“Tatiana,” he breathed. Dominic brushed a sweaty lock of hair off her forehead and ran his thumb along her cheek. Heat rippled off his chest as muscles flexed beneath damp skin. His fiercely intense eyes glowed down at her from under thick dark lashes. “You are my mate, and your place is with me.”
“What did you say?” Tatiana blinked as the words came in a rush.
Lust was swiftly replaced with anger, and her body stilled as she grappled for the ability to speak. Her brain and body were at odds as she tried to form a coherent response, opposed to simply punching him in the nose.
“My place?” Tatiana seethed as she batted his hand away. Hands on her hips, she glared up at him furiously as familiar fears and pent up emotions rose to the surface. “My place is wherever the hell I say it is. You and I may be mates, but I will be goddamned if you or anyone one else tells me where my place is. I refuse to have my future dictated by you, the Amoveo, Purists, Caedo, or some stupid fucking legend that I had no say in being a part of.”
Dominic didn’t flinch. He held his ground as he stared at her, meeting her challenge and not backing down. He stood there like the immovable force he was, and it made her crazy. Strong and silent? Hah! More like stubborn and irrational.
“Say something, for Christ’s sake.”
Frustrated, she shoved at his shoulders, but her hands slipped off his sweaty skin. As she fell forward, he grabbed her wrists and yanked her body against him.
Heat from his torso seeped through her thin tank top and rippled straight to her very core, causing her body to respond on a primal level.
A pulsing need throbbed between her legs, and her eyes shifted to their clan form as ferocious, carnal desire burned through her. Tatiana’s heart raced as she stared at him, but she’d be damned if she’d show any sign of giving in.
Movement over Dominic’s shoulder caught her eye as the horses galloped past. That’s what she needed—to run free and embrace the wolf. Her wolf was fearless and invisible, capable of disappearing into the woods and hiding from the world.
“Tatiana,” Dominic breathed her name. He leaned down and brushed her lips with his before resting his damp forehead against hers. “Do you have any idea what you do to me? Any clue what you’ve done to my life, my perception of myself, or my place in this world?”
Dominic loosened his hold on her wrists and held her hands against his chest, their bodies still pressed tightly together. He pulled back and looked her in the face.
“You aren’t the only one who’s feeling confused,” he rasped. “Before you came along I had a really clear bead on things.”
Dominic’s fingers trailed along her bare arms, sending shivers through her as he stared at her through glowing eyes. He cupped her face with one hand as the other wandered down her side and finally rested at the dip of her waist.
“I think it’s safe to say I’m in touch with that emotion,” she murmured.
Tatiana’s hands rested on his chest, and she tried not to notice how his muscles moved beneath her fingers, or the erotic way his body hardened as it pressed against hers. He hummed with power, desire, and restraint. His jaw clenched, and a tiny muscle flickered beneath the ever-present five o’clock shadow as his fingers gripped her hip.
“I want you, Tatiana,” he ground out. “I can’t escape you. No matter how hard I’ve tried to get you out of my head, it’s no use. You’ve bewitched me, put me under a spell so that I can’t see, hear, or feel anything but you.”
As Dominic spoke, he walked her backward, toward one of the freshly cleaned stalls, and she moved with him, knowing what his intentions were. His hands drifted up her rib cage, brushed along her arms, and found their way once again around her wrists.
Tatiana’s breath came quickly, and her skin tingled as he branded her with his stare. She let out a gasp as her back bumped into the wall, and Dominic pinned her there. His erection pressed enticingly against her belly as he lifted her arms over her head and leaned his taut body against hers.
“Before you,” he whispered, his face hovering an inch away, “the only thing that mattered was doing my job as Guardian, but now… it’s you, Tatiana.”
Dominic ground himself against her as he nudged her legs apart with his knee, trailing kisses along her neck. With every breath, her breasts crushed against his chest, sending jolts of pleasure through her. Dominic had her wet and panting, and if he didn’t kiss her soon, she might scream.
Yes. Her mind touched his on a whisper.
A growl rumbled in his chest as Tatiana tilted her head to the side, allowing him better access to the hypersensitive skin on her neck. She wrapped one leg around him, pulling him against her most sensitive spot. Dominic lifted his head and locked eyes with her, their lips a breath apart, and she whispered the words into his mind… I want you, Dominic.
On groan of pleasure, he covered her mouth with his, running his tongue along the seam of her mouth as she opened to him. Warmth raced through her as he linked their fingers, pressed her wrists against the wall, and drank from her greedily. His kiss was hard and demanding, taking everything she had to give and more. Her body screamed with need as the fire he started raged out of control.
Tatiana yanked her hands from his, needing to touch him and hold him. She ran her fingers over the slick planes of his chest and then trailed them over his rippling, six-pack abs as she licked and nibbled at his lips. Fumbling with his belt, they laughed through their kiss, and he groaned as she finally released him.
The sight of him fully aroused was almost as much of a turn-on as hearing him moan when she ran one finger up the hot length of skin—scorching satin over steel. Dominic breathed a sigh of pleasure against her lips as she took the heavy weight of him in her hand and stroked.
“Oh God, yes,” he whispered as she massaged him.
Dominic deepened the kiss as she worked him, and his talented fingers slipped beneath her sweat-soaked top. He lifted it over her breasts and pushed her bra aside before capturing her swollen breast in his eager hands. The rough skin of his palm braised the sensitive nipple, sending shocks of pleasure to her feminine center. Erotic waves swamped her as she worked the hot length of him and ran her thumb over the swollen head. He pinched her nipple as she arched into his hand and kept massaging his engorged cock.
Dominic broke the kiss, and in one swift movement, pulled her shorts and underwear down past her hips, which she quickly stepped out of and kicked aside. Tatiana let out a soft cry of pleasure as his fingers slid between her slick folds, and he slipped two inside of her. Holding her gaze, his thumb worked the tiny bundle of nerves, making her wet and ready.
Sensing they were both nearing the edge, Dominic gently removed her hand from him and once again linked his fingers with hers. A sly grin cracked his face as he held her hands over her head with one hand and pinned her body against the wall with his much larger frame. The look in his eye was feral and predatory and made her moan as she waited for the only thing that could satisfy her.
This was what she needed—what they both needed.
Tense with unfulfilled desire, she quivered with anticipation as one strong hand slid along her bare thigh and lifted her leg over his hip, opening her. Dominic reached down between their sweat-covered bodies and prodded her swollen entrance with the tip of his erection. Then in one swift stroke, he buried himself deep inside.
Tatiana’s cry of pleasure was muffled against his shoulder as he filled her in one thick, satisfying thrust. He sought her mouth, licking and suckling her lips as he pumped into her. Slowly at first, the kind of long, deep, languid strokes that can make a woman scream and beg for more. Dominic rolled his hips and ground against her, putting pressure on the right spot, which sent white-hot streaks of lightning through her.