Katie wrinkled her nose at her wife. “You love my contrariness. It’s how I ended up with you.”
Bella leaned down and gripped her throat, pulling her into a filthy kiss.
“And that’s our cue to leave. Bye, ladies,” Rafe said.
“Let me know the details, and I’ll come help with your fundraiser,” Adri added.
Ending the call, Rafe stood and turned to his mate, his eyes drawn back to the trail of red down his arm from his wound. His wolf was howling inside him at the thought that his mate had been hurt, that he could have lost him while he was sitting here chatting with his friend.
“Come upstairs and I’ll clean you up,” Rafe growled.
“I really am fine. Don’t you dare waste your power healing me when my body can do it perfectly well on its own.”
“And what if I want to use my power to do something else?”
Adri audibly swallowed, and Rafe pressed a firm hand to his muscled back, directing him up to the apartment.
“You shouldn’t waste your power on that, either,” Adri said.
Rafe’s smile was all predatory teeth when Adri glanced back at him as they passed through the door to the bedroom. “Your pleasure is never a waste.”
“If I let you have control here, it doesn’t mean you get a say in where I go or what I do outside.”
“I’m well aware,” Rafe said, eyes drawn back to the dried blood on his mate’s arm. “Now, come get clean. The blood and grime must be driving your jaguar crazy.”
Rafe kept the lights dimmed and his movements slow as he undressed them in the bathroom while the shower warmed. Stepping in behind Adri when it was ready, he grabbed a washcloth and soap, letting his power wash over his mate’s skin along with the water to reassure himself that his mate was okay. That he was safe.
“Why does that feel so good?” Adri moaned as he leaned into Rafe’s touch, sparking another surge of arousal through him.
“What are your limits, kitten?”
“Why? What do you want to do?”
Rafe sighed, softening his touch even further to teasing strokes. “If you want this, you need to communicate, sweetheart. But, sure, I’ll start. My sole interest is your pleasure. If you’re not into something, you tell me. Immediately. Be as rude as you like if it’s about drawing a boundary in bed. Or just say stop. No biting to break skin unless you’re prepared to bond. I can’t control my wolf if you tease that way. I’m not into humiliation, yours ormine, beyond the thrill you’d get from being forced to orgasm wherever and whenever I choose like the good kitten I know you can be.”
“Fuck,” Adri groaned, his eyes squeezing shut as he squeezed the base of his cock like he was trying to stop himself from coming.
“Too much?” Rafe asked.
“No.”
“Good. Now talk. You don’t want anyone to have control over your life. What else?”
Rafe somehow managed to find the self-control to take his hands off his mate and start methodically washing himself as he waited for Adri to find his words.
“Holding me down is fine, but I really don’t do well with restraints of any kind or being locked up, and I don’t like being blindfolded. Whips and impact play are out, too. I get enough of that at work—impact, not whipping, obviously,” Adri finally said, voice so quiet and rushed it almost blended in with the sound of the falling water splashing over them.
Rafe couldn’t have stopped the growl his words sparked if he’d tried. He knew exactly why his kitten didn’t like those things. Being trafficked for the fighting ring as a teen had left a lasting mark. Pulling Adri into his arms, Rafe nuzzled into his neck, dragging his scruff along the delicate skin so he could reestablish his scent on him.
“Did they hurt you any other way?”
“Not the way you’re asking. Only being forced into the ring until I fought back.”
Rafe wished he’d tortured the vampires who’d taken Adri longer. He’d tracked them down not long after they first met and made sure they’d never take another young person from their home. It didn’t stop the flesh trade, of course. There were always more immoral assholes to take their place. But at least he knew his mate would never come face-to-face with the people who’d stolen his life from him on the street. Turning off the water, Rafe grabbed a warm towel to wrap around Adri’s body.
“Everyone who touched you back then is gone,” Rafe promised, as he got to his knees to pat his mate’s feet and legs dry.
“I know. It pissed me off something chronic when I realised what you were doing.”
