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  “So fucking hot.”

  The rough pads of his fingers traced down her stomach. Her belly clenched and her fist tightened in his hair. Parting her tender folds, a thick digit entered her core, his finger pressed lightly over her clit, and he stroked her once. Twice. Three times.

  Her thighs jerked with every touch. Desire rippled up her body. Closing her eyes, she threw back her head. Muscles tensed, pleasure raced through every cell in a torrent of speed as an orgasm took hold. Her chest pushed forward and Ryker sucked deep on her breast.

  She moaned, unable to contain the cry. Her body clenched around Ryker’s finger, she thrust against him, drawing out every drop of pleasure.

  “Again.”

  Ryker’s voice had deepened to something not entirely human. Her eyes snapped open to see fur dusting along his skin. His teeth had elongated into fangs in his human mouth. Damn it, he was losing control.

  22

  Bite. Mate. Mine.

  Ryker’s mind resorted to singular word choices, functioning with nothing more than need. Rational thought vaporized the moment he’d seen Kali squeeze her tits. He was running on pure instinct. Simple animal logic. It demanded nothing less than to sink his teeth into Kali and mark her. His wolf had proven to be the dominant male in strength, in ability, and in prowess.

  He’d kept his female safe against the odds, protected her from the monstrosities of the Pit, and now, with her in his domain, clamping around his fingers, she was his. His beast demanded he make sure she knew it. To make sure she always knew it. And by the moon, he was going to.

  Finger deep into her center, her walls still pulsing around his digit, he slowly pulled out and drew his finger to his mouth. Kali’s eyes widened, watching him sucked the taste of her from his finger. He groaned, savoring her sweet flavor. Blood bypassed all organs, heading south. Jesus! He’d never tasted anything so fine.

  Nothing had tasted so good. It was if Kali had been designed for his addiction. He needed more. Kali winked out of focus. Bite into her flesh. Sample what she tastes like. I bet it’s better than anything in this world. Fuck! Eat every delectable morsel. His muscles tightened and saliva pooled in his mouth the same time his stomach churned. Standing rooted to the tiled floor he sucked in a breath and bit his lip. If her pleasure tasted so good maybe his beast was right, maybe he should just try a little bit.

  Fingertips kissed their way up his chest and he blinked away the shadows. His stomach lurched. He pushed away from Kali disgusted with himself. He shouldn’t be there. It was dangerous. He was dangerous. Shoving the shower stall door open, he stormed away from Kali. How could he have contemplated attacking his own mate?

  “Ryker?”

  His name quavered on Kali’s lips. Damn it. Now he was hurting her. Well, if he didn’t get the hell out of there quick, he’d be doing a lot more than that and next time it would hurt a lot more.

  “Fuck!” He ran a shaky hand through his hair and tugged the strands.

  He needed Saint. His brother would be the only one strong enough to end him. Maybe Thane if he were close enough. Kali had gifted him with something special. In his last moments, he’d hold onto those few memories and take them with him to the next world. But he had to act quickly. Or so much more would be lost.

  Damp hands pressed against his chest and shoved. Hard. He stumbled back toward the bed and shook his head. How did Kali get in front of him? Was he so far gone that he couldn’t sense his surroundings? He hadn’t even heard the water turn off.

  Kali stood in front of him chest heaving, breasts swaying. Her body gleamed in the moon light, drops of water running down to the tips of her pebbled nipples. Damn, but she still looked delectable. Her eyes shone with fire. She lifted her chin to meet his gaze.

  “No. You don’t get to give up. Do you hear me?”

  She came at him again. His pint-sized female stomped forward and shoved him another three steps back. His legs hit the mattress, his lip curling in a silent warning. Unfazed, Kali growled. Nothing silent about her display.

  “How dare you! Do you think that you get to walk away from this? From me? Especially after everything we’ve been through. After dangling the chance of a home, a family…of you in my face, only to have it yanked away? You don’t get to do that. I need you.”

  Her voice cracked on the last word and so did his shadow-kissed heart.

