naked,” Beatrix called out with closed eyes.

  Andie hid her face again, and Beatrix cracked open an eye. “Oh, good. You’re up and ready to go. Come on. You’re late for training.”

  The witch shook Andie’s shoulder from behind the couch, but my mate didn’t budge. “I’m not leaving the house.”

  Beatrix sighed and rolled her eyes. “Because of last night? I knew you’d freak out, so I already took care of that.”

  I stared pointedly at the old witch. “What does that mean?”

  “It means nobody even remembers it happened except for the four people in this room. I didn’t bother including Charlie in the spell since I figured she’d find out anyway,” Beatrix answered with a shrug.

  I raised my brows and didn’t know what to say, partially because I wasn’t sure if we should believe her. Beatrix had been apologetic to Holden yesterday, and now she was saving Andie from embarrassment. Could Beatrix have changed that much?

  “So, can we get to work? I didn’t spend hours making schedules so they could be ignored.” Beatrix reached for the door and waited for us to get up.