by Cecilia Lane
But he didn’t leave her naked. No, she was a treat for him to unwrap at his own pace, as maddening as that pace was. Ari groaned and rocked her hips into him, but she only felt his mouth curl against her skin in a smile.
“Soon, little minx. I want to take my time with this.” His voice rumbled against her.
Chase nuzzled upward again, dotting wet kisses over her thighs and hips, then her rounded stomach. He buried his face in her cleavage and reached his hands behind her to undo the clasps of her bra. As soon as her ample breasts were freed, he took a pink nipple into his mouth.
Ari let her head fall back and her eyes fluttered closed. His fingers still caressed over her body, replacing where his mouth had been only moments before. He seemed determined to have every inch of her covered by his touch. She couldn’t find any part of her that wanted to object.
She whimpered when one hand found her other breast. Her fingers sifted through his head and she tried to hold him to her. Every lick or gentle bite of the sensitive flesh, every knead or swipe of his thumb arrowed straight to her aching clit. He built up her arousal in seconds until she felt like she would burst if she didn’t have more of him.
Would it always be like that between them? She’d been nearly mad with desire the moment their lips touched in the cave and nothing would have soothed her until he was deep inside her. It was the same need that filled her then. She didn’t just want Chase; she needed him as surely as she needed air to breathe.
Ari nearly cried when he released her nipple with a soft pop. Instead of taking her other pouting bud in his mouth, he kissed his way lower on her body. Her heart beat with the anticipation and she looked down at him with hungry eyes.
Chase pressed a thick finger between her thighs. Her panties kept them separate, but she could feel the heat of his body mingling with hers. His lips moved against her stomach, arousing instead of tickling. The man set her body on fire.
“I want to taste you, gorgeous.” His voice sounded husky in her ears.
She shuddered and gasped. “Yes…”
He didn’t bother with the slow undressing. His fingertips sharpened into the claws she knew his other half possessed and quickly sliced through the thin fabric. His hands, with normal blunted nails, were almost immediately on her hips and urging her down on the bed.
But Chase didn’t follow her. He stayed on his knees in front of her. His chin rested on her thigh and he watched her reaction. His hands slid up her legs, parting her for him. Ari licked her lips. He had her completely exposed for his perusal and it sent a new wave of liquid heat through her center.
“You smell so damn good,” his breath whispered against her skin. Each word darkened his eyes.
His thumbs teased over her hips, then dipped into the juncture of her thighs. Ari rolled her hips upward to try and catch his touch, but he only chuckled darkly at her. “Chase, please…”
He leaned forward and she found herself entranced as if he’d cast a spell on her. She couldn’t tear her eyes away. The first touch of his tongue was a gentle, teasing exploration. He tasted around her wet slit, lapping and testing for her response. His second pass was an expert getting down to business.
His tongue laved over her pussy, licking and pressing in all the right places. He nibbled at her swollen flesh, adding a prick of pain to the pleasure with tiny bites to her skin. When he wasn’t delving into her heat, he gathered her cream on his tongue.
He wasn’t shy about his enjoyment, either. Each new taste was met with a sigh or a growl. It was his sounds that did her in. She’d never been so vocally appreciated in her life. The pleasure of it surged from her dizzy head to her curled toes.
Her nipples tingled and tightened with the newfound arousal that bubbled in her veins. She wrapped her fingers in his hair again and held on for dear life.
Then he found her clit and sucked.
“Yes!” Ari flung her arms wide and clawed at the bed. Her back arched, but his hands were quick and wrapped around her to hold her in place. He was relentless in forcing the pleasure on her. Her whole body trembled with each ferocious flick of his tongue against the bundle of bliss. Each pass of his tongue tightened her pussy around nothing.
“Come for me. Want you to come on my face.” He growled against her clit and his eyes met hers. Instead of the dark brown she expected, they shone with a hint of gold and his inner bear.
