Taryn doubted he could have known how much those words meant to her, especially when she knew just how hard he found it to articulate himself like that. Even now he looked as though he wasn’t sure if what he’d said had made any sense. She could feel his need to assure himself that she was with him, safe and alive, in the most basic way – by possessing her body. He was restraining himself though because he didn’t trust that he wouldn’t hurt her while his blood was still boiling. Well then she’d provide him with that assurance that he needed if he wasn’t going to take it for himself.

Leaning forward, Taryn licked along the seam of his lips, wanting admission, as she raked her claws down his chest – not enough to tear his t-shirt, but enough that it sent a shudder through him. “Kiss me.” Sliding one hand to her nape he gave her what she wanted, possessing her mouth, owning it. She ground herself against his c*ck and he groaned into her mouth, but then he tore his lips away.

“Baby, not tonight.” Shit he deserved a medal for holding back. Knowing that she was na**d beneath his old t-shirt was killing him. He could smell her arousal, knew she was wet and primed for him. “My head’s not in a good place.”

“Shh -”

“I’m too wound up -”

“I said shh.” She took his arms and draped them over the headboard. “Keep them there.”

There as an edge of dominance to her tone that he hadn’t heard before. It intrigued his wolf. Trey narrowed his eyes and went to question her, but she raised a brow and shook her head. Then, surprising the hell out of him, she tore the t-shirt he was wearing right down the middle. He might have made a comment about it if she hadn’t then swirled her tongue in the hollow of his throat and sucked at the patch of skin the way he liked.

She explored his chest with her lips and tongue, occasionally using teeth. He loved those little bites she did, loved that she had the urge to leave marks of possession on his body. He hadn’t realized his eyes had drifted shut until she tackled the buttons of his fly and his lids flipped open. “Taryn…”

“Didn’t I tell you to shush?” she said, sitting up again and straddling his thighs. She was pretty sure he would have snapped at her for that comment if she hadn’t curled her hand around the base of his cock. She stroked upwards and ran her thumb over the silky head, sweeping up the pearl of pre-come there. Holding his eyes, she brought her thumb to her mouth and sucked it clean, smiling as he groaned.

Trey’s entire body clenched as she began working her soft little hand up and down his length, her eyes never leaving his. “Taryn, I’m not in the mood to be teased.”

“Are you in the mood to be sucked off?” She smiled inwardly as shock stiffened his body while his dick jerked in her hand. “Because that’s what I have every intention of doing.” Leaning forward she asked against his lips in a wickedly submissive tone, “Can I? Can I suck your cock? Please?”

“You’re a witch.” For so long he’d dreamt of this, but he wasn’t sure that now was the time. “Be certain you want to do this, Taryn. I’m not in control, baby. I’m not going to be able to keep my hands up here and just let you play.”

“I’m certain.”

He bit her bottom lip hard. “Then suck that c*ck until I tell you to stop.”

“Yes, sir,” said Taryn in a mockingly submissive tone, but he still growled in approval. Again she kissed and nipped his chest as she crawled backwards until she was settled between the invitation of his slightly spread thighs. He hissed as she ran her tongue along his c*ck from base to tip, lapping up the drop of pre-come from the slit. Several times she licked his length, lathing it and teasing him in the process until he bucked slightly, hinting for more. Smiling, she swirled her tongue around the head and took him into her mouth.

Trey shuddered and groaned as she sucked hard on the head of his cock, flicking the sensitive part underneath with the tip of her tongue. Then she took more of him, swallowing, and the feel of her throat constricting around him had him groaning again. “Oh yeah, suck it. Like that, baby, yes. Take more. Fuuuuck.” Each time she took him deeper, sucking so hard her cheeks hollowed. Then she was doing some wicked thing with her tongue, swirling it around his c*ck before grazing him with her teeth.

Better than all of that, Trey could feel that she was enjoying pleasuring him like this. Knowing that, he couldn’t stay still any longer. He tangled a hand in her hair and began pumping his hips, f**king her mouth, but she didn’t fight him. Instead she began playing with his balls and making these moaning sounds in the back of her throat that were eating at what little control he had.

