Carnal Secrets

CHAPTER TEN

Before Nick’s car had fully come to a stop, Shaya was attempting to jump out of the passenger seat. She might have been successful if Nick’s arm hadn’t clamped around her waist.

“Wait.” He didn’t release her until she nodded.

Shaya thought it was strange how he could sound so unyielding yet so gentle at the same time. Taking a proper look outside, her mouth fell open in horror as she saw the front windows of the salon almost completely shattered and the door hanging from its hinge. Pieces of broken glass littered the sidewalk like glistening diamonds, and the salon’s sign had been splashed with black paint. “Oh my God.” Her wolf whined, anxious and angry.

Once Nick had opened the passenger door, Shaya was out of the vehicle and dashing toward the salon only to, once again, be hampered by an arm around her.

“It’s okay, baby, Kent’s not inside. He’s over there.”

Kent caught sight of her at the same time as she spotted him, and then they were hugging each other hard. “Thank God you’re okay,” said Shaya. Her words came out in a rush. “When I heard what happened I started panicking that maybe you’d been hurt and then you weren’t answering your cell and my mind was just running away with me and I was imagining you dead, covered in blood and—”

Kent poked her shoulder. “For God’s sake, woman, breathe. I’m fine, really. The damage was done last night. I sent Paisley home a few minutes ago. She was white as a sheet.”

Draping a supportive, comforting arm around Shaya, Nick gave Kent a half smile. “What about you?” At that moment, Derren appeared at their side.

“I don’t think there are words to describe what I’m feeling right now.”

“How much damage is there?” asked Nick.

“Damage is a mild word for this,” said Shaya. “It looks like a tsunami hit it.” Nick’s hand slid around her throat, and his thumb massaged her nape soothingly. His presence and his touch anchored her when she wouldn’t have believed anything could at such a time.

“Shaya’s right, this is beyond damage or vandalism. This is…” Derren broke off, searching for an explanation that seemed to be just out of his reach. But it wasn’t out of Nick’s reach.

“Personal,” finished Nick. “It seems personal.”

“How bad is it?” Shaya asked Kent.

Kent puffed out a long breath. “Bad. Bottles of shampoo and conditioner have been poured everywhere. The mirrors have all been smashed. The leather chairs have been slashed with scissors. To add to that, broken mugs and plates are scattered all over the kitchenette, and the contents of the fridge have been thrown around. And then there’s the office—it looks like a hurricane hit it. Papers and magazines and notebooks and files are all over the places. The computer hard drive, monitor, and keyboard have been completely wrecked. What’s baffling the police is that the safe hasn’t been touched and neither has the till. But I have a pretty good idea why that is.” Noticing Nick’s confusion, Kent added, “For the same reason that the vandals entered through the back door. That’s right: The damage to the front door wasn’t done out of a necessity to get inside—they basically did it for sport, along with the rest. The reason for that is the extremists are involved. I recognized a few of the scents.”

“The extremists?” echoed Shaya.

Kent’s voice was gravelly with emotion. “All I can think is they discovered I’m a half-shifter.”

Before Kent had even revealed the extremists’ involvement, Nick had known they were responsible, because he could clearly see Logan among the gathering humans. His expression was smug and daring. Little bastard. Vandalizing Nick’s mate’s—or girlfriend, as Logan believed—place of work definitely counted as personal and was definitely one very good way to rile him.

As both Shaya and Kent tracked Nick’s hard gaze, they each snarled at Logan as the same realization dawned on them.

“He’s got balls, showing up here after what he’s done,” hissed Kent, moving toward him. Derren’s hand on Kent’s arm stopped him.

“Not balls,” said Derren. “He’s hoping Nick will react.” Derren briefly explained the situation. Nick had expected Kent to be pissed with him, to blame him to some degree for bringing this trouble to his salon. But Kent gave Nick a look of sympathy.

“I can’t imagine what you must have gone through in that place. A lot of shifters don’t last in juvie.”

“You’re not going to blame me for what happened to your business?”

Kent frowned. “Why would I do that? He did what he did because he’s a bastard, not because of you. Besides, I was expecting it to happen sooner or later—though I thought it would be because they discovered I’m a half-shifter.”

As Nick’s eyes again locked on Logan, Shaya could almost feel his fury. Enraged though she was, she knew better than to confront Logan, particularly right now in front of all these people and a news reporter—oh yeah, any crime that might possibly be related to shifters counted as news. “Nick, don’t give him what he wants.” He didn’t respond. “Look at me.” Finally, he did. “Don’t play into his hands.”

“Right now, I need to make some calls,” announced Kent. “I need to get some people out here to deal with this mess.” He patted Shaya’s hand. “You need to go home.” When Shaya opened her mouth to object, he raised a hand. “There’s nothing you can do here. All you’ll be doing by sticking around is upsetting yourself. Now go. You’d say the same thing to me if it was the other way around.”

