Page 39 of An Uncertain Claim

“Not yet,” I gritted out. I moved in and out of her at a measured pace, except when I felt her body tense on the edge of climax. Then I’d slow to a near stop so that my balls didn’t stimulate her clit when I pushed in. “Does this feel like a normal level of passion, Peyton?” I growled. There was no way she’d ever let someone tease her for this long, she would have found a way out of her restraints and kicked their ass. The pleasure—the craving for relief—wouldn’t have been strong enough to keep her from putting a stop to it. I doubted she’d have let anyone else tie her up in the first place. But her body knew what was going to happen when I finally took her to her breaking point, and it had convinced her mind to go along with it.

“No,” she admitted in a whisper.

“Would you let anyone else play with you like this? Tie you up? Take complete control?”

“No.” Her tone was strained, as if it hurt to admit it. “Can I come now?”

“I think you know the answer.”

She growled a curse, but it was immediately followed by a shout when I penetrated her and spanked her ass. After a few more thrusts accompanied by slaps to her firm butt cheeks, her whole body tightened for an extended moment before she finally relaxed and let me lead. Little by little, I felt the fight seep out of her, and her mind opened, flooding me with her emotions. I’d never felt them so strong before and…it was incredible. I didn’t understand how it was possible since I’d heard this kind of open connection didn’t come until the second stage of mating, but I wasn’t going to question it. I sent up a prayer of gratitude when I felt her giving herself over to me because I’d begun to question how much longer I could hold out. When she was holding on to her control by nothing but a thread, I pulled out. She whimpered but didn’t try to regain her footing.

The second my wolf had sensed her surrender, he’d begun to go wild, howling and pushing against me, trying to force me to finish or let him out so he could fuck her panther. He barely acknowledged when I agreed that it was finally time. I gently removed Peyton’s legs and helped her back into a steady position on her hands and knees. I bent over her to untie her wrists and when the ends of my hair tickled her bare skin, she shivered. After I’d freed her hands, I waited for her to make the decision I felt her warring with. We were at a pivotal moment, one that would define our future. If Peyton didn’t accept that I might be her mate now, I couldn’t see any other way of convincing her. That would be it for us. I’d been shocked at the changes she’d brought about in me, but I was still me. I had no tolerance for people who did not learn from their experiences, who didn’t see the possibilities in front of them, and who didn’t adapt to change. Peyton would have to expand her vision and see that nothing was truly black and white.

I slid my hands beneath Peyton, folding them around her torso—one of my palms flat over the small swell of her stomach—then brought her up so her back rested against my chest. A second later, Peyton dipped her head to the side and bared her neck, letting go of everything and surrendering completely.Thank fuck.

The last of my own control shattered and I entered with one swift thrust, eliciting blissful cries from both of us. Perhaps I should have made love to her after she gave me something so precious, but that wasn’t how shifters operated. We were part animal and felt things in a primal way. The wildness and unchecked desire in my wolf took over, which meant I couldn’t think about anything except fucking my mate hard and deep. Taking ownership and leaving my mark inside and out so there would be no doubt who she belonged to.

Peyton raised her arms and locked them around my neck. She and her panther both expected, wanted,neededme to let my animal rule and take her without human reservations.

I moved my hands to her hips and gripped them tight enough to bruise. She moaned in response, and I bared my teeth, turned the fuck on even more by her response.

A growl came from deep inside me and my wolf took control. I was barely coherent of anything but the rapture consuming me as we rutted in our mate. Peyton’s head turned and she looked up at me, the golden eyes of her jaguar locking with mine. She was in heat and begging for more. I unlocked Peyton’s arms and shoved her back down to the mattress before spreading my knees into a wider stance. Then my wolf gave her what she wanted without reservation. Her screams of ecstasy mixed with my grunts and the only other sound was the bed crashing into the wall.

Peyton’s back bowed and she shuddered. “Please,” she yelled.

This time, I didn’t hesitate. I reached in front of her, down to her center, and finally gave her the touch she needed, pressing my thumb over her hard little pearl before pinching it.

Peyton’s scream rang in my ears and her whole body convulsed violently as her orgasm hit her. Her walls spasmed and wrapped so tight around my shaft that I could barely move. But I gained a few inches, just enough for me to plunge back in and follow her into my own climax with a roar.

There would never be adequate words to describe the state I was in. I felt as though I’d been ripped to shreds and every raw nerve was filled with more pleasure than I could have ever imagined. My arms wrapped around Peyton and pulled her up against me, holding on as if I were afraid she would fly away. She grabbed hold of my forearms and her claws dug into the skin as she held on with the same intensity. The sharp prick sent an added spiral of bliss through me, and my canines extended. Everything we felt bled into the other’s mind, and it not only heightened everything, but it filled me with a craving to be one with my mate. The need was so intense I was carried away before I could think about anything but fulfilling the desire.

My teeth sank into Peyton’s neck, driving deep so the mark wouldn’t fade. Peyton screamed again as another wave overtook her and my mouth tightened as a second orgasm washed over me.

Suddenly, something snapped in my mind, and I released her as my head reared back from the force, as if I’d been hit by an actual physical force. Then Peyton’s emotions flooded my system without any filter and my knees buckled, making me drop back onto my heels.

I had no idea how long it took for the waters to recede, but eventually, our bodies began to stabilize. As my heart rate and breathing evened out, my body gave out and I fell to my side, keeping Peyton snug in my embrace.

“Nathan?” Peyton whimpered. “What the hell just happened?” She sounded terrified and blissed out at the same time.

My wolf was feeling smug and when my eyes fell to the deep wound on her neck, I knew exactly what had happened. “Fuck.”

Chapter Nineteen

Peyton

Nathan’s expletive somehow managed to clear things up for me instantly. Or perhaps it was the mixture of pride and dread swirling inside me. The emotions felt different than my own, still inside me but…not mine. We’d been feeling a tiny bit of this lately, but it was obvious that something had changed because there was no longer any kind of filter. I could feel everything Nathan felt.

‘Fuck’ was a major understatement. I’d been lost in bliss when I’d felt a snap before something blew through me like a gale-force wind, leaving behind the rubble of a destroyed wall. My panther was hesitant about our new situation, but she liked the feeling of being closer to Nathan’s wolf.

“Nathan,” I said, my tone shaking with rage. “You bit me during my orgasm?” It was a rhetorical question. I knew damn well what had happened when the wound throbbed and I realized the crumbled wall was the remains of the barrier that had kept Nathan out of my mind.

“Yeah.” He sounded contrite, but the asshole seemed to be forgetting that I knew the sliver of remorse was overpowered by smug pride and possessiveness.

I scrambled out of his arms and almost tumbled off the bed because I was too close to the edge and my bones were like jelly.

Nathan grabbed my arm to keep me from landing on my ass on the floor, but he immediately released it when I found my balance and jerked it out of his hand. “Do you know what you’ve done?” I shouted. Then I shoved my fingers into my hair and yanked on my roots, dislodging the messy bun. I pulled the elastic out and the inky black strands slipped down in a tangled mess. “Of course you know,” I grumbled, absently twisting the ring on my thumb. If I hadn’t known for sure that he’d been truly shocked when he’d realized what he’d done, I would have nailed him in the groin before messing up that pretty face with my claws. “How could you let that happen?”

Nathan raised a single brow and stared at me for a moment before his eyes swept down my body and returned to my gaze with molten silver orbs.

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