Thirteen

“That’s the last of it,” Lexington said as she handed down the remaining duffle from the bed of Aaron’s truck. They’d already unloaded all of his stuff into the log cabin on DTD’s property, and now they were moving hers.

The place had one bedroom and a wide open kitchen/living space. It was tucked away in the trees, but not so far she’d have to climb her way out with hiking boots. It once belonged to Diz and his mate, but with the triplets, they’d outgrown the place and moved into a brand new house built by Tana and the little construction crew of locals she manned. Now Aaron was renting it.

Lexington grinned wide.

Correction. They were renting it. The two of them, together. Her very first home with her hot as eff mate.

She eyed him as he shouldered the bag, muscles flexing at his neck and biceps bulging from the sleeve of his t-shirt. Mmmm.

A week had passed since the vixens were adopted into DTD as a sister pack, and what a week it had been.

Mission Help Old Man Hubbard was in full swing down at the motel, and the girls were taking to their new tasks like pros.

Barb helped with breakfast since she was a natural morning person. She was just bright and bubbly enough to endear the early riser guests, but knew when to tone it down for the ones who were forced awake before noon and wanted to murder everything that wasn’t coffee.

Seraphina, with her proper ways, was gold at the reception desk. She did one shift a day and got plenty of compliments on how streamlined she made the check-in process.

Ragan had taken on the paper trail for OM, straightening his office and records to pristine. Barb gave him the nickname. It stood for Old Man, and he seemed to like it just fine. He really was a doll.

Sally had a certain set of skills and unfortunately, none of them were suited to hospitality. She was good with a wrench though, so she’d become the new handyman. Er, lady. She was a handylady. One only called her a handyman if they wanted a tit punch.

Lexington shuddered at the memory.

Even Mac had decided to stick around. Said he wanted to make sure things kept rolling smoothly before he and Ranger the basset hound went home. But Lexington secretly thought he had no intentions of ever leaving. He’d found his new home, and it was right here, with them. So he helped Sally with maintenance. And there sure was a lot of it. Those two wouldn’t be out of a job for quite some time.

The vixens had also patched things up with Waldo, even though Barb still held a mini-grudge for him calling her mangy. Rider had kept their shifter secret from his uncle. And at their first race, they’d wowed the audience and brought in enough money that he decided bikes were the next big thing. Still, he was giving them a month before he decided on building some jumps for them.

Fair was fair.

But in all the grind of the week, there’d been very little time for Lexington to explore her mate. There was a lot of kissing and late nights at her room, but Aaron had seemed content on taking things slow.

She didn’t want to go slow. She was a racer for fuck’s sake. She wanted to speed ahead to the claiming and secure their mating bond and have her scent all over him and… and…

Bite him, her fox mewed.

Hell, yes. She wanted to bite him.

“Stay there,” Aaron commanded. “Don’t move. Ya hear me?”

She nodded and he gave her a wink as he hurried off to put the last of her things in their new home.

Lexington braced her palms on the side of the truck bed as she waited for him to return. Only seconds passed before he was jogging back, an excited gleam in his eye.

“You ready, baby girl?”

A laugh escaped her throat. “For what?”

She sat on the side and swung her legs over the bed. Aaron caught her around the waist and eased her down his body until her feet were on the ground. It was pure torture. She felt every masculine ridge of muscle along the way, and it had her fox humming, barely remembering what control was.

When she met his eyes, they were burning hot with desire. His grip tightened, his fingers digging in deliciously at her hips. His woodsy scent had changed, signaling to her animal that he was aroused. Lexington clamped down on her lip to hold back a moan. She’d noticed it many times over the past week, but he’d never made any move to seal the deal.

“Are you ready for what I’m about to do to you?”

He walked her backward toward the door, stalking her except they were still touching. Every move was more sliding torture. Or bliss. Either way, she was feeling his effect on her. Liquid heat that pooled in her middle and made her legs feel like noodles.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

One hand brushed back her hair and tilted her face up so his eyes could go deeper. She was being hypnotized by their blue depths. She was staring into an ocean.

“I’m saying it’s time.” Still, he walked her backward. One step, then another until they reached the little porch that led to the front door.

