Satisfaction and relief flooded Bracken and his wolf. “Then, kiss me.” He held still as she lifted her mouth to his and traced the outline with the tip of her tongue. A tongue she then sank into his mouth to tangle with his own. He meant to let her lead, but then her claws pricked the brand on his nape just as she sucked gently on his bottom lip. And he remembered just how good it felt when she was sucking on something else.
Bracken swept his hand up her back, thrust it into her hair, and took over. Kissed her greedily but languidly, intending to indulge in a long, slow, lazy exploration of her mouth. The same long, slow, lazy exploration he intended to give her body. He wanted her to feel owned. Claimed. Completely and utterly possessed. Wanted her to know to her bones that she was everything to him.
Madisyn sighed into his mouth, wishing she could bottle this kiss up. He didn’t rush. He lingered. Relished. Like her mouth was a piece of fruit that needed to be savored. His tongue danced with hers, licking and stroking. Flooding her brain and body with all kinds of delicious endorphins.
She poured herself into the scrumptious swirl of sensation, unable to drag enough air into her lungs but unwilling to pull back. She couldn’t have moved even if she’d wanted to—with his firm and dominant grip on her hair, he held her head exactly as he wanted it.
They shared breaths and swallowed each other’s moans as the untamed sexual energy kept building between them. The kiss was luscious and intoxicating and woven with a deep sensuality that made the outside world disappear, clearing her mind of all her anger and worries.
Bracken dipped his head and swirled his tongue around her pulse. “I want you in my bed.”
“I can tell.”
Gathering the bottom of her top, he slowly peeled it off and then dropped it on the floor. He raked his gaze over her, drinking in her soft skin, supple muscles, sinful curves, and round, perky breasts topped with rosy nipples. The little buds tightened under his scrutiny. “Perfect. Perfect for me.” He stroked his hands down her sleek back, holding her close. “My pretty kitty.”
She chuckled. Her cat, relaxing now that Madisyn had lost her tension, brushed up against him.
Bracken grabbed one of the arms she’d curled around his neck and gently tugged it down. Licking over the Alice in Wonderland tattoo on her wrist, he smiled and nipped at the skin there. “I want my signature tattooed on you.”
Madisyn blinked. “Your signature?” She had to smile at the boyish grin on his face that said he knew it sounded odd, but fuck, he really liked the idea.
“Yeah.” Bracken skimmed his finger along her inner arm. “It would look good right here. Or . . .” He swept the tip of his finger over the swell of her breast. “There. Or even . . .” He breezed his thumb over the V of her thighs. “There . . . except I don’t want anyone else touching your pussy or breasts. So yeah, it could go here, on your inner arm, so we can both look at it whenever we want.”
Madisyn gasped as he took her mouth again. This kiss wasn’t soft or easy. It was an atomic explosion of raw need that made her body flare to life, like she’d been plugged in to a power source. He ate at her mouth until her cheeks were flushed, her pupils were dilated, and her breathing was short and rapid. Those soft, warm lips and that exceptionally talented tongue stole every bit of her attention until it was sharpened on him. He was all she saw and felt and heard.
Bracken snapped open the button of her fly and pushed down her shorts and panties. He kicked them aside, breathing deep. “You’re wet. I can smell it.” Feathering his fingers down her arm, he slowly prowled behind her and growled at the sight of that tight little ass. “So much for me to play with.” He lightly ran his finger down the length of her spine. “What shall I do to you first?”
“The possibilities are endless.”
Bracken crouched behind her and shackled her ankles with his hands. “Yes, they really are.” He delivered a suckling bite to one globe of her ass, right on the little dimple there that drove him crazy. “Love this ass,” he said, nuzzling the other globe as he snaked his hands up those butter-smooth legs.
He rose to his feet, pressed his front against her back, and let her feel his cock, hard and thick and long, dig into her through his jeans. He kept his hands at his sides as his mouth grazed her ear, his tongue lightly flicking the lobe. “Remember: you have to do what I tell you to do.”
Madisyn shivered as his warm breath breezed over her ear, causing the hairs on her nape to lift. There was something very decadent about having him pressed up against her, fully dressed, while she was naked. “You didn’t play fair this morning.”
“Did you think I’d play fair?” Bracken smiled as her upper lip quivered in a snarl, making him think of her cat. One thing he’d sensed about Madisyn was that she liked when he took control. Her problem was that she felt that she had to fight him—like it was a matter of pride for her. So he needed to give her a situation in which it didn’t reflect on her strength if she obeyed him. And what better way to do that than by him winning the control? She’d follow the rules of a game, even if those rules said she owed him her obedience.
