“Sometimes mates stay human, right?”
A slight nod.
“I’m not saying I’m out on an eventual claiming mark, but…”
“It’s a lot now, I know. Humans work differently. Feel differently. It happens slower for you.”
Gathering her courage, Alana sat up just enough to pull off her tank top. Her bare breasts prickled as the cold air drifted over her skin. Slowly, she settled back onto the mattress again.
Aaron’s breath came shallow as he stared. And after the span of a few heartbeats, he leaned forward, locked his arms on either side of her head, and searched her eyes. There was still an air of hesitation, so she reached up and cupped his face, demanded his attention.
“Don’t bite me,” she whispered. His eyes blazed brighter, so she smiled and pulled him closer. “Bear, don’t claim me until I’m ready. No hurting me.”
A soft rumbling growl emanated from Aaron’s chest, and then he was on her, his lips crashing against hers like waves on a cliff. Fire ignited along her nerve endings, starting from where their hips met and exploding out to her fingertips. Aaron winced and drew back from her touch as if he’d felt it, too, and after an initial look of shock that likely mirrored her own, the corners of his lips curved up in a wicked smile. He intertwined his fingers with hers and slid her hands above her head as he eased down and kissed her lips again. He rocked seductively over her as he sucked her bottom lip. She was no better than putty in his capable hands. There was no room for nerves or insecurity here, not with him. He was laying claim to every thought, every breath, every reaction of her body. He eased his lips off her with a hard suck, and she gasped as her body bowed against the mattress. She needed to be closer to him. No man had ever affected her like this, so completely. Every cell in her body belonged to the man who had stolen her heart.
Aaron dipped his lips to her neck and drew his hand from hers, dragged his touch slowly up her arm to the bandage on her neck. He pulled it off. She didn’t even feel the pull of the tape on her neck, but the second Aric’s bite was exposed to air, a tingling sensation skittered across her sensitive skin. She hated what he’d done.
“I won’t bite you, Alana,” Aaron said in a deep, gravelly voice. “Not until you beg me to.” He worked sucking kisses along her throat until he reached the torn skin. “But I’m going to show you that not all pain is bad.”
Holy. Shit. Could his words make her come? Was that a thing? He was building pressure in her middle that had her panting in desperation. His warm breath on her neck teased her with how close he was to making his claim.
The cuts burned as he kissed her skin, his tongue soft as he brushed it against her. Alana was shaking now, trying not to plead with him, trying to keep her pride, but he was demolishing her defenses one touch at a time. He released her other hand, cupped the side of her neck, and when he pressed his thumb against her tripping pulse, the growl in his chest rattled harder. Sexy, beastly man.
Wanting more, she drew her knees up on either side of him. And as he worked her neck, he lowered his hips and rolled his erection against her, hitting her clit through her thin pajama pants just right.
She moaned, and he reacted, sucked too hard. She hissed and dug her nails into his shoulder as punishment. But Aaron had been right. The pain in her neck added to the pleasure he was conjuring between her legs. He ran his kisses down the length of her collar bone and settled more of his weight onto her, and now when he rocked against her this time, waves of ecstasy flooded the apex between her thighs. Squeezing her eyes closed, Alana tried to convince her body to hold on. When that didn’t work, she rushed out, “Aaron!”
He smiled against her skin, then slid down her body, yanking her pants off as he went. He was lightning fast, and she froze, completely shocked that he’d suddenly disappeared from her torso and was now tossing the remainder of her clothes onto the floor. She wanted to squeak and cover up her lady bits, because holy hell balls, his face was right there, but he swatted her hand away with a growl. He looked about as hungry as a man could get, and his eyes, which should’ve terrified her, couldn’t pass for human. Shifters used to scare her, but now, a trill of excitement and anticipation zinged up her spine. Aaron hooked his arms around her legs and yanked her to the edge of the bed. In a moment of mortification, she closed her eyes, but then his lips touched her. Then his tongue touched her, so lightly, just a lick, and fuck every uncertainty, she suddenly wanted him to finish eating her more than she’d ever wanted anything.
With a moan, she slid her knees wider to give him more room, and reaching between her legs, ran her fingernails through his hair. When Aaron sucked gently on her clit, she arched her back, gasping at how good it felt. She was so close already, but he’d known that. This was the game, right? Get her close, then demolish her with his clever mouth and make an intimate memory she would never forget. One that would annihilate every experience she’d ever had in the bedroom before Aaron had plowed into her life.
“Oh, Aaron,” she cried as his tongue plunged deeply inside her.
He wasn’t claiming her skin, wasn’t claiming with a bite. No, tonight he was claiming her soul.
The pleasure became blinding until a deep, throbbing orgasm blasted through her body. She’d never felt anything so consuming as the release at the urging of Aaron’s mouth. In a flash, Aaron pulled her toward him until her ass was off the bed. There was a moment of imbalance, where she thought she might topple forward, but Aaron was there, holding her steady. He brushed the tip of his cock against her throbbing entrance. She didn’t know where his briefs had gone but she gave zero fucks about that right now. All she wanted was to finish every aftershock she could with him buried deep inside of her.