Feral Sins

CHAPTER EIGHT

Trey jumped to his feet as the door to his office suddenly burst open. Thinking that there must be some sort of emergency – and feeling a spike of fear that something might have happened to Taryn – he walked around the desk toward where Dante, Marcus and Trick stood, scowling. His wolf had snapped to alertness and was pacing within him.

“What the hell did you do?” demanded Marcus.

Surprised by not only the question but Marcus’ insubordinate behaviour, Trey frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Taryn. What did you do to her?”

His wolf went still. “What about Taryn?”

“You’ve been holed up in here all morning so you wouldn’t be aware that she’s got the personality of a zombie right now. We can barely get any conversation out of her. She’s not even responding to Greta’s taunts – just looks through her like she’s not even there. That’s not Taryn.”

No, it wasn’t and he had the sudden urge to go see her and find out what was wrong. Instead, he simply shrugged. “She seemed kind of quiet earlier but other than that…”

“Yeah? Well now she’s really quiet. As in mute. That’s when she’s not telling us to get out of her way while she cleans every room.”

“Cleaning?”

“Like Mary Poppins on crack. You know the way women do that fast-forward cleaning when they’re pissed off.”

“It’s not just that,” said Trick, looking more worried than agitated. “It’s like, I don’t know…like one wrong word would break her. I’m not sure if she’s angry or just trying to distract herself from something.”

“What did you do to her?” repeated Marcus. “What did you say to her?”

“Maybe it’s what he hasn’t done or said,” said Dante as he folded his arms across his broad chest.

Trey glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t talk to her, Trey. In fact, you don’t bother with her at all. You claimed her, brought her here, solidified the mating, and then handed her safety over to Tao. Look, I get that this is only supposed to be a temporary thing and so there’s no need for you both to build a bond, but it’s more than that Trey. You purposely avoid her. You never touch her – don’t try to tell me that’s not driving your wolf crazy. And unless my hearing’s suddenly gone to shit, you’re not sleeping with her either.”

“That’s none of your business,” snapped Trey.

Dante held up a placating hand. “With all due respect, this is our business because you’re our Alpha male and, whether it’s temporary or not, she’s our Alpha female. Your relationship affects the rest of the pack. And we like her, we respect her, it’s in our nature to protect our females. Right now, there’s something wrong with Taryn and you need to do something.”

“You know, I hear you all whining but look who’s not here. Taryn. If she had a problem with me, I’d know about it. If her wolf was riding her too hard she’d have come to me whether she wanted to or not.”

Dante laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Is that what you think? She’s not like the women you’re used to, Trey. She’s an alpha. Her wolf’s probably going just as crazy as yours is, but neither Taryn nor her wolf will ever come to you begging for some attention. Not ever.”

“Maybe this isn’t about you,” said Trick, “maybe it’s something else eating at her, we don’t know. We’re worried about her and thought you might have some luck reaching her.”

The urge to find her was fierce now, but again Trey shrugged. “She could be just having a rough day -”

“Christ, Trey,” interrupted Dante. “She was there for you when you were in a bad state. She reached you while your wolf was feral, and you’re going to ignore this?” He waved his hand dismissively at Trey and headed for the door. “Forget it. Hide some more, whatever.”

Looking both disappointed and disgusted, the three males walked out of his office and left Trey alone with his thoughts, thoughts that revolved around Taryn. He had noticed that she seemed off – her odd mood had unnerved his wolf and had him clawing at Trey, wanting to get to her. But, as always, Trey had acted against his wolf’s wishes and his own instincts and simply shrugged off his concern.

He wanted to do the same thing again now, but one thing was stopping him; as he had reached out through the pack link to sense her emotions, he’d hit a wall. She had somehow erected a big enough barrier around her that her own mate couldn’t reach her. A person didn’t do that unless a strong emotion was eating at them and they were trying desperately to hold themselves together.

With a determined stride he strolled out of the office and made his way to the living area where the majority of the noise was coming from. The fact that her scent was stronger the closer he got told him that that was where she was.