  She swallowed thickly and blinked her eyes repeatedly. “Get on that fucking bed. Do it now!”

  Craning his neck, he blew out a breath. Teeth filled his mouth, his voice more animal than human. Rage speed through his blood. His body vibrated with it. Holding it back felt like claws ripping into his organs. For Kali he’d try to explain. ’Cause fuck. His chest hurt. His heart hurt. His soul hurt knowing that Kali would be left alone. That he wasn’t strong enough for them. “I…”

  The noise sounded like a growl. He couldn’t even form fucking words. It was simply too late. Kali shook her head. Her shoulders straightened, delicate brows dipped toward her nose, and her lips flattened.

  A second later she attacked. Her body launched through the air and out of reflex, he caught her, cupping her ass cheeks. She wrapped her body around him, her warm center pressing against his lower stomach.

  “You’re mine, Ryker Bennett. Mine to keep for always.”

  A warm wet tongue trailed up his neck and he shivered. His body quivered. Sharp teeth scraped once over his skin, and everything faded to white noise. Kali reached between them, fisted his cock, and sank her weight onto his length. Canines sank into his throat and he came. Jets of come poured from him as an avalanche of desire gripped his balls.

  By the fucking moon. His leg gave out and he tightened his hold on Kali as they fell back onto the mattress. She rode his length, rolling her hips. Snaking his hand down, he found her clit and circled the bundle of nerves. Kali moaned against his neck and another wave of pleasure filled his cock.

  She removed her teeth lapping at his flesh. Her momentum gathered speed and she sat up, head falling back. The moons rays kissed her body with light, outlining every curve of her body. Her breasts jutted out and, pulled to them like magnets, he pulled himself up enough to swipe at the tip of her nipple with his tongue.

  Her body clenched around his cock. She was close. Lust fueling his movements, he pulled out of her and flipped her to her knees. He hugged her from behind, one hand cupping her breast and pinching her nipple, the other dipping low to find her center.

  Her heart rate quickened, the sound telling him exactly the way she liked it. A blush swept across the tops of her breasts and circled her neck. He wanted to draw out the moment, draw out the pleasure. Sliding between her folds, his cock slid deep into her vagina. Running his nose up the curve of her shoulder, he found the perfect spot to mark.

  Kali had started the mating; he would finish it. Then they’d be forever connected.

  “Oh, God. Do it. Mark me. Make me yours.”

  Unable to do anything else, he clamped his teeth onto her flesh, biting hard. His wolf took control. Needing to make sure the mark stuck. No one would be able to question who she was mated to after that night.

  Kali’s body shook from her hairline down to her toes. Exquisite, mind-blowing jolts of rapture rippled through her body, her clit the epicenter of bliss. She moaned. Her muscles melted to nothing, and Ryker held her steady. He always held her steady.

  Her neurons worked overtime, and she was drowning in sensations, her body devouring everything Ryker gave. She screamed out his name, thrusting against him. He growled against her neck, and warm jets of his orgasm filled her.

  Warmth coursed through her mind and a blinding tether fused from Ryker to herself. As if someone had opened the floodgates, everything poured into her. Ryker’s fears he wasn’t good enough, his worries of their future. The ecstasy he felt and the pleasure he could feel flowing through her body. She could feel it too, and it heightened her own, drawing the sensations out, pushing her to untold limits.

  Above ever
y facet of emotion rolling in Ryker’s head was the undeniable fact he loved her. Her chest squeezed, and a sob sneaked out. Ryker rolled them onto the bed, still joined in the most intimate way.

  “Ryker,” she breathed. She loved him too. With everything in her. “I love you back.”

  No one had ever loved her. She’d gone through life alone, living in fear, and Ryker had saved her from all of that. He’d given her something she’d never expected but always craved.

  “Never again, Kali. You’ll never be alone while I still live.” His voice, soft and sure, filled her mind through their mating link.

  Emotion lodge in her throat, and she couldn’t swallow it down. Her eyes brimmed. She hadn’t been the only person alone. Ryker was more than any female could ask for. Through their connection she could see Ryker had been forced into a life of servitude camouflaged as grooming.

