Chapter Ten

 

Garrett

 

“You wait here, baby.” I ease her from my lap onto the bed. I doubt my dad will greet our mating with celebration, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to subject Amber to his reaction.

She looks adorable, hair tousled and eyes bright with that freshly fucked sort of look. Her color has come back, thank the fates. I stamp my mouth over her full lips and back away, hardly able to tear my eyes from her. My human. My mate. I can hardly believe it.

Jared already let my father and the top three of his pack in, and they crowd the hotel suite wearing grim expressions. A fresh stab of shame over my inability to retrieve Sedona shoots through me as I step forward to shake my father’s hand. He’s not the hugging sort of father—he maintains his cold authority from a distance, even over his family members.

“Son.” He clasps my hand. “What in the hell is going on?”

“Sedona was kidnapped by wolves while on a spring break trip to San Carlos. She’s in a remote area called Monte Lobo. With your reinforcements, we plan to go break her out at first light.”

“You should have called me right away.”

I expected this critique, but it still makes my chest heavy. “I know. I wanted to take care of it without worrying you, but you’re right, and I’m sorry.”

My father gazes at me, his steely gray eyes hard, the lines on his face making him look so much older than I remembered. I realize, with a start, he would no longer win in a contest between us for alpha, not that I’d ever challenge him. My dad nods, once. “Who the hell is Amber?”

As if on cue, my little human toddles from the bedroom, dressed but looking slightly woozy. My heart lurches. I hold my arm out, and she ducks under it, nestles against my side.

“Amber Drake, sir.” She extends her hand. I don’t know how she knows to call him sir, but I appreciate her ability to adapt to the situation. She’s just a slip of a thing, but I see her grow taller, her back straighten. She must be a formidable enemy in the courtroom.

“She’s my mate.” I lace my words with a touch of steel to warn my father against any insults. He may not approve, but it’s done, and he’ll have to get used to it.

My father’s gaze travels to the fresh wound on her shoulder then rest on her face. He gives her a stern look, as if she’s one of his pack members. “I told you to stay put, young lady.”

“Lay off,” I growl, but Amber seems unfazed.

“I know, sir.”

My father continues to glower at Amber, who, amazingly, doesn’t cower. If she showed the slightest sign of distress, I would’ve taken my father on right then and there—prove who’s the alpha now.

“So you went to rescue these wolves all by yourself?”

Amber lifts her chin the way she did the night I met her in the elevator, refusing to show intimidation. “I had to, sir. I was shown it in a vision.”

“You didn’t mention that to me.” It eases some of my guilt and angst over her being at risk.

“You weren’t in a chatty mood.” She glances up at me from under her lashes, making my heart jump and bang against my ribs. Such a small thing, and she has me wrapped around her finger so tightly.

“So you’re shown things?” my father asks. Skepticism scrawls across his features.

Amber nods. “Sometimes, sir. I can’t always control it.” Her face contorts in a grimace of pain.

Fates, it’s the bite wounds. I pull her closer to my side, ready to rush her to the hospital at the drop of a hat.

“Sedona’s been mated,” Amber chokes out.

Her wince was a vision, not the marking.

“But her mate didn’t kidnap her. He’s working to get her free.”

“Her mate?” my father snaps.

Amber’s eyes fly wide, as if her revelation surprises even her. She looks past my father, her focus going soft. “Yes...they were locked together over the full moon. He marked her.”

“You know where she is?” my dad snaps, looking at me.

I nod.

“Then let’s move. We have three vans of wolves waiting on the street. No humans.”

Even though I agree, I hate the way he gives the order without even looking at Amber.

I turn to her and cup her cheek. “I need you to stay here, baby. I won’t need it, but this time don’t even think about rescuing me. No matter what your visions show you. Understand?”

She nods. There’s a trace of sadness to her that I can’t pinpoint, but my dad is already pushing everyone out the door.

“Trey, you stay with Amber. In case her wounds turn bad,” I order.

“No, I’m fine,” she interjects. “Totally fine. You guys go.”

I hesitate, torn between wanting to be fully prepared when we get Sedona and my concern over Amber.

She pushes us out the door. “I’m fine. I’ll lock the door, order room service, and wait for you to come back.”

