Mariska’s chestnut hair is braided into a thick rope. Her heart-shaped ass is perked up, waiting for me, and damn if the sight doesn’t make my mouth water.

“I’m going to fuck you hard.” It’s a low order, and I see her body shiver in response. “Open your thighs.”

She immediately complies, spreading her knees and giving me full view of her beautiful body. My dick points straight up, ready to plunge inside, but instead I bury my face in her gorgeous scent.

“Stuart! Oh, god!” She gasps as I grip her ass, spreading her apart and tasting her. My tongue explores every part of her, starting with her clit before making my way up again. She’s perfectly delicious, and I want her scent all over me.

I kiss and slide my tongue over and over until her elbows bend. Her face is buried in the sheets of my king-sized bed, and her entire body shudders as she moans. She’s coming so hard. She’ll be so wet and throbbing.

“Straighten up,” I order, grabbing her braid in my fist and giving her a pull.

With some effort, she pushes against the bed, lifting her shoulders as I position my cock and drive into her core. “Fuck,” I growl.

“Oh!” she wails, taking my full length.

I have to hold myself a second so I don’t lose it like a fucking teenager. My beautiful mate is beyond perfect for me. She’s submissive, she’s responsive—hell, half the time she initiates this—and if I don’t fucking watch it, I’m done before I’ve even had a chance to savor what a lucky bastard I am.

Once I’ve regained my bearings, I start to rock. “Oh, yes, Stuart,” she whimpers, a noise that registers like a pulse of energy straight to my dick. My hips move faster, and she’s pushing back against me, meeting me with every thrust.

“Shit, Mariska.” My voice breaks, and I can’t hold it any longer. From her taste to her scent to her incredible way of moving with me, I’m coming, pulsing deep inside her, filling her to the core.

My grip on her hair loosens, and I reach beneath us, holding her stomach as we collapse onto the bed. Her back is against my chest, and my face is buried in the crook of her neck.

A few moments pass, and I notice her fingers tracing lines along my forearms. One is locked around her waist. The other is over her chest, clutching her small breast in my hand.

My voice is lazy, satisfied when I speak again. “What kind of witchcraft have you used on me?”

Her small body ripples with her laugh, and she pushes out of my arms. I release her and she rolls onto her stomach, lifting on an elbow to narrow sexy, golden-hazel eyes on me. I love the way she smiles.

“I’m not a witch. I’m your mate.”

Reaching out, I trace the line where her light brown hair meets her light brown skin. “You’re bewitching.”

“I’ll never forget the first time I saw you.” Her face is on her hand, and her eyes are dreamy. “I’d been waiting for you to come to me, and there you were. And then you left me.”

My thumb moves down to her full lips, and I slide it over the bottom one, tugging it gently, revealing her straight white teeth.

“I didn’t believe it. It didn’t make sense.” Dropping my hand, I remember that day vividly.

This gorgeous, incredibly sexy girl who couldn’t have been more than eighteen captivated my mind completely. She walked around that tiny shack in Algiers in that swirling gypsy shirt with her long arms uncovered, her hair in a high ponytail… I felt like my entire universe shifted to revolve around her.

“Imprinting doesn’t make sense,” she says leaning toward me. “But I love it.”

“I love you.” I’m not ashamed to say it now, after fighting her pull for nearly six months.

I lost myself in working with Derek, doing everything in my power to either find a cure for his vampirism or to find a way for him to control it. To live a life where he could tolerate what he’d become, where he didn’t have to kill. It was hard, but it kept her out of my mind.

When Derek finally faced Lilith, when he finally learned that Sloan was her ultimate tool for revenge against him, both in killing Alison and in taking away his mortality—when he finally killed that bloodsucker and was reunited with Melissa, I didn’t have anything left to shield me from Mariska’s pull.

Patrick has Elaine. They’re a match that makes perfect sense, and they haven’t stopped touching each other since the day they met. This innocent girl, however… this virgin… I ran as far away from her as I could get. All the way to my uncle’s horse ranch in the middle of nowhere Montana. Of course, Elaine brought her straight to me. Fucking telepaths.

“I’m glad you finally let me catch you.” She glances up at me with a naughty smile. Her fingers trace the lines on my stomach.

Taking that hand, I pull it to my lips. “I’m getting pretty old. I don’t run as fast as I used to.”

That makes her laugh, a soft musical sound that lights up every nerve ending in my body. “As long as you never get to old to love me like you just did, we’ll be good.”

“I’ll fuck your brains out,” I growl, and she laughs louder, diving into my arms and pushing me back on the bed with a kiss.

Sliding my hands into her hair, I hold her face a moment, listening once more to the voice in my head saying I need to let her go. My soul might be inextricably tied to her, but she’s not a shifter. She isn’t bound to me.

I’m not easy on her. I’m demanding and rough. I’m not a gentleman. I’m a cowboy. My work with Derek and Patrick is dangerous, and at any point she could become a target of some revenge-seeking undead fucker. It’s a fear all three of us live with every day, and for Melissa and Elaine, it’s too late. They’re known quantities in the paranormal world.

“It’s not too late for you,” I say, finishing my thought aloud. “You could still walk away. Have a normal life. Be safe.”

Her laughter fades as her body stills. She studies me with serious eyes, golden eyes like the sunset over the mountains in Montana. Eyes that speak one word to me every time I’m lost in them—home.

“You must not know me very well, Mr. Knight.” She’s sliding forward, up my chest. Petite seductress. “It’s way too late for that. I couldn’t leave you if I tried.”

“I won’t stop you if you decide to go.”

“Stuart William!” Her bossy voice nearly slays me. “You’d better stop me. Otherwise, I will put a spell on you!”

The fist in my stomach unclenches at her words. I can’t help it I start to laugh. My head drops back against the pillow, and I look up at the ceiling of my condo in Princeton. I want to take her away from here. I want us back out west, making love under the big sky.

She’s up on an elbow looking down at me. “What’s so funny?”

Pushing up, I tackle her onto her back, holding her firmly beneath my body. She doesn’t even try to escape.

“You have no idea of your power, little gypsy.” Dipping my head, I kiss her neck. She moans, and I’m about ready to flip her over and spank that perfect ass. “You don’t need a spell for me. You’re already mine.”

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