The fingers on her breasts tapped up until his hand settled on the front of her neck, holding firmly and lifting her head. She swallowed, her body open to him. Her heart flooded as he finally pushed all the way inside her.
Theo Reese. Completely inside her. Tears filled her eyes.This. This is what she’d waited for all these years. He touched every nerve she had, inside and outside, his body bracketing hers and holding her in place. He was all male, and she’d never, not ever, felt so much the female. Oh, she’d played. But she’d never felt this feminine. “Theo,” she whispered.
“Yes.” He pulled out and pushed back in, his movements slow and controlled. Then again. And again. Holding her in place, taking his time, taking her.
A quivering started deep inside her in a place she hadn’t known existed. It spiraled out, circling.
She closed her eyes again just to feel, her body softening. The second she did, he increased the speed and depth of his thrusts, pulling her back each time so he could go deeper. He hammered into her, hard and fast, his breath turning ragged in her ear. The quivers turned to shakes and finally sparks of live electricity.
She broke first, screaming his name, the entire world exploding and then narrowing to right this second. His fangs flashed into her neck, going deep and striking bone. Pain detonated and then pleasure overwhelmed her, shooting throughout her entire body. She came hard, nearly sobbing with her orgasm.
His fangs retracted and he licked her shoulder before pulling out and rolling her onto her back. A second later, and he plunged inside her again, lifting one of her thighs to go deeper.
His eyes had turned a startling green. Crimson covered his high cheekbones, and his nostrils flared like a predator catching prey. He pounded inside her, his gaze intent.
She clasped her ankles around his big back and tilted her pelvis to take more of him.
He growled, and his fangs dropped again.
Instinctively, she turned her neck to grant him access. The second he slid the fangs back in, she planted her palm right over his heart. The marking flowed through her, from her core, and branded on his flesh with a heat that sparked white and fierce.
His fangs retracted, and he buried his head in her neck, shuddering as he came.
She gasped out air, her chest panting, and rubbed his back. Holy saints alive. She’d just mated Theo Reese. She could sleep for a year.
He lifted his head, a lock of hair falling across his forehead. “Now we get serious.”
Chapter 13
Theo spent all day trying to decipher the damn flash drive, even inventing new computer programs on the spot. Chalton checked in on the phone several times, also working the problem from his place.
Ginny worked on her own laptop across the small table, blushing several times throughout the day.
Theo let her work through her feelings, finally settling back in his chair at the kitchen table, his gaze on her. She was squirming a little in her seat, and he bit back a grin. “Sore?”
She rolled her eyes. “No. By the way, what was up with the spanking?”
It was fun listening to modern slang in her old-fashioned brogue. “Don’t put yourself in danger by robbing Realm banks, darlin’.” Plus, she’d liked it.
She snorted. “This isn’t a Lexi Blake novel, damn it. Keep your hands to yourself.”
“You don’t mean that,” he said, letting the smile loose. They’d mated. They should probably talk about that, but it was more important they lived until the next day. He sobered. It was time to get serious. “The meet is tonight at midnight.”
“I know,” she said, glancing down at the ankle monitor, her jaw tightening.
Theo grabbed her phone off the counter, scrolled through the contacts, and dialed one. “Saul?” he asked, his voice a low rumble. “I’ve mated Ginny, which means you have no chance. Now tell me where to meet you, and I’ll give you the flash drive in exchange for you removing the anklet and letting her father go.” He pressed the speaker button and put the phone on the table.
She opened her mouth to argue, and Theo held up a hand. “Trust me,” he mouthed. They couldn’t let Saul know they’d figured out he could hear them.
Her frown didn’t hold a hell of a lot of trust. More irritation, really.
“Theo, how lovely to hear your voice,” Saul said, his tone even more nasally than before. “I have to say, I think Ginny could’ve done a lot better.”
Ginny’s face blazed a bright red.
Theo bit back irritation. “I think my mate is going to insist I gut you for that. Here I thought we’d reach an agreement like reasonable men.” There was nothing reasonable about the way he was feeling. His hand itched to go for his knife. “Saul, where shall I meet you with the flash drive my mate stole from you yesterday?” Yeah. He’d saidmy matetwice.
“What flash drive?” Saul said. “Oh, the one planted in the Realm bank? There’s nothing on it but a new encryption program I’m developing.”