He entered the room. And stopped dead in his tracks. Across the room was Taryn balancing on one of the dining chairs as she used a feather duster to tackle non-existent cobwebs. But it wasn’t Taryn. Taryn was life and fire and sensuality and adorable sarcasm. She was not quiet or expressionless or withdrawn or robotic.

Most of the pack, even Greta, were gathered in the room on the sofa facing the T.V., but all eyes were fixed on Taryn. And all, even Greta, appeared concerned. So concerned that they only spared him a brief glance before turning their attention back to her.

Slowly he covered the space between them until he was beside the chair she was balanced on. She didn’t look at him. But she wasn’t ignoring him, he quickly realized. She was simply elsewhere in her mind. “Taryn?” he said softly. “Taryn, baby…you okay?” She double-blinked as if snapping out of a daze and then peered down at him. “Everything okay?” he asked again, really not liking the vacant look on her face.

Taryn nodded. “Fine.” Why, of all the times, did he want to speak to her now – now when the last person she needed to be around was him? The answer instantly came to her: Because someone had sent for him – if they hadn’t, he wouldn’t have bothered with her.

She went back to her dusting and Trey realized he had just been dismissed. “Come on, baby, come down from there.” No response. “I think we can safely say there isn’t a speck of dust left up there.” Nothing. Not even a sarcastic comment. His wolf was pacing again, not liking that she was obviously hurting. “How about you get down and we’ll go get a cup of coffee.”

Taryn wanted to hit him. Why was he talking to her like she was an insane person having an episode? A better question would be why won’t he just leave? And, as it happened, there was actually plenty of dust up here.

“Taryn, how -”

“Don’t you have something to do in your office?”

Trey winced. He deserved that, he knew he did. “I’m not moving from this spot until you tell me what’s wrong, baby,” he told her gently.

“Good,” she said as she hopped down from the chair. “That means you’ll be a long way away from me because I’m about to leave the room.” She picked up the chair and carried it through the tunnel toward the kitchen, deliberately ignoring Trey who was trailing behind her. Tao wasn’t far behind him. She returned the chair to the dining table and put the duster back in the cupboard before going to the sink to wash her hands. Noticing there were a few mugs and dishes on the counter, she stacked them into the sink and filled it with hot soapy water.

“What is it, baby? Tell me what’s wrong.”

That was now the fourth time he had called her ‘baby’. Cheeky bastard. If he thought he could block out her existence but then expect her to still confide in him he was seriously mistaken. Taryn would have told him that, but she didn’t want to argue with him, she just wanted him to go back to his hidey hole and leave her to grieve her mother in peace.

Taryn knew that her method of grieving wasn’t normal, that shutting off from the world around you while your body went on autopilot and you disappeared in your thoughts and memories was not good. It was the same state she had slipped into when her mom and Joey were in the accident. Although she had eventually dug her way out of it, she always tended to retreat whenever it was the anniversary of their death or either of their birthdays. It was just how she coped. The only way she could cope without screaming.

But having Trey around her – someone who frustrated and annoyed the hell out of her and had her wolf all messed up – was threatening the stability of her seemingly indifferent state. All that frustration and annoyance that she had been shoving aside was at risk of bursting out of her. If that happened, she would break. She couldn’t afford to do that.

“Come on, leave those and come sit with me.”

Ignoring him in the hope that he would go away, Taryn continued scrubbing the dishes.

“Taryn, you can’t tell me you’re not upset about something.”

Realising he was closer now, she warned in a low voice, “Back off, Trey.”

“Back off?”

“Yes.”

“You want me to back off?” It was one thing when Trey assumed she just didn’t want to talk about whatever it was that was bugging her, but it was another thing altogether for her to want to freeze him out.

“Yes, I want you to leave me alone. It shouldn’t be too hard. You do it easily enough any other time.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re mad at me for not spending time with you?”

A short humorless laugh escaped her. “Yes because the world revolves around you.”

“Then what is it?”

“Like I said, just back off.”

“I won’t back off. Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

Deep breaths, she told herself. And those deep breaths actually worked. The tension didn’t leave her body, but it eased a little. Until hands wrapped around her middle as a large body pressed against her back and, making it even worse, he whispered into her ear ‘What’s wrong, baby?’

