Page 19 of Dutiful Wolf's Mail Order Mate

My orgasm tore through me, obliterating any semblance of control I may have had. I screamed his name the moment he struck, fangs sinking into the tender flesh of my shoulder. The bite of pain only intensified my pleasure, and I shattered into a million pieces.

He followed soon after, spurred on by my climax. His hips jerked and stuttered as he found his release, a low rumble of satisfaction rising from deep in his chest. I clung to him, trembling, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Time stood still as we lay there, our sweat-slick bodies entangled. I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began, and I didn’t care. I breathed in his scent, my wolf sighing happily at the lingering smell of sex and something more. Something wilder and possessive.

After a long moment, Rafe finally stirred. He dragged a slow lick over my fresh mate mark, and a satisfied growl rattled in his throat. “Did I hurt you? Are you okay?”

I shifted slightly, wincing at the soreness between my legs. A decadently achy reminder of the first fuck of my life.

“I’m fine,” I murmured, brushing the damp hair from his forehead. Not that it truly mattered. Any pain from our joining would be minor compared to what Bowen would have done. The care and concern, giving me time to adjust and all-around attention to my needs—this was better than I could have hoped for.

For a moment, I allowed myself to forget. Forget about Bowen. Forget about Shauna. Forget about the mess my brother’s recklessness had thrown me into.

This was safety. This was protection.

This was my mate.

Rafe kissed his way from my mate mark up the line of my throat, across my jaw, to my lips. There he hovered, his gaze locked with mine. There was hunger there, yes, but there was also something else. Something that looked dangerously like affection.

I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but tonight, I could be his.

And I would hold on to him with both hands.

CHAPTER EIGHT

MADDY

Istirred, blinking blearily against the gray light filtering through the curtains. The soft patter of rain against the window filled the room, a soothing counterpoint to the dull ache between my thighs. A reminder of the night before, of Rafe’s touch, his claim.

My mate.

The word felt foreign on my tongue, the reality of it not quite sunk in. I shifted, the sheets tangling around my bare legs, and inhaled deeply. Beneath the pine and leather of Rafe and the earthy petrichor of the rain, I caught a whiff of something rich and warm. Coffee.

Surprise flickered through me as I pushed myself up on my elbows. Rafe sat on the edge of the bed, already dressed, his fingers deftly lacing up his boots. He glanced over his shoulder as I sat up, his gaze skimming over my sleep-mussed hair and the bite mark on my shoulder.

Heat flared in his eyes, but quickly banked with a tightening on his jaw.

“Morning,” he said, his voice a delicious rumble. Clearing his throat, he turned back to his task. He jerked his chin toward the nightstand where a steaming mug sat. “There’s coffee. Thought you might need it.”

The muscles of Rafe’s back flexed beneath his t-shirt. He seemed tightly wound, his shoulders tense beneath his t-shirt. A stark contrast to the sinfully sweet way he had unwound me the night before.

Heat crept up my neck as memories of the previous evening flooded my mind. Rafe’s touch, his kiss. How he tasted. How he’d fucked me hard enough to brand me as his for the rest of my life. The perfect gentleman with questions on what I wanted and liked, right up until the moment he let go.

I wanted to see him like that again. I wanted to be the cause of his snapped control.

I sat up, suddenly shy, and wrapped the sheets around myself. I reached for the mug, very aware of my nakedness and the uncharted territory of waking in my mate’s bed.

“Thanks.” My voice came out rougher than I intended. I sipped the coffee, watching him over the rim.

“I have to head out,” he said. He finished with his boots and leaned back with a groan, head resting on my legs. The smile he kicked up at me curled heat in my belly. “There’s an emergency at one of the construction sites. Some flooding I need to keep from getting worse.”

“Oh.” I set the mug on the nightstand, disappointment and uncertainty washing over me. Rafe had a job. He had a pack to manage. But where did that leave me?

I didn’t expect him to cling to my side like a barnacle. But for all his talk of not being like other wolves, I was essentially in the same position of sitting at home and waiting on his comings and goings.

Rafe’s eyebrows shot together, a flicker of concern on his face. “Are you okay?”

I hesitated, the words sticking in my throat. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my day.”

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