“Yes, well, you need to knock,” she said a bit breathlessly.
“Why?” He nuzzled her throat, his nose burrowing in her flowery scent. “You’re mine.” His lips skimmed the sensitive skin, nipping at the tendon alongside her neck, licking wherever his teeth encountered supple flesh. He felt her shiver under his tongue. “I’m yours.”
“Until the full moon.”
Samuel stilled, his fingers tensing beneath her ponytail. Did Abby think he only wanted her for a few weeks? Is that why she hadn’t changed a thing in her apartment? She still planned on leaving the island the minute she could? Leaving him?
To hell with that!
He’d begun thinking of Abby as his future Ca’anam, a second bite would only prove him right. Didn’t she want that too? If not, he needed to set things straight. Should have set things straight during their first mating.
Leaning down until they were nose to nose, he asked, “What part of your mine didn’t you get when I started the Dance two weeks ago? Have I done anything in that time to make you think I’ve changed my mind?”
“No. I don’t know,” she whispered, vulnerability making her voice thin. “I was hoping if I was still here when this Mark goes away, you might want to…” Her eyes closed. “Bite me again.”
Samuel wrapped the lustrous length of her bound hair around his fist, canting her head to the side and placing his mouth on the first Mating Mark beneath the silky material of her blouse. He bit gently, careful not to break the skin but dampening the fabric. Then he moved to the shell of her ear while his hand trailed to her inner thigh.
“Oh, I’m going to bite you again,” he said, brushing his knuckles close to the apex of her thighs. “Here.” He heard the tempo of Abby’s heart kick up at his promise, scented her arousal. “Yes?” His tongue traveled the length of her jawline, dipping to press against the beating pulse below. “Or no?”
“Now?” she asked, voice high and breathy. “But a possible truemate would never betray the pack. Our plan to fool Faraday will fail if the bite is…successful.”
“Only my local clanmates will know we’ve moved beyond the first Mark unless you tell someone. My strong bond with the pack and the change in your scent will be too much to hide.”
“What about the Dádhe?”
“Vampire noses aren’t as good as a Ferwyn’s. They can’t tell the difference between our bites.”
“Isn’t it too soon to try? We’ve barely started…dating.”
“No, it’s not too soon.” He took her earlobe between his teeth and lightly tugged. “Actually, I’ve been taking things slowly because I wanted to give you time to adjust to being a Ferwyn’s mate.”
“Two weeks is slow? Sleeping in my bed every night is slow?”
“Snail’s pace for a Ferwyn male.” Fucking glacial. “Tell me you want this as much as I do? That you feel the incredible pull between us.”
“But if a second bite proves a couple can’t become truemates, Lady Rose said they almost always separate.” She worried her bottom lip. Samuel kissed it.
“That won’t happen.” He had no doubts when it came to taking the next step in the Mating Dance with Abby. The second bite would strengthen the emotional tie and escalate the already scorching sexual heat between them, tying them together more tightly than she could ever imagine. And this Mark wouldn’t disappear anytime soon. The binding could only be broken by weeks of separation with absolutely no physical contact of any kind.
“You can’t know that for sure. And I don’t…I’m not ready for us to end.” Her huge eyes were wet. “Not yet.”
Not ever.
“Trust me,” he said with unconcealed desire, leaving her thigh to cup her breast. “Yes?” He swept his thumb across the tip, and it hardened instantly. “Or no?”
Samuel barely contained his wolf as he waited for her answer. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her with his dominance. A shifter’s primitive need to mate roughly, to bite hard. To claim and possess.
Abby exhaled slowly, placing two fingers beneath his stubbled chin and guiding him forward until their lips met. A quietly spoken okay tickled his throat, arrowing straight to his heart.
Samuel crushed his mouth to hers, turning what started as a tender kiss into a ravenous one. His tongue darted in to taste and tease, to demand and request. Take. Give.