  His father had kept him segregated from pack and family, believing it would strengthen him. By the time he’d come into his pack, his humanity had already been hindered, so he’d kept everyone at arm’s length.

  Pulling away from Ryker, she turned in his arms to face her mate. Mate. The term felt foreign in her mind. Staring into Ryker’s bright blue gaze, it also felt right. It felt like her whole life had been waiting for that moment. Angling her head, she kissed him. Slow and sensual. She hoped it infused every feeling she didn’t know how to voice.

  “I’m here with you. I know what you’re feeling.”

  She sensed him there, deep in her mind. Everything about her was left exposed to his perusal just the same as she could reach inside of him. It scared her, but she left the door wide open, showing Ryker exactly who she was. No angel, that’s for sure.

  She loved him with a viciousness that scared her. She may have been unrefined and naive to the law’s true packs followed, but she was loyal and determined to embrace the new opportunity she’d been gifted. She let Ryker look into her fears of not being good enough for him, for the pack, for their future.

  “Fuck what everyone else thinks. They don’t know you like I do. Kali Bennett, you are perfect to me. Nothing past or present will change that.”

  She buried her head into his chest, letting the warmth from his body infuse her with strength. A glimpse of gold snagged her attention, and she pulled back, wiping at the stray tears. A border of gold banded around Ryker’s glyph, the hue never quite settling into a solid color.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  Ryker’s arms banded tighter. “You’re beautiful.”

  Many things may have gone wrong in her life, but not this. Not Ryker. Their future may have been left undecided. Even under house arrest their prospects didn’t seem scary. As long as they were together nothing else mattered.

  23

  Like a feather caught in a soft breeze, Ryker’s consciousness floated to awareness. The weight that had been pushing him into the depth of despair was gone. He’d never felt more rested, more steady, more himself. In well…ever. His beast was leashed. The wolf was a part of him as the human still lived within him, only now he had control. It was all thanks to the small female nestled in his arms.

  A very naked female.

  Kali’s leg draped across his body, the navy sheet bunched around her waist, exposing the swell of her breast. His arm tightened around her shoulders. Arousal filled his cock. He snapped up a breath, the notes of their mating saturated the air. Damn. He still couldn’t believe his luck. He’d never expected to be able to claim Kali, yet here there he was, humanity tethered and bound.

  A smile tugged at his lips. He’d made sure to consummate their union extensively. It couldn’t be helped. Every square inch of his mate was absolutely delicious. Only in the carnal sense, he thought darkly. His stomach roiled, remembering the edge his thoughts had taken the night before.

  “Don’t do that to yourself.”

  He glanced down and found Kali looking up at him. No blame, no horror, no judgment on her face. Though a deep scowl settled across her brow.

  “Of course I’m not judging you. Last night…”

  Had been his darkest moment. He’d been dangerous to everyone. Especially Kali. Yet she had risked playing with the beast to save him? His monster had been ravenous and so close to the surface. Those memories would haunt him forever. Before she could finish her sentence, he knew through their bond she was going to make excuses for him.

  “Last night I thought about things no shifter should.”

  No mate should.

  “Last night you were close to rogue.”

  She shivered. He’d been walking a razor’s edge. Without Kali to anchor him, he would have nosedived to the abyss of darkness.

  “Even then, you didn’t act on those thoughts. You were never going to hurt me.” Her shoulders lifted against his ribs. “It’s irrelevant now. Don’t dwell on what could have happened. Nothing good will come of looking backward. From now on we only focus on the future.”

  He huffed out a breath, knowing his mate was right. Knowing that Kali was trying to do the same. Dwelling in the past resulted with the claws of shadows shredding his insides. Kali yawned and stretched against his body reinforcing his little pet name. Whether Kali was hissing like a spitfire or arching against him, she’d always be his Kitty.

  Pressing her body against him, she traced the golden band surrounding his glyph. “I may not despise Kitty anymore, but don’t you forget I’m one hundred percent wolf. I have keen senses, sooo…” Out loud she finished, “You’ll find I’m always right. Always.”

