Only In My Dreams

Chapter Eight

The door shut behind them with a final-sounding click. Sarah refused to turn around and face her mate.

“So.”

Silence.

She licked her lips nervously, knowing what was about to happen. It was sort of like worrying about the drippy faucet right after the dam had broken. “Want to watch a movie?”

“Sarah.”

She shivered at the tone of voice. Oh, boy. Her lashes lowered before she’d even had time to think. Her dominant lover was in the room, and he would brook no refusal tonight. The emotion pouring off Gabe only sent her own arousal soaring.

“Come here.”

She turned, studying him from underneath her lashes, one brow raised in challenge. As much as she wanted to belong to him, this was not the way she’d wanted things to go down. She needed something from him she still wasn’t certain he could give her. Her own emotions were conflicting with his, the harmony she’d sensed in the other pairs of mates lacking in them.

He stood there, just watching her, those dark blue eyes of his slowly bleeding to gold. The sight was highly erotic, evidence of his desire for her.

Through an act of will she kept her own eyes brown, knowing it would spur him on. His nostrils flared and she knew he could smell her arousal. He held out his hand, palm up, and waited. Patient as a cat.

Her mouth curled as she watched him stand there. Damn . Knowing him he would stand there all day, too. Stubborn son of a bitch.

And wasn’t that the main source of their problems? He’d been too stubborn to just ask her, about anything. And here he was, holding out his hand…

Wait. He’s just standing there, holding out his hand.

He was asking her. He was asking for her compliance, for her to bend her will to his, if only here in the bedroom. For the most part he’d treated her as an equal out of bed.

Like a man treated his mate.

Was it enough that he asked, even if it wasn’t verbal? She studied him, reliving every moment of the last two days. Every hour of their lovemaking sifted through her mind. The times she’d had to listen to Chloe talk about her time with Gabe was still a shaft of pain she couldn’t deny. Yet here he stood, in her room, having marked her in public (and God would she ever get over that? ) holding out his hand and waiting.

For her.

She took a deep breath and let go of the shield she’d held in front of her senses. It was harder than she’d thought it would be, but she pulled it down bit by bit until she could feel everything he felt.

And it damn near dropped her to her knees. For the first time she fully understood the need, yes the love in him without her own doubts and insecurities clouding her senses, and it was glorious .

All of her earlier posturing was gone as she allowed herself to bend to his will. The arousal moved through her, slow as honey and just as sweet. She moved to take his hand, the thought of his fangs sinking into her, of him marking her again and claiming her for his own almost enough to bring her to her knees.

When their hands met, his face lit with savage joy. He didn’t give her the slightest chance to push him away. Pulling her to him he bit into her shoulder, sending her into a screaming orgasm that was part pain, all pleasure. He held her tight, thrusting his thigh in between her legs, allowing her to ride it as the dark waves rolled over her, the emotions pouring off him throwing her higher than she’d ever been.

Without even thinking about it her Puma struck, marking Gabe, pulling a groaning shudder from him. He held her head in place as her teeth slid into him, his hands tangling in her hair and tugging on her. “That’s it, baby.” He used his free hand to begin slowly shredding her tank top, the tips of his claws leaving delicious trails of fire in their wake. The need in him spiked, savage and brutal and aimed only at her.

They began walking backwards towards the bed. He took his hand out of her hair to pick her up by her ass, her feet dangling from the floor. She took her fangs out of his neck and held on.

“Wrap your legs around my waist.”

She complied just as he tipped her backwards, her shoulders landing on the bed. Her ass was in midair, her hands clutching the bedspread to keep from falling.

“Good girl.” His fingers moved to the button of her shorts, undoing them and the zipper swiftly. “You’re going to trust me. Understand?”

She licked her lips and nodded.

“Say it.”

“I trust you, sir.”

One large hand went to the small of her back as the other one started to slide her shorts off. He grunted as they slid down and he realized she hadn’t worn any panties.

He took the shorts to the tops of her knees before his hand went to his own shorts. He wrestled them down, exposing the long, hard line of his cock. “I owe you, baby.”

Her eyes widened, her ass cheeks clenching in anticipation at the determination on his face. His hand stroked her ass, clutching one cheek before moving to the other one. “I’m going to redden this pretty ass of yours.”

She bit back her whimper.

“Up on the bed, hands and knees.”

She scrambled, awkward with her shorts around her knees, but she knew better than to take them off.

She knew him well enough to know that the sight of them was a turn-on for him. She bent down, shoulders to the bed, ass cheeks stuck up in the air, and waited for his hand.