“Time for what?” she teased, but it came out more breathy than sultry.

Bending, Aaron lifted her into his arms and climbed the porch steps urgently.

His voice dropped, going husky. A slight tremor let her know his control was slipping just like hers was. “Time I take your tight little body and make our bond permanent.” His arousal flared when he spoke the word permanent. “Isn’t that how this works?”

She nodded, her claws peeking out to dig into his shoulder.

“I know you’ve been thinking about this,” he murmured, pushing through the door and stopping in the middle of the living room littered with all their stuff. “I have too. Dreaming of it, and that’s not a metaphor. Literal fucking dreams where I wake up hard and sweating and not able to do a damn thing about it because Rider’s couch just didn’t seem like the right place. Neither did Old Man Hubbard’s motel room.”

Aw, her thoughtful human made her heart do backflips. He wanted this as badly as she did. He’d just been waiting to make it special.

He set her back on the floor, taking her hips and grinding them over the hard ridge of his erection. She felt her face flush hot and she was dizzy with wanting him. But she couldn’t help one last tease.

“Where, cowboy? We don’t even have a bed yet.”

“Floor’s fine,” he growled, holding her chin still and nipping at her jaw. “Been waiting long enough.”

“Or the wall? The kitchen counter?” she panted. “Hell, maybe just freestanding?”

His eyes flared and then closed with a guttural groan. “Damn, woman. I like the way you think.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“Oh, there’s a will alright.”

With that, he captured her mouth, working her into a frenzy while his fingers dipped under the hem of her tank top and pushed up. The roughness of his callouses against her flesh sent chills racing all over her body. Up and up he went, cupping her breast through her lacy bra and squeezing until another moan slipped out. This time his.

“Goddamn, woman. Your skin feels good, but this…” He massaged her over and over while he tried to catch his breath. “I need to see. Now.”

He wasted no time looping her shirt over her head and tossing it aside. He stared at her in her bra for so long, she wanted to squirm. But his scent told her he liked what he saw, so she pushed her chest out further for his perusal. Slowly, he ran one finger from her neck, tucking it between her cleavage, and hooking around her bra to pull her closer.

“I’m going to get you out of this, and kiss and lick and suck until you cry my name. Then I’m going to do the very same thing down here.” His other hand went between her legs and cupped her pussy through her jean shorts.

Lexington gasped at the surprise contact. Unable to help herself, she moved her hips to rub against his hand. Glorious sensations. Enough to steal her breath.

A smooth sound rumbled past Aaron’s throat. “Or maybe not yet,” he mused. “Maybe this instead.”

He slid a finger past the leg of her short shorts, expertly bypassing her panties, until he found her hot skin. He pressed smoothly into her folds and discovered the wetness he’d caused.

“Aw, fuck,” he breathed, but Lexington couldn’t say a word. Her mouth was stuck on open, half gasping half croaking, and none of it making a sound. “You’re so wet, Lexington,” he murmured at her ear. “So soft. And it’s allllll mine. Everything, after tonight, is all mine.”

“Forever,” she managed, just to remind him how long she planned on keeping him.

“Damn straight,” he rumbled, slowly swirling his finger around her aching clit.

She was close to coming. So close, her knees went weak and she clung to his shoulders, her breath ragged and heavy.

“Aaron,” she groaned.

“That’s right. But when my mouth is here, I guarantee you’ll say it louder.”

Oh, god. His mouth. Doing what his finger was now. The mere idea had her seeing stars. Was this normal? No orgasm she’d ever had before gave her stars.

But then she didn’t care. Because with another flick of his hand, she was gasping with her release. Waves of pleasure rolled through her body like a never ending ocean. The moment she thought it was over, it started all again. Faster, her hips grinded against him. Faster, his breath skated past her ear. Faster and faster he fingered her beneath the crotch of her shorts.

Mine, her fox sighed, happy. Love mine.

When it was over, she was limp in his arms and hungry for more. And the nip of his teeth at her earlobe told her she was about to get everything.

***

Aaron’s blood was hot and pounding in his eardrums. This was the stuff his dreams were made of. His soft fox, finding pleasure in his arms. Her pleas and moans and guttural sounds were fucking ear candy.