Taking her arms, Bracken lifted and stretched them behind her, curling them around his neck. “Keep your arms there until I say you can move them.” She tensed just a little at his authoritative tone, and he smiled. He softly dragged the tips of his fingers down her arms, along the sides of her breasts, and then down to her hips. “Made for me,” he murmured into the hollow just beneath her ear. “Made to be fucked by me.”
Madisyn let out a shaky breath as his hands, calloused and confident and incredibly skilled, began to lazily roam over her. The rough pads of his fingers felt so amazingly good on her skin, tantalized all kinds of nerve endings, and sent yet more feel-good chemicals buzzing through her system. It would make it even better if he wasn’t purposely neglecting her nipples and pussy.
She melted against him, eyes fluttering shut. He wasn’t touching her to make her come. He was quite simply indulging himself. She felt it in the way he traced and stroked and shaped her body, like someone reacquainting themselves with a prized possession. It was nice and all, but her clit ached for his attention. “Bracken, I need—”
“I know. But right now, your objective isn’t to address your needs. It’s to please me. And it pleases me to touch you, taste you, and explore this delectable body I own. Once I’m satisfied, I’ll give you what you want.”
Paying no heed to her cautioning hiss, he went on cupping and shaping and tormenting her with those clever fingers. All the while, he teased her neck with little flicks of his tongue and grazes of his teeth. She almost groaned in relief when his hands finally zeroed in on her pussy.
Bracken slowly massaged her slick folds, making them open and shut over and over. The scent of her need rushed up, filled his lungs, and fisted his cock. His wolf growled his arousal. “Tell me who this pussy belongs to.”
“You.” At the scrape of his teeth on her shoulder, she corrected, “Bracken.” His teeth dug a little deeper, and she winced. “Bracken Slater.”
“That’s right.” Humming against her neck, he raked his fingertips over her plump folds. “Property of Bracken Slater.”
“Property? Oh, now you’re pushing it.”
“Are you saying you’re not mine?”
“No.”
“Good, because it would be a lie. Every cell of your body, every inch of skin, every hair on your head—all of it belongs to me.” He cupped her pussy hard. “I’ve claimed the fuck out of this, haven’t I?” He stroked the globe of her ass, adding, “But this. I haven’t claimed this yet, which I’ll have to rectify soon.” Sensing she was about to object just to be contrary, he gripped her jaw. “Don’t you tell me you won’t give it to me.”
“Anal play holds no appeal for me.”
“You can’t keep from me what’s rightfully mine.” He let the hand gripping her jaw slide down to collar her throat, unsurprised by her reflexive hiss to the highly dominant hold. “Mine, Madisyn.” Keeping a firm grip on her throat, he tugged down one of her arms and sucked her index finger into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. He slid her wet finger between her folds—no more than a featherlight swipe, but it made her hips buck. “How slick are you?”
“See for yourself.”
“Not yet.” Again and again, he lightly fluttered her finger between her folds, taunting her sensitive nerve endings and denying her clit the attention he knew it was craving. At the same time, he went to work on her neck; kissing, licking, sucking, and biting. Soon, she was pliant against him, eyes shut, thighs shaking.
Cock throbbing to be in her, Bracken dipped her finger shallowly in her pussy. Let her feel it there. Let her feel the promise of being filled. She arched. Writhed. Tried taking over. But he held her hand completely still. “Ask nicely and you can have it.”
Madisyn’s spine snapped straight. Motherfucker. Ask nicely? Ask to have the use of her own damn finger? If she was honest, what annoyed her more than anything was that she liked that he was controlling how she touched her own body.
“You don’t want it inside you, baby? You don’t want something filling that tight pussy? I’ll bet it’s aching. I can take that ache away.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. She felt so hot and empty and needy. Her pussy was throbbing, needing something. And her finger was so close . . .
“Just ask nicely and I’ll take the hurt away.” He bit her earlobe and snarled into her ear, “I’ll slam this finger inside you and fuck you with it until you come. All you have to do is ask nicely.”
God, he was such a fucking bastard. Her body was screaming for release, felt like it was stretched by a rubber band of anticipation.
“Or maybe you’d rather have my fingers.”
Oh, now they were worth asking nicely for. Still, her back teeth locked. She could do this, she told herself. It was just a few fucking words. “Bracken.” But that was all she got out. Clearing her throat, she added, “Please make me come.” Two thick fingers slammed into her. Her back bowed, and she dug her nails into his arm.