“Fuck,” Ari moaned. The animalistic side of him shoved her forward toward her release. Her orgasm bubbled and dancing in her, the wicked flames urging her closer and closer to the edge.
“When you come. Now.”
Her toes curled again and she arched until only her shoulders still rested on the bed. The man knew how to touch her, what to say to drive her wild. His growls and moans sang over her nerves. The bubbles of pleasure grew with every panting breath she took, every nip of his teeth, every swipe of his tongue. Her release built up more and more until her skin prickled with the almost-there feeling.
And she shattered. She fell apart with his arms still wrapped around her and holding her in place for his tasting. Her pussy spasmed and each twitch of her body echoed in her clit. Waves of bliss crashed over her and dragged her under and spat her back out in a calm pool of rapturous bliss.
Chase brought her down in increments. She let the pleasure lap at her entire body. She was glad she was already lying down; she doubted she could hold herself upright. Chase growled again, the sound vibrating through her body and shocking her eyes back open.
“Gorgeous.” He took one last swiping taste of her from slit to clit and rocked back on his heels. In a smooth motion, he rolled to his feet and stripped off his shirt.
Ari should be satisfied. She should want to sleep for a thousand years after what he’d done to her. Instead, the glowing embers of her arousal were stoked back into full flames. She made a small noise as her eyes traced the indentures that lined all the muscles of his stomach and chest. Oh, she’d gotten lucky. The man wasn’t just big, he was fit.
He stripped himself than he’d done with her, and soon he palmed his thick cock, wrapping a hand around his shaft and stroking himself from root to tip. Her eyes were hungry once more as she followed the action.
There was no thinking she’d made the wrong choice in leaving with him. She wanted more of him. She wanted him forever.
Her eyes were heavy and her lips slightly parted. Her skin, flushed from her release, was a sight to behold. The musky scent of her cream tempted him to dive back for more.
But he had a lifetime of teasing and tasting her. He had only one chance to claim her and mate her.
He stepped between her spread legs and urged her backward. She scrambled up the bed and settled against the pillows, legs spread and waiting for him.
Her curves were magnificent—and all for him. He couldn’t wait to sink his fangs into her shoulder and mark her as his, the bite serving as a warning to anyone else who wanted to get too near. Ariadne Wren would be his mate.
Mate. The word made his bear chuff in approval. It’d known from the first sniff. Hell, even before they got a good scent of her. He’d been drawn to her with his head clogged up and feeling like hell. And now there was nothing between them but raw desire.
“Please, Chase,” She reached between them and her small hand stroked up and down, gently squeezing and pressing his cock.
A new growl rumbled in his chest. His bear surged forward and tried to rip away the small amount of control that remained to him. The beast wanted to sink fangs into Ari then and there. Chase beat the beast back. He would take his time and savor the moment.
But only if Ari didn’t drive him to the edge of madness beforehand.
“Chase…”
Her pleading tone and big, beautiful eyes sucked him in. He could deny her nothing.
He shifted his weight and leaned over her. The heat of her pussy rubbed against his cock and sent a shudder through his body. There would be time for sliding his tip over her slit and making her moan and b
eg later. He needed to be inside her.
“Now,” Ari growled at him. She pulled at his shoulders and dragged him down.
Her sweet strawberry scent filled him when Chase pressed his nose into the spot between her shoulder and throat. The little minx didn’t know what she tempted. He opened his mouth and licked a slow half circle on the spot. He’d put his mark on her there, for the entire world to see.
He shifted his weight again, pushing himself onto his hands and hovering over his sweet mate. He notched the head of his cock against her pussy and inched his hips forward. Her heat sucked him in immediately and he groaned. “Yes…”
Ari wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to drag him further into her. Chase growled against her skin, then swept her lips into a devouring kiss. He wouldn’t be ordered around, even by his mate. He would have her on his own terms.
