She felt the rasp of his zipper on the back of her thighs, against the sensitive skin he’d paddled. It made her feel alive. His body tensed, his grip in her hair tightened and he came with a grunt, holding himself deep within her.

Some long moments later he pulled out and removed her blindfold, placing it with the other things he’d used, at the foot of the bed. He helped her to stand and kissed her softly.

Pulling the comforter back, he motioned for her to get in and slid beside her.

“The pictures are of models. None of them are women I topped. In fact, I took them before I got into the scene. Part of a photography course at a local community college. I suppose it was a sign, something that flipped my switch even then before I fully understood what I was. I can take them down if you want me to. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable here, not ever.” He kissed her forehead. “You are more to me. Enough that I want you to tell me if you feel bad. I don’t want you to hide things from me.”

A smile hinted at her lips. “Even if it gets me punished like that?” Oh he’d broken her all right. Well and truly. He was a man she could submit to proudly and completely.

Not that she’d suddenly become easy and sweet. That wasn’t who she was. But he’d earned her submission that night.

A surprised laugh barked from him. “You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you?”

Tegan shrugged, feeling heavy and sated. She snuggled into his body and he held her against him easily.

“Alarm is set for five. I’ll make us breakfast after a long, hot shower,” he murmured into her ear, enjoying the way she hummed her satisfaction and pressed into him closer.

He lay there, her body against his, curved into him like she was made to be there and a sense of totality broke over him. Things in his life were right in a way he’d never felt before. Even with the uncertainty about the whole mating thing and Tegan being a relative stranger, he still felt as if things were going to be all right.

Pride warmed him at how she’d finally submitted fully. How she’d trusted him with her emotions as well as her body. Now he had to be careful to always be worthy of that trust.

Chapter Six

Tegan actually found herself humming as she changed her clothes after showering.

Ben would be arriving to take her to a movie in a few minutes.

A movie! And he promised they’d make out and he’d buy her the big bucket of popcorn too. It was breathtakingly normal. And wonderful. Two weeks of wonderfully normal dating stuff.

During the day, he called her just to say hello. He sent her flowers. They rented DVDs and watched them, parked on the couch at his house. She hadn’t dated since before Lucas. It had been a very long time and she found she liked getting to know Ben bit by bit. They did have their struggles. A man like Ben, despite saying he only wanted control in the bedroom, constantly tried to exert control out of it. Not in a creepy, woman-hating way, but because he liked to be in charge. He pushed, she pushed back. It was sexy sometimes.

She knew without a doubt he was her mate. It wasn’t in question but she also realized he was human. He hadn’t grown up with mate bonds as a reality. Even though she wanted him to simply accept it as she had, she worked at giving him the space to do that himself and hoped over time he would see it as clearly as she did.

She’d just put her lipstick down when he rang her doorbell and she went to let him in.

“It’s my favorite redhead.” He handed her a bottle of wine. “I thought we could have some after the movie.” His eyes darkened as he pulled her close and his warmth stole over her. “Before you suck my c**k and I f**k you.”

Her breath stuttered and her eyelids dropped halfway closed. The man was so sexy.

He walked the line between sweet boyfriend and super-scorching-hot sex god quite well.

“Okay. We could skip the movie and get to the c**k sucking.”

He caught her chin, nipping it lightly and laving the sting with the flat of his tongue.

“Both. We’ll do both.”

The way he walked with her, holding her hand, opening her door and taking care of her with small things made her feel cherished and special. It was taking a while to wrap her head around, but aside from the physical and spiritual mate bond they shared, they genuinely enjoyed each other.

In the darkness of the theater, he took her hand and massaged it. Every inch of her hand was treated to a sensual caress, a kneading and God help her, he made such an innocent thing feel like he touched her pu**y instead.

She felt like a teenager as he’d kissed her. No tongue even, just a brush of lips here and there.

By the time the movie was over she was primed to be f**ked and dragged him to his truck as he laughed.

“I like this side of you, Tegan,” he said against the skin of her neck once they’d gotten inside his house and stumbled to the bedroom.

“What side of me?” How did he expect her to think when he did that thing to her earlobe?

His wicked laugh stirred the tendrils of hair at her temple. “Carefree. You’re a very serious woman. Driven. I like that. But I like the woman who lets me smooch up on her in the movies and won’t share her popcorn even though she had eight gallons of it.”

Oh, her shirt had been removed and she hadn’t even noticed. She’d keep the part about how she listened to Madonna’s Rain and thought of him every time. There was only so much a woman needed to let her man know about her inner girl.

“Knees. Now.”

And just like that, the sweet man disappeared, replaced by the hot, hard dominant who set her panties on fire.