“Okay,” I relent. I bend to kiss her. “Get some rest, baby. Sleep in tomorrow. I’ll call you on the hotel phone with an update.”

She lifts her lips and kisses me back, and I reluctantly leave her. Her face is shadowed, and the only way I can convince my wolf to leave her is vowing silently to return.

 

~.~

 

Amber

 

Nausea hits me the minute they leave. Between the drugged out feeling from being marked, the pain and general exhaustion, my body rebels at what I know I need to do—

Leave.

If I’d known Garrett would lose his position as alpha by marking me, I never would have let him do it. His pack is everything to him. I’ve seen how tight they are—closer than family. They care for each other, have each other’s backs. His guys would do anything for him. He has a pack tattoo on his arm, for God’s sake.

Loneliness shoots through me, just contemplating leaving him. Before I met Garrett, I managed my loneliness. Used measures of order, control, and a sense of contributing to society to keep my life on the upswing.

But now I see all those things for what they were—a mask to hide the truth that’s always gnawed at me. I’m alone in the world.

Which is fine. Not everyone can be from big packs or families. I’ve learned to manage on my own, and I’ll manage without Garrett, too. I have my job. And my best friend. And foster kids who need my help. Well, yeah, that’s my job.

We were only mated for a few hours. I’ve only considered him my boyfriend for a day.

Letting go won’t be that hard.

Yeah, right.

My eyes burn as I throw my things into the silver rolling suitcase I filled when Garrett ordered me to pack. Every time I waver into self-pity, I remind myself I’m doing this for Garrett. He deserves an alpha wolf for a mate.

Not Crazy Amber.

Definitely not Crazy Amber.

I don’t want Crazy Amber—how could she be what Garrett wants?

No, his worry over Sedona, the full moon, and their proximity made him impetuous. Sooner or later, he’d realize he made a mistake. Maybe next week. Maybe in a month. Maybe not for three months. But it would happen, like the inevitability of the next moonrise. Better to rip the Band-Aid off quickly. Or leave before more damage is done. Or whichever saying best fits.

It’s been a wild weekend, but that’s all it was. Wild. And a weekend.

I leave the hotel room and take the elevator down to the lobby. It’s past midnight, but I find a cab outside and ask to go to the airport.

As I ride away, my head begins to throb. I pull the bottle of ibuprofen Trey brought me out of my purse and pop three, even though I know they won’t do any good. I stare at the dark streets whizzing by and brace myself against the pain. Not in my head but from the giant javelin lanced through my chest.

I’ll get by. I always do.

In the airport, I check the departures and find one going to Phoenix at six a.m. It’s two hours from Tucson but close enough. I pay for a ticket and sit down in a chair to wait for morning.

The visions come the moment I close my eyes. I fight them back, but it feels like my head will explode. I see fast-forward movies playing of Sedona, a beautiful brunette, locked in a sparsely-furnished room with a young Mexican man. It blurs and shifts into a fight between the young man and the wolves who guard the door. Then, the two of them, standing on a beautiful veranda that overlooks a vast jungle. The van Trey stole from the warehouse drives in on the road below.

Garrett.

My body grieves for him, as if he didn’t embed just his scent, but his very essence in me, making me forever addicted to him. I shove the visions back, swallow them down. My legs are shaky when I stand, but I walk to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. It’s almost morning. My plane will leave soon, and I can sleep on it.

Tomorrow, I’ll be home, and I can go about pretending this never happened.

I look in the mirror, but I don’t see myself, I see the white-haired woman from the airport restroom years before. She stares back at me with accusation in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I choke, but the room is spinning. It’s all I can do to hang onto the counter and not fall down.

The last thing I remember is my vision going black right before my head strikes something hard and I blessedly lose consciousness.

 

~.~

 

Garrett

 

I sit in the passenger side of a twenty-passenger van and crack my tattooed knuckles. We have three giant vans—more like mini buses—driving in a caravan into the jungle. My father brought sixty men with him. The Montelobos have over one hundred. Decent odds, considering how ferocious my home pack can be. Still, it’s the first time I’ve gone into a fight with someone waiting for me to return.

Life feels more precious now. My own life, Amber’s. Certainly Sedona’s. Fates, she’s just a kid, still. This shouldn’t have happened to her.

