Chapter Nineteen

One month later

It had been a long, festive day of partying. They’d travelled up to the Crescent Moon Pack property so that Cliff and his mate and their cubs could attend. Savannah had finally met Cliff’s mate, Taylor, and their cubs, and Grant’s mate, Celeste, who was so pregnant she was ready to pop.

The whole family had welcomed her warmly. Taylor and Celeste were dying for her to have kits or cubs so their children could play together. They promised many visits to the Crescent Moon pack so they could have family vacations together. And the Crescent Moon pack practically worshipped Grant like a god, they were so grateful to finally have a sane, decent Alpha leading them.

They feasted and drank and celebrated, and Austin, Cliff and Grant only got into one tussle, which ended in a draw when Roy got annoyed and forced all three of them to change back into human form.

Roy was officially courting Laurel, and he carried around a swear jar, which was usually completely full by the end of the week. At night, he slept in a small cabin on the family property. During the day, he was helping to rebuild To Dine For. He was going to be co-owner; he’d funded fifty percent of it with money he still had from his former pack’s construction business. The rest was funded by the sale of their Somnorus herb to the Bronson family’s pharmaceutical company.

Savannah had caught her mother sneaking out to Roy’s cabin once, and she hadn’t been the least bit merciful about it. She’d turned on the sprinkler system as her mother crept across the lawn at 4 a.m., making her shriek and waking up the entire family.

Everyone had rushed out onto the lawn to see what was happening – only to find a wet, dripping, furious Laurel trying to rush back into the house before anybody caught her.

Her mother had had to contribute nine bills to the swear jar fund that day. And she’d refused to cook Savannah her favorite dessert for a week.

Sooo worth it.

Savannah expected that another mating ceremony would be happening soon enough, maybe within a few months. Her mother was way too traditional to accept anything else, and Roy could not get enough of Laurel. Laurel bossed him around and gave him a hard time all day long, and he ate it up.

But it was time to finally celebrate the best part of her own mating ceremony – the claiming.

Finally, after a long day of festivities, Savannah and Austin had ditched the crowd, and they were back at Austin’s small trailer.

Austin carried Savannah across the threshold and set her down gently.

She tugged at the white dress she was wearing. That her mother had insisted she wear.

White, hah!

The dress was pretty enough. It was lace sleeved, flattered her bustline with a scoop neck, and flared out at the waist in a bell shape. She just felt weird in it. She’d never felt at home in a dress, and she’d been fidgeting with it from the moment she’d put it on, but Austin had kept telling her, all day long, how beautiful she was.

“Alone at last,” Austin growled at Savannah. He slammed the door behind him and locked it.

Savannah took a deep breath and looked around at the living room of what was now officially her new home. Austin’s décor had been sparse – black leather couch, big screen TV, bookshelves on either side of the picture window.

Bit by bit, Savannah added her own touches, making it feel more like a home than a bachelor crash pad. There were mason jars with fresh flowers on the windowsills, pictures of her and Austin and her family on the mantelpiece. She’d gotten Austin’s family to send her a few family portraits, and put those up on the walls. At some point, they’d build their own house, with the help of Roy’s new construction company, but for now the cozy little trailer was just perfect for them. It was set deep in the woods, with no neighbors close by.

Just the two of them.

“Aren’t you afraid I’m going to take advantage of you?” She grinned at him as he turned to face her.

He winked. “I’m very afraid, but I’m trying to be brave.”

A sudden fit of shyness swept over her, and she strolled into the middle of the room. This was it. This was real. This would be their first night together as official mates. Part of her kept expecting to wake up back in her bedroom, alone, to find that this had all been a feverish dream. She sneaked a quick, hard pinch to her wrist. Ouch. It hurt. That meant this wasn’t a dream, right?

Austin grabbed her from behind, wrapped his arms around her waist, and hugged her tightly. She sank back against him, reveling in the feeling of his muscular body.

“Are you ready for a surprise?” he murmured in her ear.

She giggled nervously. “I don’t know. Is this a good surprise, or a ‘By the way, I’m actually secretly already mated, multiple times, and you’re going to be mate number five’ kind of surprise?”

Austin snorted. “Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a real surprise, would it?”

