Taming His Mate (4 page)

“Is everything okay?” Her husky voice washed
over him.

“Go back to sleep. I didn’t mean to wake
you.”

“You didn’t.” Her fingers moved over his
skin. “Stay with me?”

Air whooshed out of his lungs at her words.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sunshine.”

Her hand slid down to his stomach. “Please,
Stephen.”

How the hell was he supposed to ignore
that?

She shifted and rolled onto her opposite
side, leaving him to stare at the delicate curve of her back.
Against his better judgment, he eased beneath the covers, close
enough that the heat from her body saturated him. And yet he didn’t
dare touch her. He couldn’t, not without taking more than she was
willing to offer.

Unfortunately, Kate had no qualms about
sliding the last inch backward until her frame molded against his.
He attempted to shift his groin out of reach, but she scooted her
ass against his hardening length, the towel he wore and the T-shirt
and boxer shorts he’d given her hardly a barrier between them. He
gritted his teeth as a wave of lust shot straight to his dick.
Fuck, she was playing with fire.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” He growled
into her hair and wrapped his arm around her waist.

She stiffened, and her breathing grew
labored, causing the undersides of her breasts to graze his
forearm. “No.” She rasped. “I don’t feel like fighting tonight. I
want you.”

His heart kicked a swift beat in his chest.
Christ, he’d waited years for her to say those very words, but this
wasn’t the right time. After the night she’d had, she needed the
rest.

He tightened his grip around her middle. “Go
to sleep, Kate.”

“But—”

“Sleep.” He kissed the back of her head.

Stephen smiled when she expelled a tiny
humph
. He closed his eyes, willed his dick to behave, and
prayed sleep would be swift. Either way, he anticipated a long
night.

“Stephen.”

The low moan tugged Stephen from his restless
sleep, and his eyes snapped open. With Kate lying in his arms, he
drowsily reasoned he was dreaming until her leg rubbed against his
calf and his name drifted from her lips.

Holy shit
.

He swallowed hard and attempted to rouse her.
“Kate.”

She moaned again and pressed her
barely-covered ass against the length of his erection. He hissed in
surprise. The towel he’d worn to bed was long gone.

For fuck’s sake, he wasn’t a damn saint.

He jostled her awake. “Kate.”

She stirred and clutched the arm wrapped
around her stomach.

“Stephen?” Confusion colored her sleepy
voice.

“Uh…yeah, still here.”

She shifted, the movement torturous to his
male parts, and he pinned her with his leg.

“Don’t move,” he snapped.

Kate lifted her arm behind her and froze when
her fingertips brushed over his naked hip. “Are you…? Were
we…?”

“No.” He gritted his teeth. “Just
don’t
move
, by all that is holy in this world.”

“Oh.” Her hand continued its exploration,
slipping over his ass. “Um, Stephen?”

“Kate.” Christ, he wasn’t sure how much more
of this he could bear. Every gulp of air he took was filled with
the sweet scent of honeysuckle and her arousal. He tried to lift
away from her, but her fingernails dug into his ass.

“Stay with me.”

“I don’t think—”

“Please, Stephen. Just one night.”

Well, fuck. What the hell was he supposed to
say to that? As if he would ever deny her anything. He would
concede to her request, not that it was a hardship, but it wouldn’t
be for just one night.

He let his hand drift down her stomach,
beneath the boxers she wore, and dip to her sex. He closed his
eyes, lost in the feel of her soft, heated skin.

“I like that you’re bare here, Sunshine. It’s
sexy as hell.” Stephen threw off the covers and helped her upright.
Once he pulled his T-shirt over her head and the boxers off her
slim legs, he eased her onto her back and soaked up his first sight
of her nude. The glow from the bathroom light gleamed on her
smooth, milky skin. She lay completely still as he traced his
fingertips over each soft dip and curve of naked frame, learning
the contours and committing them to memory. His imagination had
been nowhere close to the reality.

Christ, she was breathtaking.