There was that word again! Something inside her snapped. Abruptly she spun, splashing water everywhere. Shocked, Trey jumped back out of the way. “Didn’t I tell you to back off? I’m pretty sure that’s what I said.”

He held his hands up in a calming gesture. “Taryn -”

“Just stay away from me. That’s all I’m asking you to do. It’s something you do every single fucking day so why on this one day that I really need a little alone time am I suddenly of interest to you?!”

“I just want to know what’s wrong.”

“Well that’s tough shit, psycho boy, because I don’t want to talk to you!” Seeing that people were starting to gather was only making her worse. She suddenly felt like a cornered animal, like everyone was taking up her breathing space. Growling, she wiped her hands on the hand towel and then stalked toward the door. The crowd quickly parted, apparently not daring to intervene.

“Where’re you going?”

“Away from you!”

Trey jogged down the tunnel after her. “Oh no, you don’t get to shut me out like this. You’re my mate.”

She pivoted on the spot. “No, I’m not.”

“What did you just say?” he asked softly but in a very dangerous tone.

“We don’t count as mates if you only act like it when it suits you. But, hey, don’t get me wrong – if putting on act for other people is as far as it goes for you, then that’s fine. But don’t you dare throw that ‘you’re my mate’ shit at me when I won’t do what you want!”

He knew she was right, but the denial was automatic. “You are my mate, Taryn.”

“Is it fun in La La Land? It must be, because you go there a lot.” Out of patience, she spun and began stalking away.

“For God’s sake, Taryn, will you stop walking away from me.” Trey honestly wasn’t sure what happened…He’d reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder and then next thing he knew he was flat on his back on the ground and Taryn was snarling down at him. Damn the woman knew some good moves.

“Back. Off,” she growled. She looked up at the others who were slowly edging toward them, their expressions unsure. “All of you back off! I want to be alone!” Then she was striding out the main door, down the mountain, across the small open field and into the forest.

Many times she had gone on a leisurely walk or a run through here with Tao, but never had she gone as far as she intended to go today. Plenty of times she had heard the sound of the river in the distance, had known it was there and known that one day she would really need to go there for some alone time.

The River Kids – that was what her mom and Joey’s mom had called them. Some kids liked beaches, some kids liked swing parks, and she and Joey had liked rivers. No, they’d loved rivers. Loved the sounds, loved the surrounding wildlife, loved paddling in the shallow water and balancing on old tree branches that crossed the expanse of the river. There was something calming about them, she thought. Right now, she needed to calm the hell down.

On eventually reaching the river she found a bolder to perch herself on and took a deep, cleansing, calming breath. Again and again she filled her lungs with the fresh crispy forest air, letting it relax her. The familiar smells of wet earth and pine made her wolf ease a little within her. It was amazing how a place could relax you even as a barrage of sad memories hit you, mused Taryn.

A familiar guttural ‘tock’ sound snagged her attention and made her look to the tree beside her. “Hey LJ,” she said around the frog in her throat. Why the bird followed her around sometimes she had no idea, but that had been another thing that she and Joey used to marvel at together – the way birds were so at ease with her, almost attracted to her.

Hey Joe. I know that I shouldn’t always come to you whenever I need to talk to someone, that I should actually try confiding in people who are alive…but they’d be able to tell me to shut up. And in truth, you’re all I have.

As much as I really like these people here – with the exception of a few, including the evil and very senile version of Yoda – I still don’t feel like I can really talk to them. Not even to say ‘hey I miss my mom’. Actually, no, it’s not that I don’t feel like I can talk to them, it’s that I don’t want to start opening up to them and getting too comfortable here. Snort. Not that there’s really much chance of me getting comfortable with psycho boy around.

You know, I used to look at mated couples and I’d think how amazing it must be, that once you mated you’d never feel alone ever again because that person would become a part of you. I mean, I know that my mating with Trey doesn’t count in an emotional sense, but I still didn’t expect this feeling of being…trapped. I’m bound to someone who won’t even touch me socially, who deliberately avoids me – unless I want to be left alone, apparently I’m interesting to him then – and who has my wolf enthralled. And how is it that he’s able to get my wolf so enthralled with him anyway? That shouldn’t be possible. She’s such a traitor sometimes.