I ride in the van with my pack members, to let them know how much I appreciate their support. How important this battle is to me. I’m not going to go in there and lose. Losing isn’t in my blood, especially not where Sedona’s involved. Since the same blood runs through my father’s veins, I know we’re undefeatable.

The drive takes two and a half hours. Enough time for me to replay every moment I’ve spent with Amber, from the day I met her until the minute I left her at the hotel. In a short amount of time, she’s completely changed my life.

I feel so far removed from the never-willing-to-settle-down party boy I was a week ago. The guy my dad rode hard for not manning up and acting like a true leader. The guy who didn’t take much seriously. Yes, I was a successful businessman, but it hadn’t been hard. I had the Midas touch. I got in the real estate market at the right time. My dad provided me with initial start-up capital, but I was able to pay him back within a year. The rest I did on my own.

It’s so easy to see now that I played the rebel out of fear of becoming my dad. Fear of becoming an uptight asshole who rides his pack and family hard.

Except now that my own instincts to protect those precious to me—Amber and Sedona, and my pack members, too—have kicked into high gear, I understand where he was coming from. I’ve made different choices in my leadership style, but we probably both want the same things. And now that I have a mate, it’s obvious to me I need to grow up.

I need to be the kind of man Amber would be proud to introduce to her colleagues. Her foster kids. That doesn’t mean I’m going to put on a suit and tie, but it’s time to stop living like a frat boy.

The van winds up a narrow dirt road, climbing higher and higher into dense rainforest. Everything looks rural and poor until we stop by a high-tech electric security gate. My dad and I get out. I smash the security camera staring down at us and help him rip the gate from its hinges, bending and tearing the metal.

I’m ready to shift right there and run in on four paws, but my dad orders the vans to drive in farther. I tear my shirt off when I get back in the van, and my guys do the same. We’ll be ready to meet them in human or wolf form, whichever is required.

We drive another five miles, still climbing the side of a mountain. In the distance, a citadel looms. There’s no other word to describe it. Surrounded by smooth adobe walls, an enormous palace sits on a high hill, with balustrade-lined balconies and turrets overlooking the enclave of little thatch-roofed huts below. A medieval-style home to royalty and peasants—that’s how it looked.

The road dead-ends at a giant portcullis—closed, of course.

The vans stop, and we start to pile out. A flash of movement coming from behind us makes me whirl and partially shift, but I pull up short.

“Sedona?”

My sister is running at us at top speed. She’s wearing some kind of flowy, old-fashioned gown, and I scent her blood, mingled with that of a male’s.

Amber was right—not that I doubted it. Sedona’s been marked.

“Garrett!” She launches into the air and flies into my arms, wrapping arms and legs around me like a toddler.

I fall back with the impact and hug her. “Sedona. You’re all right. We’re here now.”

When my dad joins us, I put her down, and she hugs him, too.

“How do we get in? I’m going to kill every last motherfucking—”

“No.” Sedona shoots a look over her shoulder in the direction she came. A little boy, no more than nine years old, stands there, looking uncertain. “Take me out of here. I don’t want a fight. I just want to go home. Let’s go.”

My dad shakes his head. “No one steals my daughter and lives.”

“They didn’t steal me, they bought me. You’re welcome to kill the fuckers who stole me, but I just want to get out of here. No bloodshed. Let’s just leave.”

I see my father isn’t going for it, so I grab his arm and jerk my head toward the van. “Dad, come here.”

His mouth closes in a tight line, but he follows me around the back of the vehicle where we can talk in private. Well, the privacy is largely an illusion because wolves have incredible hearing, but at least the others understand we mean to speak privately.

“Dad, don’t you think Sedona’s been through enough? She’s been mated. She might have conflicted feelings toward the guy. The last thing she needs is more trauma. If she says no bloodshed here, I think we have to honor her wishes.”

My dad growls.

I hold my ground, refusing to lift my chin or cower to his animal. My wolf is alpha, now. He needs to hear me on this.

“We don’t kill them and we send the message we’re weak.”

“So we come back later and slaughter the whole town,” I say drily, although my dad is capable of such violence. “I say for right now, we get Sedona out of here, hear her story, and regroup. If we decide to come back, we come back. I’ll gladly rip every last motherfucker limb from limb. You know I will.”