He cupped one of her plump breasts in his
palm, rubbing his thumb over the hardened nipple. Desperate for a
taste, he leaned over and latched onto the taut peak, suckling the
sensitive flesh. She buried her fingers in his hair, tugging him
closer.

His exploration continued as he ran his mouth
down her body, lingering to feather kisses along the gentle swell
of her stomach. Anxious to taste the pussy he’d dreamt of for
years, he repositioned himself between her thighs, his head
hovering above his own little slice of heaven. At once, he felt her
tense and tighten her legs around his shoulders.

“Relax. Just enjoy. Let me enjoy.”

Stephen laid an arm over her abdomen and ran
his hand over her belly while he arranged his other arm beneath her
hips, bringing her heated center closer to his mouth. He lowered
his head and parted the lips of her sex with his tongue. As he
traced over her pussy, he almost came with his first taste.

He’d been right all along. Sunshine. She
tasted of sunshine after the rain on a late summer’s afternoon. Man
and Wolf growled in appreciation. He circled her clit with long,
languid strokes, making her shudder in his arms.

She moved against his mouth and sank her hand
in his hair. “Stephen, I need you. Please.”

He was more than happy to oblige.

Taking his time, he worked his way up her
body until his hardened length rested between her thighs. His cock
slid along her damp pussy with spine-tingling friction, which left
them both gasping.

Trembling, Stephen tried to steady his racing
heart. Five years he’d waited to be exactly where he was, and damn
if he wasn’t about to come before he made it inside of her. He
couldn’t wait any longer.

His hand dipped between her thighs, and he
positioned the head of his cock at her entrance. He captured her
mouth with a searing kiss. His tongue slipped inside the same
moment he nudged her opening with a gentle push.

She gasped against his mouth. “Stephen.”

He licked the tender skin behind her ear.
“Stay with me, Sunshine.”

Determined for her to feel nothing but
pleasure, he reached down to caress her clit as he worked the
length of his cock inside her. Once he was buried in her tight
pussy, he paused.

Sweat poured from his scalp and rolled down
his back while he shook with need. Passion clawed at his control,
urging him to move, but he refused to cause her more pain than was
necessary.

“You alright?” He scanned her features,
searching for any sign of discomfort. Thank ever-loving God she
gifted him with a smile that damn near made his heart flip over in
his chest.

“Aren’t you supposed to move?”

Despite the tension running through him, he
laughed. He tucked his arms beneath her, holding her against his
chest as he eased out of her, then slid back into her welcoming
warmth. She made a low hum of pleasure.

He trailed his lips over her jaw. “Give me
your mouth, Sunshine.”

Kate lifted her head and melded her mouth to
his. His tongue delved past her lips as he found a steady rhythm.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked awkwardly beneath
him, while he continued to pump in and out of her pussy, each
thrust longer and harder than the last.

“Yes. Oh, God, yes.” The husky sound of her
voice shot straight to his balls.

After all the years of waiting for his mate,
this one fucking moment was everything. Nothing else compared to
the feel of her silken heat wrapped around his cock.

“Slip your hand between us. Touch yourself
for me.”

She did as he requested, easing her hand
between their writhing bodies until she reached her clit. With each
caress, her fingertips grazed his length while he slipped in and
out of her. And damn if it wasn’t the most erotic thing he’d ever
experienced in his life.

For once, he abandoned control and allowed
himself to let go and revel in the wild, untamed beauty of his
mate. Latching onto throat, he sucked and nipped at the sensitive
skin as his thrusts became more forceful. Her pussy rippled along
his cock, signaling she was close to her release. When he thought
he couldn’t wait any longer, her back arched, pushing her breasts
firm against his chest, and she splintered apart in his arms.

Instinct drove him to put his mark on her, to
possess her for once and for all. His canines lengthened into two
twin sets of sharp points. With one final hard thrust, he buried
himself deep inside his mate and sank his teeth into her shoulder,
marking her as his own for the rest of their lives. Once his teeth
penetrated the soft flesh, he clutched her tight to his frame and
emptied his seed inside her. Nothing had ever felt more right in
his existence.

***

Wavering between euphoria and full-blown
panic, Kate panted to catch her breath. She couldn’t believe he’d
marked
her.

