“I’m not mad, Alice.” Cain’s tone of voice sounded so reasonable. Lizzy’s eyes widened because, though he stilllookedlike Cain, there was something different about him as well. He still had a shrewd gaze. But it seemed to soften when he turned it on Alice.
Cain motioned to Finn. “I thought Lizzy would want to see her mate.”
It was Lizzy’s turn to jump to her feet as Finn pulled out of the vampire king’s grasp. As soon as he was within reach, he wrapped an arm around her waist, took her chin in his hand, and tilted her head back. Lizzy gasped as his lips claimed hers in a fierce, possessive kiss.
Heat exploded through her body at the contact. She’d been craving his touch and his scent with a near unbearable intensity. She hadn’t realized just how badly until the second his mouth connected with hers. Now he was here, his hard body pressed to hers, his mouth moving over her lips with hungry urgency. Lizzy shuddered and clung to him like he was her only anchor in a storm ravaged sea.
Dimly she heard Cain murmur, “We’ll give you two some privacy.” Then she heard the door click closed and the lock engage. But Lizzy was too consumed by the mating bond flaring back to life between her and Finn to spare them any attention.
Finn nipped at her bottom lip, his tongue sweeping out to soothe the small hurt. When their mouths fused, it was like striking a match to gasoline. Need roared through Lizzy’s veins, burning away thought, reason, everything but raw instinct.
A growl rumbled in Finn’s chest, echoed by her own. He backed her against the wall, hands roaming urgently over her body as if reassuring himself she was real. Lizzy returned his desperation, scoring her nails down his back, fisting her hands in his shirt. She wanted no barriers between them, only flesh against flesh. Though they hadn’t taken their relationship to that level of physicality, Lizzy felt a need like she’d never known. A need to have Finn know all of her and vice versa.
Finn seemed to read her mind, and he slowed things down. “Not here,” he said in a voice rough with lust. “The first time we are together, it won’t be as prisoners. We will be free with our pack.” He slipped his hand under the back of her shirt and let the warmth of his flesh take away the sting of his rejection.
“I need you,” she panted, writhing against him. “Now, Finn. If we’re mates, then we’re basically married, right? Stuck together for life and all that jazz.”
His eyes glowed with the soft amber of his wolf. Gripping her hips, he lifted her effortlessly. Lizzy wrapped her legs around his waist. “Yes, we’re mates. No, this isn’t happening here. We will have a proper mating ceremony first,” he said firmly, though he kissed her again. Probably to keep her from arguing with him. That was fine with her. He could kiss her all he wanted.
“You’re mine,” he rasped. “Say it.”
“Yours.” The word was both plea and vow. “Only yours.”
With a primal snarl, Finn pulled away from her and kissed his way down her neck, heading right for the bite mark he’d given her. His teeth sank in deep. There was a bite of pain, and then pleasure flooded her veins. The feel of him filling her so completely after weeks of emptiness tore a cry from Lizzy’s lips. She tossed her head back, lost to the sensation.
Finn took two deep pulls on her flesh and then licked the wound before moving further down the column of her throat. When he scraped his teeth over her racing pulse, Lizzy shuddered violently.
“Your turn.” He guided her head to his neck. “Do it,” he told her almost harshly. “Mark me, claim me again.” He sounded desperate, as if he needed her teeth on his skin, bonding them body and soul.
She didn’t hesitate as she bit down on his flesh. Warm, delicious blood filled her mouth immediately, flooding her senses so that the only thing in her world was Finn. He was her everything. Her mate, her friend, her lover, the best thing that had ever happened to her in her ridiculously crappy life. Her teeth sank deeper, and he grunted, pulling her tighter against his body.
“Yours,” he murmured against her hair, his voice sounding drunk with desire. “Only, always yours.”
A few minutes later, she released his skin, only to have him biteher again.Lizzy floated boneless in his arms as the now familiar pleasure set her nerve endings on fire. She caressed her fingers through his hair, holding him close as he continued marking her. The rich pull of it sang along with their bond, reaffirming their connection.
When Finn finally lifted his head, his eyes no longer glowed with his wolf. His gaze traced the mark on her throat with a look of naked satisfaction. He licked away a stray drop of blood.
“There,” he rasped. “No one will doubt who you belong to now.”
Lizzy smiled and cupped his stubbled jaw. “First, no one here cares. But if they did, they’d never have doubted. My heart already wore your name before you even marked me.”
Finn turned his head to press a fervent kiss to her palm. Carefully, he lowered her legs until she was standing on shaky feet. But he kept their bodies pressed tight, his hands framing her face.
“I’m yours, Lizzy. Always.” His thumb brushed her bottom lip. “Being without you was torture. I won’t let Cain separate us again.”
Emotion clogged her throat. Lizzy swallowed hard. “Never. Where you go, I go. No separation, no exceptions. We get through this together.” She’d never had anyone on her side before, someone willing to fight for her.
Finn nodded, relief softening the harsh lines of his face. He rested his forehead against hers. “Together,” he echoed. He picked her up and laid her down on the small bed, wrapping his body around hers.
They stayed entwined, drinking in each other’s nearness. There was still much to discuss about the things Alice had revealed. Primarily, they needed to talk about a plan to escape, just in case Fane and his wolves could not rescue them. But for now, all those concerns faded into the background. Only this moment mattered.
Eventually, their hearts calmed, and their breathing slowed. Finn trailed gentle pecks over her face before capturing her mouth in a languid, intoxicating kiss. Lizzy sighed blissfully and leaned into him.
Much later, cloaked in the intimacy of tangled sheets, Lizzy trailed her fingers over the mark on her neck. Finn watched her with hooded eyes, his body curled around hers protectively.
Lizzy’s wolf rumbled contentedly. They were together again. Whole. She had weathered the storm of being mostly without him for two weeks, and he’d been with her every step of the way. He’d fought to be with her, killed to be with her, and she knew he’d continue to do so. She had no idea why Cain suddenly let them be together, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Her last thoughts as she drifted off were of gratitude and hope.
Whatever was coming next, they would face it united with unshakable resolve. She feared no darkness, not when she had Finn’s light to guide her way. They would help Alice, too. Whatever they could do, Lizzy would make sure her new friend got through this, preferably without a vampire king as a consort.
