For the past two weeks, going on three, Jordan had been sleeping on Damian’s couch. In that time he managed to convince Mindy he was joking about wanting to take her to the woods. They went on their first date, which only had him out of the house for just over an hour.

The whole dating thing was foreign to Jordan, but he thought it went well. Well enough that they spent time together at Damian’s place for the second. What was supposed to have been time getting to know each other while watching a movie turned into a bombardment of questions. Mindy asked several about being a soul-mate.

Mindy did admit she felt a strange attraction to Jordan, but refused to believe it was anything more than the similar lust-filled attraction she’d felt before. Her comments infuriated Jordan, but he managed to keep his temper in check. He hated that she’d brought up her feelings toward other guys. He knew he wasn’t her first, but that didn’t mean he wanted to hear about any of the others.

Angel walked past the bathroom and saw Jordan primping. “Another hot date?”

“Yeah. This is such bullshit. How do humans tolerate this awful practice?”

Angel giggled. “The Goddess is testing you. It’ll be worth it in the end; just keep telling yourself that.”

“Maybe not. Tonight, we’re going to dinner with her parents. I’m seriously not ready for this.”

“It must be getting pretty serious if she’s introducing you to her parents. That rarely happens with just casual dating. Be on your best behavior. Tonight is the make-it-or-break-it night,” Angel said.

“Ugh! Thanks for making me even more nervous. I think I’m starting to feel sick.”

“You’ll be fine.”

“How do you know so much about humans?”

“My mother’s best friend was human. She came over and told dating horror stories all the time. Then, she met the man of her dreams.” Angel pressed her hands together in a steeple-style and held them up near her cheek. They both laughed.

Damian walked through the front door and back toward his bedroom, but stopped at the bathroom near his mate. He’d been gone about thirty minutes to discuss some concerns with their new home. Chuck and his guys were nearly done with everything, then they had some questions.

“Another date? Good fucking grief. When is this horrible ritual going to end?” Damian studied his Beta. “Is that my tie? Why the fuck are you wearing my shit?”

Angel stroked Damian’s flexed bicep. “He’s meeting her parents tonight. He has to step up his game. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Anything for you, beautiful.” He glared at Jordan’s reflection in the mirror. “Don’t get anything on it.”

“I won’t mess it up,” Jordan said without looking back at his Alpha.

Damian looked at the knot. “Didn’t Jude teach you how to tie a tie? Turn around.”

Jordan turned and Damian undid the mess Jordan made and retied it properly. “There you go, D’Nozzle. Knock ‘em dead. And stay out tonight for a few hours, will ya?”

“Why? What's going on?”

Damian wasn’t about to disclose to his Beta that he was planning to finally claim his mate. He’d been cock-blocked for over two weeks. He wasn’t waiting another day. The oral pleasuring was great, but he wanted more and knew Angel did, too. Tonight was the night, especially since their ‘roommate’ was going out.

“Angel and I are going to watch a couple of movies and we don’t want you storming in here, interrupting us.”

“Got it. If everything goes as I hope, I won’t be back for quite a while. Maybe not until morning, if you get my drift.” Jordan waggled his eyebrows.

“You’re starting to act like a human. Get out of here before I change my mind about you being my Beta.”

They all laughed. Jordan said good-bye, and Damian and Angel wished him well.

“What are we watching?” Angel asked.

Damian locked the door. “Come here.” Angel walked over to him and was pulled into his arms. He looked at her and smiled. “I’ve got the perfect movie for you. It’s a love story like no other you’ve ever seen.”

“I love it already. What’s the name?”

“It’s called Damian Claims His Mate. Sound like a good one to you?”

“It sounds wonderful. I’ve been aching for this day to get here,” Angel said, then lay her head against his chest.

“It’s here, beautiful. Let’s not waste too much time, in case old Jordy flops on this date thing.”

“He’s going to be fine; don’t talk like that.”

“Okay. Okay. Enough about him. Right now, I have one person on my mind.”

Angel leaned back, still being held in Damian’s arms, and tilted her head. “Only right now? You don’t think about me all the time?”

