Claim Me (Crimson Pack Trilogy Book 3)

by A Lonergan

  He didn’t struggle with the trunk as he went up and set it down carefully at the end of his bed- our bed. All the lights were out except a few candles randomly placed around the room. It was beautiful and magical. He closed the door behind us and grabbed my hands in his. “I don’t want to live without you. I know you are still uncertain about me claiming you but please, claim me.” He bared his neck for me and a grin split my face.

  “There isn’t a slow-moving bone in your body, is there?” I asked.

  “Last I heard, there wasn’t one in yours either.”

  “What does this mean for us?”

  He shrugged. “I will share my strength and Alpha powers with you and if you’re more powerful than I am, you will share with me once I claim you. We will be able to share thoughts with each other if we want to. We will always know where each other are if we concentrate hard enough.”

  I nodded my head as he took a step closer. He tore his shirt over his head and my entire mind went blank. My body felt like it was on fire as he crossed the space between us and grabbed the bottom of my shirt. I stopped his hands in their pursuit. I didn’t know if I was ready for him to see what laid beneath my clothing.

  “When my injuries healed, I thought I could get over the scars.” I swallowed. “I thought it would be easy but then I saw his face every single time I looked down at myself. I see the wicked gleam in his eyes as he cut me open. I have to relive it over and over again. He’s still alive and I don’t know how to process any of this. I don’t know what happens next.”

  My legs hit the edge of the bed and I fell back onto it. Rafe climbed on top of me and all conscious thought left my body again. The insecurities I had been feeling seemed to disappear. Rafe looked down at me with sad but hungry eyes. “How about I replace those memories with good ones?” I didn’t know what he meant until his tongue darted out and ran along the scar on my arm. I blinked in surprise and a shudder raced through my body. My body turned to molten heat as his eyes stared into mine and he continued to kiss up my arm. “I don’t ever want you to see his eyes in your mind again when you think of your body. I want to replace every man that has ever touched you in good and bad ways. I plan to erase every bad thing with good things. If you’ll let me?”

  I nodded my head against the pillow in a frenzied manner. My head spun as he dipped his head down again and captured my lips with his own. His body hovered over me but not by much. My breath caught in my throat as his hand cupped my neck then trailed down my arm. It was so light it was barely there. I arched off of the bed for more. His lips trailed away from mine to the corner of my mouth then my jaw then my neck. Gasps escaped my lips as pleasure exploded behind my eyes. He was doing exactly what he had promised. I wanted him. I wanted him to touch me more than I wanted anything else in my life. Need thrummed through my veins and molten lava filled my core.

  One minute he had my shirt over my stomach and then the next he was tearing it down the middle. I went to protest, it had been my favorite shirt… until I saw the look on his face. I had expected him to be attracted to me. I saw it in his eyes before my scarring, but nothing prepared me for the massive amounts of adoration on his face.

  “I’m not good at this,” Rafe whispered as he looked over my body. Uncertainty ran through me. Was he backing out? Did he not care what he saw anymore?

  “At what?” I pulled away from him slightly to see his face.

  “I’m not good at not falling in love with you,” His voice cracked and my heart went with it.

  “What?”

  He brushed my hair away from my forehead with the tips of his fingers. “There’s no way in hell I could stop falling in love with you, from the moment you punched me.”

  “A match made in hell it sounds like,” I smirked. I still couldn’t believe I had done that to him.

  He ran his nose up the side of my face. “I couldn’t stop wanting more even if I tried.”

  “Even though the chaos has slowed down and there is nothing keeping us apart?”

  He shook his head. “None of those things mattered. I would have married you the night you punched me if you would have had me.”

  “Good thing we have come a long way since then,” I whispered breathlessly as he continued his assault with his mouth. He scooped his arm beneath my back and rolled over. I straddled his waist this time as he ran his hands down my arms and then my hips. My heart was pounding at an impossible rate inside of my chest. He grasped my hips and I felt the tips of his claws bite through my thin leggings. Before I knew what was happening, he had those ripped off too. I gasped but he covered the sound up with his mouth. His hands were touching me everywhere and I didn’t know how I could ever be content with anyone else. The pleasure I thought I had experienced in the past was nothing compared to this. When he bared his neck to me again, all conscious thought went right out the window. I rubbed my body against him as I leaned down and kissed his neck.

  My wolf senses knew exactly what to do. Even though Nalia definitely knew what was happening, she was nowhere to be found inside of my mind. My canines elongated and pushed against his skin.

  The space between his neck and his shoulder looked enticing. When I kissed the spot, my mate shivered beneath me. Any human thought that could hold me back from doing this animalistic thing was gone. I pressed my teeth into his skin and a moan escaped his lips. It did something to my body. It ignited me in a way I wasn’t prepared for. I squirmed against him and felt everything he was feeling. Copper burst between my lips but as I was pulling away, he pushed my face back. I trailed kisses up and down his neck while he moved against me.

  Past lovers and men were nothing compared to this. There was nothing that could compare. Stars danced behind my eyes as he rolled me over again. He kicked his jeans off and the temperature kicked up some more in the room. How was this possible? Blood rolled down his neck in a thick stream but neither one of us cared about that. I felt like I was going to burn from the inside out.

  This time I was ready for him when I tilted my head to the side to give him access to my shoulder, a rumble deep in his throat rocketed through the room. He was on me in seconds. His body pressed against mine in the most decadent way. There was slight discomfort as his teeth pierced my skin and then there was nothing but euphoric pleasure.