Breaking the savage melding, he ran his lips over her closed eyelids, down her face, and along the curve of her throat. He undid the top of her shirt, impatiently stretching the silk over her shoulder. At the sight of her bare skin, his canines homed in on his original bite, nipping once before piercing it with his sharp teeth and branding her all over again.
Abby gasped at the unexpected invasion, delving into his hair, holding him close as he renewed his claim.
Withdrawing his teeth, he lapped at the puncture wounds with quick, healing strokes. Hunger devoured him and he yanked her shirt open. Her soft moan was accentuated by the staccato ping of broken buttons bouncing on the hardwood floor.
Riveted on the enticing shadows of her dark pink nipples beneath the sheer bra, Samuel licked one through the delicate lace before using a fang to slice the center of flimsy yellow material apart, uncovering her breasts.
Fuck, she was beautiful.
Samuel tugged on the silky blond strands of her ponytail, urging her to arch and grant him better access. He didn’t hesitate, closing his lips around a taut peak, scraping it with his partially converted teeth and then laving it with his tongue. Switching to the other breast, he gave it the same attention, drawing the tip into his mouth.
Abby squirmed, her fingers twisting in his hair.
Releasing her nipple with a last, long lick, Samuel tracked his lips over her stomach. His claws deftly shredded the remnants of her shirt and bra as he dropped to his knees. Hitting the floor with a dull thud, he grasped Abby’s hips and dragged her to the edge of the wooden countertop. Popping open her shorts, he slipped them off her slim legs, leaving her in nothing but gauzy yellow panties.
Capturing her gaze, he fixed his mouth on the bright fabric and sucked—hard.
Abby hissed, neck falling back on her shoulders. Her legs trembled.
The subtle but intense reaction stiffened his erection to painful levels. His shy female was as sexy as hell, and no other male would ever get the privilege of seeing the quiet, but fiery passion hidden by a soft voice and ladylike manners. Her delicate cries of pleasure belonged to him. Only ever to him.
God, he was a lucky bastard.
A flood of proprietorial feelings swamped him, and his fangs lengthened in response. He pulled back and inhaled until her scent drenched the very marrow in his bones.
Grabbing her knees firmly, Samuel spread her wide.
Abby’s breathing lurched. Her dark lashes fluttered; big, gorgeous eyes liquid with want. The tips of his large canines grazed the softest portion of her inner thigh. He inhaled again, checking for doubt in her scent, detecting only the subtle fragrance of a lush field after a gentle rain. Humbled by her faith in him, he held her eyes, drew his tongue languidly across her skin—and bit.
The coppery tang of blood hit his tongue first, the fury of magic slamming his senses less than a second later. He sucked in air through his nose, his canines maintaining their grip on her flesh. He was bombarded with a myriad of emotions almost too intense to bear. Confirming what he’d never once doubted.
Abby could be his truemate.
The potency of their binding made his cock swell, his lungs expand, and his heart stutter. Abby’s legs quivered beneath his palms, her breathing rapid and shallow. Her fingers slipped from his head to rest limply on his shoulder. Samuel didn’t let go, his hands running soothingly over the tops of her thighs, her hips and belly, anywhere he could reach while growling unintelligible reassurances.
Once he was certain the bond was completed, he gently removed his teeth and licked the wound clean. He kissed his newly-made Mark, then pushed to his feet, cradling Abby’s face a
s he took her mouth. He drank her in as a maelstrom of emotions rocked him to his soul. His feral impulses rising to a level he’d never experienced. He felt raw and primal, protective and proprietary. And turned way the hell on.
“Samuel.” She frantically scrabbled to remove his shirt. He accommodated her by whipping it off and rejoining their lips in less time than it took to blink.
He couldn’t get enough of her and never would.
Samuel pulled her close, the brush of her pebbled nipples on his bare skin sending an electric jolt straight to his groin. He ground his heavy arousal against her center.
Abby’s arms wrapped around his neck, her mouth eager, and her body pliant. He lifted her from the counter, planning to bring them to her bed. But his entire frame shook with the need to sink inside her body, the primitive call overwhelming. He pressed her to the nearest wall instead.