It’s freaking shit, the lot of it. I should be able to turn around to the person I’m mated to, even if it’s only temporary, and say ‘you know what, it’s my mom’s birthday today and I miss her’, but I don’t even feel like I can talk to him like that. See, you really are all I have.

A noise in the distance pulled her from her conversation with Joey. So she hadn’t been left alone after all, and they apparently thought she wouldn’t realize this. Oh the bastards.

So this was what Taryn had been feeling like, mused Trey as he sat at the kitchen table tapping his fingers on the surface. It hadn’t occurred to him that by establishing a distance between them it could actually be a bad thing, that it could actually hurt her. But the way Taryn had froze him out, walked away from him, pulled away from his touch…it hurt.

She was his mate. No, not of the soul or heart, but she was still his mate and she had ordered him away from her. She had rejected his comfort. Generally he wasn’t a guy who offered comfort, but this was his mate. And she didn’t want him. A part of him knew that it shouldn’t hurt this much, but he didn’t want to think on that or he would have to address the question of why it hurt like this.

What bothered him more than any of that was that she was clearly nursing some sort of emotional ache. One strong enough to make her withdraw from everyone and everything around her. His strong Taryn was close to breaking and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. That sense of helplessness was eating at both him and his wolf, increasing his need to find her and soothe her.

Suddenly Tao appeared, panting. “Trey, we got a problem.”

Instantly he was on his feet. “What?”

“Taryn. I can’t find her.”

“What do you mean you can’t find her?”

“I did what you said – I stayed a good distance away but was close enough to hear if there was a problem. Maybe she heard me and got pissed off that someone had followed her, I don’t know, but I can’t find her.”

“Shit.” So a large party of them searched. Searched every single inch of the forest, checked every tree, even the river. But there was no sign of her. It was obvious she had stopped at the river for a while, but then she seemed to have done a runner while covering her tracks. And damn if she wasn’t good at covering her tracks.

With each minute Trey became more concerned and his wolf grew more restless, understanding that his mate was hurting and missing. For a split second, Trey had wondered if she’d done something stupid while so emotional, but the thought left his head instantly. Taryn would never take the coward’s way out of anything.

“Okay,” said Dante as they came to a halt outside the forest. “Let’s put ourselves in Taryn’s shoes. She wanted to be alone. Nothing more than that, right?”

“Yes, so she came out here,” said Trick.

“But we wouldn’t let her be. And I doubt that while she was in that foul mood she was too pleased about her simple wish being ignored like that.”

“Definitely not,” agreed Marcus, “but she didn’t come and verbally kick our asses and that doesn’t sound like her.”

“It’s worth pointing out that she wasn’t at all herself,” said Dominic with a shrug.

“But she will have been utterly pissed and insulted by the idea that we thought we could still follow her and think she wouldn’t know,” said Tao.

“Do you think maybe she’s been teaching us a little lesson about how not stupid she is?” asked Ryan.

It fell into place suddenly. Trey smiled. “Something like that. She’s been leading us on a merry chase. I know where she is.”

Everyone’s expressions begged ‘Where?’

“She’s back inside the caves. I’ll put money on it. She’ll have known that if she made it look as though she was missing, we’d come out searching for her.”

“Leaving the caves empty apart from a few,” said Ryan.

“And giving her what she wanted,” finished Trey, “the simple chance to be alone.” It was a brilliant plan, he had to admit it. She had totally played them, and played them well.

“Shit,” cursed Trick. “I can’t believe we’ve been out here for hours and she’s been in the house all along. You’re sure?”

“It sounds like something she’d do,” said Marcus.

It turned out that it was exactly what she’d done, although at first Trey had wondered if he’d been wrong as she hadn’t been in the kitchen or living area or in their bedroom. If he hadn’t picked up her scent in the second floor tunnels, he might have ended up back on that merry chase.

Following her scent, he soon found himself outside one of the guest bedrooms – not that they ever had guests. There were no sounds coming from inside, but he was certain that she was in there. Slowly and quietly he turned the doorknob and opened the door. His chest tightened at the sight before him. Taryn was curled up on the bed, asleep, with dried tears on her red cheeks. She was cuddling something, he noticed a few seconds later.