Sighing in defeat, she nodded and gave Kent another hug. Then Nick was leading her back to his car, his eyes again on Logan. “Nick, don’t play into his hands,” she repeated.

Oh, Nick had no intention of doing that, despite how livid he was. Still, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have a little chat with the human. “Baby, I need you to get inside the car.”

“Nick, don’t.”

“I’m not going to touch him. I just need to have a little talk with him.”

“Your version of ‘talking’ is often fighting.” He stubbornly didn’t budge. “Promise me you won’t rise to anything he says.”

“I promise. Now get in.”

She sighed. “I’m trusting you to keep your word. Don’t abuse that trust.”

Once she was inside the car, Nick slowly made his way to Logan, who gave Nick a mockingly sympathetic look that made his wolf growl. “This place looks bad. I’ll bet your girlfriend and her friend are pretty upset.”

Drawing on every bit of control and experience he had at suppressing his emotions, Nick kept his face blank.

When Logan didn’t get a reaction, he continued, “The police think it’s something to do with the turf war that’s going on between the shifters.” He pursed his lips. “It makes sense. You know, you’ll want to be careful that your redhead isn’t targeted next time.”

His wolf growled at the veiled threat, but he didn’t urge Nick to lunge at the human because he knew as well as Nick just what game Logan was playing. “You haven’t thought this through.”

A frown marred the human’s face. “Haven’t thought what through?”

“You may have done this to piss me off, but it won’t have been only me this has affected. As you said, the police are speculating that the local shifters are responsible. The local shifters won’t like that. They’ll know that if they want to find out who is responsible, all they’ll have to do is take one footstep inside the salon—the scent of the perpetrators will be right there for them to sense.”

Logan swallowed hard in a nervous movement.

“Then, naturally, they’ll seek out said perpetrators for not only implicating them in a crime they didn’t commit, but committing that crime on their turf. Congratulations, Logan, you not only just succeeded in uniting all the local shifters on something, you earned yourself more enemies than you’ll know what to do with. Trailing the Nazi was one thing. But this?” Nick shook his head, tsking. “I wouldn’t like to be you right now.”

Logan’s voice was shaky as he spoke. “If you or any of the others touch me, I’ll—”

“Be dead before you even knew anyone was there. They might not do it straightaway, but it’ll be done eventually—you’re a walking dead man. You accuse shifters of being violent, aggressive, and disrespectful. But it hasn’t occurred to you that the shifters you’ve been following could have killed you at any time; you wouldn’t have even seen it coming. But they haven’t. They’ve chosen to ignore you…whereas you and your little gang are not only harassing shifters but pulling shit like this. The word ‘hypocrite’ comes to mind, but so does the word ‘motherfucker.’” With that, Nick turned his back on the pathetic excuse for a human and returned to his car.

“What did he say?” asked Shaya.

“He was boasting,” growled Nick. “I’m sorry you won’t have a job for a while, baby. I get this is my fault, so—” When she slapped his shoulder hard, he flinched. “Hey, what was that for?”

“You don’t get to blame yourself for other people’s actions.” Her wolf fully agreed. “I won’t allow it.”

The fierceness in her tone surprised him so much, he found himself smiling. “Is that right?”

“Yes, Beavis.”

“I am not stupid.”

She patted his chest patronizingly. “No, of course not. You just have bad luck in the thinking department.”

Scowling, he turned on the ignition and began heading back to her house. Unfortunately, he got there to find his mother, Roni, and Amber waiting outside the motor home. Surprised by their anxious expressions, he exchanged a confused look with Shaya. No sooner had they got out of the car than the three females were in front of them.

“My God, I saw what happened to the salon.” Kathy studied Shaya, rubbing her arm. “Are you okay, honey?”

“You saw what happened?” Nick asked, scratching between Roni’s ears.

“It’s all over the news,” Amber answered, standing a little too close to him for Shaya’s liking. Making that clear, Shaya went to his side and laid a proprietary hand on his chest while smiling pleasantly at Amber. Maybe things were doomed for Shaya and Nick, but if anything was going to separate them, it wouldn’t be some interfering bitch.

“The reporter said there’s a pack war here. Why didn’t you say anything to me about it?” Kathy chastised.

“Because it’s a load of shit,” replied Nick, curling an arm around Shaya. “There’s no war going on.”

Amber folded her arms over her chest. “Then what is going on?”

At that moment, Derren appeared at Nick’s other side. “Where’s your phone?”

Nick frowned and patted the pockets of his jeans. “I must have left it in the motor home.”

