Page 28 of An Unending Claim

I held out the spoon, but when she went to take it, I pulled it back at the last second. “Are you sure you want a spoon, kitty cat?”

“What?” She glared at me and tried to swipe the utensil from me, but I kept it out of her reach, smirking when she hissed like the feline she was.

Shrugging, I leaned back against the island counter. “I thought perhaps you’d prefer to set the bowl on the ground and lick your cream.” I grinned devilishly. “Unless you prefer I lick yours.”

“Why don’t you go grab a Scooby snack, pup?” Peyton jibed, rolling her eyes. She set the bowl down and jumped off the counter, lunging at me as she went for the spoon again.

I laughed and captured one of her wrists, twisting her around so she was wrapped in my arms with her back to my front. “Put away your claws, baby,” I breathed in her ear. “And just so you know, you will pay for calling me a pup later.”

“Did I damage your delicate ego?”

I laughed again and nipped her earlobe. “Hardly. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to take advantage of the opportunity to remind you of the difference between a pup and a hungry wolf.” My voice had dropped into a growl on the last part and Peyton shivered, making my body tighten with need. But the whole point of taking the afternoon off was to spend time getting to know each other without the distraction of sex. “Now eat your snack so we can go.”

My wolf enjoyed our banter, even though he didn’t know what we were saying, but he was more excited to get out and pushed against my skin. I pushed calming vibes at him and he backed off a bit, content to sit beside Peyton while she ate. I took an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter and munched on it while we talked about her work with Kellan’s project.

After we were finished eating, I took care of her dishes, then we both stripped and walked out to the back porch where I set the alarm before shifting. Her panther purred at my wolf, then leapt over the steps in one graceful move and took off.

CHAPTERTWELVE

PEYTON

As my panther raced through the woods, I snickered at how she’d responded to Nathan’s wolf. My girl had it bad for him. It would be a problem if I decided to leave, but I didn’t want to think about that for the moment. I just wanted to enjoy the run and our animals’ joy at being together.

She led her mate on a merry chase before stopping at the water’s edge near the waterfall. He slowed to a saunter and approached my feline, his teeth bared, but not in a menacing way. More like he was hungry, and if he was anything like his human half… my girl was in the best kind of trouble. When he was only a foot away, she spun and leapt into the water, swimming in the direction of the falls. The wolf howled playfully before diving in right after her.

They played in the water for a while, then gave in to their mutual desire in the cave beneath it. I had hoped that once they gave in to the mating instinct, it would lighten up the heavy weight of my need for Nathan. But, after an afternoon of shenanigans, all it had done was make me burn even hotter for my mate. They cuddled up for an hour before Nathan and I took over, shifting into our human forms.

“You know,” Nathan said with an almost cheeky smile, “I think they had the right idea. We should have some fun like they did.”

My body was already primed, my thighs wet from my arousal and my nipples hard. I looked up at Nathan through my lashes and licked my lips, loving the way his shaft twitched at the sight. “I agree.” As I sauntered close, I practically purred, my voice thick with need.

Nathan’s big hands spanned my waist, tightening as he yanked me against him. His head bent and he took my mouth in a deep, hot kiss. Then he pulled back and his lips curved into a sly smile before he winked at me. The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air and landing in the cold, foamy water. I sank a few feet, then kicked my legs and broke through the surface.

“You asshole!” I shouted before laughter burst from my chest. My panther brushed her fur under my skin, pleased with Nathan’s playful attitude.

He grinned and dove in, disappearing for a few moments, then popping up right in front of me. “Did you think I meant something else?”

“You know I did!” I splashed water at him and swam away when he lunged at me.

“Such a naughty mind, baby,” he joked before coming after me. Eventually, he caught me and tossed me up into the air, sending me crashing into the water once again.

“I call foul, Nate,” I sputtered as I wiped the water out of my face. “I can’t throw a giant!”

Nathan dropped his head back and laughed from deep in his chest. When he met my gaze again, his silver eyes danced with mirth. I was temporarily mesmerized, my breath catching in my throat and light filling my soul. It didn’t matter how much time I spent with him, he still captivated me. Especially when he looked so happy and carefree.

I’d always assumed my fascination with his smile and laughter stemmed from it being such a rare occurrence, but I was coming to the realization that I would always be captivated by my mate. It made me question my solo existence. Considering my nomadic nature, and impatience with being kept in one place for too long, I’d assumed that I’d feel the same claustrophobia in a permanent relationship.

However, I’d never felt a need to be free of Nathan. I hadn’t felt caged by him—except when I was being caged by him.I’d experienced the overwhelming sensation of cabin fever—“cabin” being all of Silver Lake and not just Nathan’s house. In fact, I felt the least desperate for freedom when I was home.I mean, in Nathan’s home.Now that I was thinking about it, I hadn’t really noticed because it was subtle, but over the last seven weeks, I’d been tortured less and less by the restlessness that had always plagued me. Not that almost two months was a decent time frame to measure against my life. I’d spent more than a year in some places before the itch to leave became too strong to ignore. Yet I couldn’t help wondering if things were different this time. My panther was usually even more edgy than me, but she’d been surprisingly content to stick around for now—although I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t due to the nesting stage of pregnancy.

He reached out and palmed my neck, pulling me against him and wrapping my legs around his waist. His steel length was snuggled between my thighs and a shiver skittered down my spine, right before he sank us under the water where he kissed the hell out of me until we couldn’t go without oxygen any longer.

After a few big gulps of oxygen, he used the hand on my neck to bring my ear to his mouth and whispered, “The truth is, I love your dirty mind, baby. I especially love how fucking hot it gets you when I say filthy things.”

His use of the word ‘love’ almost tripped me up, but you could love something about someone without loving them, right? Although the look in his eyes… was Nathan falling for me? I didn’t know yet if I could change my way of life, but I did know that the only thing that had a shot of making it happen was love. That was how I knew I would stay for my child if I thought it was the best thing for them. I loved her more than anything and would do whatever it took to keep her happy and safe. I’d begun to suspect that I was well on my way to feeling that way for Nathan. But could he ever love me like that?

For fuck’s sake, Peyton. Enough with the heavy. Re-fucking-lax, woman.

Nathan’s lips brushed over my jaw and he rocked his hips, making me gasp. I wiggled impatiently and he… removed my legs from his waist and turned me around.What the hell?

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