The Awakening: Britton (Entangled Covet) (22 page)

He scooped his other arm under her knees and lifted her, then sat on the couch with her on his lap, never

taking his lips from hers as he caressed the tip of her tongue with his. The sweet mewl that sighed out of

her mouth caused his beast to growl. Desire built within him, and he deepened the kiss, holding her closer.

The clawing need hit like a bolt of lightning, shocking him. The urge was overwhelming.

Take.

Ripping his mouth from her, he shot to his feet, tossing her on the couch and away from him.

She gaped at him. “What the hell, Britton?”

He paced the room, grabbing a handful of his hair as he shoved his fingers through the strands, trying to

breathe through the urgent, all-enveloping need to claim her. “I’m not human right now, Val,” he gritted

out.

There was a moment of silence before she grimaced. “The instinct?”

“Yeah, the instinct. I almost marked you last night. It took everything in me not to. We don’t know

what’s going to happen. If there is even the smallest chance the serum did cause all those vile feelings, and I

might be given it again, you will not have my mark on you. I’m scared to death of what would happen to

you if you wore the mark of a shifter who was no longer a shifter. I won’t risk your life.”

She had the kindness to not argue. Neither of them knew what would happen if he bonded to her and

the High Council reinstated his sentence.

“So what do we do?” she asked.

“Solve this fucking case, so you and I can start a future.”

Then he slammed into the bathroom to take a very long, very cold shower. It wasn’t until later he

realized that he’d used the word future without thinking.

Dea
. Val really had given him hope.

…

The next morning, Val stood beside the couch, watching Britton sleep. After he’d taken a shower last

night, he’d stormed into the living room and demanded she lock herself in the bedroom. She’d started to

argue, but then saw how freaked out he was, so she’d relented, not wanting to cause him more distress. But

that hadn’t stopped her frustration when he’d refused to kiss her good-night in fear of provoking the
Drall
.

Britton was hers.

She wanted to kiss him, touch him, lie next to him. Whenever she felt like it. Which might not be for as

long as she hoped.

As much as she’d stood strong for him yesterday, encouraging him to hold on to hope, his horrible

theory about his earlier hatred had terrified her to the core. And made her realize just how much he really

meant to her. The mere thought of his handsome face twisting into the hateful sneer he’d directed at her so

many times in the past caused excruciating pain to stab through her heart. To actually relive it…
Dea
. It

would be pure hell.

He was wrong. He had to be. Heck, she’d hadn’t been able to stand him, either, and she didn’t have a

Drall
. That had to mean something. Right?

Stop it.

The High Council
would
do right by him—
if
Britton was given the chance see this case out.
If
the

council didn’t cave to the kidnapper’s demands.

The kidnappers’ deadline was this afternoon. It would all end today. One way or the other.

With each passing second, the time ticked closer to four. And she sure as hell didn’t want to spend that

time pacing the cabin, waiting. She wanted to spend it lost in Britton. With Britton.

But how to convince him? He wouldn’t be on board. Unless…

She went to the table and fingered the steel handcuffs she used to arrest shifters. He was terrified of

marking her. What if she took away his ability to do so? If he was restrained, he wouldn’t be able to control

their lovemaking. She would.

She’d heard enough about the bonding ritual to know that for Britton to mark her, he must orgasm

inside her before she found her own release. After that, the ritual could begin. He’d done that the night

before, and the fact that he hadn’t bonded to her spoke of his strength of will. Not many shifters could get

that close to
fewsing
to their mate and stop.

But he was refusing even to touch her now. So, if she secured him…

She quickly shed her PJ bottoms and panties, lifted one of his wrists, and snapped a cuff into place. His

eyes popped open. Before he had time to register what she was doing, she snapped the other on his left

wrist.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She hiked up her pajama top, tossed it aside, and straddled his hips. “I want you. Now.”

He looked incredulously at his wrists. “You think these will stop me?”

To prove his point, he shot up into a sitting position, his arms looping around her head. He shimmied

them down her waist and yanked her to his chest as he lay back against the cushions again. “If I want to

mark you, this won’t stop me, Val,” he whispered in her ear. “And I
want
to mark you.”

Delight shivered through her. “And I want your cock inside me. My mouth on you. I can’t wait.”

A guttural groan erupted from his lips. “You’re fucking killing me, woman.”

Sensing victory, she gave him a saucy smile. “Is that a yes?”

He was silent for a moment. “Not like this. I’m not secure. I need to be on total lockdown.”

Propping her elbow on his chest, she rested her chin on her palm. “Any ideas?”

Without a word, he tightened his arms around her, swung his feet to the floor, and stood.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, anticipation flooding through her,

causing the area between her legs to come alive, virtually buzzing with excitement.

He carried her to the bedroom and let her down at the edge of the bed. “Now uncuff me.”

As soon as one of the cuffs released, he tugged his shirt over his head, then stretched out across the

mattress and brought both wrists together behind the thick wooden post of the headboard.

“Okay. Secure me.”

Within seconds, she had the cuffs back in place. She sat back and took in the fine male specimen laid

out before her. She soaked in the sculpted muscles of his washboard abs, down to the sexy vee of his

pelvis, to the impressive tent his erection had created in his flannel pajama bottoms. Her mouth watered for

a sample. “Now you’re all mine.”

“Don’t think for one moment that this is going to stop me from tasting you. Licking you.”

His words sent another delicious shiver over her, but she played along. “
Nuh-uh
. Only if I let you.”

