Protector's Mate (9 page)
Not that she blamed him. Right now he could be as proud of himself as he wanted.
While her body was limp and sated, she still needed more. Her inner wolf felt incomplete somehow and she knew it was because he still needed to mate with her. To take her from behind and mark her.
“Are you sure you want this?” Alaric asked quietly even as his hard length pressed insistently against her bare stomach.
She didn’t pretend not to understand. She knew what he was asking and she did want it. While her feelings for him at nineteen had started as a crush, they’d developed into something more the past few months. Something real. She hadn’t even been willing to admit it to herself but on the days she’d had a chance to check her email she’d hoped for word from him. More than hoped.
Craved.
Each time she’d opened one of his emails she’d felt a ridiculous thrill. She couldn’t stomach the thought of him mating with anyone else and she knew there wasn’t anyone else for her. She loved him. It was as simple as that. Even if he hadn’t said the words, she knew it without a doubt. So was she sure she wanted to mate with him? Hell, yeah.
She pushed lightly against his chest. If he hadn’t wanted to move he wouldn’t have had to, but he sat back until he was kneeling in front of her, his big, powerful body exposed to her rapt gaze. Waiting for her decision.
“I know exactly what I want, Alaric.” Without another word she rolled over and lifted up on her knees. When she glanced over her shoulder to look at him, the almost worshipful look in his eyes floored her. There was nothing soft in his expression.
Which was good, because she didn’t want that tonight. A foreign hunger raced through her and she wanted him to sate it.
Alaric’s inner wolf craved Felicia’s submission during their mating and he felt humbled she was giving him this freely. Humbled because he loved her. Part of him wanted to tell her now, but he couldn’t find the words. They caught in his throat because he was afraid talking would screw this up. He just wanted to show her how he felt and for once his animal and human side were in agreement. Words weren’t what Felicia needed, actions were.
He ran his hand down her delicate back until he reached the base of her spine. As he leaned forward to kiss her there, he caught her gaze on him. Bright and hot. The blatant need in her eyes was as clear as if she’d told him exactly what she wanted out loud. He feathered a few light kisses along her back before grasping her hips.
The time for foreplay was over. For so many years he’d been waiting for her. For this bonding. He already knew she was wet, even more so after her orgasm, so he didn’t test her slickness with his fingers. He didn’t need his hand to guide his cock to her tight opening, but mainly he didn’t want his callused hand on himself. He only wanted to feel Felicia wrapped around him.
His cock knew exactly where it wanted to go. Despite the searing need inside him, he slowly eased into her tight sheath, careful to let her body adjust to his width.
She pushed out a long breath as he buried himself inside her. A long growl escaped him. He couldn’t have held it back if he’d wanted it to. The feel of her soft folds holding him captive was almost too much. She was so damn tight.
That was the only thing that kept him still instead of pounding into her like his inner animal demanded. “Are you okay?” he managed to rasp out.
Her inner walls clenched around him and when she looked at him over her shoulder, he saw the raw hunger in her eyes. “I won’t break and I don’t need you to be gentle. Not right now.”
That was the only answer he needed. Drawing back, he began rhythmically thrusting into her over and over, feeling her clamp around him tighter with each movement. Her inner walls convulsed in quicker successions the faster he moved.
She was tight but her body molded to him perfectly. As if they were made for each other. “I’ve fantasized about this for years,” he murmured, barely getting the words out.
As soon as he said it, her back arched and she grasped the sheets beneath her in a death grip. The way her inner walls convulsed tighter and tighter told him that she was close to climaxing again. He planned to make sure she did. One of his hands tightened on her hip and he reached around with the other and palmed one of her breasts.
In this position it felt heavy in his grasp. He tweaked her already hard nipple, fascinated by how she clenched harder around him each time he teased her breast.
When she moaned and began milking him even faster, he let go of his control. His canines instinctively lengthened with the need to mark her. Palming her stomach, he pulled her until her back was tight against his chest.
