He met her worried gaze. “The condom will prevent me from mating you. If I were to come inside you and bite you at the same time, you’d end up with me forever.”

Her jaw dropped.

He softly growled. “I won’t bite while I f**k you, Shannon. The condom would prevent me from accidentally mating you even if I did get you with my teeth. I’m just being careful. Your taste drives me a little insane.”

“In a bad, want-to-maul-me way?”

He flashed a grin. “No. In the I-want-to-fuck-you-like-an-animal-and-mate-you way. I’m in control though. Close your eyes and trust me.”

Shannon closed her eyes. She heard the denim whisper down his legs, the mattress moved as he kicked free of his jeans, and she thought she could even hear him roll on the condom. She wanted to peer down between their bodies to get a glimpse of his c**k but then he lowered over her and the opportunity was gone once their bodies were compressed together.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

His voice turned her on and the warm, hot flesh pressed against her did too. She inhaled his scent and her stomach clenched with need. She didn’t hesitate to wrap her legs around his h*ps high enough to curve her legs over his ass. They stared at each other for long seconds.

“You’re so beautiful,” he rasped. “I want you to know that.”

Her mouth parted to tell him how she thought he was the most handsome man she’d ever met, even with his exotic, wolfish eyes at the moment, but his mouth descended quickly to mute any words. There was no gentle brush of lips. Anton’s hungry mouth branded her and not even the taste of her own blood could stop her from responding with her own frantic desire that built lightning fast.

His growl vibrated against her puckered ni**les and his h*ps lifted enough to spread her thighs wider apart. She couldn’t miss the hard, thick brush of his condom-covered c**k as it nudged her soaked folds. He didn’t use his hands, didn’t need to in his deeply aroused condition, and then when he found the perfect spot, he pressed forward.

She gasped against his tongue when the thick crown of his c**k slowly penetrated her pu**y. He stopped kissing her but didn’t move his mouth away. They both held their breaths a little before he groaned, pushing in deeper but going really slowly as he stretched her wider to accommodate him.

Shannon clutched his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin, but she forced her grip to ease. She always had to remember not to claw during sex, a desire she always had if she experienced pleasure, and Anton gave her that as her body parted for him, regardless of the snug fit. He pressed deeper and she moaned again.

When he started to withdraw, her legs instantly tightened to prevent him from leaving her body but then he pushed forward again, driving deeper, moving back and forth as he made her take more and more of him. Nothing had ever felt more pleasurable.

He backed up a little to freeze over her and she met his gaze. “Don’t hold back. You can’t hurt me. Just don’t draw blood with your teeth. I’m not sure how pumas mate so we’d better not risk it.”

She stopped trying to fight the urge to dig her nails into his skin. He gasped and then growled at her, his sexy eyes narrowing, and he gave her a pained smile. She froze.

“It feels good,” he assured her. “You’re so tight. Am I hurting you?”

“No.”

“Hang on to me. My control is starting to slip. I’m being a saint so far.”

She wasn’t sure what that meant until he buried his face against her throat and started to move again. His h*ps pressed against her inner thighs when he drove forward, giving her all of himself, and she gasped at the sensation of how deep and thick he felt inside her. The overpowering jolt of desire made her want to bite him but she turned her head away instead, clenched her teeth, and then he started to pound against her fast and hard.

The hammering speed of his c**k against her highly sensitized nerve endings inside her pu**y nearly hurt but it was too good to be pain. She panted, purred, and then screamed when she came apart under him. Explosions of ecstasy cascaded from her center straight into her brain and Anton snarled a word she didn’t catch, threw his head back, and roared out in a half howl, half cry. Inside her, he seemed to swell and pulse within her twitching vaginal muscles.

Their heavy breathing drew Shannon back from the happy place the big male on top of her had sent her. She turned her head, realized he’d mostly collapsed on top of her but his braced arms allowed her to breathe and sweat slickened their bodies. Anton lifted his head from the pillow next to hers and met her gaze. The exotic wolf look of his eyes had gone, replaced by the fully human Anton. He smiled at her, showed her perfectly straight, human, white teeth, and opened his mouth.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No.”

“Good. I’ll give you about two minutes and then we’re going again. I’ll allow you to pick the position. Got any favorites?”

She stared at him in shock. “Seriously?”

“I’m not human. Neither are you, totally. Tell me you don’t want me again and I’ll stop.” He suddenly lowered his face, brushed his nose against her shoulder, and growled deep in his throat.

Desire shot through her at the slight touch of him and the sound he made.

He chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”

Chapter Nine

Shannon laughed and threw the washcloth at Anton as she tried to duck under his arm. He grabbed her around her waist, hauled her off her feet, and pressed her back against the cold tile on the wall of the shower. He looked highly amused when he pinned her there, his h*ps snuggled between her slippery thighs, and on instinct she wrapped her legs around his hips. He shelved her ass on his forearm to hold her in place so she didn’t slide down his soapy body.