He inched his hips forward another bit, then retreated. Slowly, he dipped into her sopping heat, just a little more with each tiny thrust. She dragged her nails down his back and thrashed her head under him, whining and begging for more.
Finally, when he could stand it no longer and her moans reached somewhere deep inside him and grabbed hold, Chase sank all the way into her tight channel. He pressed his forehead to her shoulder and took a deep, calming breath. Her pussy rippled around his cock and he nearly exploded.
“Goddess. Chase. Fuck.”
He moved then, withdrawing and thrusting back into her awaiting heat. He pushed himself back onto his hands. His eyes started at her navel and slowly traveled up her curvy form. Each thrust sent her body bouncing. Finally, he reached her eyes and watched them slip close with the pleasure.
Her ragged breath mingled with his heavy panting. He had teased her with gentleness and he aimed to make up for it with the roughness she seemed to crave. The headboard slammed into the wall with a repetitive thunk. Ari didn’t care. She palmed her breasts, pinching and plucking at her nipples. She caught her lip between her teeth and arched into him with a soft sound escaping her chest.
“That’s it, little minx. Moan for me.” Fuck. He trailed a hand down her side. There was no one better than her. “You’re perfect, Ari. So damned perfect.”
Her body trembled under him and her pussy clenched around him. His balls drew tight against his body and ached for him to spill his load inside her.
His gums prickled with sharp pain. His human teeth were disappearing into the fangs of his bear. The bear wouldn’t be denied any longer. His release was near, Ari panted underneath him, and it was time to claim his mate.
“Chase! More!”
She screamed his name as she splashed over into her climax and he struck. His mouth closed over her shoulder and bit down, fangs sliding into the soft skin. His bear roared in triumph at the first taste of their mate. She arched into him and her cunt clenched around him in another powerful orgasm as the coppery taste of her blood entered his mouth. He’d never tasted anything so delicious, except maybe her juices.
Another raking of her nails drew blood on his skin and he grinned into her shoulder. He pulled his teeth from her skin, licking the wound until it closed. He thrust harder and harder, rocking the bed into the wall with more power. Still, she moaned and trembled under him, begging for more.
Chase braced himself, one hand by her head and the other against the wall above the headboard. He drove into her, holding nothing back. The slap of their bodies filled the air. She pressed her feet into the mattress and met each drive halfway, urging him on.
His eyes slipped closed against the pleasure. Watching her breasts bounce, her lips part, her skin flush… It was all too much. The pleasure circled in his balls, grabbing and kneading him from the inside and hurtling him toward his own release. His bear leaked into his growls, sounding more animalistic by the second.
His body jerked, twitching and spasming with the force of his orgasm. He locked his hips against Ari’s, fingers digging into her skin. His cock pulsed inside her, filling her with his seed and their mating was complete.
He simply lay over her. Her body was perfect under his. His mouth pressed against the mate mark. He lazily flicked his tongue over the pink spot and felt her contract around him again. It made his cock twitch back to life.
“Mmm. So soon?” She softly laughed.
He licked at the spot again and she inhaled sharply. When he rose up to stare down at her, her eyes were hot and hungry again. Chase cocked a half-smile and arched an eyebrow. “Insatiable, aren’t you?”
“You started it.”
Chase grabbed her to his chest and rolled them in a fluid motion. “Then finish it,” he breathed into her ear.
Her fingers trailed up his chest, fingering the lines of muscle. Her eyes locked on his and he found himself lost in the stormy grey. She rolled her hips and it was his turn to suck in a breath.
His mate was utter perfection.
Epilogue
Not for the first time, Ari sighed with contentment as she pulled into the driveway of the home she shared with Chase. The shutters had been touched up with a fresh coat of paint. The yard had patches where grass refused to grow, but Chase also refused to let her use a little bit of magic. The repairs didn’t count unless they did it with their own two hands, he insisted.