“Don’t be surprised to find that you have a ton of messages. I’ve just taken at least fifteen calls since we left the salon because you weren’t answering your phone. A lot of people saw the live footage on TV—you and Shaya are in the background. Apparently, there’s also footage that shows you and Logan talking in the background. As you can imagine, a lot of our friends remember that face. They all wanted to know what’s happening and if you need them to come here.”

“Who’s Logan?” asked Kathy.

“I hope you told them it’s not necessary,” Nick said to Derren. He had enough people hanging around as it was.

“I explained there’s no pack war and that you don’t need any backup, but a number of them are concerned about what’s going on with Logan. I’m guessing you’ll be getting a lot more calls from our friends.”

“Nicolas Axton, you need to explain a few things.”

Seeing that his mother was doing that hands-on-the-hips thing, he sighed and gestured to the motor home. “We can talk inside.” They all piled in, one by one. His mother and Amber seated themselves at the dinette while Derren plonked himself on the sofa beside Nick, who’d pulled Shaya onto his lap. Roni settled near Bruce in front of the TV.

“Well?” pressed Kathy.

“The problem around here isn’t the shifters, it’s the human extremists.” Nick spoke about the Sequoia Pack and the false rumor surrounding its Alpha, though he omitted the detail of the game preserve. He wanted to keep it as quiet as possible for as long as possible. Plus, he didn’t want Shaya, his mother, or Roni worrying. “The leader of this particular group, Logan…He worked as a guard when I was in juvie.” Kathy shuddered. “He’s intent on provoking me into reacting, most likely intending to use me as evidence of just how violent shifters can be to support the extremists’ argument. Vandalizing the salon where Shaya works was part of that.”

“But you don’t intend to retaliate.” It wasn’t so much a question as an instruction from his mother.

“Not right now, no.”

“Nick, please don’t risk yourself.”

“I won’t. But I have no idea how he’ll react when the court hearing is over. If he gets the verdict he wants, he may be smug enough to leave me alone. If the ruling of the judge goes in our favor, I can’t see him accepting that. If he comes at me, I won’t stand there and take it.” He’d never taken Logan’s shit before, and he wouldn’t start now.

“Maybe it’s best if you leave here, taking Shaya with you of course.”

“It won’t make any difference,” Derren told Kathy. “Logan has people following Nick constantly. He’ll have them follow Nick wherever he goes. Besides, running away from extremists isn’t the answer for any shifter. It’ll only encourage their behavior.”

Kathy sat in silence, considering that. When she eventually met Nick’s gaze, it was to give him an accepting nod. Then her eyes danced from him to Shaya, and she half-smiled. “I take it this means you two are making a go of things.”

“But you haven’t claimed each other,” said Amber tonelessly.

Nick kissed Shaya’s hair. “Yet.”

Shaya smiled sweetly at the bitch. “I’m sure you wish us all the luck in the world.”

When Derren’s phone began ringing, he fished it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. “Looks like another of our friends is interested to know what’s going on. I’ll take the call outside, give you guys some privacy.” He looked at Kathy then. “Hint, hint.”

Kathy’s eyes widened, and then she nodded. “Well of course. Roni, Amber, let’s go.” Roni gave Nick’s hand a brief lick before following Derren and Kathy outside.

Amber slowly rose from her seat at the dinette and shot Nick and Shaya what was clearly a forced smile. “See you both later.” It sounded more like a threat than a farewell comment, but Shaya once again gave her a sweet smile and waved.

When the bitch was finally gone, she breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t blame her for wanting you, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’d like to sneakily pour bleach into her shampoo and watch what happens with glee.”

Laughing, Nick twirled Shaya around to face him as she straddled him. “Vengeful. I like it. But, baby, don’t let her bother you. She’s not important.”

“At least you’re no longer denying that she wants you.”

Nick might have continued believing otherwise if he hadn’t seen jealousy briefly shimmer in Amber’s eyes at one point. “You know, it could be you that she wants.”

Shaya snorted. “I’m pretty sure it’s you, Beavis. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer someone like her? Dominant with the physical strength to match yours?”

Though Nick’s expression was reprimanding, he kept his voice low and sensual. “Don’t make me bite you again.” Her pupils dilated, and she took an unsteady breath. “Oh, you liked it, did you?” Her snort said, Don’t flatter yourself. He placed his mouth to her ear. “I can smell your arousal, Shay.” The tips of her ears were suddenly as scarlet as her cheeks. “What I really want is to taste it again. What I want more than that is to be inside you. You have no idea how badly I need it.”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

He smiled against her lips. “For you to beg.” Because he needed an element of surrender on her part—he knew he wouldn’t get her total emotional surrender yet, so if he had to settle for this, it was enough for now.

