Page 70 of The Wolf in My Tavern

He stills before he chuckles again.

I have given myself away. I should not be jealous of the lass he was snatching—not when Callum is bound, and I am about to be ravished. Still, I can tell she is important, for all he handed her off to Drake to deal with… along with the younger man with her.

“Lizbeth, my former promised mate, was taken by the Blighten a year ago, along with my younger brother.”

“Oh.”

I am bound… I sense there is more binding to come. I have brought this on myself by challenging him in the market. He has admitted he was prepared to walk away.

And I would have been free to wed Callum.

But I would never have seen Gray again.

“What am I, then?” I say bitterly. “A plaything until you claim your mate?”

He rumbles a low curse.

Callum’s growl is full of fury.

“What are you going to do?” I whisper.

Ignoring my question, Gray resumes his work. With every pass of the rope across my skin, every careful knot, tug, and loop, I feel myself sinking into a place of heightened awareness that centers only upon him.

The cabin is cool, and my body is naked, but his hands are warm where they touch me, and his body gives off heat like a furnace whenever it presses close to mine as he continues to bind me in the soft ropes.

“You’re naked and bound, wench. And so am I.” He leans in close, his warm skin brushing up against me from behind, and his cock, thick and long, slides between my spread pussy lips. “Happen you’re about to be rutted,” he growls close to my ear, making my stomach clench in heated anticipation. He rocks his hips, sliding his cock back and forth, catching my clit and spreading the wetness of my arousal around. “Happen you want me to do as much.”

He steps back and the denial dies on my lips as I am suddenly lifted from the bed. I hang from his grip, thoroughly bound, ankles to thighs, wrists together, with more ropes surrounding my torso like a harness.

Callum growls.

Gray strides from the bed with me swinging from one hand.

He stops in the center of the room, where I find myself swaying slightly, eyes watching the polished floor pass beneath me. There is a noise I can’t determine and then the sound of a faint chink as I jerk higher, another chink, and I rise again.

His broad, naked feet enter my view from in front of me as gentle fingers smooth my tangled hair.

He is no longer holding me, I realize… Has he chained me to the ceiling? He must have.

“When a wolf claims his mate, he must take her in every way.” He edges closer, bringing his legs and thighs into view. The height at which I dangle is perfect for his use. “Open for me, my mate.”

Rough fingers spear my hair, tightening when I try to pull away. The possessiveness of the touch and the way he handles me make the sweet pulse pound harder between my legs.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “You like that, don’t you, lass? Like it when I let my wolf out.” He clenches his fingers again, arching my neck.

I groan. The bite of his fingers, the roughness with which he treats me, and the shock of seeing the fingers of his other hand closing around his thick cock all conspire against my determination to resist him.

I want him. I’ve wanted him on a primitive level since he first walked into the tavern. Every subsequent meeting has only imprinted him upon me more. His scent is stronger now and finds a direct line to my clit with every breath I take in.

“Open your pretty mouth,” he growls.

The weeping tip of his cock brushes over my lips, and I part them instinctively, tongue darting to collect the offering. He teases me, letting me lick the tip, only to withdraw and leave me desperate for the next taste. I’ve fantasized about being with him, of taking him into my mouth the way I do with Callum, of him spreading me open and rutting me, too.

Reality is far sweeter than any of my dreams—and is tainted with guilt.

“That’s my good girl. I knew you’d be eager for my cock.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

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