“All in good time,” I say, grabbing a condom from the side table of toys before positioning myself between her thighs. “How do condoms fit into your limits?”
“Everyone is tested regularly here so that condoms aren’t required,” she says with a shrug. “And we don’t need to worry about pregnancy.”
“Kitten, I didn’t ask if Ihadto use a condom, I asked if youwantedme to,” I say, putting authority into my voice. I know Ican’t get her pregnant; we’ve just met, so her first heat will take a while to come on. And shifters don’t carry STDs. But that’s not why I’m asking her. I know she’s safe with me, but I want her to be comfortable too.
“I’ve never…”
“You’ve never gone bare before?” I ask when she trails off and averts her gaze.
Maya shakes her head slowly, then inhales deeply and holds her breath before letting it out again. “I’ve never actually had sex before,” she confesses in little more than a whisper. “I’ve used toys. It’s not a big deal. I’ve… I just haven’t felt safe enough.”
She’s rambling. Like I wouldn’t love the news that I’m her first. Like my wolf isn’t puffing out his chest right now. It shouldn’t matter.It doesn’t matter.But still, she hasn’t felt safe… until she met me. And that has me feeling powerful in a way being the alpha of a pack never did.
“Kitten, do you want to stop?”
“Definitely not.”
“Thank Fate, because I’m going to explode if I don’t get inside you. Do you want me to use a condom?”
“No, Sir,” she says, her voice ringing out clear and firm. “I want to feel you—all of you.”
Fuck. My canines are already extending, and the serum I’ll use to seal our bond when I bite her fills my mouth. My wolf pushes me to claim her, but I won’t. Not yet. Not until I figure out why the hell she doesn’t seem to recognize our bond. Not until she understands and begs me to sink my teeth into her throat.
I let out a groan and drop my head, breathing heavily as I push my wolf back down. I line up my cock with her entrance and push inside her in one sure, steady thrust. The need to fuck her hard presses in on me, but I force myself to go slow. Maya arches her back and gasps, and I still myself as I adjust to the heavenly feel of her pussy choking my cock. She’s so wet and tight that I could come already. I could give in to the fireworks that erupt at every point of contact between us. But I grit my teeth and hold it back, praying to the Moon Goddess that Maya will get there soon because I refuse to get there before her.
I pull out and slide back in again, staring into Maya’s eyes as my balls draw up tight with the need to unload inside my stunning mate. Tingles shoot down my spine, and I know this will be over embarrassingly quickly. Taking one of her pebbled nipples into my mouth, I suck hard while my thrusts build in speed and intensity. Maya gasps and bucks her hips, incoherently babbling about how big I am, how much she loves this, and how close she is. My ego expands exponentially at the thought of making this stunning woman fall apart.
Just when I feel like I can’t hold on another second, Maya falls off the deep end into the abyss of pleasure only one’s fated mate could bring, and her pussy constricts around me, milking me of my seed. A noise escapes me, bordering on a roar, but I can’t hold it in. She’s everything. She claws at my arms with her animal’s nails, scoring my skin and drawing blood.
I welcome the pain. Relish how it refocuses my mind away from the need to sink my teeth into the juncture of her neck and shoulder.
Until Maya sees what she’s done. I’m still inside her when she notices the droplets of blood. Her already pale skin blanches completely, and her eyes go wide, returning to the dark pools of obsidian of her human form.
Chapter Eighteen
Maya
No, no, no. I push the masked man off me and scramble away from him. My breathing turns shallow as I make myself as small as possible. Not here. Not with him. This can’t be happening.
“Maya, stop. It’s okay,” he says firmly, placing his warm palms on the outside of my arms, kneeling in front of him on the bed.
“It’s not okay!” I shout, trying to push him away. I can’t lose control here. I can’t let him see what I am. It feels like I’m sinking into quicksand as I try to ground myself, try to grasp at a semblance of control. “I’m so sorry. I… I didn’t mean to.”
“So your claws slipped out; it’s not a big deal.”
“I don’t have claws!” I yell, and my voice comes out strangled as fear grips me. This can’t be happening. Thiscan’tbe happening. This is why I never let anyone get close before. I’m such an idiot for thinking I was in control. For thinking I could have this. For believing I could have someone and not be a danger to them.
“It’s okay,” he soothes, pinching my jaw between his thumb and index finger.
I shake my head, telling him it’s not okay. Ihurthim. And he has no idea how much worse it could have been, no idea what I am.No idea that I’m a monster.
But then he holds me firmly, ceasing my headshaking. He’s strong. Really strong.
“Are you in charge here, Kitten?” The stern tone in his voice allows no argument and sends a thrill of authority through me. It interrupts my spiral in its tracks and pulls me back to the present.
“No, Sir. I’m not in charge,” I respond when I find my voice again.
“If I say something is okay, that means it is. Do you understand?”