“Wash your own butt.”

He chuckled. “You’re supposed to worship me.”

“I am, huh? Is that some funky shifter rule?”

“Nope but you have to admit, after the night we spent together and all the pleasure we shared, you think I’m a god.”

“Really? Why would you say that? Someone has gotten a little egotistical.”

“It may have been all those times you called out ‘Oh god’.” He brushed a kiss on her chin, lifting her high. “Weren’t you telling me something?”

Shannon laughed. She couldn’t help it. The night she’d spent with Anton had been the best one of her life. It had been more than just sex. He’d made love to her. Every touch, every kiss, every caress they’d shared had bonded them in ways she’d never experienced before. Her smile faded a little at that realization.

“What’s wrong?” He pulled back.

“Nothing.”

A soft warning snarl tore from him. “Don’t lie to me.”

She stared into his eyes. “I’m not.”

“You are. Do you think I can’t feel it? I’m very tuned to you. I could feel you emotionally pulling away from me as if you’d done it physically.”

That stunned her. “Seriously?”

He answered her by watching her silently.

“Okay. I was just…” Her gaze lowered to the top of his shoulder where she gripped him and noticed the faint but healing claw marks where her nails had marred his skin.

“Just what?”

“It’s stupid.”

“I doubt I’d agree. Why are you withdrawing from me? Did I say something wrong? I’m kidding about the god thing. You don’t have to wash my ass and I don’t expect you to worship me.”

She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I know you were teasing. I just think that last night might have been too intense.”

“You’re sore. I’m sorry.” He eased her down onto her feet. “I forget how human you are.”

“I’m fine. My muscles ache a little but that’s not it.” She ran her hands over his chest, using the water falling over his shoulder to wipe away soap. “I meant emotionally. You touch me in ways that only guys I’ve been seriously involved with do. I don’t know how else to say it.”

“We are involved.”

Frustration rose as she glanced at him. “I meant it must be a shifter thing but the way you touch me confuses me.”

The blank expression on his handsome face assured her she’d lost him.

“Damn,” she muttered, staring at his chest again. “You touch me like a guy who isn’t a one-night stand.”

“You’re more to me than that.” He suddenly gripped her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “You’re mine.”

For a few weeks, her mind whispered. “You marked me. I’m still not sure what that means.”

“It tells other males you are mine and I’ll do anything to protect you. You’ll carry my scent. It also makes my wolf know we’re together, that the connection is solid.”

“I carry your scent?”

“Saliva from my fangs entered your bloodstream when I bit you.”

“How long does that last?”

“A few weeks.” He drew back but kept hold of her chin. “Does that bother you?”

“No.” She hadn’t realized how tense he’d become until he relaxed.

“You’re cranky in the morning before breakfast, aren’t you?” He released her to turn away into the full spray of the shower to rinse off. “I’ll order food to be brought up while you finish showering. Hurry up. It won’t take long. I’m starving and I bet you are too.”

Her stomach rumbled as if on cue. Anton chuckled, ducked his head under the water to rinse away the conditioner, and then shook his head. Water sprayed her. He opened the shower door and stepped out before she could wipe the water off her face to retaliate. She could see the silhouette of him as he used a towel next to the frosted glass door to dry off. She hesitated and then reached for his shampoo.

Emotions confused her. She had a really bad feeling that if the next few weeks were anything compared to the last twelve hours she’d be walking away from Anton without her heart intact. He was easy to love and the sex… Instant desire stirred her body at just the memory. Her ni**les hardened despite the warm water cascading over her body and she knew she’d never be able to get enough of him.

I have to be in cat heat or something. It would explain a lot. First, how she’d jumped into a sexual relationship with a werewolf so quickly and how her body ached just thinking about him touching her again.

She had to leave the bathroom wearing just a towel five minutes later. Anton sat at the bar, wearing a pair of black sweatpants, his long hair still damp, and he turned to stare at her when she stepped closer to him.

“Mind if I borrow some clothes?”

“I do because I like you naked, but I don’t want whoever brings breakfast up to see you in so little.” His head jerked to the dresser. “Help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

She avoided the condom drawer he’d managed to put back into place and he had cleaned up all the spilled boxes from the floor. She chose a pair of drawstring shorts and a big, black, metal-band T-shirt from his clothes. She knew he watched her when she dropped the towel to dress but refused to meet his gaze until she had something on.

“I have to go to a pack meeting in half an hour.” He glanced at the wall clock inside the kitchen area. “I won’t be gone long. After I eat I need to¯”

Someone kicked the door. Anton got to his feet and walked toward it. “Breakfast.”

Shannon backed up. She hoped another werewolf woman hadn’t shown up to make threats. The door opened and the blond guy stepped inside holding a tray. He nodded at Anton and then turned his gaze on Shannon to run slowly down her body.

A vicious snarl made the guy yank his attention from Shannon.