Celia, one. Big, badass wolf, zero.

I strutted into the bathroom, well aware of the extra sway to my hips and even more aware that Aric was watching. The moment I shut the door, I couldn’t wash my face fast enough. Some guys may have found all the makeup extremely sexy. But Aric didn’t and that was fine by me. I was patting my face dry when Aric was suddenly there, slinking his arms around my waist.

He’d ditched his clothes. Also fine with me. “You’re taking too long,” he murmured between nibbles to my neck and shoulders. I tilted my head back, moaning when he slipped his hands beneath my dress and cupped my breasts with his large hands.

Aric unsnapped my halter, dropping the sides away. “You are never to dress like this again.” He paused and thought about what he said. “Except for me—in private,” he added quickly.

I rocked my hips against him. “Whatever you want, wolf.”

Aric growled, releasing the dress to fall to my ankles. His fingers trailed over my skin, traveling upward to tug and tease my nipples.

I angled my head around to meet his mouth and swept my tongue over his. My efforts only added to his mounting need. He yanked off my panties in one pull.

I stepped out of them, losing my balance when his fingers disappeared inside of me. My body fell forward, my hands clasping the edge of the sink as he worked me. My mews and cries swelled his erection rubbing between my thighs. “Aric,” I gasped.

He curled his body over mine, quickening his motions with one hand while his other arm held tight. My knees buckled when my first orgasm jolted its way through me. I imagined Aric wanted to keep going, sensing how good his fingers made me feel. But he didn’t realize how much I needed to please him, too.

I spun to face him, nipping his chin, his neck, biting him gently all the way past his navel. He roared when I fell to my knees and claimed him with my mouth. My lips fastened tight around him. There was nothing more I wanted than to turn him on and fuel the heat spreading between us. The way he fell back against the wall assured me I was—oh yes, very much—succeeding.

Aric lost control of any composure that remained—grunting, moaning, trying to find a place for his hands—until he lifted me in the air and placed my legs on top of his shoulders.

This time, I couldn’t hold back my screams.

My back slid against the cool tiled wall while my fingers ran through his hair. I kept begging him to take me. Eventually he did, on the bathroom floor.

Aric pounded his hips against me as we slid along the length of the room. I reached out with my hands, pressing them into the wall and arching my back to keep us steady. Aric dipped his mouth to my breasts, finishing me once more on the floor, then again in bed.

He kissed me long and sweet when our fast breaths finally slowed. “You’re so sexy,” he whispered against my ear. He ran his fingers through my long, silky tresses. “Everything about you makes me hot. Your voice, your walk, your lips…” He chuckled at my blush, taking a strand of my hair to tickle my nipple with. “Yeah, that, too,” he added.

I lifted my chin to resume our kiss. I loved that he was so attracted to me, but sometimes even after all our time in bed, I remained that timid kitten he’d first encountered. He smiled against my mouth. You like me shy. Don’t you, wolf?

“I’ll love you any way you are, and any way you’ll have me,” he answered.

Aric’s fingers trailed along the sweep of my neck, then along my body, as he spoke. “It’s our mate bond,” he reminded me when he caught the surprise on my face. “When our emotions are heightened, I can sometimes sense your thoughts. The connection is meant to alert my beast when you’re in danger. But this…” His fingers brushed through my hair. “This is just a bonus.”

“Okay,” I said. Being Aric’s mate came with more than simply the title. But the more intimacy we shared, the more bonded we seemed to become. I watched my hair slide through his fingers. “Do you like it like this? Without the curls, I mean?”

Aric kissed me before answering, his taste mixed with mine so addicting. “It’s pretty, sexy, but I prefer your waves. I love how wild it gets when I make love to you.”

My heart thumped loudly against my chest. It wouldn’t be long before round three would start between us. But instead of drawing closer, he sat up abruptly and fixed me with an intense stare I hadn’t quite expected. “Let’s get married, right now. We’ll fly out tonight and be in Vegas by the weekend.”

I rolled onto my side. “You’re serious.”

“Yeah, I am.”

My fingers traced small circles along his chest. “Why the rush? I thought you wanted something more traditional. Not Elvis and some chapel on the Strip.”

Aric ran his hand impatiently through his hair as the scent of fear overtook the room and smothered the desire between us. I pushed up on my arm, terror seizing me and causing my claws to protrude. “Aric, what is it? What’s wrong?”

He faced me, his expression riddled with worry and dread. My chest rose and fell quickly. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” When he didn’t answer right away I panicked. “Are you being forced to leave me again?”

Aric’s eyes widened. “No. I promised you I’d never abandon you again.” He dropped his gaze, his breaths harsh. When he spoke again, something shifted in his tone. “Except there is someone who can keep us apart.”

My eyes stung with tears, and rage blinded me. I wanted to race out of bed, to find this person, damnit, to make him bleed. “Who?” I demanded. “Tell me who.”

Aric stroked away the first of my tears. He didn’t speak for a long moment. When he did, my world came to a crashing halt. “You,” he finally answered quietly. “Celia…if you don’t want to be with me, I can’t make you.”

I stared at him, confusion warring with my breaking heart. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. You’re my mate. How can you possibly think I don’t want you?”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand. You’re my mate. I’m bonded to you. But that doesn’t mean I’m yours.”

I felt like he had slapped me. When he reached for me, I pulled away. I didn’t want him to touch me. I wanted an explanation for his asinine thoughts. “Tell me what the hell you’re talking about before I tear this goddamn room apart.”