Page 14 of Claiming Claire

I turned to the sound of his voice. “What was that?”

He smirked. “Nothing sweetheart.” He bopped me on the nose. “You’re cute.”

I struggled with being annoyed as hell because I had, in fact, heard what he muttered under his breath and being pleased that he still used a pet name and called me cute. “Hand me the clothes, you wait out here.”

And he did. He waited and waited. He switched out sizes, grabbed new colors, and picked new outfits. Stood. Crouched. Lay on the floor. But not a single complaint came from my mate. It was impressive.

I had just tried on the yellow blouse, which I grudgingly loved, when Tiana joined Gabriel in the waiting area. Even though I couldn’t see her, I knew she was standing outside the door. “I’m going to shut down the shop for lunch. If you want to just leave the tags for whatever clothes you’ve decided on and leave out the back when you’re finished, I’ll invoice Jace later.”

I pushed open the curtain, not even bothering to change out of the clothes I’ve tried on. “No, we can leave now. I’ll take this shirt and the blue one.” I pointed to the one Gabriel had liked. Then I reached into my purse to take out my wallet.

Both Gabriel and Tiana looked at me like I had grown horns right in front of their eyes, neither moving to take the money I had thrust toward them. Finally, when the silence got awkward, Gabriel pushed my hand down. “Ah, no.”

“What?” I stared between the two of them, confused.

“You will not pay for your own clothes. That is our job as your mates, to take care of you. If you want a coffee and we aren’t around, sure, pull from your own stash. Want to sneak in a surprise gift, go ahead and spend away. But, in this pack, it is the mate’s job to provide. You have four . . . four capable providers who can purchase your clothing.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” I objected. “I can earn money, just like my mates.”

“Sweetheart, it isn’t about fair, it’s about the satisfaction we get as males. Don’t worry, give it a week or two, and we will have a job in the pack for you like everyone else, because we know you’re capable.” He took my shoulders and turned me around, “Now, go try on something.” He looked around and grabbed a navy lacy dress from a rack. “Go try this on.”

I debated arguing more, but if it made them happy, then I guess I would let them. No use spending my emergency money so frivolously if I didn’t have to do so. I pulled off the yellow top and my jeans and slid the navy dress over my body. Reaching behind me, I pulled at the zipper. I got it halfway up when it snagged, refusing to move.

I was debating if I should ask for help, or just give up trying it on all together when Gabriel asked, “What’s taking so long? Need help?”

I hesitated, still not entirely sure what I wanted to do. When Gabriel cleared his voice like he was about to speak again, I rushed out, “The zipper is stuck.”

He pulled open the curtain, making a low growl in his throat before stepping forward and pulling my hair to the side, placing it on my shoulder. His knuckles grazed my back, causing a shiver to run down my spine as he pulled the zipper up slowly. When I felt his hand graze the top of my neck and stop, I turned around, smoothing the material over my body self-consciously. “So, what do you think?”

He let out a slow breath as he surveyed me, “I-I think that dress is most definitely coming home with us.”

I looked down again, “So, you like it, then?”

“Like?” His voice was low as he took a step toward me, forcing me back into the wall. I tilted my head up to look at him, his eyes rimmed in yellow, “Love. I love that dress, Claire. When you wear this dress, I will know you are wearing it for me.” The back of his knuckle came up and rubbed gently against my exposed cleavage. “Not Jace. Not Vix. Not Laden . . . Me, Claire.”

My breath caught at his touch, my pulse quickened, and I knew he heard the changes in my body. His palms came down to rest on each side of my head, caging my body in as he leaned down to kiss me. His tongue dueled with mine slowly at first, each stroke coaxing the embers between my thighs until it was a full-on fire.

Shameless, I found myself rubbing against his leg, seeking pressure and almost begging for pleasure. One of his hands fell to my thigh, gripping it tightly as he hiked it up toward his hip. “Be careful what you’re asking for, Claire. Your mates are the jealous type.”

His words sent a thrill through me, knowing their punishment would most definitely be more pleasure than pain. “I’m willing to risk the consequences.”

He nipped my lip with a groan, “Think about what you’re saying, Claire. We’re in a dressing room. Are you sore?”

I most definitely was sore, in the most delicious way and he was right. We were in a dressing room, not our bedroom. Or our house. Anyone could walk in at any time and catch us. That thought made me rub harder against his leg and reach for his jeans. “I trust you will be gentle.”

“You’re trusting the wrong mate,” He growled and images of last night flashed through my mind. His large body between my thighs. His thick cock moving inside of me, stretching me so much that pleasure and pain intertwined.

“I trust all my mates equally,” I whispered as I lowered his zipper, pulling out his cock to hold in my hands.

His head fell back as he groaned. His hands gripped the hem of the dress, pushing it to my waist before he gripped the back of my thighs and lifted me up, slamming my back against the wall. “I warned you, sweetheart, but with your little fingers wrapped around my cock like that, I can’t be responsible for my actions.”

He leaned in and kissed me roughly, his tongue battling with my own, our teeth clashing, his hips grinding against my palm as I squeezed him in my hands. My legs wrapped around his body tightly, pulling him closer to me, and he cursed. A long string of profanity left his mouth before he said, “I’ll probably regret this in an hour or two, but right now, all I can think about is claiming your body. Imprinting it in every way possible so that every damn wolf within a hundred miles knows who you belong to.”

Then, he pulled my hands into his and pinned them against the wall before he shifted his hips forward and plunged into me. Feeling him inside of me stole my breath, leaving me to struggle through the sudden overload of sensations. He fit so tightly, I was afraid to move. He pulled out and pushed back in, grinding his body against my clit, causing white lights to cloud my vision.

“So. Damn. Tight,” he groaned, “Just the feel of you already has me close to the edge.”

I knew the feeling. Each grind into me, pound of his hip, jolt of my body roughly hitting the wall behind me, made logical thinking impossible. Each incoherent thought was focused solely on him. His body, the feel of him pushing into my core and the sparks of pleasure he was shooting through me until it all wound together so tightly I exploded. I screamed and gasped out his name, clawing at his shirt-covered body as he followed behind me with his own climax.

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