Twisting Her Fate
Chapter 156

Connor moves to the door of Leilani's bedroom. He has only passed the room with Finlay on the way to borrow some clothing. He didn't need to be told, he knew this door was hers, the scent that comes from someone's bedroom, their private space, the space where they spend a large chunk of time every single day, is something that cannot be faked, it is something that cannot be easily covered over and, for the newly mated man the room smells like heaven.

Connor reaches forward and twists the door handle. His heart is thumping, his whole body is in overdrive. Leilani stays completely unfazed as her hands run all over his flesh. He pushes the door open, making sure not to make excessive noise, knowing that his two sleeping children aren't too far away.

Connor closes the very solid door with his foot and walks forward, throwing Leilani straight down on the bed and standing just near her feet looming over her, his dark eyes locked onto her as he removes his shirt. Running his fingers over the obvious teeth marks. Feeling that raised skin on the already healed wound.

For a man that has been flawless without a single wound for all his years, it is exhilarating to feel the imperfection, knowing exactly what it is, knowing that he belongs to her. The mark that he has wanted for the longest time.

In one short day, he is gone from trying to reconcile the fact that he will have nothing to having everything.

Leilani is leaning up on her elbows as she looks at the hands of the shirtless man as he touches her mark. Somehow, with her mark on his tan flesh, he looks even more handsome than before. Maybe it's just the knowledge that this magnificent man is finally all hers. Maybe it is a fact that she can feel his lust intertwined with his love feeding through the newly formed bond.

It feeds all the feelings that are already flooding her.

When the others talked about what it felt like to have a mate bond, the true fated bond. She could always picture it but never thought that it would make that much of a difference when chosen or not. Maybe she just convinced herself of the fact because she thought that the only man she would ever want would never be fated to her.

She thought that being tied to someone would feel amazing, but this is just indescribable. Lani never thought having a true fated would be on the cards for her. She never considered the fact that she was holding onto the bond with Gabriel trying to heal her wolf was actually keeping her from a second chance mate. After that night, she always thought that the goddess was against her. Now she knows that she only went through hardships to be rewarded so grandly at the end.

She can feel his thoughts transferring onto her flesh. He hasn't even touched her yet. His always intense eyesight is even more invasive, she can feel the heat on her skin. It's like the sparks when he touches her actually erupt just under his gaze without the need for his physical touch.

Her flesh erupts in goosebumps. The small hairs on her skin are standing on end in anticipation.

"You thought you could just mark me in front of everyone and leave it at that?"

"I had no such thought in my head"

"So you wanted this?"

"There are a variety of scenarios that played out in my head from my move, throwing me over your shoulder in a fit of passion was up there at the top"

"So you worked out that I was controlled enough to allow you to mark me without me making any of the various sounds that I was dying to make in that moment, that I was calm enough to control my wolf enough that I would throw you over my shoulder and take you to a more private location..."

Connor leans forward looking more imposing than before, his muscles are tight with strain and his voice is husky, his eyes flickering from black to gray.

"...You assumed that I had enough self control not to take you right there and then"

Lani smiles as she raises her eyebrows, her stormy blue eyes are glittering, they come alive with the joy that she feels from her head all the way to her toes. "It was a calculated gamble"

Leilani knew the risks but all her family are wise enough to leave if such a situation arose. She has faith in Connor to suppress what he needs and the fact just makes it all that more wild. The fact that she can push such a calm man to the brink of losing himself adds to the thrill.

Connor growls deep in his chest. Leilani just winks at him.

"For someone that was questioning me about how I knew about your self control, there is a lot of talking and not much action"

A large growl erupts and Connor's eyes finally settle on black as he dives on her body, pressing her, caging her against himself. His weight is so large that she is close to getting crushed, but it couldn't be any more perfect.

Leilani squeals and then giggles as scorching kisses sear the skin of her neck, starting from his mark all the way up until he captures all the sounds coming out of her glorious mouth. Her eyes are open as she watches him, watches the muscles on his back twitch as her clothes disappear from her body.

"I want you to see everything this time. I want you to know that it is me"

"I don't need the illusion when I have the real thing"

***

Connor lays on his back, Leilani's cheek pressed against his sweaty chest, her arms wrapped around him, a moment of peace with the bond completed. His arm is wrapped around her shoulder, holding her tightly to him, he presses a kiss to her forehead. Taking a deep breath in and smiling at that glorious scent, no wonder she was able to drive Gabriel insane with that scent, it is the best thing he has ever smelt.

"Did you know how many nights I have dreamed of you lying by my side in this bed?"

Connor's eyes are half closed, exhaustion is finally catching up on him and he is finally comforted by having Leilani beside him. All the nights he couldn't sleep, that he laid awake desperate for sleep are so far away. Right now he is not sure how to stay awake. He is not sure whether it is possible.

He wants to lay awake and talk to her, to watch her sleep, to never blink so she doesn't disappear from his sight.

"How many?"

"Every single night"

Connor's eyes that he has been trying so hard to keep open finally close and his light snore is all that greets her. Leilani smiles as she raises herself up on an elbow and looks at him. She didn't think he could get anymore handsome, but in three years his features have matured and he is beyond stunning. She runs a thumb over the dark circles under his eyes, like she can feel the exhaustion that caused them.

He doesn't move under her touch.

"I never understood how you can sleep so well"

She kisses his jaw.

"How can a bed feel so cold and empty without you, how can the nights seem so long without you by my side, yet with you here the change is so vast, you fill a room, you make me feel a comfort and security that no one else in the world can. You fill me with warmth and life without even touching me, just your presence is enough to bring about that feeling. When I saw you standing there today, I thought I was hallucinating, I had given up on us. I obviously didn't try hard enough. I thought that I was loving you in my own way, but obviously I was just being a defeatist"

Lani's thumb traces the contours of his face, feeling his gentle breath as her thumb runs over his soft lips, the sound of his steady heartbeat fills her ears.

"I love you so much, thank you for replaceing me, thank you for everything, thank you for waiting and believing in me, in us, thank you for forgiving my foolishness, thank you for never giving up" Leilani brushes his lips gently with hers.

"I am going to spend my entire life making sure you know how much I love and appreciate you, making sure you know that the moon goddess did get it right, that we are perfect together"

Lani kisses each one of his closed eyelids, Connor is already in a deep sleep, deeper than he has managed in the last three years, since the last night they were together.

"Thank you for making our family whole"

Leilani rests her head on his chest and wraps her arms around his strong body.

"Thank you for giving me everything"