As he carefully closed the door and crept closer he realized that it was a shoebox. One that she had had for a while if the bad state of the cardboard was anything to go by. Curious, he sat beside her and gently took the faded-white box from between her now limp arms. As he removed the lid, his chest tightened again. Inside were nothing more than inconsequential little things like a net-bag of marbles, a large shiny stone, a plastic engagement-type ring, a miniature plush bear, and some homemade Christmas cards and birthday cards and other bits and pieces. But these little things meant everything to Taryn because they had obviously either belonged to her true mate or been given to her by him.

Spotting a little velvet book he flipped it open and realized it was actually a photo album. Even as a little girl Taryn’s hair had had all those different shades running through it. She looked just as fiery and energetic. The kid who Trey guessed was Joey had clearly been besotted with her. On every picture he was standing protectively close to her, hugging her or holding her hand. Trey wasn’t proud of the twinge of jealousy he felt at how the little kid had been more or less born with rights to her.

Inside the final two photo sleeves were small laminated cards. One had a picture of the kid on, along with his date of birth and the date he had died with a small sort of ‘rest in peace’ type message. On the other was a picture of a woman who looked uncannily like Taryn. Her mom, he quickly realized, noting that the date of her death matched the date of the kid’s. And then something else registered in his brain. Her mother’s birthday…it would have been today.

Well shit. He bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut as it dawned on him. She had been grieving her mom today, had been probably screaming inside as the agony tormented her, but instead of coming to him – her mate – for any kind of comfort or even to just confide in him or cry on his shoulder, she had retreated within herself.

Because she hadn’t felt like she could come to him, had probably thought that he wouldn’t want her to.

Then when he, like a bastard, refused to give her the space she needed, she had finally sought comfort. The fact that the only place she thought she could find it was from a shoebox filled with memories of her dead true mate was like a blow to Trey’s gut. A blow he deserved.

Guilt knifed through him as he thought on how much of a prick he had been to Taryn. Dante was right. Although this mating was temporary it didn’t mean that Trey should be able to just cast her aside. She had become his responsibility the second he claimed her, but all he’d done was try to escape that responsibility just because he got a little spooked by his wolf and some primal instincts. He had frozen her out just as she had done to him today. The feelings of rejection, anger and desolation he had experienced earlier were things that she had obviously been suffering with all this time. In total silence.

Shit, she hadn’t deserved that, hadn’t deserved his cold shoulder, especially when she was being so loyal to their deal.

It was a wonder that she hadn’t left – it wasn’t as if she couldn’t have snuck off. It was clear by the way she had led them on a merry chase and covered her tracks so well that she had the ability to at least try to make a run for it. It wasn’t as though fear of him kept her here. She hadn’t once expressed any fear of him, not even when his wolf had gone feral. Although Roscoe was dead and she didn’t need Trey anymore, she had stayed to fulfil her end of the deal. Even though he’d been a total ass. Even though his grandmother constantly strove to make her feel unwelcome. Even though it meant having to lie to her friends and repeatedly claim that her true mate had been nothing but a good friend.

One thing was for sure – she was a better person than he would ever be. She was someone that any male would be proud to have as their mate, temporary or not.

He wished she was his true mate even though that made him an absolute bastard where his actual true mate was concerned. But she had just been a baby. A tiny screaming baby who had been dumped in his arms while her mom rooted through her handbag for keys. The second she had landed in his arms she had stopped wailing and looked up at him. The next thing he knew, her mom was flapping excitedly saying stuff like ‘instant connection’ and ‘true mate’.

Instead of being happy, he’d been scared. At fourteen years old, it had felt too damn weird to him to be told he had a strong bond to a tiny little baby. It had even made him feel a little ill. The fact that he hadn’t felt the tug of the bond made the whole thing worse, reminding him just how closed off he actually was. So he had stayed away from her and kept totally quiet about it. Her mom had promised to give him time to get used to the idea before telling anyone. But then two months later she’d fell asleep in her cradle and hadn’t woken up.