So many times he’d imagined this, imagined her deep-throating him and then swallowing his cum, but right now that desire to come in her mouth was being overruled by the need to have her come apart around his cock. Another need was eating at him. The need to take, to dominate, to remind her that she belonged to him.

Both needs were so violent that he was scared he’d hurt her. Even now his hold on her hair had to be causing her some pain, but although he stopped f**king her mouth he couldn’t make himself totally release her. “Taryn, tell me I’m hurting you, tell me you need me to stay in control.”

She shook her head. “I like it when you’re out of control.”

“Not like this, baby, you don’t want me like this. Tell me to ease off.”

“Why would I do that? I don’t want you being someone you’re not.”

With that, his last thread of control snapped and lust hazed his brain. He tightened his grip on her hair, yanked her upright and then plunged a finger inside her. Her muscles gripped it tight and moisture swamped his finger. “So wet. I think my little bitch got off on sucking my cock. Did you, baby?” She only nodded. “I can’t hear you.”

“Yes.”

Trey withdrew his finger and sucking it clean, groaning at her taste. He roughly dragged her to him and gathered up the t-shirt she was wearing and pushed it up and over her head. Then he was shaping her body with his hands, thumbing her taut ni**les and pinching them hard. She jerked as he then stabbed two fingers inside her and flicked her cl*t with his thumb. A hint of the pleasure she was feeling reached him through their bond. Snaking his free hand around her throat in a possessive grip, he growled harshly, “Who was this pu**y made for, Taryn? Huh? Tell me who.”

Instinctively Taryn went to fight his dominance, but the look in his eyes stopped her. It wasn’t just the determined, demanding glint there, but the lingering anxiety she had sensed earlier. Taryn knew that when you had an alpha for a mate there were times when to push and times when to submit. Right now, Trey needed the latter. Something had happened today that had left him feeling helpless, left him feeling out of control. She needed to give that control back to him, even if it meant squashing her instincts to fight him. It wasn’t hard to do when his dominant vibes were clogging the air and quashing her own, impressing her wolf.

As Trey felt the defiance leave her body and watched her go slightly slack in his hold he groaned. There was nothing sexier to him or his wolf than Taryn submitting to him. “Tell me who,” he repeated.

“You,” she finally replied in a moan as he thrust his fingers deeper.

“That’s my good girl. One day, I’m going to f**k you in front of the guys so they can see what a good girl you are for me.”

“No way.” She ignored that the idea excited her, not wanting to acknowledge that apparently she had an exhibitionist streak that ran that deep. “That’s where I draw the line.”

He tskd, withdrew his fingers and slapped her cl*t with his cock. “There are no lines, baby. You belong to me. I own this body. I can do whatever I want with it. I can use it however I want. And I intend to f**k this gorgeous body for the guys to see. But right now, I want you to ride me.” He positioned his c*ck at her entrance and she placed her hands on his shoulders as she began to slowly sink down onto him. “You like that, baby? You like my c*ck filling you and stretching you?”

“Yes.” She bore down harder, wanting those last few inches.

“Oh yeah, that’s it, take all of it.” Finally he was buried balls deep inside her and he groaned as her muscles tightened around him. As she took a minute to adjust, he licked and raked his teeth over his mark until she was moaning and squirming.

With the hand collaring her neck, Trey slowly guided her body upwards, loving how she didn’t fight him but gave him complete control. Then, just as slowly, he impaled her on him again. He knew his Taryn, knew how she loved it hard, so he teasingly kept the movements agonizingly slow and gentle as he impaled her on him over and over. Soon enough she was squirming again. “What’s the matter, baby? You want more?” She nodded. “Then take it.”

So wound up with the need to come, Taryn didn’t hesitate; she began riding him hard and fast like a woman possessed, oddly liking the friction coming from the feel of the denim of his jeans against her ass. There was just something about f**king a guy when you were totally na**d and they were still partially dressed that got Taryn going. She probably shouldn’t have enjoyed the way he was gripping her throat, but she did. It was possessive and dominant and a reminder of how much stronger he was, how easily he could hurt her, but that he never would.

