Mated to Her Alpha Instructor Chapter 60

Eileen

"Like they know their mother's safe." His hand drifted lower, settling over the small swell of my abdomen with a reverence that made my chest ache. "They settled when we completed the bond. I could feel it through Valdor—the way they recognized us both."

I covered his hand with mine, marveling at how natural the gesture felt now when three weeks ago I'd barely been able to look at him without dissolving into panic. "Regis?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For giving me time today. For not… pushing."

His expression softened impossibly further. "Eileen, you just agreed to meet my parents tomorrow despite being terrified. You don't need to thank me for basic decency." He shifted closer, his free hand coming up to cup my cheek. "But there is something I want to do for you, if you'll let me."

My breath caught. "What?"

"When we completed the bond, it was rushed. Necessary, but not… I want to take care of you properly." His thumb brushed over my lower lip, and heat flared low in my belly at the promise in his eyes. "Let me make you feel good without expecting anything in return. Please."

The please did something to me, the way this powerful Alpha asked permission for everything involving my body. I should've been embarrassed—I was embarrassed—but underneath that was a warm, curling want that I'd been trying to ignore since waking up in his arms this morning.

"Okay," I whispered.

He leaned in, capturing my mouth in a kiss that started gentle but quickly deepened, his tongue sliding against mine with a possessiveness that made me whimper. When he pulled back, my lips were swollen and my breathing unsteady.

"Bathroom," he murmured against my temple. "I'll run you a bath, and then I'm going to touch you until you can't think about anything except how good I can make you feel."

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The water was perfect—hot enough to ease the lingering tension in my muscles but not so warm it made me lightheaded. Regis had added something to it, some herb that made the water smell faintly of lavender and moonflower, and I'd sunk into the large tub with a grateful sigh while he knelt beside it, sleeves rolled up and expression intent.

"Lean back," he instructed softly, and I obeyed, letting my head rest against the curved edge. His hands found my shoulders first, kneading away knots I hadn't realized were there, and I couldn't stop the small moan that escaped.

"That's it," he praised, his voice dropping into that rough register that made my thighs clench. "Let me take care of you."

His hands moved lower, soaping and rinsing my arms with methodical care before drifting to my breasts. I tensed instinctively—they'd been so sensitive lately, aching at the slightest touch—but he was impossibly gentle, cupping their weight and circling my nipples with his thumbs until they peaked and I was squirming.

"Regis—"

"Shh. I've got you." He shifted, one hand still teasing my breast while the other slid down my stomach, over the small curve there, and lower. "Spread your legs for me, sweetheart."

I did, face burning but unable to deny him anything when he used that voice, when the bond thrummed with his desire to please me, to worship me. His fingers found me already slick despite the water, and he made a low, approving sound that vibrated through my bones.

"So responsive," he murmured, circling my clit with devastating precision. "Have you ever touched yourself like this, Eileen? Made yourself come?"

The question should've mortified me, but his tone was curious, reverent even, and I found myself answering honestly. "Sometimes. Before. It never… it always felt empty. Pointless."

"Not pointless." He increased the pressure slightly, and I gasped, hips bucking. "Just lonely. But you're not alone anymore, are you?"

"No," I breathed, and then coherent thought became impossible because he'd slipped two fingers inside me, crooking them in a way that made stars burst behind my eyelids.

He worked me with the same focused intensity he brought to everything—learning what made me gasp, what made me whimper, adjusting his rhythm and pressure based on the small sounds I couldn't suppress. His thumb found my clit again, rubbing tight circles while his fingers curled and stroked, and I felt myself climbing higher, faster than I'd ever managed alone.

"That's it," he encouraged, his free hand coming up to tilt my chin so I had to meet his eyes—those blazing ice-blue eyes that watched me with absolute focus. "Come for me, Eileen. Let me see you."

The command, the intensity of his gaze, the relentless pleasure of his hands—it all crashed over me at once. I came with a sharp cry, inner walls clenching around his fingers as wave after wave of sensation rolled through me, so much more intense than anything I'd managed in those lonely, shameful moments in my dorm room.

This wasn't empty. This was being cherished, being seen, being claimed by someone who wanted me not despite my flaws but with full knowledge of them.

Regis gentled his touch as the aftershocks faded, withdrawing his fingers carefully and pressing a kiss to my temple. "Beautiful," he murmured. "You're so beautiful when you let yourself feel."

I couldn't form words, could only turn my face into his shoulder and breathe him in—cedar and mint and something uniquely him—as exhaustion pulled at my limbs. He lifted me from the cooling water as though I weighed nothing, wrapping me in a warm towel and carrying me back to bed.

"Sleep," he commanded softly, tucking the blankets around me. "I'll be right here."

And I did, falling into darkness with the phantom feeling of his hands still on my skin, the bond humming with his satisfaction at taking care of me, and the absolute certainty that tomorrow—meeting his parents, facing judgment, all of it—I wouldn't be alone.