Becoming desperate for release, I broke our kiss. “Kane, please.”
It came out like begging, but I didn’t care. I was frantic. I couldn’t take the intensity anymore.
He growled but didn’t move faster, dragging out each thrust. A whimper escaped me without permission. I couldn’t breathe anymore, couldn’t think. My vision blurred around the edges. Grabbing on to his hair, I held on tight. His mouth claimed my lips again. His tongue stroked mine, asserting dominance. He kept me on the edge so long I couldn’t see straight.
White hot heat rolled through in a wave of pleasure, an orgasm unlike any other. My ears buzzed. My body jerked, clenching him inside me. An inhuman moan tore through me. I ripped my lips away from him to latch my teeth onto his neck where it met his shoulder. I bit down hard and squeezed him to me tight.
A primal growl filled the cabin. It came from Kane. The sound of it created shivers along my nerve endings, making the fine hairs on my body stand on end. He kept his pace slow, thrusting into me over and over again, milking every tremor from my body.
His body tightened, a rumble spreading through his chest. Instinctively, I clamped my bite harder on his shoulder. Ineededthis. My canines extended in a partial shift. Kane growled, his back arching, but I couldn’t stop biting him. I tasted blood. My eyes rolled in the back of my head. Another orgasm ripped through me, making my body jerk against his.
We eventually stilled. Kane’s ragged breathing filled the room. My instincts told me to keep hold of his neck. With effort, I forced myself to loosen my jaw. A gasp escaped Kane as I let go.
My fingers dug into his scalp. No, myclaws. My teeth weren’t the only things to have partially shifted. It took me two attempts to retract my claws. I didn’t want to let go.
What was happening to me? I’d never lost control like that, never even been tempted to bring out my claws and teeth during sex.
Dear God, I’d given him a mating mark. A burst of possessiveness shot through me. I leaned forward and licked the residual drops of blood from his shoulder. He grunted. His taste filled my mouth, making another purr roll through me. I’d never thought blood tasted good as a human, only enjoyed it once I shifted, but whatever was going on between us was happening on every level.
I flopped back on the bed, letting him go.Triple fucked.
Staring past him to the beams in the ceiling, I asked, “This can’t be undone, can it?” I rubbed my face with my hands, trying to scrub the truth away. Mom had told us to keep our teeth to ourselves.
If you mate, you lose your freedom.
It was something she had said often, and one of the reasons she kept kicking my father out of our house whenever he turned up. Bobcats were notoriously promiscuous. My parents never went through a proper mating ritual, but my dad still came sniffing around every few years, infrequent enough I had few memories of him as a child. Mom always said that no matter how tempting it was in the moment, she didn’t want to be tied down to one man.
Kane’s face filled my vision, concerned, satisfied, possessive. His tongue darted out, licking my bottom lip, then came his teeth, nibbling. My slowing, post-orgasm heart rate picked up speed again. It only took a second for me to dive into the kiss with a groan. He tasted so good. Like nothing else. I didn’t know if I’d ever get my fill.
Long minutes passed before he broke the kiss and slid out of me. The empty and lost feeling only lasted a second before he turned out the light, pulled me against his chest in a spoon, and covered us with the quilt.
I sighed. Being cradled like this felt way too good. I snuggled my ass against him and rested my head on his bicep. His other arm encircled my waist.
I touched the marks on my neck. As far as I knew, going through a mating ritual with a shifter was a deeper bond than marriage. I swallowed. I was only twenty-four. I wasn’t ready to make a decision about being mated for life.
But even without his arm around me, I would feel the connection between us. What had started as a thin strand was now a corded rope. It bound us together, unseen but so very strong. Every time we made love, it got stronger. I’d made sure of that by biting him. Instinct had taken over again.
Having Kane’s arms around me was nothing short of perfect. I didn’t want to be anywhere else. Would I have any of these feelings if we hadn’t started along the path of a mating ritual? Was I in my right state of mind?
I felt like myself, just…different. Changed. I didn’t know what to think anymore.
Behind me, Kane’s breathing remained steady. He wasn’t asleep yet. I got the impression that his mind raced as much as mine did. What was he thinking about?
After long moments in the dark and silence, I finally asked the question weighing on my mind. “Have you dreamed about me?”
He tucked me more securely in his arms, his hand covering one breast, rubbed his chin on my shoulder, then grunted.
I wasn’t sure what that meant.
20
KANE
I wokeup with a growl erupting from my throat.
Beside me, Brooke startled awake, hopping to her knees. “What? What is it? What’s wrong?” Her head darted back and forth, her arms outstretched to the sides like she was prepared to do battle if we were threatened.
The cuteness of her actions calmed me some. Her hair stuck out in all directions, her skin flushed, and her pert, little breasts jiggled at the movement. It made what I’d dreamed about fade a bit.
