Sloane eyes opened slowly, revealing those sad eyes that haunted her. Except they didn’t seem quite so sad anymore when they widened with surprise then crinkled with obvious pleasure.
“You’re still here,” he rasped. The arm draped over her middle tightened.
Trailing her fingers down over his cheek to brush his lips, she replied, “I’m still here, champ.”
Sloane sucked in a deep, deep breath. It was a fascinating thing, watching his pupils expand up close. It was similar to how her cat Oyster looked when he gazed at her, too. All big, dark pupils and devotion.
Oyster would’ve loved you,she thought wistfully.
“I worried you might leave.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “I thought you might change your mind.”
“I’m pretty stubborn,” she informed him, “and when I decide on something, I like to stick to it.”
Sloane found her lips with his own. “Thank you for choosing me, doe.”
“Thank you for choosing me first,” she answered, smiling against his mouth. “And thank you for ruining all my dates.”
For the first time, Cecilia had the privilege of hearing Sloanelaugh.
It wasn’t a belly laugh or even what most people would consider a chuckle, but it was real.It was a soft, husky thing — all smoke and bass. It was toe-curling and delicious and she needed to hear it again and again and again.
“They were threats,” he insisted.
Heart lighter than it’d been in… she couldn’t even remember how long, Cecilia teased, “To you, maybe.”
Sloane nipped her lip. A bolt of electricity ran through her with that gentle punishment. “Correct.”
They were supposed to report to Captain Le Roy at seven, which she was certain was rapidly approaching, but she didn’t really care. The captain seemed fine enough, she supposed, but she’d reserve any respect for him until she was absolutely certain Sloane wouldn’t be punished for what he’d done out of very justifiable fear. If they were a little late for their meeting, then so be it.
Officially, this was her first morning with a mate. She intended to savor it.
Cecilia threaded her fingers through his silken hair and deepened their kiss. Desire rose, soft and insistent, as their tongues tangled.
Her mate’s hands were big and possessive as they roamed her back and down her thigh. Gently guiding him to drape himself over her, she spread her legs and welcomed him home.
Sloane’s breath escaped him in a hot gasp as she trailed her hands down his bare back to dip her fingers into his briefs. A taut backside met her fingers. It flexed with her touch, just as the rest of his powerful body did when he rolled his hips into hers.
The heavy bar of his erection pressed into her, already wet at the tip and demanding her attention. When her fingers slid around the sharp edges of his hip bones, she found it straining for her touch.
A deep, rattling purr shook his chest as she stroked him with exploratory touches. It wasn’t hurried. It was indulgent. She traced every silky ridge and thick vein, memorizing the topography of the heavy cock in her hand. It was a thing of beauty, just like the rest of him.
Sloane braced his elbows on either side of her. He bowed over her, hips rolling in slow waves into her hands. His eyes squeezed shut as his lips trailed over her cheek and jaw. “This istorture,” he murmured into her damp skin. “I never want it to end.”
Cecilia turned her head to the side, exposing more of her neck to his exploratory kisses. “Did you ever dream of this when you were on that rooftop?”
He reached down to begin unbuttoning her pajama top. Fangs dragging over her pulse, his greedy fingers closed over her breast with a possessive squeeze. A hot pulse beat between her thighs when he answered, “Touching you is better than anything I dreamed of. Smelling you is better. Tasting you is better. It’severything.”
Sloane rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger with just enough pressure to make her back arch. The weight of him pressed her into the mattress again immediately, almost like he thought she was trying to get away. A sharp, terrifying growl reverberated through her as he pinned her down.
Her danger sense roared to life with a needy pulse.
There was a predator above her. There was a predator who needed her, wanted her, and would happily devour her.
The bone-deep knowledge of just how dangerous he truly was twined with the unshakable certainty that he was hers to command. Nothing had ever stoked her desire like that.
When his fangs closed over her throat, she moaned and dug her nails into his hips, begging him for more.
That small bite from her nails seemed to spur him on. Sloane’s growl grew louder, sharper. He abandoned her breast to yank aside her sleep shorts like they’d personally offended him. Thick fingers drove through the slick mess she’d made to stroke her with ruthless, tight circles.