The rumble in my father’s throat peters out and dies. He gives a single nod and stalks around the van, giving the command to load back up. I blink, somewhat dumbfounded that my father actually let me make the call.

The guys move with military precision, and our caravan is on its way out in less than sixty seconds. I sit in a back seat with Sedona, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and waiting until she’s ready to talk.

 

~.~

 

We’re threading through the streets of Mexico City when Sedona finally speaks. “How did you find me?” Despite the ordeal she’s been through, she looks vibrant, youth and vitality oozing from her, as if her wolf loved being mated.

“My mate found you.” There’s so much fucking pride in my voice when I speak, I’m sure Amber can feel my love back in our hotel suite.

I’m coming for you, baby. Almost there.

Sedona lifts weary green eyes. “Your mate?”

I touch the back of her neck where her bite marks are healing. “Looks like we both mated this moon.”

Sedona’s eyes fill with tears, and she looks away. I’m ready to kill the asshole who did this, and I’m dying to get her story, but I force myself to remain silent. If I get aggressive, she’ll clam up.

“Tell me about her?” Her voice is choked with tears.

I drop a kiss on the top of her head. “Her name is Amber. She’s a human psychic and an attorney. And my next door neighbor. When you went missing, I volun-told her we needed her help, and we brought her along to Mexico. She helped us follow your trail to Mexico City, where we found your captors—they’re already dead, by the way—and then she helped get the information on this place.”

“A human, huh? Never would’ve figured.” I don’t hear a trace of judgment in Sedona’s voice, or I would’ve gone on the defensive. I’m still expecting more shit from my dad.

“Me, neither.” I shrug. “My wolf picked her.”

Sedona’s face clouds, sadness penetrating her gaze. “Yeah. I guess that happens.”

Fuck. She must’ve fallen for her mate, whoever he is. Could’ve been Stockholm syndrome.

“You sure you don’t want me to go back there and kill the entire Montelobo pack? Because I won’t hesitate if you give the word, little sis.”

She shakes her head. “I’m sure. Don’t let Dad go back, either. I think... they’re just a really fucked-up pack.” She turns her face up to mine. “So where’s Amber, now? When can I meet her?”

I know she’s pasting on a sunny face for me, and it kills me. We pull up in front of the hotel. “She’s in our suite. Come on. You can meet her now.”

We pile out of the van, and I get into the elevator with Sedona, Trey, and Jared. I notice Sedona is quick to join me, just like she was quick to get in my van. She doesn’t want to deal with our dad. I don’t blame her. I drape an arm over her shoulders, and she leans against me.

I’ve only been gone six hours, but I’m dying to see Amber. Fates, I hope her bite wound hasn’t caused her trouble. She’s probably been miserable.

I stick my keycard in the door and swing it open. The moment I do, I know something’s wrong.

Amber’s scent isn’t there. Well, traces are, but she’s not in the room. “Amber?” I call out, even so. There’s a note on the table, and I snatch it up.

 

Garrett,

 

I don’t want to bind you to something that happened while under the influence of stress and a full moon. I know that mating with a human will change your position with the pack and with your father, and I don’t want to have that weight on my shoulders. Let’s write this off as an interesting second date and be done with it.

I caught a plane back to Tucson. Please give me some time before you stop by my apartment—I’d like some distance to heal.

 

Love,

Amber

 

No.

My roar shakes the pictures on the walls. I crumple the note and throw it to the floor.

She can’t be gone.

I won’t fucking accept it.

I grab my phone and stab in her number before I remember her cell doesn’t work here. I let it ring and go to voicemail anyway.

“Amber. I need to talk to you right away. Call me.” I want to say a million other things, but I don’t trust myself not to fuck it up and say something stupid. Trey, Jarod, and Sedona are all wide-eyed and cautious, staying out of lunging distance but pulling sympathetic faces. “Trey, get Kylie to find out what plane she’s on.”

“I’m on it, G.”

I stalk a tight circle around the room and slam my fist through the wall.

“Garrett,” Sedona says sharply.

I swivel to face her, fists clenching. My growls make it hard to hear anything.

“If you want your mate back, you’d better have a better plan than punching holes in plaster.”

I blink at her. It takes a full minute for her words to sink in, but then I realize she’s right.

