He clawed her hips and waist, burning for release as he gave the stubborn witch what she'd begged for. Punishment. Discipline. Love.
“Oh, Gunnar. Yes, yes,” she cried out as she writhed under him.
Her delight with his rough handling excited him, made him eager to see how much she could take.
He leaned over her back and shoved himself deeper. Then he put his hands under her chest and gripped her breasts, squeezing tight.
“Nice tits, baby. So soft and round. Those nipples are hard, aren't they?” he growled.
She moaned and ground her ass against him.
“Yeah, begging for my cock, aren't you?” He pinched her nipples, elated when she bucked under him and mewed her need to come. “Drown me with that sweet pussy, baby. Let me smell your need.” He inhaled and groaned as his release drew closer.
He needed more. A taste of her blood. Tersch liked the bite he'd already made, but he wanted everyone to see his mark. “Pull your hair away from your neck,” he ordered in a low voice, thick with excitement.
She moved to obey him without delay, shoving back against him.
Tersch acted on instinct. He bit her neck hard, let go of her nipples, and then squeezed them again. Then he withdrew from her ass before shoving home once more, coming with an explosive ending as he filled her ass up.
Ava cried out as she came, joining him in a bliss so complete, Tersch found himself shifting back into his beast without thought. The orgasm seemed to last forever, and he could barely think as his body stopped firing.
In a slow pull that felt like heaven and hell in the same breath, he withdrew from her body and came again. The small afterbursts of pleasure left another mess all over her ass as he shook out the rest of his cum.
Ava lay limply against the table, suddenly human and so still, his heart seemed to stop beating.
“Ava?”
She groaned and rolled over. Tersch was horrified to see her covered in blood and bruises on her front. His claws had cut her in places all over her beautiful breasts. And even though her skin was dark, he could see the mottled blood bursts under her skin.
Then she started to heal right in front of him until all that remained of his claiming was the sweet, subtle blending of wild jungle and cedar. Their scents, perfectly entwined.
He stared at her dumbly, not sure what to say or do as the entirety of what he'd done came back to him. He'd practically raped her. And though she'd orgasmed and cried out her release, had it been pleasurable, or had she actually been yelling out for him to stop? He couldn't remember, couldn't think past the sheer rapture of coming inside his female. Just thinking about it made him hard all over again. He didn't normally feel this horny after such mind-blowing sex, but with Ava, none of the rules applied.
She groaned again and rubbed at her bloodied throat.
Shame filled him, a need to make things right. He needed to clean her up and leave her alone. But he owed her more than that.
Tersch changed back into his human form. Wanting to atone, he apologized for his brutality with a tender kiss. There, where he'd marked her neck. On her nipples, where he'd ground the sensitive flesh. Again and again, all over her body. He licked her to a climax with just the easy stroking of his tongue, and though he remained hard, he refused to take her again. Not like this.
The berserker had tried to force her submission, but Tersch knew Ava had willingly given it. She'd endured it for him. And that made all the difference. He just hoped he hadn't killed her love with his brutality.
Ava blinked up at him, dazed and not sure if half of what she'd felt had been real. She'd never been taken so thoroughly before. Gunnar had marked her everywhere. He'd come in her pussy, her mouth, and her ass. Bites, scratches, and a hard reaming that still left her aching, though most of her outer marks had faded.
Had she ever been so possessed by another?
She looked into his bright blue eyes, eyes filled with regret and worry. She wanted to reassure him that she'd wanted it. Every bite and mark he'd given her, she'd earned. He'd finally claimed her with a show of force she'd never forget. A true male Circ, born to be raw and strong and hard. Her mate.
But the best she could manage was a grin as she slumped into an exhausted sleep.
When Ava awoke, she blinked into a dark room not her own. A swift sniff told her she lay in Gunnar's bed, but her mate wasn't near. Disappointed but realistic, Ava knew they'd need to talk about what had just happened.
She rolled to the side of the bed and stood on shaky feet. A glance down her body showed her wearing one of Gunnar's T-shirts. She smelled clean, like the soap he liked to use, and was bruise free, but her ass and pussy remained pleasantly sore. She swallowed and grinned. A sore throat as well, and one that had been well earned.
She made her way to the bathroom and used the facilities. She wondered how much time had passed and what the rest of the team had been up to while she and Gunnar had finally come to terms with each other.
The door opened, and her grandmother walked in.
“That's much better.” Alicia smiled. “Finally mated, have you?” Ava groaned and sank back onto the bed. “Yeah.”
“I knew he'd be the one for you. He's a strong one, just like our people at home.” The natural-born Circs in the Amazon. “Are you sore, dear?” Ava blushed. “A little.”
“Then it was a good claiming. Perfect.”
Yet Ava couldn't contain a niggle of doubt. She wanted to talk to Gunnar, to make sure he wasn't going off again, worried he'd damaged her beyond repair.
“Don't worry. Gunnar's working with Jules, Jesse, and Lonnie. Kisho and Morgan are on the way home, and Sheridan and Olivia are safely on their way up north to stay with Doc and Circe's Recruits for a bit. They'll be safer up there while we finish this mess with Robert Anderson.”
“So you and Lonnie are good now?”
Her grandmother's perky grin reassured her. “Oh yes, though I think I probably need to do a little more groveling to make Lonnie feel better. You know how men can be.” Alicia's smile faded. “I never would have believed Lonnie capable of any wrongdoing were it not for Anderson's manipulation. I had Jules do a thorough look at my aura. I fear I've been tainted for far longer than I'd thought.”
“I'm sorry, Grandma.”
Alicia leaned closer and stroked Ava's cheek. “I'm sorry, Ava. I never meant to hurt you.”
Ava snorted. “That toss against the wall? Please. That was nothing.” Her grandmother chuckled. “That's my girl.”
“Any news on Grayson?”
“Not yet.” Alicia frowned. “But Keegan and James managed to bug Anderson's vehicle. And one other piece of news that might interest you. Melissa Ramirez's body turned up yesterday floating in the Potomac River.” Ava sat up, groaning as she did so. “What?”
“A gunshot to the forehead. Right between her pretty blue eyes.”
“I want to say good riddance, but somehow I thought Jack would handle it better.”
Alicia frowned. “I don't think this was Jack. And that worries me. I have a feeling Anderson is cutting ties. If we don't find him soon, he may decide to go to ground and stay buried for a while. And I'd very much like to nip this in the bud.”
“I have a feeling we need to.” That odd sense Ava sometimes had returned. If they didn't locate and neutralize Anderson now, real trouble would befall them later. The kind even Circs couldn't rebound from. Dead Circs told no tales.
Alicia nodded and stepped back from the bed. “Well, I just wanted to see how you were getting on. I told Gunnar you'd be fine, but the boy is being surprisingly tight-lipped this morning. You need to reassure your new mate.”