Her climax flowed through her trembling body as he fastened his teeth onto her neck. As he broke the skin—claiming her—her entire body jerked under his hold. She cried out his name but he barely heard it as he let out his own shout.
With a sharp jolt, he came inside her in long, hot thrusts as she wrung everything from him. His growl was primal and probably heard by everyone in the house, but he didn’t care. He wanted everyone to know Felicia was his.
As his climax subsided, he wrapped his arm around her stomach and slowly withdrew from her. Lowering them both to the bed, his eyes widened when he saw a small bonding symbol that had formed directly below her upper shoulder. It was an infinity symbol.
His chest tightened as he traced the slightly raised character with his finger. He’d never believed in any sort of destiny bullshit until he’d met Felicia. Seeing this was more irrefutable evidence they were meant to be together. Tattoo-like symbols always appeared somewhere on the body of true mates after they bonded. The symbol often related to the owners’ heritage, so his would likely be something ancient Germanic. Right now he didn’t care where it was on his body or what it looked like; he knew he’d have one if she did. He just wanted to hold his mate.
Before he could move, she turned to face him and curled her entire body around him like a silky ribbon. Her soft curves melded to him as her dark hair spilled seductively over his chest.
His breathing was still shallow, matching hers as they lay there. He didn’t sense any discomfort from her but still… “Did I hurt you?” The thought of doing so tore a hole inside him.
He could feel her smile against his chest as she shook her head. “That was amazing. I didn’t think the first time would be like that, but…wow.”
Alaric pushed out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Even though they’d mated there was one more thing he needed to tell her. With a finger, he lifted her chin from his chest so she had to look at him. “I should have said this before, but I love you Felicia, and it has nothing to do with being mates. Even if my wolf hadn’t chosen you, I would have.”
Her blue eyes darkened as he’d come to learn they often did when her emotions changed. “I feel the same way. I was half in love with you a month into our correspondence—even though I wouldn’t admit it to myself. When I thought you were going to mate with someone else, I knew I loved you. I…” She shook her head and swallowed hard.
Unable to stop himself, he kissed her. Her tongue met his in an erotic dance he knew he’d never tire of. As she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, he fisted her hips and moved her so that she straddled him. He knew she’d be too sore to make love again but for now he simply wanted to hold her. They had the rest of their lives together to pleasure each other.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story, don’t miss
Destined Mate
by Katie Reus, available now from Harlequin Nocturne Cravings!
Two hundred years ago, Angela Lavigne and Alpha werewolf Knox had a shared a passion neither could control. Then Angela was turned into a vampire and disappeared.
The last thing Knox expects is for Angela to show up on his doorstep centuries later on a rescue mission, as sexy and irresistible as ever. And he can sense how much she still wants him, too. She’s gone against both their species’ rules and trespassed on his land. By law he can keep her as long as he wants—and Knox doesn’t intend to let her go ever again.
As their desire explodes once again, Knox is more sure than ever that he’s must claim her forever. But as vampire and werewolf, they are natural born enemies. Can she truly be his destined mate?
Don’t miss the other sensual, paranormal reads from Harlequin Nocturne Cravings, available at
www.ebooks.eharlequin.com
and wherever ebooks are sold. Titles include:
The Vampire’s Consort
by Caridad Piñeiro
Seduced by the Wolf
by Bonnie Vanak
Reflected Desire
by Kendra Leigh Castle
Nocturnal Whispers
by Caridad Piñeiro
In the Service of the King
by Laura Kaye
Immortal, Insatiable, Indomitable
by Olivia Gates
The Fever and the Fury
by Stephanie Draven
Hunted by the Jaguar
by Bonnie Vanak
Amazon Awakening
by Caridad Piñeiro
Looking for more paranormal romance? The sizzling and spine-chilling books of Harlequin Nocturne are available at
www.Harlequin.com
or your local bookstore.
ISBN: 978-14592-2274-8
Protector’s Mate
Copyright © 2012 by Katie Reus
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.