  Amusement filled their bond, and it felt wonderful, like a warm fire on a cold winter’s night. Their time together had been so dark, filled with trials and challenges. Even before Kali, his life had no room for anything fun. It was nice. His lips tugged upward toward the crinkles bracketing his eyes. “Is that so?”

  She hummed her agreement. Quick as a flash, he rolled, taking Kali with him. Poised above her he lifted his hands wiggling his fingers.

  “What are you doing?” She shook her head. “No. Absolutely not.”

  “Kitty nothing is absolute. You taught me that.”

  Attacking, his fingers delved around her ribs. She squirmed. A female with her strength could have fought him off. It was nice she allowed his attack. They both needed something light to fill their soul. Bursts of laughter spilled from her lips, and it was the loveliest sound he’d heard. Damn, he was lucky. He’d spend the rest of his life learning every sensitive spot across her body.

  His fingers curved around her breasts and his movements slowed to a lingering stroke. Skin soft as a dream had his mouth watering to taste everywhere. She sucked in a breath and arousal curled into the air. Dipping his head, he claimed her lips. So soft. So sweet. “Good morning, mate.”

  “I’m feeling like I spent all night rutting with my mate, and I have after-sex hangover.” She smiled. “But... it was so worth it.”

  Damn right it was. Just thinking about the way Kali’s body responded so eagerly to his every touch had him moving down her body and flicking his tongue over a tempting nipple. Her breath stilled, body arching toward him, feeding him more of her flesh. He’d never get sick of his own slice of heaven.

  The growl of her stomach vibrated against him. He thought back to the previous night and remembered they hadn’t eaten. In fact, it had been days since Kali had eaten any real food apart from the rations at the Pit. The previous night had been on him. Damn.

  “It’s okay. We had more important things to attend to.”

  It was his duty. No, his honor to provide for his mate. Benching his lust, he could sate the more carnal hunger later. First, he needed to attend to his mate’s needs, and she required sustenance. “Let’s get you fed, and then I’ll show you around your new home.”

  “It can wait.” Kali started to trail her hands down her belly.

  He quickly captured them, halting their progress. If he saw her fingers dip into her center, her needs would be forgotten. He was a strong male, but not strong enough t
o ignore the temptation his mate offered.

  “Not all my needs.” Her mind whispered.

  Tempting. Very tempting. After her belly was full, he promised himself. “Let me look after you.”

  He pushed himself away and padded across the gray carpet. With a clear head he recalled everything that happened in the Pit. Jones. His heart clenched. The male had been a worthy warrior. The pack would pay homage to the male and give him a warrior’s farewell.

  A thought later and Kali was there in his mind, comforting and easing the sorrow he felt. “I’m sorry you lost one of your males. His sacrifice would mean so much to every female he helped save.”

  Jones had struggled for months with his beast; knowing he was now at rest brought a measure of peace, as small as it was. He sucked in a stuttered breath and embraced the strength Kali so readily offered. Tonight, we will mourn.

  “You won’t be alone.”

  Kali’s words pulled him up short. All this time he had been surrounded by pack, yet always alone, left to carry the burdens. Kali reminded him they were a team. Yanking open his drawers, he pulled out gray sweatpants, shoving them on. All of Kali’s belongings were discarded on the bathroom floor. His heart clenched, imagining having your whole life reduced to the clothes on your back.

  Quickly, he discarded the thought, taking comfort knowing that part of her life was over. From this day forward, Kali would know love, acceptance, and pack. Starting with food.

  He grabbed another set of sweats and a black tee. Kali would drown in his clothes, but at least they were clean. Their mating link vibrated. A second later Kali wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m so lucky to have you.”

  Searching their bond he could tell she’d been hovering in his thoughts. Vicariously, via the link, he felt Kali’s heart beat fast, felt the way her chest swelled, almost as if her organs couldn’t fit behind her ribs. Emotion clung to her throat, and she fought back tears. Muscles bunched where he stood.