She didn’t have to wait long. She felt the sting immediately as he swatted her. “Count.”

“One. Two. Three.” She felt the cheeks of her ass begin to burn, her pussy clenching in anticipation of the next blow. She still didn’t know what it was that made her crave this, but no way was she about to complain.

“I’m going to fuck this ass.” Another swat landed, her whimper escaping before she could bite it back. It felt like her butt was on fire. He stroked the red globes, his hand soothing on the sensitive skin. “You’ll look so pretty with my cock sliding between these red cheeks.”

Her clit throbbed at the thought of feeling him there. They’d done it once before in the dreams, and the sensations had been wild beyond belief. “Please, sir.”

“Please what?”

“Please fuck me.”

She felt him move back on the bed. “Not quite yet.” She closed her eyes as his hands slid to her hips.

“First I want to admire my ass.”

“Get a mirror,” she muttered.

Another slap had her squealing. “What was that?”

The amusement in his voice had her relaxing back against his hand. “Nothing. Sir.”

His teeth nipped her hip. “Are you sure? It sounded like you had something to say.”

If you don’t fuck me soon I’m going to kill you. She had the feeling if she told him that she would wind up staying there, ass in the air, while he went and did something else. “I said you have a very fine ass, sir.”

He laughed as he stroked hers. “That I do.”

The first swipe of his wet, warm tongue took her by surprise and she jumped. “Tasty, too.” Gabe’s tongue rolled around the globes of her ass, occasionally dipping in between the cleft of her cheeks to swipe at her pussy.

The sudden feel of his teeth on her ass sent her spinning once more into orgasm. She drummed her feet against the mattress, grateful his hands had become firm on her hips, keeping her from falling.

She didn’t realize until she came down off the high that he’d marked her ass.

“Mine.”

The smug tone of his voice had her looking over her shoulder.

He was staring down at the mark he’d put on her with so much male satisfaction she rolled her eyes.

The satisfaction leeched from his face, a frown forming between his eyes. “Damn. I’m going to have to save fucking my ass for another day.”

“Why?” Well, don’t I just sound needy? The whine in her voice had her mentally wincing.

“I don’t have lube.”

Okay, the thought of that really did have her wincing. She clenched her ass cheeks, her ankles crossing in protest.

“I gather going in with just spit for lube isn’t your idea of fun?” He grinned when she glared at him, sliding his cock up and down the crease of her pussy. “I guess we’ll have to do something else, then.”

He rammed home, shoving her forward on the bed, and began pounding into her. The fact that her legs were together made the sensations that much tighter. His hands landed on either side of her head, his thighs slapping against the heated flesh of her ass. She could feel his balls banging against her engorged clit as he fucked her without mercy.

He nipped the nape of her neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin, her Puma purring its approval at her mate’s show of dominance. She moved against him, fucking him back, reveling in the feel of him shuttling in and out of her body.

I wonder…

Sarah opened up her senses, felt for Gabe, and pushed. Every emotion she was experiencing poured out of her and into him. Gabe choked, his hips stopping. Sarah whimpered and he echoed it. The sensation when he began to move again rocketed through them.

She could feel it, the connection between them. She knew he was experiencing everything he was doing to her. The exquisite pleasure was blinding, building up and up. They fed off each other’s pending orgasm, the waves crashing through them both. They wanted. They needed. She was gasping, begging for more, his low growls pushing at her. Before she could voice the need his hands were on her ass, smacking her, gently, harshly, alternating pats with slaps, inching her closer and closer to an explosion that just might kill her. His teeth clamped down on her shoulder again, pinning her in place and sending her into her third orgasm. She screamed breathlessly, pulsing around the hard flesh that continued to batter into her, her mind and heart shattering along with her body.

She began begging, pleading with him to move faster, harder, the pleasure rolling on and on until she thought she might black out. Her claws shredded the bedspread uncontrollably as she felt the beginnings of his orgasm rip through him, the sensations shoving her into a fourth orgasm so hard she saw stars.

“Fuck, fuck!” His head whipped up, his Puma screaming as he emptied himself into her body. The fact that he’d lost enough control that his Puma nearly came out was an immense source of satisfaction to her.

Gabe rarely lost control.

He collapsed to the side, pulling her down with him, curling around her body as they both struggled for breath. His cock twitched inside her, his arm around her waist preventing her from pulling away. “No.

Stay where you are.”