Sparks of bliss were shooting through Trey’s body with each of her downward thrusts. He had to wonder if she’d taken horse riding lessons growing up because, shit, she had some strength in those thighs and abs. He tugged her face closer and closed his mouth over hers, kissing her with a desperate hunger that matched her pace. He swallowed every moan, groan and whimper she made, eager for more. Knowing what she liked, he used his free hand to tweak and pluck at her hard ni**les and to mold and squeeze those br**sts that were bouncing as she rode him, drawing his gaze.

“Trey, I need to come.”

“No. You don’t get to come until I say.” He wasn’t ready to leave her body yet. “Do you have any idea how hot it was having you suck my cock, how long I’ve imagined you doing that? Since the day I had you drugged and brought here. You’ve been mine since that day, Taryn. You always will be. Do you hear me?” She nodded. “Nothing can ever happen to you, nothing, understand?” He’d never get through it if he lost her. Never.

The anxiety in his voice tugged at her heart. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Fine. Here. Yours.”

A growl escaped his lips. “Always mine. Say it.”

“Always yours.”

“Louder.”

“Always yours!”

“Good girl.” With the hand clasping her throat he urged her to go faster as he began punching his h*ps up to meet her downward thrusts. “Bite me.” He groaned and shuddered as she bit his chest, sucking and branding him. “I love it when you mark me.” He moved his hand from her throat to her hair and snatched her head back as he began punching his h*ps harder. “Come. Now.” He sank his teeth into her neck and slipped his thumb between them to circle her clit. Just like that, she shattered.

An intensely powerful orgasm ripped through Taryn, wrenching a scream from her lungs. Her muscles closed around his c*ck and he punched into her one final time, growling her name, as his own release hit and his c*ck pulsed deep inside her. Totally replete, she collapsed against him, gasping for breath. He held her close as the aftershocks racked their bodies – it was a hold so tight that it was almost desperate. “I’m not going anywhere, Trey,” she assured him softly.

He grunted. “You say that as if you have a choice.”

“Ass,” she chuckled.

“I mean it, Taryn. I won’t ever let you leave. I’ll never give you up. I’ll never let anyone take you from me.”

She lifted her head and smiled at him. “Then it’s a good thing I’m planning on staying.”

The sight of her warm, reassuring smile triggered another of those strange pangs in his chest. Trey meshed his lips to hers, indulging in a long thorough tasting of her mouth. Then, content, he nuzzled her neck and breathed in deep. And froze.

“What’s wrong?”

“You smell different.”

“What? How?”

“Our scents. They’ve mixed.” A smug grin spread across his face. “It’s the mating bond. It’s advancing.” That meant that whatever it was they were doing, they were doing it right. It also meant that any shifter who picked up her scent would know she was a mated female before even seeing her mark – or marks.

Although she rolled her eyes at his self-satisfaction he could feel that she, too, was glad about it and liked the knowledge that it would be instantly clear to everyone that he was taken. He also felt her concern that maybe this was the most they would have, that the bond would never be complete because they might never feel they could be totally na**d to each other.

What caused him the most unease was that beneath all that was her fear that he might never come to feel for her what she felt for him, that she would forever be in a mating with someone who couldn’t love her. It made Trey want to kick his own ass.

He wondered if she had been able to sense just how much he wished he could give her those words she wanted. It amazed him how there could be so much power in three little words. To him, they didn’t have any true meaning or hold the same power because they had never been part of his vocabulary. It wouldn’t have been any different than someone reciting an unfamiliar Japanese phrase and expecting him to not only repeat it but to also understand what it meant. His mom had been a good mother, but she hadn’t been what anyone might call tender or ‘loving’. His dad had been far from it. Even Greta, the person who had played the most part in his upbringing, had never used those words though he believed she cared for him.