Unlike Taryn, he’d never had a chance to know his true mate. The only picture he had of her was the one in his mind, and that image was of a little baby with the same baby features that most babies had. He had been disloyal to that little girl from the second he found her. He didn’t have anything at all that had once belonged to her, didn’t even have any memories of her. Taryn, on the other hand…she had kept her true mate’s memory alive as best she could. But for Trey and for the deal she had made with him, she had publically renounced that kid who she’d adored and who had obviously adored her in return.

And Trey had trampled all over her and her feelings, being as neglectful to her as he had been of his true mate.

Well enough of that shit. The mating might be temporary but for as long as this female was here she was his to respect and care for and protect – especially to protect from him and his asshole ways. It was the least she deserved, but more than that, it was what he wanted. He knew that even if – by some miracle – he was to mate someone permanently in the future, this temporary mating he had with Taryn would probably be the closest he would ever get to having a true mate, because she was everything he would have wanted and he doubted he would ever meet anyone like her.

Placing the shoebox on the floor, Trey carefully lay down behind her and locked his arm around her waist as he curled his body around hers. His wolf released a rumbly growl of contentedness, but right now Trey wasn’t doing this to appease his wolf or feed a hunger. He was doing it because Trey the man wanted to hold her.

If it hadn’t been for the hunger pang in her stomach, Taryn probably wouldn’t have woken. Not while she was so comfortable and warm and relaxed. And certainly not while her wolf was so at ease having Trey snuggling up to her. Wait, what? Instantly her eyes shot open and she tensed.

“You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve woke up to find myself curled around you like this.”

She would have told him to fuck off and give her the breathing room she had asked for – no, demanded – but there was something different about his voice. The gruffness she had gotten used to was gone. There was a new softness to his tone, a tenderness she hadn’t heard before. Both of which she had to be imagining along with the hand that was affectionately fondling her hair.

“I’m really sorry about your mom.”

She stiffened even more. “You went through the shoebox.” Through her very personal things. She was just getting ready to snap at him for it when he surprised her by brushing her hair aside so he could kiss along her neck. Damn if her neck wasn’t hypersensitive.

“You look a lot like her.” He kissed his way up the curve of her neck and grazed his teeth over her ear before sucking the lobe into his mouth, eliciting a gasp from her. “I love how responsive you are.”

“Okay this is where you explain to me what the hell you’re doing.” She had meant to sound abrupt and firm but the words had come out kind of breathy. “I asked to be alone.”

“And I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t want to be around me either.” Wanting her soft and relaxed so that she didn’t bolt before he had a chance to talk to her – and just because he liked to taste and touch her skin – he continue to kiss her neck and ear while at the same time snaking his fingers beneath her sweater to caress her stomach. “You have the softest skin.”

“Now I’m really confused. What is this? Your idea of comforting me?” She didn’t want him touching her because he felt sorry for her. In fact, she didn’t want him touching her at all, or at least that was what she told herself.

“This is me saying I realize I’ve been a prick and it’s going to stop.”

“What?”

As he swiped his tongue over his mark she shuddered, deeply satisfying both him and his wolf. “I shouldn’t have kept my distance from you the way I did. I shouldn’t have frozen you out.”

“No you’ve been doing the right thing by trying to keep a distance. We don’t want to imprint.” It was getting hard to follow the conversation now that his touch was becoming less gentle and more seductive.

“Just because we don’t want to imprint on each other doesn’t mean I should be delegating you to someone else like you’re a duty. There is a halfway measure between keeping a distance and imprinting.”

“And what’s that?”

“Fun.” He slid his hand over her jeans and rubbed against her clit, relishing her moan. “We can have that, can’t we?”

“I take it by fun, you mean sex.” Surprising her, he flipped her around to face him and cupped her face. His expression was serious.

“I’m not just talking about that. I’m talking about us spending time with each other the same way people who are in a casual relationship do.”

“What’s brought all this on?”

Unable to resist those lips, he leaned forward and nipped at them. “When you froze me out earlier, it hurt, but I realized I deserved it. I got to thinking about the way I’ve been acting, and the way I haven’t been acting. Like I told you that first night, I claimed you and you’re my mate whether this is short-term or not. It’s time I started treating you like it.” He licked his tongue along the seam of her mouth, tempting her to open for him. The little witch didn’t. Obviously his explanation wasn’t good enough. “I’m not much good at verbal apologies, baby, but I am good at oral ones.”