“Fuck.” I burrow all ten fingers through my hair and hold my head.

I don’t have a clue how to win my mate back. Clearly, I had no clue how to court her in the first place, since she said our first two dates were epically bad.

Trey’s phone beeps. “You’re in luck. She was booked on an early flight out of Mexico City, but she never boarded. She is now rebooked for a flight leaving in”—he looks at his phone–“one hour. Let’s go.”

I’m relieved to let Trey lead for a moment while my brain tries to rein back my wolf’s ferocious desire to reclaim his mate. We all follow him into the elevator and take it down. My dad and some of his pack members are still in the lobby, and they speak to us, but I can’t hear for the buzzing in my ears. Somehow they end up joining, too, and we all stream back into one of the vans.

As the vehicle shoots through traffic, my mind plays the reel of every moment I’ve spent with Amber since the day I met her.

If I’d had any doubt as to why I picked her as a mate, it’s clear as day now. A glow pervades every interaction we had. Amber Drake is a gift. To this world. To the kids she helps. To me. She has the heart of an angel and shifter courage. She’s delicate but strong. Powerful in her own right. Her capacity to love, to forgive, to offer her time and heart to others knows no bounds.

I need her.

Not just for my wolf. For me.

And I’ll do anything in this world to make myself worthy of Amber Drake.

 

~.~

 

Let the record reflect: Breaking up with a wolf causes severe headaches. I wake up on the floor of the bathroom and find out I missed my flight. I have no idea how long I lay there or if anyone tried to help me.

Women are walking a large circle to avoid going near me, as if whatever knocked me out might be contagious. Heaven forbid someone call 9-1-1. Of course, that number might not work in Mexico.

I drag myself to a ticket counter, rebook for the next flight to the United States, and plunk down to wait. The light from the windows slashes through my head like a physical object. Nausea makes me slightly dizzy.

I can do this. I just need to get home, get into my bed.

Of course that thought reminds me of the last headache I had, when Garrett carried me to my bed and put a cool washcloth on my head. How could I ever have thought of him as a ruffian? He may have a rough exterior, but he’s a gentle giant. He never meant to hurt me.

But he has.

Not the bite—I know that will heal. I also know I asked for it.

It’s my heart that may never mend.

I went my whole life without ever feeling safe. Or whole. Or loved. I never belonged, never fit in. With Garrett, all that receded. He embraced all of me—not just Lawyer Amber. He cared about me, about my safety.

But agreeing to mate him after a single weekend together was stupid. It was the equivalent of the drunk Las Vegas wedding at midnight. With or without the Elvis-impersonating preacher. The event you wake up from and realize was a huge mistake.

So I’d go home. Be Lawyer Amber again. Keep helping kids. And, sooner or later, the memories from this weekend would fade.

Right?

I rub my pounding temples and shrink lower in the uncomfortable plastic chair.

A commotion near the security gate forces me to crack one eye to peek, and I go still.

Garrett’s marching toward me, flanked by a dozen huge, bad-ass looking men, including Trey, Jared, and his father. Oh, and one female, who must be his sister.

Dark determination scores his face as he eats up the space between us, eyes glued to mine. I brace myself for my headache to increase, for the possibility of passing out again, but it doesn’t. Instead, my world goes quiet. All the noise in my head drops back.

I resist the temptation to lean into this. Into Garrett. I left for him. He’s better off without me. So I can’t let the way my heart flip-flops in my chest, the way my body vibrates with excitement to see him, sway my decision.

We’re over.

Garrett comes up so fast and furious, I’m afraid he’ll tip out the entire row of chairs I’m sitting in, but he pulls up short when he reaches me. Pulls up short and crouches in front of me.

“Garrett, don’t.”

“Baby.”

Oh God. I didn’t count on him speaking so softly, so tenderly. I expected him to throw his weight around with his usual dominant-wolf bullshit. I was prepared to defend my case. But this sweetness knocks me between the eyes, sends a rush of longing and pain to my chest and face that builds, like a pressure cooker.

Garrett clears his throat, as if he’s unsure what to say. I’m not used to seeing the cocky wolf so off his game. “I made a lot of mistakes. If I had it to do over, I’d make sure our first and second dates were the best of your life.”

Tears swim in my eyes. I blink furiously, not wanting to shed them.