Abby clawed at his shoulders. “Samuel?” She tore her mouth from his, fear tarnishing the heady scent of desire. The sexual ferocity of the second Marking was scaring her.
“It’s okay, baby,” he rasped, laying his forehead on hers, wheezing hard. “I’ve got you.”
Samuel tried to slow down, but it was impossible. The mating frenzy fired every nerve. Pervaded his skin. It inflated his lungs until the very air he breathed was saturated with Abby’s scent.
“Hurry,” she cried on a sob.
With one hand he unbuttoned his pants, freeing his cock. Throwing his head back, he closed his eyes, blocking the sensual visual of the nearly naked woman in his arms, trying to gain some measure of control.
Abby bit at his elongated throat, his chin. Her breath was warm and sweet. His hips bucked. “I’m not going to last long.” He wanted her too badly.
“I don’t care, come inside me.” Her fingers ran along his engorged length and then squeezed him gently.
Samuel tore her panties apart.
If she touched him again, he’d completely lose it. He encircled her fine-boned wrists with one hand and held them above her head.
She sighed sweetly. He loved her submission. Her trust. He’d never abuse it. Never take the precious gift for granted.
Poised at her entrance, he gritted his teeth and pushed into her tight silken sheath. His fingers bore into the flesh of her hip, his restraint paper-thin.
“Fuck, hold on,” he said, his voice guttural, his cock pulsing inside her.
He withdrew slowly and slammed into her slick warmth. Sweat slid down his back as the rhythm of his powerful thrusts increased. He drove into her, staving off his climax by stubbornness alone. Samuel listened intently for the betraying inhalation preceding Abby’s release. That sharp breath right before she hurtled over the edge into sensual bliss. He lived for that bewitching sound.
“There it is,” he said, hearing the telltale catch. “Let go for me.”
Abby quivered, convulsed around him. He dug in with his hips, rubbing her clit and prolonging her orgasm.
He growled, his control gone, his strokes erratic. Tilting her pelvis, he sank into her as far as he could go, jerked once, and came hard.
He released her wrists, and Abby collapsed onto his chest, her hot tears coating his skin. The riotous emotions he sensed through the strengthened bond were too big for her to contain.
Gliding his mouth over her damp cheeks, he captured each salty drop with his lips and tongue. Still intimately fastened, he brought them to her bed.
Moving the blankets aside, he laid her on the mattress and reluctantly slipped from her body. Abby’s lids were closed, half-asleep from physical and emotional exhaustion.
“I think you’re going to make me fall in love with you,” she murmured drowsily.
The profound words were spoken so quietly he had to use his wolf’s heightened senses to hear them.
“I know I’m gonna fall in love with you,” he told her slumbering form, heart beating so fast against his ribs he thought it might explode.
Removing his jeans completely, he crawled in beside her and gathered her close, pulling the blankets over their naked bodies. Incoming texts from the phone in his duffel bag across the room produced a steady stream of beeps and vibrations. The entire pack would have sensed Samuel’s joy, his elation at finding his Ca’anam broadcasting to every local clanmate through the Alpha bond. The ribbing he would get later that day would be brutal. Samuel smiled into her hair. Poor Abby would be mortified.
She’d blush.
Chapter 23
“Treat each other how you did in the beginning of the relationship, if you want to keep the relationship.”
Bridget MacCarthy
The fluttering in Abby’s stomach started the instant she stepped into the lobby, her hand pressing to her abdomen to ease the nervous ache. She took a deep breath and smiled at Hop who waited patiently at the door. The shifter would be accompanying her to meet Penny at the restaurant for an early dinner.
It’d taken the better part of the two weeks since the second Marking to persuade Samuel to let her venture off-island. Understanding his concern, Abby promised to stay downtown, take as many of the Guard as he deemed necessary, and return before sunset. She was embarrassed to admit she still had to resort to whining to get him to agree.
Sneaking off without Conlan protesting the short outing had been ridiculously easy in comparison—she just never told him she was going. Abby never worried Samuel would disclose the information as the obstinate males hardly spoke, each still nursing a grudge.