  Chapter 52

  Rafe

  There was no sating either of us. I had been warned of that already by several mated couples in the pack. Neither of us would be able to get enough of each other for days and that was exactly what happened. Having my mate sleep in my arms was the second best feeling. The first best feeling was when she claimed me. The sun had just risen in the sky and light was filtering through the curtains. It cast a glow across Jade’s blonde hair. I chuckled to myself. She had just stopped snoring a few minutes before the sun had decided to make its presence known. It was the cutest sound in the world but the worst thing when I was trying to sleep. Especially with my enhanced hearing. I tucked the blankets around her and slipped from the bed. Neither one of us had eaten anything in days. My stomach growled in warning.

  The only thing sustaining us was our appetites for each other. I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t sore. Knox was waiting at the stove. I frowned. How had I not realized he was here?

  “Thank goodness, I was here, you could have been ambushed and not have known it. Mated couples need extra help to keep them safe.”

  “How long have you been here?” I leaned against the counter. He was cooking bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls were in the oven. I was impressed but also annoyed.

  “Just a few minutes. We have been posted for duty around the grounds for the last few days. Your mom said you would need it. Good thing, you didn’t even realize I was here. You were too far gone in your sex haze.”

  “You’re lucky you’re cooking.”

  He winked.

  When Jade came down the stairs she had a robe wrapped around herself and her hair was wet from the shower. We had also forgotten about proper
hygiene through the sex haze, as Knox called it.

  “Just wait till you’re mated,” Jade muttered.

  “For now, I think I’m fine with not being mated for a long time. The single life is the life for me.” He sang while he stirred the eggs. “Women are entirely too complicated. I like things without strings attached. It’s so much easier that way.” This was bizarre but what else could I expect from my best friend? He loved to pop in at the most unconventional times. It certainly wasn’t the worst thing he had done.

  Jade wrapped her arms around my naked waist. I was thankful I had pulled some shorts on before I confronted our visitor because that would have made this entire conversation that much weirder. She spoke into my mind next. Do you think Tracey would like to have the cottage?

  I was turned on immediately. I maneuvered us behind the counter and replied back to her. Yes, I think that would be a great gesture.

  Knox waved his spatula around. “The smell of sex is bad enough with y'all going at it for four days. The least you could do is hold it together until I leave. I promise I won’t be much longer. Sheesh.”

  Jade deadpanned. “You don’t have to be here.”

  “And let the two of you starve? No chance.”

  Leave it to Knox to be the one to barge in on our mating time. Now I understood why other couples took this time to go on a honeymoon. Getting away from the pack for a little while sounded like the best idea.

  “Do you want to have a mating ceremony soon?” I asked as I stole bacon from the pan.

  Jade grinned. “I thought you would never ask.”

  “How about next month?” May was a good time. It wasn’t too hot or too cold and the rain would be just about gone. “We could have the ceremony outside.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  The End

  Can’t get enough of the Crimson Pack? Don’t fret! The story definitely doesn’t stop here. Be sure to keep an eye out for Tracey’s story coming early 2022. Want the updates first? Don’t want to miss a thing? Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and get in my reader’s group. You won’t want to miss what I have up my sleeve next!

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  Acknowledgments

  The only acknowledgments I have for this book are for my Pawpaw that passed away May 18th surrounded by family. He was the strongest man I had ever met. He always took care of everything for my Mawmaw. He made sure that she never had to worry. He built a beautiful life for her. They were married over 50 years and honestly, I do believe they are fated mates. Their love story is one to remember and to cherish in my life.

  I am beyond thankful that we got as much time as we could with him and that the ICU let us be with him one last time, together. He was seventy-two years young and he built anything and everything. He actually built the bookcase in my office and the bookcase in my son’s bedroom for his sixth birthday this past year. I will forever treasure them both even more now. There were countless times that he came to my rescue whenever I ran out of gas or I bought something too big to fit in my jeep and he had to bring his truck. He also taught me how to whittle and taught my little boy. I remember countless days spent outside carving slingshots with him. He was never one for my wildly colored hair. Anytime I would show up at their house, he would simply shake his head.

  He wasn’t a man of many words but man, when he did speak you would feel it in your soul. The top drawer in his dresser is filled with tootsie roll pops and Hersey treasure chests. We had no idea until we went to look for something in his room after he passed. He loved to pick on me and tease me all the time. Most of my memories with him are poking him in the belly and him tickling me under my chin. My little boy would constantly follow him around, whether it was working on my car or doing anything else. You would always find Mason with his pawpaw.

  You always think you have so much time, but then it's taken from you in a blink of an eye. He fought so hard to live in the end but for whatever reason, he was called back home. I have been angry and upset for days. I haven’t known how to process any of this. This is the week of his funeral (as I write this) but most of you won’t read this until release in August, which is okay. I hope his legacy lives on and if you knew him, you remember the incredible smile and laugh he had. I wrote most of this book while he was in the hospital and I’ll write the rest as I grieve his passing.

  Thank you Pawpaw for always believing in me. Thank you for always buying my books and supporting me. Thank you for all our long talks about CW TV shows, like the Flash and Arrow. I’m still so surprised by how much you loved those shows. Thank you for teaching me to work hard for everything I have and instilling a love for creating with my hands. I will try to never forget the way your hand felt in mine or the feeling I would get when you gave me a blessing. Your hands were always so big sitting on the top of my head. I’m thankful for all the pictures I have of you and your hands. I imagine how they looked as they created and I wish I would have spent more time in your shop with you while I had the chance. I wish I would have asked more questions and did more. Just know that I will do more when it comes to Mawmaw and my father’s parents. I never want to feel like I’ve run out of time again. I know that’s impossible but at least I can try like I didn’t do before.

  You never know when it will be your last day or a loved one’s. Hold the ones you love tighter, don’t ever take this time for granted, and always live your life to the fullest extent possible.

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