“You know I never stop thinking about you. I dream about you.” Damian ran his fingers through Angel’s hair, then pulled her forward as he leaned down to claim her mouth. Their tongues collided and twirled perfectly.

Angel encircled Damian’s waist with her arms and moaned into his mouth. He loved her sounds when they kissed. He loved everything about her.

Damian broke their connection briefly to lift her into his arms to carry her to the bedroom.

“This is so romantic,” Angel said. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck and her mouth was on his as he maneuvered the furniture and doorways. When they crossed the threshold, Damian set her feet on the floor and stood straight.

“Do we have any more wine?” Angel asked. She’d grown fond of white wine, and Damian had grown fond of how her inhibitions vanished after a glass or two.

“We do. I’ll be right back.”

Angel took advantage of Damian being out of the room to fetch the bottle and grabbing the glasses. Angel quickly changed into a sexy new outfit she’d bought online. She remembered sneaking to over-hear her mom’s friend telling her mom about wearing sexy stuff for her dates and how much they loved it. Plus, the advertisement said it would ‘drive your man crazy,’ and she thought this was the perfect night to wear it for him.

She took a final glance in the full-length mirror Damian had gotten for her. She was happy with her reflection and hoped he’d be, too. The ruby-red corset hugged her curves perfectly while giving her breasts an added boost. The matching panty was barely visible because the front of the corset hung low enough to nearly cover her. She couldn’t wait for him to realize the surprise part of the outfit.

She heard Damian opening and closing cabinet after cabinet. She nervously straightened her stockings, then slid on the matching high-heeled shoes she’d found online, too.

“Hey, babe,” Damian called to her.

“Yes, my Alpha?”

“We only have red. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine.”

She heard the glasses clink together and knew he was on his way. The butterflies kicked into high gear. She was so worried he’d hate what she’d bought. She twisted her hair, pulling it over one shoulder, then the other. She was trying to even out her breathing before her mate returned.

“Whoa,” Damian said as he walked back into the room. His eyes slowly took her in from head to toe, then he worked his way back up until their eyes met. “You look fantastic.”

“Do you really like it?”

“Are you kidding? I love it. Damn.” He shook his head. “You are sexy as hell without all that, but this takes it to another level. I’m just glad I didn’t drop the glasses or bottle.”

Angel smiled at him while he continued to stare, admiring her.

“Damian, are we having wine?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He set the glasses on the chest of drawers and poured them each some. After setting the bottle down, he picked up both glasses and handed one to her.

He held the glass out and made a toast. “To us. To you in that outfit.” Angel blushed. “And to us finally being able to make this official.”

Angel held her glass out and touched his. “Ditto, except the part about me.”

“Oh no, beautiful. I definitely meant that, too.”

They each took a sip. “Not bad. Not my favorite, but definitely not bad,” Angel said.

“I’ll get more of the Riesling tomorrow. I could have sworn we had one more bottle here.”

Damian set his glass on top of the dresser and made his way over to his stunning mate. She took another sip, then set her glass down, too.

She was dying to see his bare chest. She loved ogling him and admired his tattoos.

“You can take your shirt off, if it’s more comfortable.”

“Can I, now? Is that what you want?”

“Yeah,” Angel said, barely audible.

“Anything for you, since you said it so nicely.” Damian lifted the shirt off over his head and gave it the usual fling to the floor.

Damian closed the distance between them and held her hair in his hand. “What else can I do to please you?”

“You can kiss me.”

He leaned down and lowered his mouth onto hers. His kiss was soft and gentle, like she liked. Their tongues stroked and swirled as she savored the taste of him combined with the wine.

“What next? Can I kiss you here?” He ran his finger along the top of the exposed portion of her breasts. Her nipples were barely visible from where he was standing.

“Yeah,” she whispered.

Damian gently reached into the top of her corset and lifted her breasts just enough to fully pop out her nipples. He kissed each swell, then licked down around her nipples, causing them to pebble and protrude even farther. His hand massaged the tit not getting his mouth’s attention. He smiled when he heard Angel whimper. He moved to the other side to make sure he gave both an equal amount of his affection.

