An impulse seized her.
She turned her head and pressed her lips to the side of his neck. Just a gentle kiss at first, a soft brush of mouth against fur. She felt his stride hitch, felt the way his arms contracted around her.
Then she opened her mouth and nibbled.
He made a sound that was half groan, half growl. His whole body went taut beneath her, muscles coiling like springs, his breath catching audibly.
“Sara.” Her name came out strangled. “Do you have any idea?—”
“What?” She nibbled again, a little harder this time, scraping her teeth against the sensitive skin beneath his fur. “Is something wrong?”
“It’s mating season,” he managed. “And you’re… My neck is…”
“Sensitive?” She traced her tongue along the tendon, tasting salt and fur and pure masculine heat. “I remember. You told me.”
“Then you know exactly what you’re doing.”
“Mmm-hmm.” She bit down gently, and the sound he made sent liquid warmth pooling through her entire body. “Problem?”
“Woman, you’re going to be the death of me.”
“What a way to go, though.”
He stopped walking. They were in a side street now, somewhere between the square and the residential area, with the Moonlight Tavern’s back entrance visible just a few yards ahead. His chest heaved with ragged breaths. His eyes, when he looked down at her, had gone dark and hungry.
“Last chance,” he said roughly. “Stop that, or I’m not going to make it home before I?—”
She bit him again.
Apparently that was all the encouragement he needed. The world tilted. One moment she was cradled in his arms; the next she was being carried through the tavern’s back door, Ben moving with the kind of focused urgency that made her pulse pound. They passed through the darkened kitchen—closed tonight for the festival—and down a narrow hallway.
“Where are we?—”
“Office.” He kicked the door open and carried her inside, not bothering with the light switch. The room was dim, illuminated only by the ambient glow from the street outside filtering through a small window. He headed straight for the desk, shoving some papers aside before laying her down on it, his mouth finding her neck with devastating accuracy.
“Oh—” Her back arched as his teeth grazed the spot where her shoulder met her throat. “Oh, God?—”
“That’s for teasing me.” His voice was a growl against her skin, sending shivers racing down her spine. “You know exactly what you do to me, don’t you?”
“I have some idea…” It was hard to form words when his hands were sliding up her thighs, pushing her dress higher, his claws trailing lightly over her skin in a way that made her see stars.
“You waited.” His mouth moved lower, tracing her collarbone. “You watched me with those women. You didn’t even flinch.”
“I trusted you.”
“I know.” He raised his head, meeting her eyes in the dimness. The intensity in his gaze stole her breath. “That’s the most incredible gift anyone has ever given me.”
“Ben…”
“Do you understand?” One hand cupped her face, his thumb tracing her cheekbone with devastating tenderness even as his other hand slipped under her panties. “I spent six years convinced I was one slip away from becoming the person I used to be. And you just… stood there. Believed in me. Let me prove it to myself.”
She reached up, threading her fingers through the fur at the back of his neck. “That’s what love is, isn’t it? Trusting someone to choose you, even when it’s hard?”
Something flickered in his expression—awe and hunger and a devotion so fierce it almost hurt to look at.
“I love you,” his voice thick and choked with emotion. “More than I knew it was possible to love anyone.”
Her heart clenched. “I love you too.”