Garrett’s entourage has gathered behind him, not offering us any privacy, as if they, too, are a part of this discussion.

“I’d make sure you never doubted the way I feel about you. And I’d make sure you knew it wasn’t the full moon or my wolf that picked you for my mate. I pick you, Amber Drake. Human. Gifted psychic. Big-hearted lawyer. I need you, baby. And I don’t care what any of them think.” He finally acknowledges our audience with a jerk of his head. “I don’t care if I lose my position as alpha. Or if my family disowns me. All I care about is you. Being with you. Being for you.

“Because nothing in my life meant anything until I met you. Now I know my purpose.”

So much for not crying. Tears stream down my face as I try not to launch myself into Garrett’s arms. “What’s that?” I whisper.

“Making myself worthy of you.”

“Stop it,” I choke.

“I’ll shine my shoes and sell the motorcycle, if you want. I’ll turn the nightclub over to the guys. I’ll help your foster kids. Whatever you need from me, I’m going to be that for you, Amber. Because you’re mine. I told you once I marked you, I’d never let you go. And I meant it. But I’m going to work hard for your happiness. I’m going to make you proud to call me your mate.

So much for not launching.

I fly at Garrett, and he catches me. My arms wrap so tight around his neck, I’m strangling him.

“Baby,” he croaks. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

The pack gathers around us, into a tight circle. Jared puts a hand on my back, Trey touches Garrett.

Garrett’s father clears his throat. “Sounds like Amber’s given you the inspiration I never could.”

Garrett refuses to release me, whispering unintelligible words into my hair.

“Welcome to the family, Amber,” Mr. Green rumbles. “I appreciate what you did to save both my children this weekend.”

“Welcome to the pack,” Trey and Jarod and many other voices murmur.

Garrett finally releases me, and his sister picks up both my hands and squeezes them. “Thank you for helping them find me,” she says. “And welcome to the family.”

I remove my hands from her to embrace the beautiful brunette. I sense her own heartbreak as a resonance of what I’d just let go and I want to fix it for her.

“If you’ll excuse us.” Garrett takes my hand and shoves through the circle. “I need to get my mate back to the hotel.” He looks down at me, his eyes soft with affection. “We’ll fly home tomorrow. Together. Okay?”

I nod, mutely. I’ll have to call work and let them know I’m not coming, but it’s fine. I don’t have any court appointments.

Garrett sweeps me up in his arms and strides out of the airport, despite my protests.

“Don’t worry, Amber. We’ll get your luggage,” Trey calls after us.

I tuck my face against Garrett’s neck. “How did you get past security without a plane ticket?” I ask.

“I don’t know. Trey handled it.”

Right. He has a pack. My pack, now, too.

 

~.~

 

Garrett

 

I check into a private suite back at the hotel and Jared brings our bags over.

Amber’s blushing like a virginal bride, which is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She’ll blush even harder when she realizes what I have in store for that hot little body of hers.

“Clothes off.” My voice comes out deeper than I expect.

She looks over with lifted brows, probably surprised by the rough command, considering I’ve been treating her like a delicate flower.

Whatever she sees on my face—must be bald hunger—makes her eyelids droop and nipples peak. She strips out of her clothing.

I rummage through my bag for the duct tape. When I pull it out, she flushes, but her hands go to cup her own breasts, as if I’ve started an ache there that needs to be relieved.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

I hold up the tape, stalking toward her like a predator sure of his prey. My cock is painfully hard for my new mate. “Since you’re having a hard time staying put for me, I thought I’d better secure you.”

She licks her pouty lips. “That won’t be necessary.” Damn, her voice is husky. I fucking love those notes on her. Can’t wait to see what else I can coax out of her. I haven’t had the time to spend getting to know my mate’s body and responses—what makes her quiver, what makes her scream. I sure as hell am going to make up for it now.

I drag a piece of tape out and tear it off. “Oh, I think it’s very necessary. You’re going to spend all day and night bound to my bed, baby, and maybe then you’ll learn to stop running.” I rip off a second piece the same length and put them together, sticky side to sticky side. I don’t want to hurt my mate’s skin tonight. I may like to dominate, but this is definitely all about pleasure.