Stephen trembled against her as he crushed
her to his body. His teeth slid from her shoulder, and he placed a
gentle kiss on his mark.

He nuzzled her neck. “I love you, Sunshine.
Always have. Always will.”

The heartfelt words she’d only dreamt of
hearing nearly destroyed her.

Oh, God, she couldn’t do this.

She squirmed in his arms until he loosened
his hold. He slid from her body, and she winced at the twinge
between her thighs. Once free, she jumped from the bed and darted
into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Kate leaned against the sink and sucked in
breath after deep breath, trying to suppress the panic attack
threatening to drop her to her knees. Twisting on the cold tap, she
threw water on her face to cool her flushed cheeks.

Shit, what had she done?

Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and she
hung her head in humiliation. How could she have been so stupid?
What the hell could she tell him?
Sorry, you’ve mated a
worthless shifter who can’t even shift. Hope you don’t hate the
hell out of me
.

A knock on the door startled her. “Kate, open
up.”

Crap, where the hell was she supposed to go?
She was in Stephen’s house, holed up in the bathroom like a
loser.

“No.” She glared at the door.

“Come on, Sunshine.”

“Go away.”

“Kate, open the door.”

“No!”

“Stand back.”

Before she could respond, the door flew open,
banging against the wall. She gaped as Stephen’s naked form filled
the doorway.

His brows were furrowed over his gleaming
eyes. He marched forward and grabbed her upper arms in a gentle but
firm grip. It was then she comprehended anger hadn’t driven him to
break through the door. It was concern.

“What’s wrong? You bolted out of bed. I
thought I’d hurt you.”

“I….”

“Christ, Kate. You’re killing me. You always
run from me.
Me
. Your mate. For once, just tell me what the
hell I’m doing wrong, so I can fix it.”

If he’d spoken the words in anger, she
could’ve found her backbone and snapped at him. Instead, his words
were that of a man at his wit’s end.

“You shouldn’t have marked me.” Her voice
shook.

He jerked his head back is if she’d slapped
him, and his face twisted with a dark scowl. “Why not? You’re mine.
I’m yours. You gave yourself to me. I just felt you come apart in
my arms. How can you stand here and tell me I shouldn’t have
claimed you as my own?”

“Because I can’t shift!”

Stephen’s grip fell away from Kate’s arms,
and he took a hesitant step backward. Kate’s heart wrenched, and
she almost screamed at the distance he placed between them. She’d
imagined his reaction a hundred times over, but the reality hurt
far worse.

Brows furrowed, he averted his gaze, studying
the tile floor beneath her feet. In an almost absent manner, he
rubbed the nape of his neck. Just when Kate couldn’t stand his
reticence any longer, he dropped his arm against his bare thigh and
lifted his gaze to hers.

A scowl darkened his face. Anger flashed in
his blue eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

Kate cringed at the harshness in his tone.
Somewhere, deep inside, a tiny part of her heart, one that secretly
harbored the illusion she and Stephen had a future together,
shattered into pieces. This was why she’d chosen to never speak of
her affliction. Not to mention why she’d kept her feelings for him
to herself.

She cleared her throat in order to speak
around the lump there. “I have to get out of here.”

His head jerked back. “What? Why? We need to
talk.”

“What’s the use?” Turning away from his
reproachful stare, she braced her palms against the sink once more.
She glanced in the mirror, noting her swollen lips, tousled hair,
and the fresh bite on her shoulder. Her cheeks burned with the
memory of what they’d done in his bed only a few minutes before.
She pushed away from the counter. “I’m leaving.”

He grabbed her upper arm and stepped close.
The heat of his body chased away the chill in her bones. For one
moment, she closed her eyes, wishing he would wrap his arms around
her and tell her everything would be alright. But that wasn’t going
to happen now that he knew the truth about her.

“I can’t believe you, Kate. You should’ve
told me something as important as this.”

“Why the hell would I? I knew you’d see me
differently if I did.” She gathered her nerve and spun to face him.
“And you do. I can see it in your face.”