“Can I pick where I kiss next?” Damian asked.

Angel nodded her head. She knew where she wanted his mouth, but was relieved he didn’t push her into saying it.

Damian’s mouth was back on hers within seconds. He gave her hand a slight tug, indicating he wanted her to sit on the bed. She lowered herself slowly enough not to break their kiss, but she knew it was going to happen soon enough.

Damian told her to lie down, then coaxed her to bend her knees to give him better access to her.

“What have we here?” Angel felt her cheeks warm under his intense scrutiny. He rubbed his hand across her crotch and slid his finger between the opening. “Crotchless. Very nice. I love this thing even more.”

He lowered his head to kiss her mound while his fingers explored her slit. She was soaked. She was so ready to become his, finally. He ran his tongue over her clit, then let it glide between her lower lips. His fingers teased her opening, but Damian was taking his time tonight. He needed to make sure his Angel enjoyed this experience, and that it was as comfortable as possible.

“You can touch me. Inside.”

Damian peered at her over her mound, then smiled, his tongue never letting up the pressure on her clit. He wasn’t in a rush. But to satisfy her craving, and because she sounded so innocent and sweet asking for his fingers to be inside her, he slid his middle finger just inside her opening. She wiggled her hips in an effort to get him to go deeper, which he did.

His tongue lapped through her slit again then reached deep into her core. She gasped in a breath. He loved the feeling of her pussy grinding on his face when he did that to her. When he pulled out, she exhaled. He continued to work her into a frenzy before he decided it was time to let her get her first orgasm of the night.

“Damian,” she muttered. “Oh, God!” His fingers dragged in and out of her channel. His tongue was circling her swollen clit and she was so close to toppling over the edge of bliss. With a few more strokes, she screamed out his name.

“Damian! Oh, damn!” Her cries and release were his reward for an oral job well done.

Damian stripped off his jeans and then crawled up onto the bed beside Angel, lying on his back.

“Straddle me, beautiful. I’m going to let you have control tonight.”

“Why? I mean, I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“You’ll be just fine. First, straddle me and just lie there on top of me. We’re going to take this nice and slow to start, but you’ll have the ability to move as fast as you’d like.”

“Do you want me to, you know, put my mouth there?” Angel asked.

Damian smiled. “Not tonight. I want your full attention on us right now.”

Angel climbed onto Damian, with a leg on each side of him as he’d requested.

“Perfect, now lean down here. I need to kiss those beautiful lips of yours.”

As their tongues danced, Damian held Angel’s hips and helped move her back and forth across his cock. She was so drenched he knew she was more than ready for him.

“What I want you to do now is to hold yourself up, then at your own pace lower yourself onto my dick. I’ll hold it steady for you.” Damian gripped his cock and helped direct it through her slickness and to her pussy. He shivered at the thought of finally getting to enter her. Finally, he was going to make love to his mate.

Angel held herself up above him and slowly lowered herself until she felt the pressure of his head stretching her. The feeling was better than she’d imagined. But he wasn’t technically inside her yet. She lowered herself a little more and felt the pressure intensify, and the level of pain went from zero to three rather quickly.

“Are you okay?” Damian asked.

“Yeah.”

“Take your time. We have all night.”

She felt overwhelmed by his sensitivity. She lowered herself slightly, then rose all the way off his cock when the pain and the feeling of fullness seemed too foreign to continue.

“Come here, baby.”

Angel rested her head on his chest with tear-filled eyes. She felt like she was a disappointment to him, but was definitely disappointed with herself. She couldn’t take a bit of pain to please her mate. Her chest heaved as her emotions took over.

“Baby, look at me.”

She wiped at her eyes, then lifted her gaze to meet his.

“Don’t cry. I’m not upset. It’s okay,” he said in a soft tone.

“I’m a failure.” She sniffled.

“No, you’re not. Don’t say that. Just lie here for a minute and we’ll try again when you’re ready.” Damian wrapped his arms around her.