He steered her towards the bedroom, still holding on to her, walking her to the door.

When he flung the door open, he let go of her and made a big, dramatic gesture. “Ta-da!”

She walked through, and her heart leaped to her throat.

He’d scattered pink rose petals all over the white bedspread. On the wall above the bed, he’d hung a sign that said “Mr. and Mrs. Orman”, hand-painted on weathered wood, with two sets of paw prints burned on to it – a set of wolf paw prints, and a set of fox paw prints. That name choice had been a family decision. He was not a Bronson. He didn’t feel like a Washborn.

“You made that yourself?” she said, her voice suddenly choked with emotion.

“You like it?” He glanced at her, his tone uncertain. “Is it okay?”

The big, macho bruiser was so obviously concerned about her reaction that her heart caught in her throat and she blinked back tears. “It’s not okay, it’s amazing.”

He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him again. She felt the rock-hard thickness of his erection pressing into her back. He smelled of male musk and a faint hint of cologne.

“Last chance to back out,” he growled at her.

“Really? It’s not too late?”

“Hell yes, it is.” He laughed harshly. “You’re mine, Mrs. Orman. I own you, body and soul. There’s no escape.” He bent down and gently nipped her shoulder through the lace of her gown.

She moaned. “I don’t know. I run pretty…” he nipped her again, harder, and she gasped, “fast…”

“Ha. Try to outrun me.” He released her. The challenge in his voice stirred something fierce and defiant in her, and she turned and ran for the door. He was on her in seconds, scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

He set her down roughly on the bed and looked down at her.

“Mine.” The raw possessiveness in his voice sent a rush of warmth through her body.

He ran his hand over her breast as her nipples pebbled under the silky white bodice.

“I cannot wait to get out of this dress,” she said, reaching back to unhook it. “I hate it with a fiery, burning passion that I normally only reserve for game shows and my sister’s fashion sense.”

“If you hate it, I hate it too. In fact, it’s my mortal enemy.” He grabbed the neckline and reached down to tear it, ripping it all the way down to her waistline.

“Oh,” she gasped in surprise and arousal. God, was he sexy when he went all beast on her.

“It’s dead to me!” He ripped again, tearing it down to the hem. The dress fell open as she threw her head back and laughed.

Then he bent down and bit the clasp holding the cups of her bra together, and the cups fell away.

“I liked that bra!” she cried out in protest.

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

She shimmied out of her panties as he began kissing his way down her stomach. Then she slumped back on the bed, liquid with desire. He nipped and licked her belly, pausing to trace a circle of kisses around her navel. Finally he was between her legs, his hands roughly spreading her thighs apart.

“Mine,” he whispered into her pussy, spreading her dewy lips open, his breath fanning her heated flesh. “Say it.”

“Yes…yours…” she gasped. His mouth closed over the small pink pearl of her clit, and he sucked hard, wrenching a cry of pleasure from her.

She tangled her fingers in his hair, moaning wordlessly as he tortured and teased her with light nips and swirls of his talented tongue.

Her body was filling with liquid heat that lapped over her in waves. The rest of the universe melted away. There was nothing but Austin and his mouth, driving her mad with desire. Then two fingers slid inside her, gently stroking her slick walls as he dragged his tongue over her clit again and again.

“Yessss…” she wailed. She was on the brink… She was almost…

He pulled away, wrenching her back from the precipice, and her muscles clenched in protest. She burned for the release that only he could give her, her whole body pulsing with need.

“You bastard!” she whimpered.

“But I’m your bastard.” He moved up her until he was pressing down on her with the weight of his hard, muscular body, lying between her thighs. “Only yours.”

He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I own your heart. Your body. Your orgasms. And you own mine.” Her lips parted and she let out a soft whimper of agreement. She was trying to make it sound like “Yes”, but she was so dazed with lust and need that words failed her.

He slid down just a little and pressed the head of his cock against her tight entrance, and she moved her hips, her thighs spreading to take him.

Austin took his time, sliding in inch by inch. She moaned at the sweet pain of his thickness, her slick walls stretching to accommodate him.

