The Golden Lycans (Ella) novel Chapter 30

Gloom and Thunder-Part 1 

*Austin*** 

Her lips are warm, soft-perfect. 

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My pulse thunders as I pull back ever so slightly, hovering just a breath away, waiting-hoping. And then, with quiet, heart-stopping certainty, she closes the distance, pressing her lips gently back to mine. 

A rush of pure exhilaration shoots through me. 

Ava had never felt like this. No one had ever felt like this. 

I cup her face with one hand, the other finding her waist as our lips meet again and again in short, sweet kisses, each one deeper, more intoxicating than the last. A soft, blissful sound escapes her throat as she winds her arms around my neck, pulling herself flush against me. A thrill races down my spine at the warmth of her body against mine, the feel of her fingers tangling into my hair, the way every point of contact between us burns-a delicious, electric charge rippling through my veins. 

I tilt my head slightly, deepening the kiss, coaxing her lips open with my own. My tongue grazes hers in a slow, deliberate tease, and I hear a light, moan of contentment, hum low in her throat. God dess, that sound; soft, eager, and so full of unspoken want, ignites something in me immediately. 

A growl rumbles low in my throat as my hands slide down to her waist, fingers pressing into the curve of her hips as I pull her even closer, craving more-more of her, more of this, more of everything she is. 

This… this is something else entirely. 

I leave her lips, trailing slow, lingering kisses along her jaw, down the delicate column of her throat. She exhales sharply, her head tipping back, giving me more access as a another shiver racks through her. The scent of her-sweet, floral, utterly her-fills my lungs as I press my nose into the nape of her neck, inhaling deep, drunk on her. 

And for the first time in my life, I know what it means to need someone. 

The urge to kiss her again is overwhelming, consuming, unstoppable. My lips find hers once more in a kiss that is deeper, more demanding, more fierce-as if my body, my soul, has finally found what it’s been missing. 

A rush of energy surges through me, as if I’ve touched a live wire, my entire body buzzing with an unbearable, exhilarating heat. 

Had kissing always felt like this? 

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Reluctantly, I pull back just enough to catch my breath, my forehead brushing against hers as I stare at her, drinking in the way she looks at me-flushed, breathless, lips parted in quiet awe, eyes shining with something I can’t name but feel in every part of me. 

I reach up, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, my fingers lingering at the curve of her jaw. She sighs softly, tilting her head into my palm, her eyes fluttering closed as a contented, almost dreamlike smile graces her lips. 

And I know, without a doubt, that I will never be the same again. 

But then… her expression changes. 

The warmth, the wonder, the breathless joy-all of it vanishes in an instant. 

Her brow furrows, her lips parting as if to say something, but hesitation grips her. When she finally opens her eyes again, they glisten-tears welling up too fast to stop. 

Then she breaks. 

“I’m so sorry, Austin, I… we… I just CAN’T do this!” she chokes out, her voice thick with raw emotion. 

Her hands fly up to her face, muffling the sobs that suddenly wrack her body. Her shoulders shake as she crumbles before me, unraveling right in front of my eyes. 

Her words hit me like a fist to the gut, and I go completely still, stunned, blindsided. What just happened? 

Only seconds ago, she was there with me, in this-just as lost in it as I was. I know she felt what I did. I know she wanted it. How could she not? It was incredible, intoxicating, something beyond words. 

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