Her mouth fell open. “That’s so not going to happen.”

“We’ll see.” He cocked his head, running his finger along her collarbone. “You didn’t give away the movie tickets I gave you, did you?”

“No. Actually, I was going to suggest we go see a movie together.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do tonight.”

The deviousness in his tone made her narrow her eyes. “I don’t like the way you said that.”

He just smiled before kissing her hard. “I’ll be at your door at six. Be ready.”

“Huh?” She’d thought he would be eager to answer those mating urges that had been riding them both so long.

He cupped her chin and rubbed his thumb along her jawline. “Baby, I want you more than you know. But you’ve had a shock this morning, and it was a blow to your system. What you need to do is go inside, take a long bath, and relax for a little while.” And then she’d be in an emotional state where she could deal with him, because Nick wasn’t “nice” or “tame” in bed. “Then later, you can get ready for our date.”

“Where are we going exactly?”

“We’ll get something to eat—you can choose where we go. Then we’ll go watch that movie you want to see, although I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to concentrate because I fully intend to make out with you the entire time.”

“Sounds promising. And then?”

“There’ll be foreplay. Lots and lots of foreplay.”

“I don’t like foreplay. I say we skip it and go straight to the main event.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry, you’ll like the foreplay. Then as soon as you beg, I’ll give you what you want.”

She should have guessed he’d be the type to love begging. He was a dominant male after all. Although she’d been with dominant males before, she knew without a doubt that it would still be nothing like sex with a very dominant alpha male—particularly when this male was her mate. She had to admit that she was beyond intrigued.

She knew that some people thought females who enjoyed sexual submission were weak, but Shaya didn’t believe that. How could it make her weak when it took a lot of strength to give up that level of control, to entrust herself and her safety to someone else? Despite that Shaya enjoyed submitting in bed, it didn’t mean that she could easily give up control. No, the male had to be someone she was comfortable with.

Her wolf was just as intrigued about tonight. Having a strong, powerful, dominant mate was what her wolf needed, what made her feel safe and secure. Being sexually dominated by her mate was an extremely attractive idea to her wolf. But Shaya had no intention of making it easy for Nick. Where would be the fun in that? “You really think I’ll beg? Aw, bless your little heart.” Complying was one thing, but begging was a whole other thing.

“Oh, you’ll beg, baby. I can promise you that.”

Shaya snarled at the woman sitting a few seats away who was ogling Nick…just like Shaya had snarled at the waitress in the restaurant, and at the girl who served them popcorn, and at the group of young women who had been behind her and Nick in the line. Annoyingly, the guy was ogled wherever they went. Although it was perfectly understandable, Shaya—much like her wolf—did not like it.

Most of the time, he didn’t seem to notice the ogling, though that was probably because his focus was on Shaya. When he did notice, he never reacted other than to come closer to Shaya or to touch her, almost as if he sensed that it bugged her and that the reassurance eased her irritation. Maybe he did sense it. After all, she wasn’t exactly discreet with her snarls.

The ogling had been a little easier to deal with when she’d rejected the idea of giving him a chance and had kept an emotional distance between them; it had dimmed the possessiveness slightly. But now that she had made the choice to include him in her life, this shit was getting annoying real quick. And so she was cranky.

Maybe her level of crankiness wouldn’t have been so high if Nick wasn’t doing his best to make her so freaking horny she couldn’t stand the feel of her own clothes. At every given opportunity, he was touching her. He licked the bite mark on her neck, or nipped at her mouth, or sucked on her earlobe, or kissed her. Even when he simply brushed a hand through her hair or splayed a proprietary hand on her lower stomach, there was a sensuality and teasing quality to it that made her shudder. In essence, the foreplay had begun the very second she had stepped out of the house to find him waiting on the doorstep. Right now, she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to slap him or straddle him. Her wolf liked the latter idea better.

True to his word, he’d spent the majority of the movie kissing and touching her, but each kiss and touch was featherlike—designed to frustrate her, designed to make her push for more. She had, clinging to him, sucking on his tongue, and unsheathing her claws to dig into his skin and keep him in place. But never did he give in, and she quickly came to understand why: He was communicating to her, her body, and her wolf that he was the one in control; that though he wouldn’t expect her to hold back, and though he didn’t want a puppet, he wouldn’t be pushed into handing over dominance—that the control was his.

In short, he was ensuring there would be no misunderstandings when they got home.

When the movie finally ended, a sigh of relief left her. At this point, her face was flushed, her body felt restless, and she was so wet that she would bet even a human could smell her arousal. Nick’s smile was smug as he noticed her discomfort. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she could scent how much he wanted her, she might have thought he was totally unaffected. Marching down the aisle of seats, she gave him a sideways glance. “You’re an asshole.”