She lets out a choked laugh. “I’m not run—”

I cut her protest off with a hard kiss at the same time I catch her wrists between us and wrap the tape around them, using a fresh piece to secure it. I slip my finger under the makeshift cuffs to be sure they’re snug but not too tight. “That should do.” I fold a long piece of tape in half lengthwise and loop it through the cuffs then tug my mate to the bed like a slave with shackles. “On your back to start.” I lift my chin toward the mattress.

A tiny smile curls her lips as she climbs up on her knees then settles on her back. I pull her wrists above her head and secure the long piece to the headboard with more duct tape. It wouldn’t hold if she really pulled, but this is more about the illusion of capture than the real deal.

I have to stop for a moment and just drink in the sight.

Fucking perfection.

Amber’s sweet little body is spread out naked, like an offering, her perky tits falling open to the sides, belly shuddering in when she breathes.

“Open your legs wider, baby.”

She inches her thighs apart, a blush creeping up her neck.

I squeeze my cock through my jeans, and groan. “You’re so beautiful, Counselor, I can hardly stand it. Even with the full moon behind us.”

“Take off your clothes,” she orders, eyes dilated, lashes fluttering.

I shake my head. “Nope.”

Confusion flits over her face. “Why not?”

“First of all, angel, I call the shots in the bedroom, not you. And you and I both know that’s the way you like it, so don’t even pretend it’s not. Secondly, this is punishment. You left me. I haven’t forgotten that. So, you’ll lie back and receive whatever I choose to give you, when I choose to give it to you. Understand?”

“N-not really.” Her voice wobbles, but I smell her arousal, and the way her chest rises and falls rapidly tells me she’s totally turned on by my dictate.

I climb slowly over her, still fully dressed. “Let me explain.” I grip her knees and push them up to her shoulders, spreading her wide. I stare down at the pink heart between her thighs, a growl of excitement rumbling from my throat. “I’m going to lick this pretty pussy until I’ve had my fill. If that takes eighteen hours, and you’ve screamed yourself hoarse, then maybe you’ll learn your lesson.”

She laughs that husky laugh that drives me fucking wild.

I let out a snarl and fill my hands with her ass, lift it until her delectable core meets my mouth, and lick into her.

She shudders, knees clamping around my ears. I lick the length of it, part her labia and trace around the insides with the tip of my tongue. Her thighs flex, and she lets out an unsteady moan.

“That’s it, beautiful, let me taste what’s mine.”

I suck her labia, nibble them before applying my tongue to her clit.

Her cries take on a higher pitch—the sound of desperation. I flatten my tongue and lap her from anus to clit, and she starts to pant and moan. I return to her clit and suck while I screw one finger, then two, inside her. The moment I stroke her inner wall, she shatters, her muscles contracting around my fingers, ass squeezing tight, pussy thrusting against my face.

I’m in heaven. Pleasing my female is clearly my purpose in life because I’ve never felt so powerful.

As soon as she finishes, I start all over again.

I bring her to climax once more. Then go in for a third kill.

She pushes my head away. “I can’t, Garrett,” she moans. “Too much. It’s so intense.”

“I know, baby. This is punishment. Who do you belong to?” I rim her, licking around her little starfish.

She squeals, clenching her ass, her whole pelvic flower lifting. “You! To Garrett, the most possessive, stubborn, domineering…”

“Uh oh.” I laugh. “Someone needs a spanking.”

Her pelvic floor contracts again so I know she loves the idea.

I roll her over, adjusting the tape on her wrists to accommodate the new position.

She waggles her ass, inviting my punishment.

I deliver a few swift spanks then rub away the sting. “You know what happens to naughty mates who try to leave the male who marked them?” I reach for one of the pillows and lift her hips, sliding it under.

“Wh-what?”

“They get fucked hard.” I spank her again, one smack on each side. “Are you ready for your punishment fuck?”

Her adorable bottom squeezes up tight. “God no.” There’s a giggle in her voice.

“Too bad, baby. You’re going to find out what happens when you displease your mate.”

I stretch her ankles wide and use duct tape to fasten each one to the bedposts, again using the method of doubled-up tape so I’m not using the sticky side on her skin.

Her arousal leaks between her thighs, back moves with her panting breath. My female is so excited.