The flowing hem of her slate-blue sundress swirled around her knees as Abby quickened her stride. The Mark on her inner thigh throbbed, and her breasts grew uncomfortably sensitive beneath the lightweight cotton of the fitted bodice. The intense reaction of her body alerting her that Samuel was nearby.
Lady Rose warned her what would happen after the second bite was made, but Abby ignorantly assumed the tales of insatiable need were exaggerated. She’d been wrong. Dead wrong.
She couldn’t get Samuel out of her system. No matter how often their bodies came together—and it was often—it was never enough. The continued awareness of him when they were apart was comparable to a tongue worrying at the gap of a lost tooth; the space unnatural and impossible to ignore. And beyond the physical craving, there was the emotional to deal with as well.
She was in love with Samuel Walker.
Head over heels, intoxicatingly besotted, madly enamored, and embarrassingly smitten in love. The once-in-a-lifetime, happily-ever-after, fairytale kind of love. The kind her parents found in each other.
And it scared the crap out of her.
Hop was careful to avoid any physical contact as he opened the door and she exited into the glare of the late afternoon sun. She stopped on the sidewalk to enjoy the rare summer breeze coming from the river.
Abby dug into her purse, moving aside the gun to retrieve her oversized sunglasses. The dulcet sounds of Samuel’s laughter poured over her body like warm honey, raising the hair on her arms despite the heat. Her heart did a funny little flip as the internal radar riotously pinging beneath her skin automatically homed in on his rich baritone. Unable to deny the visceral pull a second longer, she turned.
The commander stood alongside the waiting vehicle with Tucker and a female Guard she didn’t recognize. The Anwyll was tall and sinewy, exceptionally attractive, and had her intricately tattooed hand on Samuel’s arm.
Abby had the witch’s wrist in a viselike grip in a matter of seconds. “Hands off,” she heard herself hiss, upper lip curled in what could only be classified as a snarl.
The female’s eyes widened. Her stunned expression shifted to Samuel, then dipped to the Mark on Abby’s shoulder. Comprehension dawned, and she stammered, “I’m sorry. I would never…I wasn’t…”
Tucker’s deep chuckle freed Abby from whatever insanity possessed her body and soul. She released the Guard’s arm as if it’d turned into a poisonous snake, horrified by her actions. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Ab
by,” Samuel said, his tone filled with suppressed laughter, his palm smoothing her hair from crown to tip.
She twisted away, practically lunging for the idling SUV, wanting desperately to escape. Her hand trembled as she tried to wrench the door open.
“Abby,” he repeated sternly, all amusement gone.
She yanked futilely on the rubber-protected handle. Samuel’s large hand covered her shaking one.
“I growled,” she said in mortification. “I assaulted her for touching you. What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing’s wrong with you.” He gently peeled her fingers from the door and opened the vehicle, urging her inside with a light push. “Did you think I was in this Dance alone?”
Scurrying to the far side of the leather seat, she kept her lips tightly closed, not knowing what to say. Samuel followed her in, ordering the driver out.
She recognized the smooth brown head of Mikhail before he left them alone, giving them the appearance of privacy. Samuel was bringing out the big guns assigning one of the queen’s regular sentries along with Hop to protect her.
“I attacked her.”
“Abby,” he said soothingly. “You didn’t hurt her. Evelyn is a fully trained member of the Guard and a talented witch. She could have stopped you at any time if she’d felt threatened.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she whispered miserably, refusing to face him. “I don’t act that way. Ever. That isn’t me.” Her genteel mother would have been shocked at her behavior. “I don’t understand what happened. It was as if my body wasn’t my own.”
Samuel lifted her sunglasses from her nose, settling them on top of her bowed head. “Look at me.”
She did as he demanded and met the metallic eyes of his wolf.
“We’re mating. The magic is affecting you as much as it is me, but it’s also changing you.”
“What?” Abby jerked her head up. “How?” She hadn’t heard anything about a Marking turning someone violent.
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