I break the kiss and cradle his head in my arms, my mouth falling open as he slides into me. He’s thick enough that the few months I’ve gone without sex gives me the most wonderful burn. Evan gathers my long hair in his fist and pulls it to the side, taking my head with it. His tongue slides lazily from my outer shoulder to the curve where it meets my neck. He nibbles and kisses his way back and forth a few times until the trail of dampness left in his wake has a shiver working its way down my spine.
After a few shallow thrusts, Evan’s hand slides down from my breast to cup my ass, pulling me against him until our pelvises are locked together and he’s deep inside me. Holy hell, he feels good. Evan goes completely still except for a quiver that starts in his thighs. Being a girl that likes to be on top during sex, I know the signs of fatigue, but then his arms start to shake too. I start to pull back, but Evan crushes me against him and starts moving again. All thoughts of muscle strain evaporate when he starts sliding in and out of me quickly, yanking me forward by my ass so I can feel him against my clit with every grind.
Griffin draws my attention by moving around the bed. His chin is lowered, making the planes of his face look almost harsh. The way his light eyes are examining me makes me feel like I’m prey, even though he’s not even touching me.
Griffin stops when he’s standing right in front of me. I don’t bother to repress the soft sighs falling from my lips. I want him to be closer. I want to touch him. I roam my eyes over his body. He tilts his head to the side and reaches down to take his cock in his hand.
My hand aches, and I realize I’m fisting my fingers so tightly it hurts. Evan is still kissing my shoulder, so I nose his hair out of the way and return the favor. That delicious smell wafts up from his skin, and I damn near purr when I taste him, but I never take my eyes off Griffin.
Evan’s pace speeds up. My hair is still in his fist, so when he gives a tug, my head tips back and I can see his face. His lips are lifted in a snarl. “Quinn Shaw.” Eyes wild, he searches my face. “You are mine and I claim you.” I get a little lightheaded, but that may be because in the next second, Evan sinks his teeth into my shoulder. There’s a sharp pain, but it’s gone in the next second as an orgasm hits me like a ton of bricks.
It’s nothing like the bite from Griffin, it’s somehow more primal. Evan’s ragged breathing is the only thing I hear besides my heartbeat. It’s as if we’re in a vacuum where nothing else exists besides us. Heat cascades over my back, radiating from the place where his teeth are still clamped against my skin. The warmth continues to flow until I feel completely enveloped with the sensation. I feel like I’m about to burn up.
Accept me, tell me I’m yours.Evan’s urgent words echo in my mind like a memory of something that never happened.
“You’re mine,” I whisper anyway. The relief is instant. A groan, moan, or some combination of the two falls from me as the heat burning me from the inside flows from my skin like steam rising off a hot spring.
My arms are damn near useless and start to slide from Evan’s shoulders. “I’ve got you,” he murmurs softly and tightens his grip before sliding forward until my back hits the cool sheets again.
“That didn’t go as expected,” I hear Griffin half growl. I use every ounce of energy I possess to turn my head to the side and search him out. My eyes grow heavier when I feel him stroke my hair back from my face, even though Evan is still curled over me.
I think back to when we saved Jacob all those nights ago, when the female wolf said I would break easily. I try for a smile, but I’m not sure if it ever materializes. “I guess I do need to work on my stamina.”
Chapter 7
Evan
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Griffin has every right to be furious with me. I glance over at Quinn, but even his shouting isn’t causing her to stir. She’s been out for at least five minutes. In that time, I’ve gotten dressed, and so has Griff.
I put my head in my hands and curl my fingers into my scalp. The problem is, I wasn’t thinking. I allowed my instincts to take over. It’s the stupidest, riskiest thing I’ve ever done. I not only jeopardized Quinn’s safety, but I took away her ability to decide if she wanted me to claim her. As a human, she wouldn’t be privy to our mating rituals. She just bound herself to me, life and body, for eternity, and she has no clue because I didn’t tell her what her agreement meant.
I don’t want to explore what could have happened had she not muttered those few words in response to accept me, but I force myself to. If she had resisted my claim, both of us would have been broken. I’m not even sure if she would have survived it, and I risked that because I’m a fucking idiot.
I lift my head and take the full brunt of Griffin’s accusatory glare. When I don’t respond to his previous question, he asks it again. “Jesus Christ, Evan, what the fuck was that?”
“There’s nothing I can say that you don’t already know. I know I fucked up. I wasn’t thinking. I thought I had myself under control…” I don’t bother saying the rest, because it’s evident from my actions that control was the last thing I demonstrated.
“That’s not fucking good enough.” He shoves my shoulder, and I don’t even bother resisting, so he nearly pushes me over. “She could hate you for this, and I let it happen!” he bellows. I nod because it’s the truth. Quinn isn’t a supernatural, so I have no idea how she’s going to respond to what I’ve done, but even now, I can’t pretend to regret it. Which makes me even more fucked up.
The only thing stopping me from losing my mind right now is even while she’s asleep, I’m aware of her, which was only made possible by the bond I forced her into.
Griffin grabs the collar of my shirt. “If she leaves us because of this, I will spill every drop of your fucking blood on the ground.” I’m not surprised by his harsh insult, considering it’s one of the worst a vampire could deliver. He doesn’t even think my blood is worth consuming.
“I would only stop you because it would mean her death too.” I stare into my best friend’s eyes, knowing I deserve his anger and so much more. Griffin shoves me again, this time in disgust.
“When is she going to wake up?” he demands sharply.
“I don’t know.” I feel utterly useless, and it’s clear in my defeated tone.
Griff rearranges the sheet he pulled over her. The two small crescent marks he left on her neck are visible and look delicate, especially compared to my mating mark on her shoulder. A purple bruise is already forming around the area. Thankfully, her body is reacting how it should and it seems to be healing, but the scar is red and angry looking.
I pull my eyes away from her, feeling conflicted. Part of me is ecstatic with my claim and the fact that she accepted me, even if she didn’t realize what it meant. The other part of me can’t figure out how the fuck that went so wrong.
I heard her conversation with Griffin, heard her offer her blood to him, and even then, he made sure she was certain she was ready. He literally needs blood to survive, and he’s been damn near starving himself for days because he couldn’t stomach bagged blood when hers was so close, yet he still had more control than me.
I head into the bathroom, unable to watch him fuss over her anymore. She’ll probably be out for hours, maybe longer, considering it’s past her usual bedtime anyway. After a few torturous moments of me forcing myself to stare at my reflection in the mirror, I put my fist right into the glass, wishing it hurt more than just some cut up knuckles. The shards land mostly in the sink and all over the counter. I feel dumb after doing it. The only thing I accomplished was making another mess. After a quick rinse to get the blood off my hand, I head back to the room, and more importantly, to the bed, because I can’t seem to stay away.
Griff turned the lights off in my brief absence. He’s leaning against the headboard with Quinn draped over his lap. He’s stroking her back and hair, being mindful not to go too near the spot on her shoulder.