“Oral ones?” His meaning became clear as he gently pushed her onto her back and began sliding down her body. She gripped him by the head, keeping him still – which happened to place his mouth level with her breasts and so he grazed one the nipples poking through her sweater with his teeth. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I need to apologise. It’s really very important.”

She wouldn’t laugh, she wouldn’t. “Look, as much as it would be nicer if we could actually interact, that doesn’t mean that sex has to enter the equation.”

He stiffened. “Are you saying you don’t want me?”

“I’m saying I don’t want someone who doesn’t want me.”

“Where the hell did you get the idea that I don’t want you?”

“I’m not your type, don’t even dare lie and say that I am.”

“I admit you’re not the type I’ve gone for in the past, but I’ve realized it’s been a mistake to overlook slender blondes with heart-shaped asses and breasts like these.” Leaning up on his elbows, he bunched up her sweater and cupped her bra-clad breasts. “See how perfectly they fit in my hands.”

He sounded awfully pleased about that, enthralled by the idea. “Trey, I -”

“Just this once, baby, don’t fight me. I’m not saying submit,” he added quickly before she snapped his neck, “I’m just asking you to lie back and let me make you come. This isn’t foreplay, this is me wanting to make you feel good. Me apologising.”

“You don’t want anything in return?” she asked, doubt clear in her voice.

He shook his head. “No sexual favors for me, no fucking. Just me making you come. In a way, I’m sort of being your slave right now. You might want to make the most of that because it won’t happen again.”

Was he really suppressing his need to dominate – a need she knew was intense? Was he really seriously offering to make this all about her? It wasn’t sympathy driving him, she could see that. He was genuinely contrite and genuinely wanted to simply give her pleasure with no demands attached. “Then get to it,” she said with a smile.

Returning her smile, Trey tackled the front clasp of her bra and brushed both cups aside so that they framed those breasts he’d missed. He latched onto her nipple and sucked hard, making her gasp and moan. At the same time he shaped her ribs, the flat of her stomach and her hips with his hands.

God, he loved her body, loved the way his large hands could span her waist. She fit his body in a way that no woman ever had. It still amazed him that the difference in their size didn’t make things awkward. Instead, it was as though her slender form had a perfect groove against his body for her to fit into, and that only increased his possessiveness.

When he transferred his attention to her other breast and closed his mouth over her neglected nipple, Taryn moaned again and clutched his head to her. She knew that her grip on his head had to be causing him some pain, but she couldn’t quite let go of him. The pleasure was building the friction within her, and he was the only anchor she had to keep her from going mindless.

A part of her thought she’d given in too easily to him, that she should have told him to go shove his apology up his ass. But one thing she knew about Trey was that, like all alphas, he had a lot of pride, and one thing that was hard for him to do was admit he was wrong. Not only had he done that, but he had apologised. And now he was reaffirming that apology in the only way a highly sexual being who was in unfamiliar territory knew how.

Releasing the taut bud with a pop, he told her, “I’m going to taste you now.” Trey could smell the mouth-watering scent of her arousal from where he was – enticing him and luring him. He began to nip and suck and kiss his way down her body. He couldn’t hold back a growl as he saw that most of his marks had completely faded. The only one that would never fade was his claiming mark, and Trey told himself and his wolf that that was enough.

Ignoring the urge to replace his marks, he tackled the buttons of her jeans and peeled both them and her black lacy thong from her body. Then he settled himself between the V of her thighs, inhaling deeply to take that feminine scent inside him. Satisfaction flooded him at how wet her pussy was. Gently pulling her glistening slippery folds apart, he bent his head and swept his tongue between them. And groaned. Fuck. Her spicy, seductive taste burst on his tongue, urging him to feast on her. So he did.

Taryn writhed and moaned as he worked her into a frenzy using long sensual licks. His tongue constantly teased her opening, but never delved inside. It was torture and it was pleasure and it was goddamn unfair.