She bumped the car door closed with her hip and shifted her bags around to dig out her key. Her touch was more present on the inside of the house than out. She had insisted that Chase get rid of the lopsided furniture that he claimed were just fine. The bare walls had been spiced up with posters and prints of old monster movies.
She found Chase in the kitchen and already hands deep into making hamburgers. A few of his agent friends were coming over that night for a small get-together.
“Sorry, I’m late. Wanda gave me the go-ahead for trying the edible potions.” She put a grocery bag on the kitchen counter and started to unload the contents.
She’d started working at a local magic supply shop after a few weeks of hand-wringing boredom. She needed to do something with herself while Chase was tracking down paranormal criminals. Her time at home had let her discover a love of baking, so pairing the two seemed almost like fate.
“That’s wonderful.” He paused with his hands covered in the hamburger meat and leaned over to kiss her. “No testing them out on me.”
“Oh, but how will I know if they’re at the Agency standard? You might just be called to bust up your witch mate for selling over the legal limit.”
“Mmm. Does that mean I get to put you in cuffs and cart you back home?” He winked.
“A fitting punishment. Definitely the last place I’d want to be.” She leaned around him and eyed the mixture he was quickly turning into patties. “Anything I can do to help?”
He shook his head. “And ruin the Parker Burger Classic? Not a chance. Go get ready. They should be arriving shortly.”
Ari chuckled and elbowed him before heading into the bedroom. She quickly changed out of her work clothes and into a cute, flowy skirt and top. She let her hair loose and touched up her makeup. By the time she had finished, the doorbell rang.
She heard the door to the patio open and Chase ask for her to get the front door. She knew he would be busy prepping the grill. Ari swallowed down her nerves. She had yet to meet many of Chase’s colleagues. He’d been put right back to work almost as soon as they arrived back in the city that housed his office. Upholding paranormal law didn’t wait for anyone to settle in, much less a newly mated witch from the mountains.
She smoothed her hands over her skirt and took a deep breath before opening the door. She found a ghost staring back at her.
“Raina?” she gasped.
Her sister flashed a wide smile. “Hey, Ari.”
“I can’t believe—How did you find me here?” She shoved the door further open. “Come in, please.”
For the first time, she noticed a big man behind Raina. She recognized the face as the shifter guest at the time Raina fled the resort. In his arms was a tiny baby.<
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Raina and the family stepped inside and Ari shut the door behind them. “I got a call last week from an agent with the Arcane Affairs Agency. He said he had some information on you and should call back immediately. So I did and learned that my little sister had run away from home with a big bad shifter.”
The door to the patio opened and shut again. Chase padded through the house. “Chase, this is my sister. Raina.”
He held out his hand. “We spoke on the phone.”
Ari stared. “You found Raina?”
“There are some benefits to working for the Agency,” Chase smiled down at her. “There’s almost certainly a record of someone, somewhere. It wasn’t too hard to check the records for a newly registered shifter mate by the name of Raina. I figured with both Wren girls out of the nest, maybe you two would want to reconnect.”
She squeezed him in a tight hug. No wonder he’d been so vague about who they’d be entertaining. He wanted it to be a surprise. “Thank you.”
Raina cleared her throat. The man beside her smiled politely. “This is Jonah, my mate. And Ryan, our son.”
Ari could almost see why Raina would drop everything for the man. He was as big and muscular as Chase, but extremely delicate with baby Ryan.
Once all the introductions and hand shaking were done, Chase jerked his head outside. “I need to check on the burgers. Make yourselves at home.”
“I’ll help. Let these two catch up.” Jonah turned and handed the small bundle to Raina before following Chase outside.
Ari opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say. It’d been almost exactly a year since she last saw her sister. So much had changed in both of their lives. She’d left home in the same disgrace as Raina, if they lived by their mother’s standard. Raina had had a child in that time and she herself was simply happy to be with Chase.
“So, you found yourself a shifter, too.” Raina grinned slyly. “I bet Mama is so proud.”
