Mated to Her Alpha Instructor Chapter 54

Regis

I stood beside the bed, watching Eileen sleep in the soft lamplight. Her breathing had finally evened out, her small body curled on its side, one hand tucked beneath her cheek. She looked impossibly young like this, fragile in a way that made my chest ache with the need to protect her from everything—from the cruelty of her family, from wolves like Andrew, from a world that had taught her she wasn't worth defending.

Yet beneath that fragility, I'd seen steel. She'd walked into my rage today, knelt before my half-shifted form without flinching, and brought me back from the edge of murder with nothing but her voice and her trust. She was stronger than she knew, and I would spend however long it took making sure she believed it.

*She chose us,* Valdor rumbled with deep satisfaction, the wolf finally at peace after weeks of restless prowling. *She trusts us to keep her safe.*

*I know,* I thought back, my hand hovering over her hair before I gently brushed a strand from her face. *And I won't fail her.*

I'd been about to leave, to give her space to rest, when her eyes fluttered open. For a moment she just looked at me, her gaze soft and unguarded, and then she whispered, "Stay."

"I'm not going anywhere," I promised, settling carefully on the edge of the bed.

She shifted closer, her hand finding mine. "Regis... I don't want to wait anymore." Her voice was quiet but steady. "I choose you. Not because of the baby, not because I'm scared or alone. Because I trust you. Because when I think about my future, I want you in it."

My breath caught. "Eileen—"

"I'm ready," she said, and the certainty in her eyes undid me completely. "I want this. I want *us*."

The joy that surged through me was almost overwhelming. I cupped her face, my thumb brushing her cheek. "Are you absolutely sure? Because once we do this—"

"I'm sure." She leaned into my touch. "I've never been more sure of anything."

I kissed her then, slow and deep, pouring everything I felt into it—my gratitude, my desire, my absolute devotion. She melted against me with a soft sound that made Valdor growl in approval, her fingers curling into my shirt.

"Let me take care of you," I murmured against her lips, and she nodded, her cheeks flushing as I carefully began unbuttoning her shirt. I took my time, kissing each new inch of skin I revealed, worshipping her with hands and mouth until she was trembling beneath me, her breath coming in short gasps.

When she was finally bare before me, I had to pause just to look at her—the gentle swell of her belly where our child grew, the soft curves of her body, the way she watched me with darkened eyes, nervous but trusting. "You're beautiful," I said roughly, and when she tried to look away, embarrassed, I caught her chin. "I mean it, Eileen. Every part of you."

I stripped quickly, watching her eyes widen as she took me in, and I saw the flicker of nervousness cross her face when her gaze dropped to my cock, already hard and straining toward her. "We'll go slow," I promised, settling between her thighs. "If anything hurts, you tell me. Understood?"

"Yes," she whispered, and then, bolder, "I trust you."

Those three words nearly broke me. I kissed her again, deep and consuming, while my hand slid between her legs, finding her already slick and warm. She gasped into my mouth when I stroked her, her hips lifting instinctively toward my touch, and I groaned at how responsive she was, how perfectly her body opened for me.

"So wet for me already," I murmured, circling her clit with my thumb while I worked one finger inside her tight heat. She was impossibly small, impossibly tight, and I had to grit my teeth against the urge to just bury myself in her. "That's it, sweetheart. Let me make you feel good."

"Regis—" Her voice broke on my name, her nails digging into my shoulders as I added a second finger, stretching her carefully. "Please, I need—"

"I know what you need." I curled my fingers inside her, finding that spot that made her cry out, and I worked her methodically, watching her face as the pleasure built, her body tensing beneath me. "Come for me first, Eileen. I want to feel you."

She shattered with a broken sob, her inner walls clamping down around my fingers, and I groaned at the sensation, at the knowledge that soon I'd be buried inside her, feeling her come apart around my cock instead.

When the tremors subsided, I withdrew my hand and positioned myself at her entrance, the head of my cock pressing against her slick folds. "Look at me," I commanded softly, and her eyes flew open, hazy with pleasure but focused on me. "I've got you."

I pushed forward slowly, watching her face for any sign of pain. She winced as I breached her, her breath hitching, and I froze immediately. "Breathe," I murmured, kissing her temple, her cheek, the corner of her mouth. "Just breathe for me."

She did, her body gradually relaxing around me, and I pushed deeper, inch by careful inch, until I was fully seated inside her. The sensation was overwhelming—she was so tight, so hot and wet around me that I had to close my eyes and focus on not losing control immediately.

"Okay?" I managed, my voice strained.

"Okay," she whispered, and then, tentatively, "You can move."

I did, pulling back and thrusting forward in a slow, steady rhythm that made her gasp and arch beneath me. Her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me deeper, and I groaned, my control fraying with each stroke.

"You feel perfect," I rasped against her ear. "So perfect, Eileen. My mate."

She whimpered, her body moving with mine, and I could feel her climbing toward release again, could feel the way her pussy was starting to flutter around me. I reached between them, my thumb finding her clit, and she cried out, her nails raking down my back.

"That's it," I growled, my hips snapping harder now, driven by instinct and need. "Come for me again. Let me feel you."

"Regis—oh God—*Regis*—"

She came with a sharp cry, her body clamping down around me so hard I saw stars, and I buried my face in her neck, my teeth finding the junction of her shoulder. "Mine," I snarled, and I bit down—not breaking skin but marking her, claiming her—as my own release crashed over me, my cock pulsing as I spilled myself deep inside her.

The bond flared between us, brilliant and binding, and I felt her pleasure echo through it, amplifying my own until I couldn't tell where I ended and she began. I held her through the aftershocks, my teeth still gently clamped on her neck, grounding us both.

When I finally released her, I licked the mark soothingly, then pulled back to look at her. She was flushed and dazed, a small smile playing at her lips, and she looked more at peace than I'd ever seen her.

"I love you," I said, my voice breaking, and I kissed her softly, sealing the promise between us. Whatever came next, we would face it together.