Nick slid an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. “I told you there would be lots and lots of foreplay.”

“I thought you meant when the date was over—silly me.”

Smiling at her snappiness, Nick spoke into her ear as they walked down the rest of the aisle with his arm still locked around her. “There’ll be foreplay when we get back too.” He subtly ground himself against her, letting her feel just how hard he was.

“I vote for skipping it.”

“Of course you do. You have no patience.”

“So?” she snapped.

He chuckled and meshed his fingers with hers as he led her out of the movie theater. As he made his way to the car, he passed two of the Nazi’s wolves waiting in a vehicle: his bodyguards. He gave them a wave, which made them roll their eyes—they didn’t seem to like him much as he always insisted on losing them.

A few car spaces away from them were two of the human extremists in a white van. So Nick gave them a wave too, which made their faces turn interesting shades of purple. Derren, who was waiting in his SUV near Nick’s Mercedes, had his window down and was talking with the rebels.

Shaya shook her head. “If they weren’t so dangerous, it would actually be funny the way all three groups are watching you like this. Particularly since you have absolutely no interest in bothering any of them.”

“Yeah, ironic.” As Nick arrived at his car, the rebels turned studious gazes his way and nodded in greeting. Nick returned the nod before sighing at Derren. “Why are you still following me when I fired you again earlier?”

“I just wanted to park up and admire the evening sky.”

Rolling his eyes, Nick urged Shaya into the car.

“The rebels want to introduce themselves,” announced Derren. Turning his focus to the three males, Nick waited.

“I’m Jesse”—the well-built male with dark eyes and stubble for hair was clearly the leader of the three—“this is Bracken”—a tall male with playful eyes and an equally playful smile nodded at Nick—“and this is Zander.” The blond, athletically built male gave a slight incline of his head.

“I’m not interested in trying to take over here, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Yeah, we noticed you haven’t joined Hadley,” said Jesse. Quietly—most likely because the human extremists were close by—he added, “He believes the humans are running a game preserve where they hunt shifters.”

Nick also kept his voice quiet. “I know, he told me.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Yes. You should be careful that you aren’t the next shifters to be taken.”

Jesse exchanged a look with the others. “We aren’t sure we can trust him.”

“I can’t vouch for his nature; I don’t know him. But I do believe he’s being honest about the game preserve. In any case, you guys need to watch your back, because if Hadley’s not after you, the humans will be.” Finally, the three males nodded and walked away. As Nick went to hop into the driver’s seat, he asked Derren, “Do you think they’ll stop hovering around us now?”

Smiling, Derren shook his head. “You really don’t know why they linger?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t ask.”

“They see you and all the power radiating off you, and they’re drawn to you, just like their wolves are. You could provide them with the guidance and direction they need, and they sense that.”

“I’m not here to form a pack. I’m here for Shaya.”

“I know that, and I’ve explained it to them.”

“Good.” Nick slid into the car and was just about to close the door when Derren spoke again.

“Have fun.”

Nick grinned. He’d be having all kinds of fun.

Neither he nor Shaya said a word during the journey to her home. Anticipation built inside him and licked over the surface of his entire body. Shaya’s own anticipation was like a buzz in the air, seducing his wolf with its intensity. The scents of their arousal filled the car, which suddenly felt much smaller than it was. As such, it was a relief to finally get out of it.

Having helped Shaya out of the car, he let her take the lead as they advanced up the path. When she unlocked the front door and held it open for him, he paused. “Be sure that you want this, Shay. Be absolutely positive. I can hold off on claiming you until you’re ready…but if I walk through that door, I am going to fuck you. Not soft and slow, but hard and deep. Over and over, until neither of us can move. Are you ready for that?”

He hoped to God that the extent of his dominance didn’t unnerve her because he was who he was, and he truly didn’t know how to tone it down. He half-expected her to fidget nervously, considering his words. What she did instead was shoot him a sexy grin and stroll inside, leaving the door wide open in invitation. That was all Nick needed.

Shaya was a calm, practical female who was not reduced to being tongue-tied and shaky at just a guy’s presence. But as she and Nick stood in the hallway like two cowboys about to have a showdown, it was exactly what happened. His intensity and power wrapped around her like a cloak—not just his power as an alpha, but his masculine power. It seized and overwhelmed both her body and her mind, and she felt totally captivated by it and by him.

Shaya’s need to have him and be taken by him was primal and potent, making it hard to keep her breathing even and her hands steady. Her mouth was suddenly bone-dry, and her heart was pounding. He hadn’t even touched her, and yet she felt owned at the possessiveness now blazing from his eyes. Then he spoke, and his even, deep, authoritative tone made her and her wolf snap to total attention.

“Come here. Last night, I pounced on you. This time, I want you to come to me.”

