Page 104 of Griffin Undone
Arik lifted his head, the slow, tight retreat of his mouth pulling a cry from me. When his gaze met mine, I found a mix of dismay and frustration that had me choking on a giggle. “It’s later, isn’t it?” he yelled back. Heat smoldered when he glanced down at my breast, the tip hot-pink and tender from his attention. Propping his head on one hand, he brought the other to my breasts. Circling and tugging fingers had my eyes rolling back in my head even as I held my breath, waiting for Grim’s response. I felt fine, more than fine; surely I was okay to be with my mate.
My mate.The thought reminded me of everything that hadn’t been settled between us. His animal had claimed me; why hadn’t Arik? Or was sex all he wanted from me?
When I laid my palm on Arik’s chest and pushed, he seemed to forget Grim sputtering outside the door. Well, after a gruff, “Fuck off, healer!” Then to me, “What is it? Are you okay?”
The tender way he looked at me, traced his fingers down the side of my face… My throat closed on a swell of emotion.
“Arik, what are we doing here?”
His brows crinkled together. “I brought you from the compound. You needed to rest after—”
“No. I mean”—I waved a hand in the air, searching for the right words—“what arewedoing, the two of us?”
“I thought that was obvious.”
The way his mouth curved when he gave me that sexy smile of his usually scattered any intelligent thought. Not today. Tonight. Whenever it freaking was. “I’m serious.”
“Me too.” His body arched, pressing his arousal into my belly as he brought his lips to mine. “I love you. Is that what you’re getting at?”
Pain shafted through my heart, stealing my ability to speak for a long, long moment. “Then why won’t you keep me?” I finally managed to whisper.
The confusion in Arik’s expression cleared at my words. “That’s right. You were asleep.”
“What?” My mind might not be functioning on all cylinders at the moment, but I didn’t get the leap. “I don’t—”
Arik rested a fingertip on my mouth. “Kat…”
Again with the tenderness. I wanted to close my eyes, escape, but I couldn’t; I had to soak up every minute I could get, no matter how much it hurt. No matter how much my heart screamed for him to claim me, soul as well as body.
“You almost died,” Arik was saying. “It makes sense that not everything is clear.”
What isn’t clear, damn it?
“Kat, Iamkeeping you.”
What? Since when?
As if sensing my questions—or maybe I was projecting, who knew?—Arik leaned down over me, his hard chest pressing into my sensitive breasts, his warm breath brushing my mouth before his lips took its place. “I am keeping you. Forever. You’re my mate; I won’t let you go. I was a stupid asshole to even think I could try.”
Yeah, you kinda were a stupid asshole.
A quick grin took over his lips, then faded into worry. “I don’t know how I’ll give you everything you need, but we’ll figure it out. I promise you, we’ll figure it out.”
His lips settled on mine, coaxed mine open, allowing his tongue inside. For long moments I let him distract me from the thought uppermost in my mind. But when the kiss ended…
“For a thousand-year-old male, you’re not that bright, are you?”
Arik scooted down a bit in the bed. “Hmm?” He didn’t stop until his head was level with my breast. The soft, wet slide of his tongue across my straining nipple caused my core to clench. The tender skin crinkled even harder against the cool rush of air after the heat of his tongue.
What had I been saying? “You’re…not…uh…”
Arik licked my other nipple. “Okay.” A nip. A bite. A gentle suck drew my fingers to his head to hold him in place.
“Arik, I— Oh, don’t stop.”
He feasted; there was no other word for it. Arik devoured me until I couldn’t think about anything but his mouth, his tongue, his teeth. When his fangs descended and he dragged them gently across me, leaving faint white trails along the creamy skin of my breasts, I felt myself go liquid between my legs. Arik had to feel it; his thigh was fitted hard against my opening. Except then his thigh was replaced by two hard fingers that slid straight up inside my body, and I detonated at the very first stroke.
I vaguely registered Arik’s voice in my head saying,“See, she’s fine. Go away, Grim!”and the sound of footsteps retreating from the door while I fought to get my breathing back to normal.
