The One He Claimed by Cooper
The One 22

Chapter 22: Dance Sophie

I feel completely and totally languid in Hunter's arms. I've touched myself before, brought myself to o**m. But nothing I've done before has ever felt like this. Maybe it's because of the mate bond, or maybe Hunter is just really good at what he's doing, but I'm pretty sure I saw stars, and not the ones in the sky, just now when I had that incredible o**m.

And now, he's telling me that it's going to be one of many?

'S**y and talented,' Hedda says, sounding just as relaxed as I feel.

"Are you still hungry?" he asks me.

Hungry? Who could be hungry after that?

'I'm hungry for more of our mate, Hedda says and begins purring loudly before I can stop her.

Hunter chuckles as he runs his nose through my hair. The man is sex personified. Everything about him is s**y, even the way he laughs at me.

"I take it Hedda is feeling good as well?" he asks me, kissing my temple.

"Yes," I say, lifting my head, just as Shaw begins purring at Hedda. I smile.

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"I think your wolf likes my wolf," I say.

"Correction, my wolf is head over heels in love with your wolf," he says, making me blush.

The mate bond is so strange. I barely know this man, but he's right. The feelings I have for him are very strong and my response to him, not just my body's response, but also my desire to bind myself to him for the rest of my life are nearly overwhelming in their strength.

He leans forward and I have trouble catching my breath as I feel his warm breath on my cheek, his warm, soft lips brushing across my cheek as he moves to my ear.

"I'm head over heels in love with you, too," he says.

I feel my heart s**p several beats and I have trouble catching my breath. He gently rubs his cheek against mine and I'm not sure if it's Hunter or Shaw who is doing it. Rather than think too much about it, I close my eyes and enjoy the feel of him, the tingles that are still moving through my entire body, his warmth everywhere his body is touching mine, and the love that he's openly showing me.

"Would you like to dance?" he asks me.

I open my eyes and look at him. "There's no music."

"I don't need music to dance with my mate," he says.

"Are you trying to help me relax before...before you claim me?" I ask nervously.

"Partly," he says, standing and setting me on my feet in front of

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him. He takes my hand and pulls me to the only area where there's enough room for us to move around. "But the other part is that I want you to remember tonight. I want you to look back on the night that I marked you, that you became mine with nothing but happy memories. I want to make tonight special for you. I want you to tell our pups about tonight, because you want the same for them that I've given to you," he says.

I'm not sure how I got so lucky to not only have found a mate who is willing to fight our laws, but who also wants to make tonight as positive and memorable for me as possible. He wraps one arm around my waist and takes my hand in the other, holding it against his heart.

"I know it's the mate bond that is making me feel this way, but that's the point, right? That's why the Moon Goddess created fated mates, so that when we found each other, we'd know that we were perfect for each other. I know you don't know me that well. I know that will take time and that we have a mountain ahead of us to climb. But for tonight, it's just you and me, and the love that we share because we are the perfect halves making a perfect whole."

I feel tears p**k in my eyes. "You have a lot of pretty words, Alpha," I say, my throat tight.

"And I mean every one of them from my heart, my Luna," he says, using my title just as I used his.

He is slowly moving us around in circles, slow dancing under the moon light. I take the hand that is resting on his shoulder and move it up to his thick hair.

"I'm guessing you've figured out that I have no experience in relationships or with men," I s I say.

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"Yes."

"I thought I would be scared if this night ever came, but I'm not."

"You have nothing to fear from me, ever."

I smile at him and lay my head against his chest as we slowly dance around the small space. I can feel his hard length. pressed against my stomach. Eventually I'll have to acknowledge that, but I'm not quite ready for that yet.

"Did your mother teach you to dance?" I ask. "Mine did. She taught both me and Amelia. Amelia is a better dancer than I am, but she had two more years of practice than I did. And now, I'm a bit rusty," I say, pulling back and looking up at him.

There's a sad look on his face and I stop dancing. "I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

"No. No, you didn't," he says, pulling me to him again and

continuing our dance. "It's just...it was my sister who taught me to dance."

"Oh," I say, not sure why that would make him sad. "She must be a very good dancer."

"She was," he says sadly, then sighs heavily. "My sister is the biggest reason that I'm so against this claiming process. She was a beautiful woman, happy, and kind. A lot like how you described Amelia to me on the night of her birthday."

I pull back, looking up at him. I can tell that this is important to him.

He's looking over my head, lost in his thoughts. "My sister was

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one of the many she-wolves that struggled with the public mating process. After her mate claimed her, she begged me to never do that to my mate. To you" he says, looking down at me. "Oh."

He swallows hard and looks away again. "She got pregnant with a female pup and rather than have her pup suffer the way she did, she ended both of their lives.

I gasp, my hand coming to my mouth. "Oh, Hunter..."

He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "I don't want to spoil our night with sadness, but I told you that you can ask me anything and I'll always be honest with you. I loved my sister very much. It broke my heart when I found out that she was gone. That was when I knew that I had to somehow change our laws, for her, for you, and for all of the ranked she-wolves today and in the future. They truly are more than just pretty words to me, Sophie. I mean them. And I'm thrilled to know that I'll now have a strong partner to stand beside me, to fight beside me, to make that happen."

I lean my head against his chest again, this time wrapping my arms around his waist and holding him close to me. He does the same and we rock back and forth for several minutes before I step back and take his hand.

"Let's sit in the pool together and you can tell me about me being this legend that people keep talking about," I say to him.

He lets me lead him to the pool and I gently push him to sit. When he does, I straddle his lap, wanting to be able to see him as we talk. His hands go to my hips, helping to warm the cool water around me. Chapter 22: Dance

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"You know, this isn't a good idea to sit like this if you want me to focus on anything besides wanting you," he says, his voice deep with desire.

I look down, then take his big, hard c**k in my hands, seeing that the tip is poking out of the water.

"What about this, is this going to help you focus?" I ask, feeling powerful at this man's instant response to my touch. He sucks in a breath as move my hands up, then down.

"Not on anything other than my need for you," he says, reaching up to stroke my nipples. My body jerks with pleasure at his touch and I realize that the conversation about our future can wait until tomorrow. Tonight is about him and me, about me becoming his and him becoming mine.

Tomorrow, when I'm wearing his mark and my body is covered in his scent, then we can talk about what's next. But tonight, I want to focus on the pleasure he's promised me, and I want to know that I've been able to give him the same pleasure in return.