He groaned. Actually groaned. The sound went straight through me, pooling heat low in my belly. “Yes. That. I like when you call me that. It feels... intimate. Ours.”
We were so close. I could feel the heat radiating off his body. Every nerve ending was on fire. How was it that he made me so hot all the damn time? It was getting ridiculous. I couldn’t control my hormones around him. Couldn’t think straight.
“You drive me insane, little mate,” he whispered. His lips were inches from mine. “Every moment. Every breath. You have no idea what you do to me.”
He finally set me down, but I was standing one step above him. Even that way, he still towered over me. His hands went to my hips immediately, gripping tight enough to leave marks. Yanking me closer until there was no space between us.
Then he buried his face in my neck.
I forgot how to breathe.
“What are you doing?” The words came out as a whisper.
“Scenting you.” His voice was muffled against my skin. “Marking you with my scent. Making sure anyone who comes near you knows you are mine.”
I swallowed hard. “That’s very possessive.”
“I am possessive. You are my mate. My fated match. Every instinct I have demands I claim you. Mark you. Make sure the entire world knows you belong to me.”
His grip tightened on my hips and he nuzzled deeper into my neck, breathing in like he was trying to memorize my scent. My neck had always been sensitive, and feeling his breath, his lips barely grazing my skin, sent shivers racing down my spine. Heat flooded through me, pooling between my thighs. I could feel my pulse racing where his mouth hovered, every nerve ending sparking to life.
He groaned against my skin, the sound vibrating through me. I felt him inhale deeply, drinking in my scent with desperate need.
“Mal...” I whispered the nickname again, loving the way he reacted, the way his whole body tensed, the feeling of power it gave me.
“Keep saying my name like that,” he ordered. His voice had gone rough. Commanding. “I love hearing it from your lips.”
My hands moved without permission. Tangled in his hair. The strands were soft, silky. I tugged gently, not to pull him away but to hold him there. To anchor myself.
He kissed my neck, starting with soft brushes of his lips that made me shiver, then pressing harder, using his tongue to trace patterns on my skin. His teeth scraped along the sensitive flesh, nipping gently and then soothing each bite with his tongue. The combination of pain and pleasure made me gasp, my fingers tightening in his hair. He found the spot where my neck met my shoulder and sucked hard enough to mark, his teeth grazing over the same place until I was trembling against him.
I couldn’t fight the arousal anymore. Couldn’t pretend I wasn’t affected. I was sure I was dripping wet. My entire body was on fire.
“Mal, this is...”
“Right.” He licked up the column of my throat and I nearly passed out. My skin was tingling everywhere he touched. Everywhere he breathed. “This is right. You and me. The bond. All of it.”
He took another deep breath. Then, with what seemed like enormous effort, he let me go. Stepped back. Put distance between us.
His voice was gravel when he spoke. “But I promised myself I would go slow. That I would court you properly. That I would not rush you or push you into accepting something you are not ready for. I am sorry. I got carried away.”
I blinked at him. Tried to process words when my brain was still stuck on the feeling of his mouth on my neck.
“Your arousal drives me insane,” he continued. His eyes were still red. Still hungry. “The scent of it. Knowing I affect you this way. It makes my control slip.”
I froze.
“My... my arousal?” The words came out strangled.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Yes. I can scent it on you.” He said it like it was obvious. Like everyone could smell arousal. “It is quite... potent right now.”
Oh god. Oh no. No no no.
I was embarrassed with a capital E. Someone please kill me now. Strike me down with lightning. Let the earth open up and swallow me whole.
“That is so damn unfair,” I muttered. My cheeks were burning. I was thinking about all the times I’d been aroused around him. Which was nearly all the time. Every single day. Multiple times a day.
He’d known. This entire time, he’d known.