And she had every intention of doing just that, but she also wanted to test him, wanted to see exactly how much she could get away with. It was in her nature to push boundaries.

“Shay,” he drawled warningly. “Come to me. Show me this is what you want. Show me you can handle this.” Pride filled him when she straightened her spine before coming toward him. When she was finally before him, she boldly met his gaze. “Very good.”

The drive to possess her in every way had him wanting to hungrily ravish her again. The only thing that kept it in check was that, having waited so long for this, he wanted to savor every minute. He wanted to familiarize himself with every inch of this body that had been made for him. He could sense that Shaya, on the other hand, was too highly strung to last through the savoring. She needed the edge taken off.

When his hands roughly slid into Shaya’s hair and he licked along the seam of her mouth, she gladly opened for him. Immediately his tongue delved inside and he groaned. He didn’t coax a response from her, he took it. Took it with the confidence of a guy who owned his sexuality and knew exactly what he wanted and just how to get it. Took it like no other guy had come close to doing before now.

Shaya sank into the kiss, locking her arms around his neck and scratching at his nape. A growl rumbled up his chest, teasing her pebbled nipples. As his hands palmed her ass and lifted her, she wrapped her legs around him. The breath left her lungs as he abruptly pinned her against the wall, snuggling his hard cock against her clit. She moaned and scratched at him as he rocked against her, irritable and restless as the tension that had been building within her all evening reached boiling point.

He whispered hotly in her ear as he agonizingly slowly lowered her zipper. “I’m going to fuck you, Shay. Very soon I’m going to bury every inch of my cock inside you. And I’m going to do it as many times as I want. Because I can. And you’re going to love it, baby, I promise you. But right now, I need you to come for me right here.” Then he slid his hand inside her panties and speared two fingers inside her. That was all it took: she’d been hanging on the edge so long that she shattered with a loud cry. He held her there until the reverberations stopped racking her body, dabbing soft kisses on her face, and then he carried her upstairs.

The second they were inside her bedroom, he slowly lowered her feet to the hardwood floor. Shaya swayed slightly, double-blinking—that had been one disorienting orgasm. She held still as Nick slowly removed her silver sequined top, black pants, and white lacy underwear, like he was unwrapping a delicate birthday gift. Then he was circling her with a predatory glint in his eyes, making her feel like prey, and it sent a shiver running through both her and her wolf.

Raking his gaze over every bare inch of her delectable body, Nick swallowed hard, and a surge of possessiveness swamped him. She was amazingly beautiful, all smoothly shaped muscle and curved in all the right places. Her breasts would fit just right in his hands, the same way her luscious ass did. Coming to stand in front of her, he bit her lip. “I have so many plans for this pretty mouth, but they can wait for another time. Now, I want you to lie on your back on the bed for me with your arms above your head.” She backed up until she reached the bed and then slid demurely onto the white satin sheets, but the usual impish benevolence was in her eyes.

When he didn’t do anything other than stare at her, she asked, “Are you going to join me, or shall I take care of myself?”

He arched a brow at her, his expression stern. “You don’t get to touch yourself unless I say you can. Now be a good girl and spread your legs for me.” Instead, she stared at him. He knew she was testing him, and he had every intention of starting as he meant to go on. “I don’t like repeating myself, baby. Don’t make me flip you over and spank your ass.”

“That actually sounds promising, especially when the alternative is you just staring at me.”

He loomed over her. “How’s this for an alternative: I’m going to explore every single inch of you until I know your body better than you do. I want to know what makes you moan, what makes you squirm, how much pain you like.” Every shifter liked the bite of pain, but he wanted to know just how much Shaya liked and could take. He stood upright. “Now, I believe I asked you to do something for me.” After a few seconds, she finally spread her legs. He loved that she was completely bald and smooth.

With his intense gaze still trained on Shaya, he began removing his clothes. She knew her eyes were roving over him hungrily. The angles and slopes and indents of his amazing body all spoke of pure power. She had a particular urge to trail her fingers along the slim line of golden crispy hairs on his well-defined, solidly built chest that led to an impressive yet intimidating erection. Hmmm, maybe she should.

When she sat up and reached for his cock, Nick caught her hand and shook his head. “Lie back and put your arms above your head. I don’t want you touching me until I’m done exploring.”

She gave him a sympathetic look. “Aw, do you suffer from premature ejaculation? Will one touch set you off?”

His brow lifted. “Taunting me, baby?” He shook his head disapprovingly. “You really don’t want to do that. Now, do as I asked.”

The order rang with enough dominance to make her wolf shiver in delight. “Can’t we just skip the exploring part?” Shaya complained, though she did as he said.

