Page 63 of Breeding Clinic

She perks up. “Really?”

“The way you fit so perfectly between us. It’s like you were meant for us. I never bought into that woo-woo nonsense about fate, but maybe my nana was right. Because the first day you stepped over that threshold, I knew you were coming home to us. Knew you were ours.”

Kat takes a deep breath. “If I hadn’t gotten pregnant though…”

Liam shrugs and rubs his thumb across her knuckles. “Then I would have had to try harder on your next heat. Because there is no way in hell I was going to let any other alpha do it. And for the record, kitten, your old pack was full of selfish idiots. But I’m glad for that, because now we get to show you how a real pack supports one another through good times and bad. For better or worse. Because when you truly love someone, you don’t walk away from them when life gets hard. You cling to them harder, because the dark is cold and lonely and it’s the pack that keeps you warm.”

A lone tear rolls down Kat’s cheek and she brushes it away, then lets out a nervous giggle. “How long were you saving that one?” she asks, her cheeks pink. But she’s smiling.

Liam grins. “A while. It’s Mattie’s fault. He’s making me read your books with him.”

“Oh my God,” she says, rubbing the rest of the tears from her eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t read my first one. I didn’t know what I was doing then.”

Fuck, her old pack really did a number on her self-esteem. “Of course I did,” I tell her. “I like seeing how your writing’s evolved over the years. It’s definitely gotten kinkier.” I wink at her, and she groans with embarrassment.

“So where did we land on this dog thing?” Gabriel asks, stabbing a cluster of vegetables onto his fork. “Because I was serious.”

“I like dogs,” I say.

“Me too, but maybe not a puppy,” Kat says. “We could adopt an adult.”

After a minute of silence, Liam agrees. “Okay. We’ll look at the house. And dogs. And I’ll sign whatever agreement Mattie’s cousin says is good. But I want my mating bite on your throat before we go buying a pack house and moving. And I want our pack name on the baby’s birth certificate.”

Oh, shit.He’s been so careful to tiptoe around the subject of mating. She gets cagey whenever he ever so slightly brings it up. Gabriel and I both glance between them.

Kat nods, agreeing, and Liam growls. Low and subtle. The hair on the back of my neck stands up at the sound. I’ve never heard him make it before now. He’s only ever growled when there was a particularly nasty incident at the pub.

“Mattie,” Liam says, his voice deep and jagged. “You’d better clear the table of whatever you want to save in the next thirty seconds.”

My eyes widen when I realize he’s serious. Gabriel helps me save my grandmother’s porcelain and the cut crystal salt cellar we got as a pack present. We get the most precious things shoved to the other end of the table and blow the candles out by the time Liam gets out of his chair and pulls Kat out of hers.

“You can’t bite me now!” she says. “We have to wait for the paperwork.”

“Fine.” Liam spins her around and bends her over the dining table. He pulls her dress up and tugs her panties down. I can tell the exact moment his fingers connect with her pussy because her eyes flutter and her hips rock against the table, making the place setting clink.

“I’m not going to bite you,” Liam growls. “But I’m sure as hell going to mark you today.” He leans over her, moving her hair to the side. Exposing her throat. Licking her. “Let the whole world know you’re ours.”

“Liam,” she sighs, adjusting her stance. Spreading her legs wider. Giving him easier access.

“How long have you been looking at houses?” he asks her.

“A… a while,” she admits.

“Did you daydream about it? Living with your pack?” He rucks her dress up higher, exposing the curve of her bare ass.

“Yes.”

“I’ve been dreaming of it too,” he admits. “Of waking up to your pretty face instead of a cold spot where you should be. I don’t like it when you leave.”

“I spend more time here than at my own house,” she says, fidgeting under him.

“It’s not enough,” Liam growls. “It’s never enough. I want all of you. I want you in our nest. I want my bite mark on your neck. Our babies in your belly. Once I have you, Kitten, I’m never letting you go. Is that what you’d like? Do you want to be ours? Forever? Because I won’t settle for anything less than an eternity of you.”

“Yes,” she agrees.

The wet sound of his fingers plunging in and out of her competes with the low rumble of his growl. The rough soundsturn into a purr as she submits. Hangs her head, exposing her throat for him.

It’s fascinating to see. The change in them both. He’s always had a dominant, rough streak.

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