He’d wanted this since the night of their first kiss. But something instinctual, some part of him that wanted to take perfect care of her, made him wait. He’d needed to have her settled, in every way, before claiming her body. Over the past week, they’d done it. The vixens were happy, Waldo was happy, DTD was happy. And now he had her in their new home, all to himself, where he could show her just exactly how he felt about her.

Everyday.

Maybe twice a day.

In every room of the house, and on every surface.

Hard and fast. Soft and slow. Upside down and downside up. They’d leave no position unturned.

But right now, while she twitched deliciously in his grip, he wanted to show her what his heart had been screaming at him for days. He wanted to stare into her eyes while they came together, so she could see it for herself.

He loved her.

And he didn’t know if he could say it out loud, but he was sure as hell going to show her.

Pulling his hand from her shorts, he sucked her wetness from his finger, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Mine. He understood that possessive urge some men felt now. This was his. She was his.

He found her lips, pressing in with his tongue so she’d taste herself on their kiss. With a sexy snarl, her fingers tunneled into his hair, pulling hard.

Yes. He wanted her wild.

Pulling back, he took her down to the floor. It was hard polished wood when he wanted a bed of fucking roses for her, but she didn’t seem to mind if her lust glazed eyes were any indication.

Satisfied, he unhooked her bra and yanked it aside, kissing his way across her skin to those full tits that teased him from the neck of her tank top. Licking and nipping, he teased the hard bud of her nipple, drinking in her gasps and sputters and her clenched fists that beat his back with each flick of his tongue.

Aaron grinned against her skin. She was this crazed and he’d only just begun.

Palming her other breast, he lightly pinched her nipple, causing her to jack up off the floor with a cry. So responsive.

Moving down, he unbuttoned those tiny jean shorts and tugged them down her legs, leaving her in just her panties. Pink with white polka dots. They were his new favorite thing. After he fucked her out of them, he was keeping them in this pillow case.

Sweet dreams from now on.

He dove for her.

“Aaron,” she moaned. “Wait. I want to see you.”

Well, damn. He still had his fucking clothes on.

Rising up to his knees, he jerked his shirt over his head and sent it flying across the room before working his belt and zipper open. He was so hard, he could barely get the damn thing down, and Lexington reach forward to help.

Her hands, his zipper. Hottest. Sight. Ever.

“Shit, baby,” he hissed as she eased it down and released his aching cock.

Aaron watched her as she stared at his length, her eyes sexy with hunger. She licked her lips and the thing jerked, like it was the needle of a compass and she was true north.

Lexington surged upward, pressing him to the floor with her palms on his chest. When he resisted, she found his gaze and whispered, “I’m tasting.” Her voice was firm, like she dared him to argue.

Like her mouth on his cock was something he’d be opposed to.

She took him in her hand and he surged upward. Fuck, her touch was fire, scalding him. But when her lips wrapped around the tip and sucked, he barked out loud, “Fuck.”

Easing back, she grinned up at him, and his heart keeled over dead. That smile. Forever his kryptonite.

As she took him into her mouth again, he cradled her head, his hand trembling. Shit. If she kept this up, he’d never get a chance to show her his heart. She was ruining it so sweetly.

“Lex,” he gasped. “Baby.”

“Mm hm?” The vibration threatened to send him over the edge, so he gripped her jaw to stop her.

“Enough, baby girl. Need inside you.”

She nodded, sliding up his body, but he flipped her so she was underneath him again, burying his face in her neck and breathing to calm down.

He had to slow this down. Breathe. Take his time with her body.

Her hips thrust up, causing her panty covered pussy to brush against his cock.

Yeah. Time to get real. They weren’t going to be able to take it slow this time. Luckily he had a lifetime to show her what he wanted to.

“You said you bite,” he grunted. “That part of your mating ritual?”

“No. We don’t have external marks. Only the bond locking in place, and the scenting.”

“Damn.” He wanted evidence. Wanted a mark. Wanted everyone to know they were taken. “We’ll get rings then,” he said.

“But I’ll probably still nip you,” she argued, hips thrusting again.

“And I’ll probably like the fuck out of it.”