Frustrated, she was helplessly squirming and arching. If he was hoping she would beg, he was in for a disappointment. She had warned him in the beginning that she never begged, not for anyone. But she couldn’t take anymore teasing, she couldn’t. She tried escaping his hold, but his hands tightened on her thighs, claws digging warningly into her skin, and he growled. The rumble sent vibrations shooting up her core and through her body, sizzling all the way to her extremities.

She was ready to smack him over the head when she suddenly felt the lash of a tongue to her clit. Then his tongue was swirling around it as a finger speared inside her and she groaned, melting into the mattress. He growled again – this one was approving.

Trey knew that Taryn wouldn’t last much longer, that she really needed to come, but he couldn’t bring himself to part with her taste. It was like an aphrodisiac to him because it was creamy and zesty and his. For as long as she was mated to him every part of her was his, this pussy that he loved the feel of around his cock was his, and he needed to hear her say it.

Abruptly he shoved another finger inside her, making her cry out and buck. “Who does this pussy belong to?” he gritted out as he curved his fingers inside her while pressing his thumb on her clit so that his hand was clamped around her. Eyes glazed with lust met his.

“Shut the fuck up, Trey, and make me come.”

He thrust his fingers deep and again she bucked and cried out. “Whose is it, Taryn?”

“As I’m the one who cleans it, waxes it, keeps it tidy and has it medically checked, I’d say it’s mine. But you can borrow it if you like.”

He couldn’t hold back a smile. “If you want to come you better be careful, baby, or I might just stop.”

“That’s fine. You’ve laid the foundations. My vibrator will take care of the rest.”

“No fake cocks. This” – a thrust of his fingers – “is mine. The only cock that goes inside here is mine. Nothing else, no one else. Say it.”

“I would,” she rasped, “but I don’t believe in telling lies.”

“I mean it, Taryn. Nothing and no one goes inside you except me.” He flicked her clit with his tongue. “I don’t share what’s mine.”

“Now that’s a lie because I’ve heard that you and Tao have double-teamed some of your girlfriends in the past.”

It surprised him that Tao had told her. “That was different.” He suckled gently on her clit, smiling at how close she was to coming. He wouldn’t let her until he’d heard what he wanted to hear. Needed to hear.

“Yeah?” she breathed.

“Yeah, I didn’t consider them mine. I didn’t mark them as mine. And if you don’t tell me right now that this hot little pussy here is mine, I’ll keep you hanging like this.”

“You motherfucking ass-licking son of a goddamn cock-sucking bitch!”

It took effort not to laugh. “All the teasing will be over the second you tell me what I want to hear.” Instead she shook her head, growling. He rose to his knees and gripped his cock through his jeans with his free hand. “See this, baby? This is yours. I’ll give you as much cock as you want whenever you want. It’s yours. And this” – he plunged his fingers hard inside her – “is all mine. No other cock except mine. Say it.”

Again she growled, clawing his pectorals enough to tear his t-shirt but not enough to draw blood. “Just make me come you miserable bastard!”

He slashed his claws in a diagonal line from her breast to her hip. “Fucking say it.”

Taryn kicked at him but he didn’t remove his hand, only cupped her harder. She could see by the tight line of his lips that he wasn’t going to drop this. “No other cock except yours, there I said it!”

“And why is that, Taryn? Why does nothing or no one go inside this tight pussy except me?”

“Because it’s yours,” she growled.

“That’s my good girl.” In one quick movement he withdrew his fingers, gripped her ass, curled her hips and stabbed his tongue inside her. Her back arched as she gave a loud cry. Her fingers threaded through his hair, tugging painfully, but he didn’t give a shit. Not while her taste was in his mouth and her perfect ass was in his hands and she was making those goddamn noises.

He continued fucking her relentlessly with his tongue and then, when he sensed her orgasm was close, he pulled her ass cheeks apart and plunged one wet finger into her ass. She screamed as her release hit and, unable to help himself, Trey moved his mouth to her inner thigh and bit down hard, sucking and licking and marking. Quickly he realized that he hadn’t bitten her to placate his wolf, he’d done it because Trey the man wanted to mark her.