Her frown deepened. “It’s just that you sound, well, normal. I’m not sure whether that means we need to increase your medication or mine.”

He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, as I was saying, a decent father would have been there for you after your mom’s death. Maybe another father wouldn’t have shoved you aside on discovering that you were latent, or maybe he would’ve done exactly as I did. But I lied when I said that her mom would have turned her back on you. She never would have done that.”

“I know. You’d also be lying if you said that we’d still be having this conversation if I hadn’t managed to overcome my latency.”

“Maybe. It’s not something that anyone has ever done before, as far as we’re aware. Your strength has made me see you in a different light, I suppose.”

“I know you didn’t do it for me, but I’m thankful that you helped with the battle – if we hadn’t had the numbers we needed, many of us could be dead right now, including Trey and our child.”

“You’re right. I didn’t do it for you. But, still…I’m glad none of you are dead. And I’m glad you have found your true mate. I know from what I had with your mom that’s it’s something that can’t be equaled.”

“Everything okay, baby?” asked Trey as he stepped out of the trees.

She’d known he was approaching and had sensed his concern for her through their bond. Clearly he’d felt the awkwardness she was feeling as she spoke with Lance. “Yes, fine.”

He held his hand out to her, looking at Lance speculatively. “Come on, let’s head back to the party.”

“Perry, Oscar, and I are leaving now. They’re waiting for me by the car.”

Taryn pouted. “So soon? But I haven’t had a chance to poison your beer yet.”

Rolling his eyes and sighing, Lance gave both her and Trey a nod before disappearing through the trees, heading for his car.

She took Trey’s hand and let him lead her back to the party. Just like the time they went to a mating ceremony at Nick’s territory, Taryn and Trey didn’t bother dancing with the others. They saw little point in embarrassing themselves in front of their guests by revealing just how little rhythm they had. As Taryn wasn’t allowed to drink any alcohol, Trey was sweet enough to refrain from having any himself to be supportive. Who would have thought to the psycho highlander could be so sweet?

Feeling Taryn’s head lean on his shoulder, Trey smiled. “Tired?” Naturally she denied it and sat upright again. Every day she was usually wiped out by the time she’d finished dinner and went for a nap. Today had been especially tiring for her and she obviously needed sleep. He stood and lifted her from her seat, curling her legs around him. “Come on, you need to lie down for a little while.”

“No, I don’t. Stop fussing, I just wanted to lean on you and have some contact with my mate. God forgive me.”

If she hadn’t yawned, he might have believed her. “Shut up,” he said gently when she went to object.

“How many times do you have to be told, hussy? Listen to your body – if it tells you that you need to sleep, then sleep.”

Taryn smiled at her. “Thanks for reminding me how important it is that I take care of myself, Greta. I’m not sure what I’d do if you weren’t around. Although it’s fun thinking about it.”

Before the argument could become heated, Trey carried her out of the clearing, inside the caves, and then into their bedroom. Having placed her carefully on the bed, he lay beside her and pulled her flush against his body. She found her own little groove and fit there like the last piece of a jigsaw, making him whole. She made him whole both inside and out, and he couldn’t understand how he’d functioned without her before she came into his life.

“Trey? You know the baby might be latent, don’t you?”

Hearing how small her voice was, he kissed her reassuringly. “Yes, I know that, but it won’t matter to me if the baby is latent. Obviously I’d like it if that wasn’t the case, but I’m not going to turn my back on him if it is.”

She snorted. “It could be a ‘her’, you know.” Although she also had the feeling it was a ‘he’.

Trey smiled. “You do know that the whole shifter community is terrified of you now, don’t you? What you did is unheard of – no latent has ever shifted before.”

“I don’t think it would have happened if my wolf hadn’t been so frantic because the baby was in danger.”

“Your wolf is gorgeous, slender and graceful. My wolf loves running with her, especially since he hadn’t thought he ever would.”

“Yeah, he likes to mount her a lot too,” she grumbled, not that her wolf minded so much. “He’s just as horny as you are.”

“I’m not the nympho in this mating.”

“I’m not the one who has a thing for f**king people in the ass.”

He groaned. “Just remembering that makes me hard. I will be doing that again soon.”

“I don’t think so, Flinstone.”

“You loved it, and you know you did.” He tensed when she grinded herself against his erection. “You need to sleep.”

“No, I need you inside me.”

“Taryn.”

“Trey.”

“You need sleep.” But even as he said that, he wasn’t stopping her from reaching down and unbuttoning his fly. He cursed and closed his eyes as she began working her soft hand up and down his length. She kept her pace slow, no doubt just to tease him the way he always teased her, but still each wicked stroke pulled him under her spell. Groaning in defeat, he lifted her leg and curled it over his hip. He rocked his erection against her cl*t and groaned again. “You drive me f**king crazy, do you know that?” It came out sounding like a complaint.

Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he inhaled her scent, letting it settle into his lungs and tease him. She smelled of exotic fruits, of him, of pregnancy, and of home. He took her mouth with a slow sensuality, seducing her lips and tongue. A crushing sense of ownership assailed him, driving him to possess her and overwhelm his senses with her. “I need your taste in my mouth.” He peeled her t-shirt from her body and removed her bra before rolling her onto her back.

Taryn moaned as he played her body like the master he was – molding her br**sts with his hands, sucking and biting her ni**les until she was writhing beneath him, and then he was journeying down her body but pausing now and then to nip and suck at little patches of skin. He knew exactly what she liked and he gave it to her, but what increased the raw ache in her body more than any of that was the mix of possessiveness and adoration blazing from his eyes.

Once Trey had finally removed her jeans and thong, he took a minute to just look at her laying there, his to take and possess. At some point in the past few months he had licked, kissed, or bit every inch of her body. He knew it better than even she did. Every curve, every indent, every slope, and every hollow was etched into his brain. He had every mark committed to memory, whether it be birthmark, freckle, scar, or the brands he’d left on her body – he could find every one of them with his eyes closed.

A gasp flew out of Taryn as he cocked her h*ps and suckled hard on her clit. There were no teasing licks this time, no making her wait. He swirled his tongue around her clit, flicked it repeatedly, and then sank his tongue inside her. Holding her still, he unrelentingly f**ked her with that clever tongue. His soft growls heightened the pleasure until she just couldn’t take anymore. “Trey, stop.” He didn’t. She threaded her fingers through his hair and tugged. He snarled in the back of his throat and that just made the whole thing worse. “Please.”

He froze at that one word. He doubted any other word would have reached him – he’d been too absorbed by her taste, hadn’t been able to get enough of it. She’d begged him. She’d actually begged him. He peered up at her face, expecting to see shock in her eyes or for her to give him a smart-ass comment that assured him she was taking the piss. Instead, her expression was totally open, totally exposed; everything she felt was right there in her lust-dazed eyes for him to see. It rocked him like nothing else could have. He knelt between her legs and gripped her hips, positioning his c*ck at her entrance. “Say it again.” He half-expected her to tell him to f**k off, but she didn’t.

“Please.”

There went his self-control. He slammed himself home, groaning as her muscles clamped around his cock, and then he took her hard and rough. Hearing her beg, knowing that she’d completely surrendered to him, had him well and truly lost. She’d broken down that last wall, had let him in, was accepting that every part of her belonged to him. That wasn’t a one-way street; this female totally owned him, would have done even if she hadn’t been his true mate.

Feeling the telling tingle in his spine, he draped himself over her. “You know what I want, baby.” She raised her head and bit down hard on his shoulder, sucking and licking. “Fuck. Scream my name for me, Taryn. Do it, I need it.”

As he clamped his teeth over his claiming mark, Taryn’s back arched with the explosion of pure bliss that ripped through her body. His name escaped her mouth in a scream so loud it hurt her ears. She heard him growl/groan her own name as his own release hit and his c*ck pulsed deep inside her. Panting and quivering with aftershocks, they stayed there like that with him draped over her and his face buried in the crook of her neck. Thankfully the big lug had been careful not to place all his weight on her because she wouldn’t have had the energy to shove him off.

“I love you, baby.”

His words had her eyes snapping open. Had she not been able to feel it was the truth through their bond, she might not have believed him so easily. Curling all her limbs around him, she whispered into his ear, “And I love you.” The shudder that ran through him told her just how much that affected him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize what I felt before,” he said softly into her ear. “I’m sorry I kept my walls up with you.”

“It’s okay.”

He pulled back to look at her face. “No, it’s not. You’re my mate and I didn’t let you in.”

“Of course you didn’t, Trey. You didn’t know how to let someone in. I don’t blame you for that. Hell, I had my own defenses up for long enough.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have walls up so high that you didn’t even see how much you cared for your own mate.” A wicked smile took over his face. “But now that all our defenses are down…it makes me wonder just how often I can get you to beg for me.”

“Sorry, that was just a one off.”

“Oh no. You let me behind those walls of yours, gave yourself completely to me, and I’m not giving you back. You’re all mine.”

“That works both ways, Flinstone,” she snapped, “you belong to me too.”

He smirked, enjoying the possessiveness in her tone. “Only ever you, baby.”

“Great. Prove it. Do me again.”

Unbelievable. “For the tenth time, you need sleep.”

“I’m supposed to listen to what my pregnant body tells me, remember. It’s telling me it wants to play Hiding Pedro.”

He released a long suffering sigh. “See – you’re a total nympho.”

“Do you want your mate to be happy or not?”