Pulling back, he eyed those pink polka dot panties trying to determine the fastest way to get them off.

With a hard jerk, he ripped them, revealing her, swollen and wet and ready for him.

He swallowed hard, balling the torn fabric in his hands and setting it aside for later. Ripped or not, they were still going in his pillow case.

Positioning the tip of his cock at her entrance, he knelt over her, finding her gaze so he could watch as he pressed in. Slow, so she could get used to him.

“Yes,” she hitched, and he kissed it away.

When he was buried to the hilt and his fox’s claws were in his back, he grit his teeth against the urge to thrust.

Wait. Wait…

“Cowboy?” Her voice trembled with emotion.

“Mm hm?”

“I love—”

That word, from her lips, while he was lost inside her, it was too much. He couldn’t hold back anymore.

Jerking his hips, he pulled out then plunged back in, stopping the rest of her sentence and replacing it with a moan. Again he thrust, and again, becoming lost in the drag and pull of her body on his.

His eyes never left hers, communicating the best he knew how. I love you. I need you. You’re mine.

My treasure.

All the past faded away as their bodies tensed, climbing closer to the peak. There was only this moment and the ones they’d share in the future. This moment and every moment forward.

Lexington groaned his name as he pounded into her, their faces close enough they were sharing breath. He could practically taste her orgasm on the air. So close.

“Coming,” she gasped, tensing beneath him before fluttering apart.

Her body gripped him tight and he roared his own release, tossing his head back as pleasure shook him to the core. Lexington buried her head in the crook of his neck while he continued to rock against her, barely feeling the brush of her lips and the sharp nip of her little teeth.

Eventually, he slowed, collapsing to his elbows to catch his breath before dropping soft kisses to any parcel of skin he could reach with his mouth. Her hands eased up his back, soft and sweet. A delicious contrast to the razor claws he’d tasted earlier.

“Did you feel it?” he asked, struggling to get his bearings.

Lexington stiffened, just before a laugh burst from her throat. As beautiful as it sounded, her reaction had him pulling back to see what was so funny.

“I definitely felt it,” she pushed out with another snicker. “It’s big, cowboy. And you know how to work it. It’s a solid fourteen on Sally’s Dick-ter scale.”

Wasn’t ten the highest measurement for earthquakes?

Aaron shook his head, nipping her lower lip for ruining his moment.

“I wasn’t asking about my cock, you crazy sexy thing.”

Her smile didn’t fade, but her brow creased in confusion. “What then?”

“I was asking if you felt… if you felt what I was trying to tell you.”

Her expression turned serious, her smile becoming intimate. “Yes. Our bond is strong. I know exactly what you were saying.”

He kissed her hard on the lips. “Good. Because it’s important that you remember it.”

“I have a feeling you won’t let me forget.”

Rolling to the side, he pulled her into the crook of his arm.

“Damn straight.”

Lexington tangled her legs with his, resting her head on his chest. The bond between them was rock solid, relaying her contentment. He’d done it. Claimed his fox, secured their bond, made her safe. And to top it all off, she was warm and happy in his arms in the home they would share.

On the floor, but he wasn’t complaining.

“We should find a bed. Soon,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head.

“Mmm. But we haven’t tested out all the other surfaces yet.”

“Oh, we’ll get to them, baby. But I can’t have something so precious sleeping on the hardwood.”

She nuzzled her cheek tighter against his chest. “Precious, huh?” she whispered softly. “Like a treasure?”

Aaron nodded, not sure if she could feel it. “I knew I’d found something special when you told me you were considering getting a fox tail tattooed on your back.”

“It was a good idea,” she said defensively, and he agreed. “But I think I changed my mind. I’d rather have a name.”

Aaron dragged his fingers down the length of her hair. “As long as it’s mine, because that shit is forever.”

She peeked up at him, grinning. “Just like us. And I think Aaron tattooed above my ass is perfect.”

“I’ll get a matching Lexington right above my dick so we’ll match.”

“We’re incredibly romantic, aren’t we?”

“Storybook, baby.”

And it was true. Their love came by a map, not a fairytale. A trail of tears and sorrow that led to something that would outlast the sun.

Dirty deeds, dirty secrets, dirty looks and all.