“I can’t.I can’t let you go.”The growl is back as if the civilized part of him has lost this round.Jack presses his hips against my raised ass.“Mine.”

I moan.The adrenaline from the run and being pinned and helpless has me heating for all the wrong reasons.

“Wrong,” I whisper.“Iwasyours, and you threw me away.”

The pain of him leaving me in my workroom, helpless to follow because I could barely stand, still ricochets through me.

A thick tongue licks the back of my neck and ear.An unholy heat cascades over me, and Jack rocks his large form against my hips again.There are only a few layers of fabric separating my wet pussy from the hard bulge pressing against it.

The devious part of me wants to push back against Jack’s body, to tempt the beast behind me into giving me what we’ve been skirting around since the first moment we met.

A hungry growl rumbles over my nerves as if Jack can read my mind.

“Mine.I can taste your desire,” he says, his words almost slurring.“I need to satisfy my mate.”

My anger still crackles under my skin, along with my arousal.“Oh, that’s rich.Now you want to satisfy me?You had your chance, Jack.”

My skirt is pushed up despite my words, and the sound of ripping fills the air.I cry out, and I can’t tell if it’s from annoyance or desperation.My tights and panties pull against my skin as they rip until the cold forest air hits my ass and the wetness between my legs.

Fuck.I liked that too much.

Jack grips the back of my neck to keep me in place as his body moves behind me until his hot breath hits my pussy.We moan in unison when he licks me.His tongue is strong, long, and pointed in a very noncanine way.The next stroke has me pushing my hips back at him.

It suddenly doesn’t matter that Jack broke my heart, that he rejected me, that I failed to break his curse.All that matters now is the stroke of that hot tongue and the possessive grip on the back of my neck.Each erotic action clicks into place how we should have been as if they sweep away every wrong he’s ever done to me.

As if I’ve already forgiven him.

My mate.

“Don’t stop,” I gasp, my body capitulating to him.

Jack’s moan is rough and the sounds that fall from my lips would make me blush if I were in my right mind.The slide of his tongue is a deliverance from the terrible time since we’d last parted.The constant tears, the catatonic grief.I’d finally emotionally dealt with my personal shame of not being able to break Jack’s curse.It had taken time to come to terms with the fact that I’d done the best I could.

The pain of Jack’s rejection...I’d thought a hard fuck may get me on the right path.This isn’t the hard fuck I’d had in mind, but I’m starving for his touch.

“Please, Jack,” I say.I don’t know exactly what I’m begging for yet, but I know I need it.

Jack grips the back of my neck harder when I twist against his mouth.

“Please, please, please.”My begs are whispers of my soul’s most fervent wish.

“You’re on a date.”He groans the words and there is still a thread of anger there.

“But I want you.I always want you,” I say.

The pleased sound he makes tells me how much he likes that.He slides his tongue inside me as a reward, and I shout.

“So good—” I break off on a cry as his tongue curls inside me.My need is heavy, and I shamelessly shove my pussy back into his mouth with as much abandon as I can manage while being pinned.

Each stroke hits me exactly where I need it, but it’s not enough.

“Jack, I need you.”

His tongue slides from me, and I make a sound of loss.

“Bel, you’re so perfect,” he says.“Mine.”

Mine.Yes, that’s what I want.