I meet Hale’s gaze steadily. “Where should I bite you?”
He swallows thickly, one of his hands coming up slowly, so slowly, to cup my cheek. “You’re sure? You’ll be able to feel me until the bond fades, and I’ll be able to feel you.”
“Stop trying to talk her out of it,” Creed growls. Apparently, as much as he’d disliked the idea of this at the beginning, he’s on board now.
“Why is Hale the one that gets her bond?” Jude asks, shifting. “I want to feel her, too.”
Hale turns his head to glare at the other alpha, but his hand on my cheek stays soft and gentle. “It was my idea. Once she can feel me, she’ll know and I’m sure it won’t be that much longer before we bond her for real.”
I arch a brow. “I just had a heat.”
True, it was over a month ago, and true Dr. Hines told me my heats would likely be unpredictable at first since I’ve been on suppressants for so long, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll happen soon.
Hale shrugs. “We can bond you now and then again when you have a heat.”
Jude groans, head tipping back toward the ceiling. “Oh, fuck yeah. We can cover you in claiming bites. Mark you up over and over. Make sure everyone knows you belong to us.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Creed adjust his dick at that idea. I feel an answering swell of desire low in my belly.
My cheeks puff out as I blow out a slow breath, trying like hell to not just jump all their bones right this second. “Once should be enough,” I mutter.
All of them growl. “Twice at least,” Tic says, drawing my surprised gaze to him. I would have thought out of all of them, he’d be the one to be the most logical about this. One bite from each of them would be enough. Even if it’s not during my heat, I can tell the bond would be strong. It would have to be with us being scent matches.
A dirty little smile curls Tic’s lips. “We can bite you on your neck, scar you up so the world knows you’re ours. And then we can bite you… other places.”
“The inside of your thighs,” Creed growls hotly.
“Your glorious tits,” Jude sounds dazed at the idea.
“Inside of your lip,” Hale murmurs, gaze fixed on my mouth like he’s imagining it already.
“The thumb mound on one of your hands,” Tic finishes.
“Then anytime we touch you in any of those places, baby girl, you’ll light up like a firecracker for us.” I swallow thickly at the implication. Mating bites are erogenous zones, or so I’ve been told. If that’s true, then even the innocent act of holding my hand would turn me on.
I should put a stop to that line of thinking. I already have a hard enough time controlling myself when it comes to them. But I find myself whispering, “Okay. Yeah.”
The looks they give me are positively predatory… in a good way. I look at Hale, meet his eyes, and suddenly my jaw and teeth are aching, my mouth watering at the thought of biting him.
“Where?”
His gaze softens, and his expression turns nervous. Like he can’t quite believe I’ve agreed to this, and he’s worried I’ll change my mind at the last moment.
He holds out a hand and I take it, allow him to pull me closer to his body. “Wherever you want, little mouse. Where do you want your claim on me?”
Where I want my claim is on his neck, where everyone can see. But if this is going to just be a temporary bond and not the lasting one that solidifies him as mine, then I should bite him somewhere else, right? Somewhere not so prominent. Especially if this turns out to be some elaborate ruse. And they don’t really want me.
I don’t know if Hale can read my thoughts, but he gently cups my cheek, turning my face up to his as his thumb strokes my bottom lip. “You can bite me wherever you want, little mouse. If you want to sink your teeth into my neck, then that is where I want you to do it. And if you want to bite me on the other side later, I’ll proudly wear both of your bites. You can bite me as many times as you want. Turn my entire body into one giant scar, one giant fucking claim. Because I am yours. Irrevocably. Whether you decide you want to keep me or not. I am yours.”
“Mine,” I murmur, still not truly understanding this turn of events. This change of positions where he seems to be worried that I won’t want to stay with them, to keep him. Like I might find him lacking in some way.
It’s how I’ve felt since the first moment I met him, the first time he growled ‘little mouse’ at me. Like my future with themisn’t set in stone, like they might slip through my fingers like sand.
Hale Calloway is feeling that now.
I nod and blow out another breath, resolve settling in my bones as the last of the air leaves my lungs. “Okay.” My hand slides up to hook around the back of his neck. “You’re going to have to come down here, though. You’re too damn tall.”
He chuckles and hooks an arm under my butt, hoisting me up. “Better?”