Something still felt odd. Her brain seemed to bubble and froth until comprehension finally sank in. Her tongue? She must have swallowed it. There certainly was something stuck in her throat as he stood with one arm holding the door open, his naked body framed in the opening like an erotic work of art.
Naked. Oh my.
She started at his toes and worked her way up. While he’d been impressive in his jeans, he did naked even better. There was an incredible look to a naked wolf—the cut of their muscles slightly sharper than cat or bear shifters. And my, oh my, she was appreciative of all his muscles. Fixated on them, in fact. Engrossed in the way his thigh muscles flexed as he stepped into the room. Her gaze trickled upward, and that damn tongue stuck in her throat got in the way again as she attempted to swallow. He was…more than sufficient above the thighs as well.
A sharp cough sounded at the same moment the door clicked shut.
She was mesmerized, staring at his groin.
Oh my, oh my, oh my.
Muscles flexed again as he knelt, his head replacing the level her eyes were stuck at. When his smile flashed into view, the constriction around her throat eased slightly.
“Hi.” The word squeaked out. One word seemed to be her maximum output right now.
His grin widened. “This is the kind of room service I’ve been longing for. But if you don’t mind…I have one thing I need to double-check.”
She watched in confusion as he placed a tool belt—why is he naked, but carrying a tool belt?—on the side table beside the bed. Then he shifted into his wolf and leapt up next to her.
He was dark grey, lean in his body with beautiful markings on his chest. He brushed his soft fur against her arm, and she moved to give him more room. When he stuck his muzzle next to her ear and took a deep breath, her own wolf shivered mightily.
At this point she didn’t care what he was double-checking as long as it involved him shifting back soon and doing her hard and fast. All thoughts of holding out any longer were tossed out the small porthole window. He was her mate, she was in his bed, and damn the consequences. Thievery, cruises, best friends. All of the details of her human concerns evaporated, replaced with a hunger that was mostly animalistic.
She grabbed the bottom of her T-shirt and stripped it off. By the time she’d wiggled out of her jeans, he’d shifted back, his sexy grin settling into something between astonishment and violent hunger.
“You’re my mate.” The wonder in his voice made her smile.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheek.
Keri paused. “You didn’t know?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “I know now.”
He leaned closer, just a tiny bit, and Keri’s heart flipped. The brush of air from his lips caressed past like a butterfly wing a split second before they made contact.
Sticking a finger into an electric socket would be boring from now on. Not that she often played with electricity, but those old cartoons flashing every bone highlighted when… She lost her train of thought as his tongue slicked over her bottom lip.
She melted into a happy puddle of puddleness, catching hold of his shoulders and pulling him over her, mouths staying in contact. She shook with need, but he pinned her with his weight and held her in place, one hand still cupping her face and restraining her as he kissed her senseless.
Tongue. Teeth. Lips. Air. It was all a tangle of sensation and yearning, and there was nothing she wanted more at this moment than to kiss him forever. Between her legs a heavy ache pulsed, but even that could be ignored for a minute because kissing her mate was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.
Climaxes? Wild sexual romps? She was a wolf and had had her fair share over the years, but those experiences blurred into some half-forgotten story—like the assigned reading she had of Moby Dick during school. It was about someone chasing something and there was a harpoon involved, but the rest of the details were fuzzy.
He rolled onto his back and dragged her over him. Suddenly she was reading the freaking Coles Notes and it all made sense, especially the harpoon bit. Another slide of his tongue followed. His fingers braided through her hair as he tugged and arranged her to his liking.
Her thighs straddled his waist, his erection solid against her belly, and the tingles shot harder. Keri planted one hand on either side of his head and forced her lips away from his. The light in his eyes was to die for.
“Hi.” His gaze dropped to her lips and he outlined them again. “You taste good.”
A growl broke loose unintentionally and his grin widened.
Yeah, the slow was nice, but she wanted more than nice. She wanted some screaming and stomping and…
She leaned down and kissed his neck, and this time he was the one who rumbled. She nipped lightly, and he snapped upright a foot, strong abdominal muscles under her shooting them both vertical. “Oh God, woman. You ready for this?”
“For my mate?” Keri’s brain wasn’t attached to anything but the sensual points of her body. “Is anyone? You worried?”
“No. I’m yours, you’re mine. I’m free and clear, and well over twenty-one and if I’m not inside you in about thirty seconds I’m going to die.” He followed up by digging his teeth into her neck and pinning her in place while he stripped off her bra.
Thirty seconds were going to be far too long,
“I’m yours. I know you thought—” Oh hell, he ripped her panties apart at the hip, and suddenly explaining that Chad wasn’t really a boyfriend slipped off the agenda and flashed to ashes faster than taking a blow torch to a scrap of floss.
Keri lifted her hips, and her mate brushed his fingers along her sex and dipped in. When he circled her clit, as if he was going to get her off first, she took matters into her own hands, grasped his erect cock and pressed the wide head between her folds.
“Argggh” or something close to it escaped his lips.
Keri planted her hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes as she sank and joined them together.
Full, stretched, expanding to fill not only her body but to wrap around her soul and fill her there as well. It was a rush and a thrill and just the way it could be with wolves, and heck if she was going to complain things were happening too fast. She lifted and lowered once before he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her madly again.
If he didn’t slow them down he was going to spill right then and there. It was bad enough she’d hogtied him, and they were already having sex. He’d never taken a woman without making sure she’d experienced pleasure, and this was his mate.
Mate, oh freaky day, he was having sex with his mate.
Going slow—nice idea, but the reality of their wolves and the lingering scent of her in his brain crumpled that note and tossed it to the side. Slow would happen later. Maybe tomorrow. Or next week. Next week might be possible.
Still, he had to deal with the building pressure because flipping her over and pounding her through the mattress wouldn’t be the romantic first time he figured most women wanted. He twisted them until his feet hit the floor, kissing her cheek, licking her neck before taking possession of her mouth and soaking in her taste the best he could.
His lack of smell had always been a pain, but this? Better than he’d expected. She snuck into his system as he kissed her. Slow, but insistent—overwhelming his physical lack with sheer potency.
He slipped his hands between their bodies to cup her breasts, thumbs taking her nipples captive. Commanding them to attention before he pushed her back. Keri arched, and he covered one firm peak with his mouth, then the other. Sucking hard, licking lightly. She wiggled and ground over his cock, her sex coating him with heat and moisture.