When he was fully buried inside her, he began rocking his hips, gently at first, sliding halfway out and then plunging all the way in. Each thrust sent a tidal wave of pleasure rushing through her body, but he kept it slow, drawing it out, letting the sensation build and build.

He released her chin and settled down so he was pressed right on top of her, his breathing harsh and warm in her ear as he picked up speed, stoking the fires of her arousal until she was dangling on the precipice again.

His breathing grew faster, melting into tortured pants, and the sound of his arousal sent her spiraling over the edge. Ecstasy exploded inside her, starting low in her pelvis and rocketing through her entire body as she threw her head back in a wordless scream.

At the height of her climax, he extended his fangs and bent down and bit her shoulder, hard. She cried out in mingled pain and pleasure as his teeth sank in, deep, leaving scars that wouldn’t heal. His claiming mark.

She was his. Forever.

She arched her back in ecstasy, her sheath spasming and squeezing his cock. His shouts of pleasure echoed off the walls of the small room, and she moaned as she felt his seed flowing into her.

They lay there shuddering with the aftershocks for what felt like eons, before he finally slid out of her.

“Yours,” she whispered, touching his claiming mark.

He leaned down and licked it tenderly. “Does it hurt?” he murmured, gathering her into his arms.

“Only a little. But it felt so good at the same time.” And she nestled against him, head resting on his shoulder. “I’m going to show it off all the time. I’ll be wearing sleeveless shirts in the middle of the winter.”

“Good. I want everyone to know that you’re taken. You’re my foxy little forever mate.”

“Jealous, much?” she asked him, snuggling in closer.

“Very much.” He stroked her arm gently. “But I try to stifle my murderous impulses when other men look in your general direction.”

His cell phone, lying on the night table, beeped, and he picked it up and threw it across the room.

“The nerve,” he growled.

“I think you broke it,” she pointed out mildly.

“I can get another phone. I can’t get another claiming night,” he said. He turned his attention back to her, gently kissing the claiming mark.

* * *

Hours later, after more lovemaking left them wrung out and sweaty and exhausted, he lay there half asleep.

His foxy little forever mate quietly slipped out of bed and headed for the shower. So sweet, so thoughtful. Trying not to disturb him.

After a few minutes, he slid out of bed to join her. He ached pleasantly, but he could never get enough of Savannah, and if she was up for it, he was ready for some hot, steamy shower sex.

So when he threw open the door and saw her standing next to the shower, fully dressed and toweling her hair off, he spluttered in shock.

“Ah,” she said, backing away from him with a guilty look on her face. There was a pad of paper sitting on the dresser next to the mirror, with a pen resting on top of it. She’d scrawled something on the pad.

“Ah?” he echoed. “Having cold feet, are we? Or should I saw cold paws?”

“Um,” she muttered, avoiding his gaze and moving in front of the pad of paper so he couldn’t see what she’d written on it.

“I know exactly what’s happening here.”

“I decided to back out and live my life as a single fox?” she suggested hopefully.

He grinned fiercely. “That text to my cell phone? You recognized the ring tone. My bad – I’ll have to change that. It was a call from Harris. Sent out to everyone, saying there’s a mark in the area. Only reason he’d text. You snuck in here and checked your phone, didn’t you? Because you’re going after the mark. On our honeymoon night. And not only that, you were going to leave behind a note. Not just any note. It’s a really taunting, mocking note, isn’t it?”

“Er.” She stared up at the ceiling.

He grabbed her by the chin – and kissed her. Hard. Hungry. Drinking in her sweetness.

“You little wench. You are amazing.” He grinned down at her. “I adore you so very much right now. But you know what? That mark is mine, and when I get him before you – not if, but when, you owe me five blow jobs and you have to cook dinner for me naked.”

She smiled up at him, eyes shining.

“Sweetheart. Babe. My own personal sex god. You’re on. I see you the five blow jobs and naked dinner, and raise you half an hour of oral sex, followed by a naked barbecue. You cooking for me, starkers, on the front lawn.”

And before he could answer, the love of his life had dashed past him out the bathroom door, slamming it behind her. When he tried to open it, she’d locked it from the outside.

His laughter chased her out into the night, and the love he felt made his heart pound so hard he thought it might burst.