She tugged his bottoms down and tossed them away, freeing his cock so it stood proud and ready. After

pressing a gentle kiss over his heart, she opened her mouth to flick her tongue over his nipple. When his

body jerked beneath her, the cuffs clacked. She smiled against his skin, loving her ability to drive him mad.

In a good way. She switched to the other nipple and gave it the same treatment. As she continued licking,

nipping, and kissing his chest, his breathing became rough.

“Straddle me,” he groaned.

Just as eager as he was to have him inside her, she swung one leg over his hip and his erection greeted

her center, pushing against her. She moaned. Slowly, she lowered onto him until the head stretched her.

When he shook his head fiercely, she froze.

“Not there,” he ground out.

Confused, she stared at him until his meaning sank in. Right. As long as he hadn’t released inside her,

his mouth could play between her legs all day long without worry of him marking her.

Quickly she reversed her position, spreading her thighs wide to compensate for his shoulders. As she

poised herself directly above his mouth, his hot breath blew across her sensitive skin. Her clit tightened,

sending jolts of pleasure through her. She almost came from the intimate position alone, knowing what he

was looking at, what he was about to taste.

At the first flick of his tongue against her, she gasped, shivering as lust burned through her veins with

each swipe. She leaned forward, taking his cock into her hands, enjoying the groan that erupted against her,

vibrating her even more.

She slipped him into her mouth, tasting him, knowing he’d work to bring her to orgasm quickly.

And, damn it, he did. The suction of his lips sent an enthralling shock through her body and she paused

mid-bob, moaning around him as the nub between her legs tightened, then tightened some more. The rattle

of the cuffs, the frustrated sounds he made, made it clear he wished to have his hands free, wished to bury

his face deeper into her as he continued his onslaught.

She made herself concentrate on him. Wrapping one hand around the base of his cock, she moved her

mouth and hand up and down, constricting the rigid flesh with the walls of her mouth.

“Don’t let me come, Val.” His hot breath seared her clit. “I want to be inside you. Don’t let me come.”

Then he was back, focused solely on her. And she came hard against his lips. She pushed up, bracing

her hands against the mattress as the sounds of blissful pleasure ripped past her throat. As her release

started to ebb, he pressed his face farther into her, sucking her throbbing, sensitive clit deep into his mouth.

Instantly, she came a second time. His licks slowed. Became lazy. Growls vibrated from his chest as he

enjoyed lingering over her.

Her arms quivered, but her body still quaked from the explosive orgasms he’d pulled out of her.

Inhaling deeply, she tried to calm her ragged breathing, staring at the rigid cock that she’d completely

forgotten about as she became ensnared by what Britton could do to her body, even with his hands cuffed

above his head.

When she started this sex play, she’d believed she would be in control, would see to him and only him,

while enjoying the feel of him deep inside her. That had been enough for her, just having him fill her,

stretch her. She should have known Britton would never allow that.

His mouth left her. “Take me.”

She didn’t have to be told twice. Shifting her trembling legs and repositioning to straddle his hips, she

looked down at him. Violet dominated his eyes, gleaming bright. His mouth glistened from her body.

Never had she seen anything more arousing…more enticing.

His eyes darkening upon her perusal, another growl ripped from his throat. “Woman, when I’m human

again, I’m going to fuck you like you’ve never been fucked before.”

Human or shifter, she didn’t care; all that mattered was he now believed they had a future together, and

she craved one with him.

“I’m holding you to that,” she murmured.

“Take me inside you.”

Lifting up on her knees, she took him in her hand and slowly lowered onto him, closing her eyes. She’d

never get enough of this feeling—the feeling of emptiness right before he filled her. That was what Britton

did for her. Filled her. Not just her body. But her heart. He infuriated her. Pissed her off like no other man

could. But he brought out passion like no man before. Most of all, he’d chiseled away at the years of

detachment she’d built around herself while working in law enforcement. Something she had needed to do

to be the head of SPAC and to investigate emotional cases. That tightening in her chest she’d questioned…it

was affection. For Britton.

Did she love him? Too soon to tell. But there was one thing for certain: she may not have an instinct,

but against everything they’d been through, all the loathing they’d felt toward each other, she had always

found the man attractive. Had always felt a kick to her heart right before he opened the blasted mouth that

caused her to curse her body’s reaction to him, because she’d always known that if he’d been any other

asshole, she’d see only the slime that he was and not his good looks or generous heart.

But he wasn’t a slime, was he? Something deep inside her had known that, and had kept her from

completely despising the man. It was why he’d always been capable of hurting her with his callous remarks.

That awful man
wasn’t
her mate.

As soon as he’d been given the serum, he’d become the Britton she was supposed to know and had

plowed straight into her heart.

Why? Because they were destined. Made for each other.

And she was just now starting to grasp the power of two souls meant to be, and what the
Dea
had given

them.

He stilled beneath her. “What are you thinking?”

Opening her eyes, she looked down at him and her heart filled to bursting. “Just enjoying how much

you fill me, Britton.”

The violet flashed brighter. “And I’ll continue to do so every chance I get.”

Knowing he believed she’d meant sexually, she began to move on him, slow at first, and then more

frantically. She wanted to make sure he continued to believe that. If he realized where her mind had gone,

that expression—the helpless he-had-failed-her-as-a-mate expression from last night—would return…

And that was one thing she
never
wanted to see again.

Chapter Eleven

Britton sat on the couch and rubbed the faint bruises that discolored his skin. When Val had taken off