“Such a good girl.” Bracken plunged his fingers fast and hard into her pussy over and over, rubbing her clit with his palm. He felt every little moan and whimper in his cock. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, Madisyn. You want that, don’t you? You want my dick in you.” Pinching her nipple, he curved his thrusting fingers just right and—
Madisyn’s head flew back as she came hard. When her body settled, his fingers slowly slid out of her pussy, and all she could think was . . . more. Whirling, she snapped open his fly and curled her hand around his cock. She half expected the dominant bastard to order her to let go, but he didn’t. Squeezing her breasts, he thrust into her grip as she pumped. Each time she twisted her wrist on the downward stroke, his cock jerked—
He picked her up and threw her on the bed. Madisyn blinked up at him, startled. Her cat came close to purring at all that male power and intensity. His tongue curled around her nipple, and Madisyn arched into his mouth with a gasp. “Bracken.” It was meant to be a demand for more, but it came out sounding like a plea.
Bracken flipped her onto her stomach and licked along her spine. “Head down. Ass in the air. Arch your back.” Defiance stiffened her muscles, but she did as he asked. “That’s my girl.”
Cheek to the mattress, Madisyn fisted the sheets as he lodged the thick head of his cock inside her. She was used to his size now, but the stretch never failed to burn in the best way. When he didn’t surge forward, she tried thrusting back at him, but his grip on her hips kept her still.
“You don’t get my cock until you say it.”
She scowled. “Say what?”
“That you’re what I need, not the bond.” He shrugged when she gaped at him. “You say it or you don’t get cock. Simple.”
“Don’t act like it would be easy for you to pull back.”
“Easy? No, it wouldn’t be easy. But it would be harder to keep seeing those doubts in your eyes than it would be to miss sliding into this pussy.”
“The doubts are gone! Fuck me already!”
“If they’re gone, you can give me what I want.”
Grinding her teeth, Madisyn relented. “I’m what you need.” The breath gusted out of her as his cock rammed into her, shoving its way past swollen muscles and stuffing her full.
Bracken groaned as her hot pussy greedily clenched and rippled around his cock. So fucking tight and wet. “Watching my cock sink inside you has to be one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen.” He smoothed his hand down her spine, and then feathered his finger over the bud of her ass. “It’ll look just as hot sliding in here.” Fisting her hair, he withdrew and then slammed home. “Never gonna get enough of this pussy.”
Bracken ruthlessly hammered into her, his pace furious. His wolf loved the image of her bent over, accepting what Bracken gave her. Pussy blazing hot and gorgeously tight, she moaned beneath him, pushing back to meet each brutal thrust. “Play with your clit, baby. Don’t make yourself come—just play with it.”
Madisyn rubbed at her clit, moaning. The friction was building low in her stomach, winding her tighter and tighter, making her pussy quake and spasm. She was totally lost in the feel of his cock thrusting deep, his harsh grip on her hair, and the slap of his balls on—
Her eyes snapped open as a wet finger probed the bud of her ass. “Bracken.” But his finger was already inside, and it felt . . . good. He smoothly drove his finger deeper, and her claws sliced out. Then he was pumping that finger—oh God, that felt even better.
Swept up in the double assault and the complete overload to her senses, every thought in her head scattered, her surroundings fell away. There was only Bracken, the delicious sensations firing through her, and . . . and something else. A strange, unnerving, familiar pull on her psyche that threatened to wrench her brain right out of her head.
The mating bond, she knew.
Curling over her, Bracken put his mouth to her ear. “Don’t fight it.”
She didn’t. She reached for it. Hips bucking, Madisyn sucked in a huge gasp of air as the need already flooding her body intensified until it became so primitive and crushing it was almost unbearable—the mating urge. “Bracken.”
Bracken pulled out, flipped her over, and brutally shoved his cock back into her pussy, his control shattered by an overwhelming animalistic need that swept over him. With her legs hooked over his shoulders, he mercilessly pounded into her, his pace frantic with the desperation to claim her as his. Her pussy tightened and superheated around his cock. “That’s it, baby, come for me.” He slapped her ass hard.
Madisyn’s back bowed as sheer bliss blew through her body, wrenching a hoarse scream out of her throat. Her pussy clamped down on Bracken’s thrusting cock just as his teeth sank into the brand on her neck. He licked and sucked, making it a definitive claiming mark, and Madisyn retained just enough clarity of mind to rear up and bite the crook of his neck, staking her own permanent, irrevocable claim.
Bracken swore against her throat, slamming harder and deeper into her pussy, owning what was his and his alone. As sheer pleasure whipped through him and sizzled down his spine, he stiffened above her and jammed his cock deep. Exploding into his mate with a snarl of her name, he flexed his hips, wanting every bit of his come to be as deep in her body as it could go.
