“How are you feeling?” Fane asked her. His eyes were intense and he watched her closely.

“I feel fine,” she told him honestly. “I can’t even tell that I had a baby…or nearly died.”

He growled at her mention of their near death. “Do you?” Fane paused and took a step closer, placing both his hands on her waist. Touching her seemed to bring him a measure of calm that he really needed. “Do you feel up to…” His breathing hitched as Jacque’s mind caught on to what he was asking.

She felt her skin heat up and trembled when Fane ran a finger across her blushing cheek. He seemed mesmerized by her. His eyes were roving over her face as if he was trying to memorize it.

He leaned his head down until his forehead was pressed against hers. Jacque could feel his warm breath on her face. His finger continued to trail across her jaw, down her neck, and across her collar bone. As he reached the swell of her breast, his chest rumbled. “I need you,” he told her simply.

Fane’s voice was thick with emotion and guttural with his wolf. There was so much he was trying to convey to her in those three little words. Jacque pulled her head back and then took the hand that was still resting on her hip. She linked their fingers together and then pulled him to follow her. Fane trailed her, his other hand grazing her hair and back, into their room.

Jacque was trembling as she turned to face him once again. The bond was open and all of Fane’s emotions were filling her, adding to her own intense feelings.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured as he pushed the hair away from her neck. His hands trailed down to the front of her shirt and he began unbuttoning her blouse. Jacque was shocked to see Fane’s hands shaking as he slipped button after button through the little holes. As soon as the last one was undone, Fane reached up and pushed the shirt from her shoulders. She let it slide down her arms, the fabric brushing against her sensitive skin causing her to shiver.

“Are you cold?” he asked her as he pulled his own shirt off and then pressed their bodies together, skin against skin.

Jacque shook her head but couldn’t get any words out as she closed her eyes and just let herself feel. Every nerve ending was lit up and her body hummed with the desire that her mate was building in her. His fingers trailed over her skin, moving up her arms, down her chest, and across her stomach. She sucked in a breath as she felt his mouth against her shoulder. He pressed his lips over and over to her skin, swirling his tongue out and nipping her with his teeth. Jacque bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out.

“You don’t have to be quiet, Luna,” Fane whispered against her ear. “I want to hear how I affect you.” His hands moved to finish undressing her and, with every piece of clothing that fell to the floor, Fane would stop and worship whatever skin was exposed before moving on to the next piece of fabric.

By the time he laid her down on their bed, Jacque was begging him to move faster but he never did. Fane was methodical in his pursuit of her. He kissed each fingertip, sucked on the inside of her wrist and elbow, and massaged her calves and thighs as he touched her.

“I love you,” he whispered as he covered her flushed and needy body with his own. His blue eyes met hers and never left as he made love to her.

Fane was fighting for control of his wolf. Touching his mate was only making the wolf push harder to take control, but the man wouldn’t relinquish this time. He reveled in her body, her perfect form. He was in awe of the fact that she carried their child and was able to provide life for him. As he looked down at her, his breath caught. She was a sight to behold. Her hair splayed out around her like a rippling red sea. Her skin was flushed and glistening as it responded to his every touch.

Jacquelyn’s lips parted slightly as she sucked in air, trying to catch her breath. Fane couldn’t describe what had come over him; he just knew that he needed the connection with his mate. He needed to feel her, to hear her, to see her, and to taste her. Jacquelyn denied him nothing. She offered herself up as she felt his need through their bond. Fane didn’t hide anything from her. She was well aware of his desires and how he longed for her.

He made love to her for hours until they were both spent and could do nothing more than hold each other.

He whispered to her in his language and, as she snuggled closer, she asked him, “What did you just say?”

“I said you humble me with the gift of your body, your heart, and your soul.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead as Jacquelyn let out a contented sigh.

“Sleep, my love. You’ve earned it.”

She laughed and pinched his stomach. “Don’t gloat, wolf-man. It doesn’t suit you.”

“You suit me,” he told her, as he pulled her tighter against him. Mine, his wolf huffed into his mind as both man and wolf basked in the scent of their mate and the feel of her against his skin.

“Yours,” Jacquelyn whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

Decebel watched as his mate entered the suite they used when staying at the Romania pack. She looked tired, but no less beautiful and desirable than always. She moved about the room—slipping off her shoes, grabbing an empty glass that sat on the end table and taking it to the kitchen, and then stopping in the kitchen. Her back was to him and he frowned as she leaned forward, rested her head on the countertop, and began to cry. Her shoulders shook with emotion and her hands grasped the counter with such force that her knuckles were turning white.

“Jennifer,” Decebel called as he strode across the room to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up and then turned her to face him. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head as more tears fell and she pressed her forehead to his chest. He clenched his jaw as he held his weeping mate, unable to fix whatever it was that had his mate in tears.

“Please, talk to me, Jennifer.”

“I just can’t believe Peri found her,” she finally managed to get out around the gulps of air. “I want to see her. I want to see with my own eyes that she’s okay.”

He ran his hand gently down her hair as he attempted to soothe her. “I know you do, baby. And you will. Be patient.”

“When has that ever been one of my virtues?” she grumbled. Her small hands were wrapped around his shirt, holding him to her.

Decebel chuckled. “You have many other virtues,” he told her.