“Is he alright?” I chewed my lip. Surely he was. My bear would have told me if not.
Maverick rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he’s annoying but fine.”
“Good.”
He hugged me tighter while nuzzling my neck. The bite mark throbbed, but not painfully. When he licked the area, I shivered.
“Does this hurt, baby?”
“A little,” I admitted.
He licked the claim mark some more, and it tingled, any residual discomfort fading.
“That helps!”
“My saliva has healing properties.” I wondered if it was more than that. The pain had gone, but arousal had taken its place.
Maverick inhaled and then groaned. Stars above, I forgot how sensitive a shifter’s sense of smell could be. How embarrassing.
“Mate, let me undress you,” he said in a deep, raspy tone.
I nodded, thankful his sadness had lifted. At least partially. Knowing I could distract him helped reassure me I wasn’t such a terrible mate.
Maverick tugged my shoes and socks off before unbuttoning my shirt and removing my skirt. My underwear wasn’t remotely sexy because I didn’t own anything like that, but his heated gaze still burned like a thousand suns.
“My beautiful mate.”
46
Maverick
Fuck, the goddess had gifted me the most exquisite mate in the entire realm. Raven was stunning, with a tiny waist and gently flared hips. An ass a bear could sink his teeth into, and tits plenty big enough for my mouth.
She was perfection. And the perfect antidote for my sadness.
When I was a cub, Seamus promised that one day, if I was lucky enough to meet my soul-bonded mate, my life would irrevocably change. He said everything would look brighter, feel warmer, and I’d wonder how I lived in a gloomy world before I found the other half of my soul.
Back then, I’d accused him of exaggerating. I had accused him of teasing me, like he loved to do before the alcohol destroyed the essence of him. But now I knew. Seamus had not been exaggerating at all. If anything, he’d understated the realization that nothing would ever be the same again.
The thought of life without my mate was not just intolerable; it would destroy me. If someone took Raven from me, they would die. I knew it like I knew the sun rose in the morning.
The mages could spout their supremacist bullshit all they wanted. I wasn’t afraid of them or their enforcers. Yes, they had magic, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve too. And also friends who’d have my back if needed.
“My mate is perfect,” I told the little witch. She flushed right on cue, like this was the first time ever she’d received a compliment.
“I’m not perfect,” she scoffed. “I have a scar here…” She pointed to a tiny little silver mark on her hip, so I leaned in and licked it. “And here,” she said in a husky voice, directing my attention to a more jagged mark on her thigh.
So I licked and kissed that one too, while inhaling the sweet scent of her arousal.
“How about here?” I asked, moving up her body and nuzzling her hard nipples with my teeth. She whimpered softly when I pulled her bra cups down and latched onto first one nipple, and then the other.
“Stars, yes!” Her needy cry echoed around my bedroom, and my bear preened with masculine satisfaction, pleased we were giving our mate such pleasure.
“Does my mate need more?” I hoped so because my cock was ready to explode.
“Yes! Please, bear, I need you!”
Her desperate plea was all it took for the thin thread of my self-control to snap. I tore away her plain cotton panties and buried my face in her sweet pussy. She tasted like the best meal I’d ever had, bar none. The more I licked and sucked her, the more she writhed under me. When she finally fell apart, I lapped her release until she whined and tried to push me away.