I climb over her and put my lips to her ear. “You know what happens if you’re really naughty, baby?”

“What?” Fates, that husky voice. She kills me.

“They get fucked in the ass.” I spank her pretty ass a few times. “Do you want me to fuck your tight little ass?”

“No, sir.”

My cock jerks. I think it will probably jerk every time she calls me sir until the day I die. It’s so fucking hot to me when she submits.

I strip out of my clothes and climb up behind Amber, taking a mental picture of the way she looks facedown, spread-eagle, taped to the bed. I file it in the album I hope to soon populate with a million more erotic images: Amber strung up to a hook in the ceiling by her wrists, Amber leaning backward off the bed to suck my cock, Amber in every yoga position, naked, awaiting my command.

A growl starts to hum in the back of my throat. I fit my cock into the notch between her legs and rub the head in her juices. I slide my cock in slowly, teasing her by taking my time.

She pants, lifting her ass up and tilting her pelvis to give me better access. I sink in deep then draw out, almost all the way.

“No,” she whines. “What are you—”

I sink back in.

“Yes. That.” She sounds breathless.

I chuckle. “Who’s in control here, baby?”

She makes a show of pulling at her restraints. “You are, dammit. Get on with it!”

I pull out and deliver two quick smacks, one to each cheek. “You must want it in the ass today.”

“No. No, I don’t,” she answers quickly, and I laugh again. I grab a pillow and stuff it under her hips to give me a better angle, then I slip in again.

“Oh yes!” she cries out.

I never would’ve dreamed the uptight lawyer I met the first day would be this expressive. This responsive.

I dip into her again and again, keeping it slow and steady for several strokes. Then my self-control cracks.

“This is when you take it hard, sugar,” I warn. I brace my weight on my hands beside her head and plow into her, fucking her deep. If her ankles hadn’t been secured, I would’ve shoved her face all the way up to the headboard, my thrusts were so hard.

Her cries make me crazy, and my wolf goes into a frenzy. I fuck and fuck and fuck her some more, the sound of my loins smacking her ass filling the room, the sound of her cries filling my ears.

“Yes, yes, yes, Garrett!” she screams. Her muscles contract and squeeze in pulses, and I shove in deep to let her enjoy her orgasm. She finishes and goes limp beneath me. I pull out long enough to yank her ankles free then lift her hips until she’s on her knees, legs spread wide, ass in the air. Her face still rests on the bed, arms pulled taut over her head.

I slap her pussy. “Did you think we were finished, angel?”

She lets out a long moan. “I can’t. Too much...pleasure,” she mumbles.

“Oh you will take it, baby. You’ll take all the pleasure I want to give you. You know why?”

“Because I’m yours?” There’s laughter in her voice.

“That’s right. You belong to me. You’re mine. Forever.” I grip her hips and spear her once more with my cock after taking another mental picture. I slap her pussy again. “Are you ever going to try to leave me again, baby?”

“No, sir.”

Three more spanks right over her clit.

She moans.

“Naughty baby. Now I have to fuck you until you’re delirious.”

“I already am.” Her words are muffled by the covers and possibly slurred with lust.

I lean down to flick my tongue over her moist folds.

“Oh God,” she groans.

I may want to torture my mate with multiple orgasms, but my endurance won’t last much longer. I stand on my knees behind her and line my cock up with her entrance. I sink into her moist heat and groan. It’s even better from this angle. Fingers tight around her hips, I pump into her, own her sweet body, command it. My eyeballs flip back in my head. She feels too good. Too tight. Too hot. Too right.

My climax comes on like a freight train, barrels through me. I choke on a curse and fuck her right through it, plowing her as ribbons of cum erupt from my cock.

Time becomes slippery. I don’t know how long it’s been when my vision clears and I realize I’ve stopped fucking my new mate. I’m still pinned to her backside, balls deep inside her. My breath scrapes in and out like I’ve run a marathon.

Amber moans softly, a contented sound, and nuzzles the blankets. I rip the duct tape cuffs from her wrists and pull her to her side so I can curl up around her. She fits beside me like our bodies were made to nest together.

I stroke her hair back from her face. “You okay?”

She nods, a dreamy expression softening her mouth into a smile.

“How was that for a third date?”

“Mmm.” She reaches up and touches my face. “Epic.”