Nick got onto the bed and crawled on top of her, placing a hand on either side of her head. “I’ll give you what you want soon. Just a little longer, and then you can have it.” When he looked at her expectantly, she gripped the bars of the headboard. “Very good,” he praised, nipping her lip.

Shaya shuddered as his body finally settled over hers, loving the skin-to-skin contact. His powerful build blanketed her own petite figure, making her feel crowded yet safe—both of which increased her arousal. He took her mouth in a scorching, lingering kiss while cupping and shaping her breast, feathering his thumb over her nipple. Then he tweaked and pinched and plucked at it, making her writhe and moan. God, he was good.

“I love that little noise you make. Let’s see if we can make you do it again.” Switching to her other breast, Nick lavished it with the same treatment, applying just the right amount of pressure to her nipple that he’d learned she liked. “And there’s that sound I love again.” He slowly glutted himself on her body, licking, kissing, nipping, stroking, and massaging—learning her, marking her, memorizing everything she liked and how she liked it.

Drawn by the scent of her, he settled himself between her legs, and growled at how wet and swollen she was. “I love the way you smell.” Spreading her folds, he blew on her clit and then bit it gently; she practically jumped from the bed. Driving one finger deep inside her, he swirled it around and then withdrew it to circle the puckered hole lower down. “Has anyone ever been here before, Shay?”

He’d asked it so casually that Shaya could almost believe her answer was inconsequential. But she knew better. Male shifters liked to claim their mates in every way possible, including anally, and dominant males in particular liked for that to be virgin territory. They wanted their mates to have saved something for them to be theirs and theirs alone. “No.”

Satisfaction welled up in him. “One day, I’m going to take you there. We’ll work up to that. Now, I’m going to taste you. But I don’t want you to come. Not yet.”

Over and over, he licked and sipped, drowning in her flavor—he’d discovered last night that she did taste as sweet as she smelled, and it was intoxicating. Then he stabbed his tongue inside her and flicked at her walls teasingly. Each time she moaned his name, he growled softly and approvingly. Soon her leg muscles began to quiver, and she was whimpering. Sensing that she was about to come in spite of his order, he nipped her thigh and held those sparkling gray-blue eyes. “Fight it.”

“Stop being a teasing prick!”

He tsked, smiling. “Now that wasn’t very nice.”

“So? Are you suddenly sensitive?”

Chuckling, Nick drove one finger inside her. She gasped and arched. “No, baby, but your body clearly is right now.” Her low growl made him chuckle again. As her walls began to flutter around his finger, he withdrew it. “Fight it.”

“You total ba—” She broke off as she was suddenly flipped onto her stomach and a hand twice came down sharply on her ass. She jerked and gasped as the burn turned to the most delicious pain, making heat explode in her stomach and bloom lower. Glancing over her shoulder, she scowled.

“I’ll do it again if I have to,” Nick warned her, blowing on the red mark left by his hand—a brand. “What you haven’t quite accepted yet, baby, is that this body is mine. All mine. You’ll only come when I’m finished playing with it. Of course, if you really want to come that badly, one little word will be enough to get you what you want.” When he flipped her back over, he collared her throat and gently but firmly pressed her down onto the mattress. Keeping a tight grip on her throat, he used his free hand to thrust a finger inside her. “For someone who doesn’t like waiting or being spanked, you’re pretty damn wet.”

Shaya growled at the combination of amusement, appreciation, and smugness in his voice. “I won’t beg. And I don’t like being spanked for having my own mind.”

“Really? Look how wet you are.” He brought his finger to her face, showing her how coated it was in her own juices.

Two can play the sexual torment game. Hoping to drive him to the edge, Shaya flicked out her tongue and licked his finger.

His grip on her throat flexed. “Sly little bitch.”

She did it again, this time closing her mouth over his finger and sucking.

“Fuck.” He forcefully thrust his tongue into her mouth in a mimic of what he intended to do to her body. He pinched her nipple hard the way she liked it, again wrenching that amazing fucking sound from her throat. Then he was sucking the taut bud into his mouth, loving the taste and texture of her. “If you want to come, all you have to do is say please.”

“Keep dreaming, Beavis.” She wanted to slap herself for how breathy she sounded. Oh, she was pathetic.

Nick shrugged carelessly. “If that’s the way you want it.” Then he drew her nipple into his mouth and suckled.

For what could have been hours—Shaya had absolutely no idea—he tortured her. Tortured her until her entire body was trembling and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He’d worked her into a sensual frenzy until she was so sensitive that the slightest contact had her arching from the bed. She hadn’t thought it was possible to feel so empty. She had never been more aware of that part of her body. But no matter how much she whined or cursed him, he wouldn’t let her come.

“All you have to do is say please, baby,” he reminded her before biting the curve of her breast and sucking to leave a mark. “One word…and you can have what you want.”

