Page 29 of Heartless

I groaned at her breathy words, rising on my elbows to stare down at her beautiful face. I was still buried inside her tight heat, and when her hips twitched at the movement, I felt fire lick down my spine. It took everything in me to keep still and ask, “Want me to consult The Mating Habits of Territorial Creatures?”

Her green eyes danced with amusement, her hands skimming over my waist to cup my ass. “I was thinking more along the lines of an intensive research program.”

Vail had always smelled like a sun-dried bedsheet, clean and sweet and something I wanted to wrap myself in forever. It was a scent I could pick out of a thousand others, and was my hands-down favorite. As I licked a long, slow swipe across her chest, I decided she still tasted like laundry, only now it was a little dirty. And that was enough to make me swell inside her. “Sign me up,” I murmured, thrusting forward just enough to let her know I meant business.

“Now?” she asked, wide-eyed.

“Unless you’re too sore…”

She was quick to shake her head, but winced as her tangled hair snagged on the cushions. The couch was mostly old springs and worn patches, and I felt a flash of regret I hadn’t picked a better place for her first time. Back before Hunter Moon, I’d thought this through a hundred times. I’d wanted to give her the big romance. The perfect bed to worship her in, right down to Liszt on the speakers and rose petals on her pillow. But as I unwound her hair, she kissed the inside of my wrist, right over my wolf’s angry claw mark. It was still red and angry, but with that one touch, all my misgivings fell away. Still, I wasn’t going to pound her into the shitty old couch for a second time. Swinging my legs over the side, I lifted her until she was straddling my waist. She was mostly boneless, but her eyes went wide as she felt the pressure of this new position. “How does that feel?”

“So much,” she gasped. “So full.”

She was panting again, and our mouths came together in a sucking, needy kiss. I’d planned to carry her into a proper bed, but when she wiggled in my lap, it was a lost cause. Because damn, she was the perfect kind of clutching heat, my eyes rolling as she cried out and rocked over me. Her head pressed hard against my shoulder and I realized she had her teeth buried in the fleshy part of her bicep. “What are you doing, sweet thing?”

It took her a moment to let go and when she blinked at me, moisture pooled in her eyes. “I’m trying to stop myself from biting you.”

“Oh, baby,” I laughed, thrusting up so hard she made a low, keening sound. “Bite me all you want. That’s how wolves mark their mates. And even if it wasn’t, I’d wear your bite with pride.”

“I’ve already wrecked your beautiful chest,” she wailed, but I felt her teeth graze my throat and my ribs began to vibrate. I didn’t need my wolf to make an appearance for my animal side to rise. A claw to the wrist was one thing, but when it came to a pair bond, a bite on the neck was the ultimate prize. I rocked her harder, my fingers digging into her hips, and I pictured that silky cat-shaped shadow I’d seen dance under her skin. Fuck knows what this meant in terms of the shifter world I’d grown up in. But right now, it was more than I’d ever dreamed of, and I pressed my neck hard up against her mouth as she pierced the skin.

It was the perfect kind of pain, and I came so hard I nearly bucked us off the couch. For a long moment, we just clung to each other, waiting for our hearts to sink back into our chests. When Vail finally began to stir, I lifted her into my arms, and forcing my noodle knees to lock, carried her to the small bathroom. It had a basic shower stall, basin and toilet arrangement, and I lowered her onto the seat while I got the water running. It was going to take a while for some steam to build up, so I grabbed a washcloth and began dabbing at her face. The mirror was behind her, which was probably just as well, since the bloody streaks would’ve sent most humans fleeing into the blizzard. Not that Vail was human. Nope. Somehow, I’d managed to bag myself a gorgeous panther shifter. And now I had a throbbing bite mark to prove it.

“Geez.” Vail obviously wasn’t feeling my happy vibes, because she winced as she inspected her handiwork. “Looks like a rabid animal’s been chewing on you.”

“Told you. She’s a greedy pussy,” I smirked, and helped her into the shower. It was a tight fit for two, especially since we weren’t exactly focused on getting the job done. But once we’d dirtied ourselves up again, we soaped up all the important bits and stumbled out of the shower. My throat was throbbing in the best way, and while Vail muttered and cursed over her tangled hair, I stuck my thumb in my mouth and rubbed it over her bite mark.

“Wait up. Are you alpha voodooing yourself?”

I smirked at her in the mirror. “Got to preserve this beauty.” And even in the poor lighting, I could tell it was perfect. Not as wide as a wolf bite, but nice and deep, and my chest rumbled with satisfaction. “Although, happy for you to bite me again any time you feel like it.”

Vail was wringing the water out of her hair, but now she pressed the towel to her hot cheeks. “That’s both insane… and strangely tempting.” She shook her head, but when she looked in the mirror, her thumb brushed the side of her neck. “You didn’t want to do it too? I thought maybe your wolf would come back for a bite…”

Her wistful tone pulled at my heartstrings, and I cursed my wolf for being a stubborn fool. “I’m not sure where he is, but I’m pretty damn pleased to be right here with you.” I wrapped her in my arms. “And I want you in every way you’ll let me. But an alpha bite is a lot to take. It’s probably best we wait until you’re eighteen.”

She made a humming sound and burrowed closer to my chest. “That’s not so far away.”

The satisfaction in her voice put a stupid grin on my face, and there were a few more slow, deep kisses as we hunted down our clothes. When we were dressed, I headed over to the stove, wincing at the congealed mess in the pot. “Shit, I think I ruined dinner.”

Vail bit back a laugh. “I don’t think there was much hope for it before we got sidetracked.”

“Not a fan of my mac ‘n’ cheese?”

“I’m not sure anything that comes out of that cellar is good for your health.” A shadow passed over her face, but she shook it off and began digging through a cupboard I hadn’t explored yet. “Cocoa and pop tarts?”

“All the important food groups,” I told her, and grabbed the cups while she worked her magic on the powdered milk. Soon we were back on the couch, her eyes growing heavy as she finished her drink. But as her head sank onto my shoulder, she said through a yawn, “You should get some sleep. I can take a turn watching the door.”

I grinned, trailing my fingers down her thigh. I was bone tired, but with Vail sleeping in my arms, it wasn’t the door I was going to be watching. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “Tomorrow the storm should have played out and we can meet up with Liam.”

I didn’t add that rest was going to be a while off. Especially with everything we’d discovered in the cellar and the very visible mating bite on my neck. Still, Vail must have been thinking the same, because familiar shadows were creeping back into her eyes. “And then what?”

I gave her the simplest answer. “Then we find your dad. He owes you an explanation for all this, doesn’t he?”

She breathed out a sigh that was part frustration, but mostly relief. “Yes. I want to see him. Like you said, I can’t make peace with it until I know everything.”

Since the couch really wasn’t fit to sleep on, Vail grabbed the pillows off her bed and we resurrected my blanket pile in front of the fire. I’d been on better mattresses, but as soon as she snuggled down, the press of her curves was like an instant accelerant. Beating back my horny hound, I pulled the blanket over her and listened to the cabin settle around us. Cal had once made a shitty remark about Driftwood fostering Vail so they had fresh pussy over the long winters. It was wrong on so many levels, but I got the appeal of being locked away with Vail for months. I was sociable by nature, and loved being in the thick of the crowd, but nothing compared to lying here, snowed in, and miles from the nearest shifter.

A thought that bit me on the ass when a heavy foot came down on my throat, and I woke to a pair of feral black eyes glaring down at me.

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