They both collapsed, panting and shaking. Barely able to move, Bracken kissed her throat and—
Pain sliced through his head and chest, the edges of his vision blurred, and a shaky breath stuttered out of him. But the pain quickly faded, making way for the mating bond—strong and vibrant—that now connected them, pulsing with awe, satisfaction, and the pure wonder they were both feeling.
Among all those emotions was something else, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Peace. His wolf basked in the feeling as he curled up in a ball, utterly content.
As she regained her mental balance, Madisyn studied the bond. She’d never thought of herself as having something missing. Never thought of herself as being incomplete. But now that her soul was bound to his, she realized she’d truly never been whole. Not even close. And now she couldn’t understand how she’d ever functioned properly without him there—it was incredibly weird. Weird but good.
Bracken rolled them onto their sides, keeping her flush against him. “All mine.”
She snickered. “Typical dominant male.” Her cat did a languid stretch, calm and content.
“How are you feeling?”
Balanced. Anchored. Peaceful. Whole. “Well, my ass is stinging a little after the zealousness of your finger.”
He laughed. “You can’t play this down, I can feel how happy and centered you are.”
“Then why ask?” Snuggling into him, she kissed his throat. “The bond hasn’t fully snapped into place yet, but strangely enough, that doesn’t make me uneasy.”
“You’re a girl who likes things to move at a steady pace,” he pointed out.
She frowned. “Maybe Kathy was right; maybe I should have just reached for this in the beginning instead of making you work for it.” Now that they were connected, it didn’t seem so scary.
His brows lifted. “She said that? No, baby, that’s bullshit. You still had doubts. We were doing the right thing by waiting.” He lapped at the mark on her neck. It was no longer just a bite—it was a brand that declared to the world that she was taken, that there was someone who would rain fresh hell on anyone who dared to harm her.
“I didn’t cling to my independence because I’m stubborn. Well, not just because I’m stubborn.”
“I know that. For a long time, you only really had you. You were your own rock. Made your own choices. Made your own mistakes. Never depended on anyone. I shook all that up, made myself a place in your life, asked you to rely on me in ways that made you feel off-balance. It would have been strange if you hadn’t tried to cling to what you knew and what felt safest to you—which was being alone.” He sifted his fingers through her hair. “But you’re not alone anymore. Never will be again.”
“Never again,” she agreed. As he breezed his finger over the claiming mark on his neck, mouth curving, she chuckled. “You want to go look at it, don’t you?”
“I will as soon as I can feel my legs.” He tugged her closer so that he could kiss, lick, and sip from her mouth. “I’ll be even happier when our scents mix.” There were certain steps that needed to be taken before a mating bond could fully form. He wondered what it would take to advance theirs, and he suspected that maybe Madisyn’s doubts weren’t all completely soothed. If that was so, she didn’t appear to be conscious of it. “How’s your cat?”
“Content. Your wolf?”
“At peace.” Catching her face between his hands, he kissed her again, thanking her for that. “Still up for a run?”
Her mouth curled. “Yeah, why not? But we’d better do it outside. My cat has a lot of fur, and we both know you’ll have a hernia if it ends up all over the bed.”
He frowned, trying to look offended. “I’m not that bad.”
“Sure you’re not,” she said, voice dry as a bone.
Hand in hand, they walked through the lodge and out onto the back porch. “Don’t shift straightaway,” said Bracken. “My wolf wants some attention from you.”
She saluted him. “It’ll be nice to see your wolf again.” He’d shifted in front of her a few times before, giving his wolf some time with her. He was an impressively built beast. Bones snapped and popped, and then a large gray wolf stood in Bracken’s place.
She squatted as the wolf padded over to her. “Hey, handsome.” She stroked him as he licked at her jaw and pushed into her personal space, just as he always did. “You be careful with my cat. She’s special.” And then Madisyn shifted.
The wolf sniffed at the cat as he circled her, rubbing his body along hers, scent-marking her. The cat batted at him, claws sheathed, and then fled. The wolf gave chase.
They ran for hours, jumping over crumbling logs, ducking low-hanging branches, and skirting mossy rocks. When they weren’t wrestling each other to the ground, they were playfully chasing rabbits and squirrels. Several times, the wolf had to stop the cat from trying to squeeze into burrows in the ground to follow their prey.
The sky was dark when they returned to the lodge, tired and sleepy. The cat lazed on the porch, and the wolf curled himself protectively around her. Instinctively bristling at the protective move, she gave a low snarl. He licked at her fur, soothing her until she settled. Then they both drifted to sleep.