Shaya tried to ignore his seductive voice. Tried to ignore his mouth on her breast and his teeth plucking at her nipples. Tried to ignore it when he thrust against her and pinched her clit. Tried, but wasn’t successful. Maybe she should just say please this once. She wouldn’t really be begging, she would just be repeating what he asked her to say, right? That wasn’t the same thing at all.

Watching her squirm and writhe and hearing her seductive moans, Nick knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. Looming over her, he fisted his other hand in her hair and wrenched back her head, forcing her to look at him. His eyes pinned hers. “Say it, Shay.”

“Please.”

He smiled at how begrudgingly it was said. “I don’t think that was very sincere. You know what I want from you.”

She did. It wasn’t about the begging, it was about what the begging signified—he wanted her to submit, to accept that she was his.

Nick kissed and bit his way down her body and settled between her legs again. Her sweet scent lured him like nothing else could. “Don’t make me leave you hanging and come all over you instead. Don’t think I won’t do that.”

Oh, she believed him. The promise to do that was right there in his expression.

He flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue. “Say it. Now.”

She quivered at the dominance coating that demand. After a long pause, she submissively went lax. “Please.” Suddenly his mouth latched onto her clit at the same time as one finger plunged into her. Her entire body seemed to convulse as her long-awaited orgasm hit. She cried out and clenched her fists hard around the bars of the headboard as it tore through her. Once the aftershocks eased, she sagged into the bed, feeling drained.

“Look at me, Shay.” The second she met his gaze, he slammed into her, groaning as her muscles tightened around him. “Fuck.” Jaw clenched, he fucked her hard and deep, pounding her into the mattress. After only three harsh strokes she came, but he didn’t let up. He continued pumping his hips at a frantic pace that had Shaya crying out and clinging to him, just like he wanted. “Your pussy is squeezing me so tight. Like it never wants to let go.”

That’s probably because it doesn’t, thought Shaya. The feeling of finally having him inside her was incredible. He was heat. He was strength. He was intensity. She shaped his back with her hands, liking how his sleek muscles bunched under her touch as he pumped in and out of her. The ravenous hunger that had been haunting and riding them for so long was now finally being quenched and slaked…and it felt a hundred times better than she could ever have imagined.

“Only I can make you feel this way, Shay. Only me, only your mate.”

She heard what he didn’t say; that it wouldn’t matter if she refused to accept his claim and lived her life with someone else—never would anyone fit her or satisfy her the way he did. She knew that was true. It had never felt like this before. Not once. This was what it was to be truly taken. As much as she feared the power it gave him, he did own her on some level, and she would always belong to him whether he was in her life or not. “That works both ways, Beavis.”

Nick bit her lip. “Yes, it does.” He groaned as she clawed at the skin of his back. “That’s it, Shay, mark me.” He groaned again as she dragged her claws across his upper back, deep enough to leave permanent brands there. Satisfaction filled both him and his wolf—she might not intend to officially claim him yet, but she cared enough to leave her brands on him.

He wanted to leave his own on her, wanted the knowledge that even if she walked away at some point, her body would still be marked by Nick—she could never forget him, could never forget their time together, and anyone who touched her afterward would always remember that she belonged to Nick first and always.

“Nick,” she rasped, clinging to him and arching against him, wanting more of him until she was stretched to the point of pain and filled beyond capacity.

Nick slipped an arm beneath her and curled it around her ass, tipping her. Then he was plowing into her that much deeper and she was almost sobbing. “Shall I make you come now?” She nodded, whimpering and digging her claws into his back. “You want me to come inside you? You want me to mark your throat again where everyone will see it?”

“Yes,” she hissed. “Please, Nick, I need to come.”

“Then come for me,” he commanded.

As his order rang through her and his teeth sank into her throat, pleasure whipped through Shaya, locking her spine and wrenching a scream from her throat. She felt it as her inner muscles clamped down on him, triggering his own release.

Nick slammed into her one final time, pulsing deep inside her. “Fuck yeah,” he growled. “Take all of it, Shay.” He rocked against her, wanting every bit of his come inside her, wanting to mark her in as many ways as he could. He might not be able to claim her, but she could bet her hot little ass that he’d be marking her often and thoroughly. To his surprise, he felt a set of teeth suddenly clamp down possessively on his shoulder before a tongue licked over the small brand there. He arched a brow at his mate, amused by her self-satisfied expression.

Shaya shrugged. “Tit for tat.”

Cupping her face and staring into her glazed eyes, he kissed her deeply—it was a kiss of triumph, satisfaction, possessiveness, relief, and total adoration. This female had the power to break him like nothing else ever had or ever could. He just hoped she didn’t.