She had the feeling the drugged-sounding command wasn’t just about her body.

She settled down against her mate, loving the feel of his flesh inside her, the little flash of panic he’d felt smoothing out into a contented rumble. Little nibbling kisses against the back of her neck soothed her.

With a small smile she allowed herself to drift peacefully, secure in the knowledge that her mate would keep her safe. Hell, she even allowed herself to purr.

Take that, Chloe’s of the world. Gabe is mine.

“What’s that smug look for?”

She smiled, the feel of her lips curving tickling his skin. “I’m not sure I should answer that.”

He turned her, wanting to see her face. It was important that he see her face now, almost as important as the feel of her in his mind. He’d never experienced anything like what she’d done to him. She’d more than mated him, she owned him now, in ways he wasn’t certain he understood. “Do you believe me now?”

“About what?”

He grimaced. “Chloe.”

She bit her lip.

Gabe sighed. Obviously not. “Why is it you still feel I have something going with Chloe?”

She winced. “I don’t, not really.”

“But something is still bothering you. What is it?”

“The bracelet.”

Ah. He’d wondered when they’d get around to that. “Yes, I gave her a bracelet. She’s a friend; someone who I thought was doing me a favor. I swear to you, nothing has ever happened between us.

Nothing . It would be like having sex with my kid sister.”

“You don’t have a kid sister.”

He growled. “You know what I mean.” He tipped her chin up. “Believe me. You can ask her if you like.

She already knows who her mate is, and it isn’t me. She’s just trying to figure out how to claim him.”

“Who?” Her eyes went wide. “Jim really is her mate?”

He nodded, choosing to ignore the fact that she’d suspected as much. There’d been enough grief between them over Jim and Chloe. “She volunteers as a vet’s assistant while she’s earning her doctorate in veterinary medicine, so they’re together constantly. She says he turned her down, told her she’s too young for him.”

She made a face. “He did. And I called him on it, too, but he’s stuck in the belief that she’s not mature enough for him or something like that.”

He caressed that beautiful face, dragging his thumb over her lips just to feel her smile. “Whenever I talked to her we discussed mostly you and Jim. Now do you believe me?”

She stroked his chest, relaxing against him with a nod. “Okay. I believe you.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, hoping he’d finally laid her fears to rest. “I love you, Sarah.” He opened his heart, hoping that she’d finally feel it.

When she gave him that mysterious, feminine little smile, his heart nearly exploded from happiness. “I know.”

He bent to her, determined to drink from that happiness and never let it go.

It was two-thirty in the morning, but Gabe couldn’t sleep. He breathed in deep, the scent of his mate surrounding him. Her salty skin was under his tongue. Her heated ass nestled against his groin. And she’d trusted him enough to fall asleep.

Or at least he hoped it was trust, and not sleepy fucked-out exhaustion. Well, okay, I could live with fucked-out exhaustion. He smirked, listening to her even breathing.

It was a heady feeling, holding her in his arms while awake. What was even headier was the knowledge that, even though she could take him down with a thought, render him helpless and begging and crying like a wimp, she’d allowed him to dominate her. And he wasn’t going to even try and fool himself on that one, either. If she’d wished to she could have stopped him cold at any point. His mate was a lot stronger than he’d dared give her credit for. Just one day of watching her with Jim had proven it beyond a doubt.

If he’d had to go through months of that, he’d have wound up insane, or a murderer. Or both. The sex they’d had earlier just cemented it. She’d taken him, pulled him into her, held tight and given him the ride of his fucking life.

Thank God she hadn’t given up on him. Because she could have. She had the strength to walk away and never looked back. And it would have been his own God damn fault for listening to the fucking Bear instead of his own instincts.

He shuddered at the thought of living without Sarah. What had he been thinking, holding off on the mating? He’d been so busy protecting her from their separation that he’d failed to see what it would do to her.

In the end he’d nearly destroyed them both, and for what?

Well, he was determined now that Sarah would never have any doubts about exactly how much he wanted her. Needed her.

He knew that, at certain times, he’d have to bow down to her. She was the Omega. He was merely the Marshall’s Second. He rolled over onto his back, pulling the covers over them both before settling down, arms over his head. He stared at the ceiling, trying to determine exactly how he felt about that. The more he thought about it, the more the lack of anxiety was a relief. He’d have no problems with it. He might be the dominant partner in their physical relationship but when it came to the Pride she outranked him. If needed, he would bow down happily, knowing his baby would be back in his bed and begging for him, if she didn’t have him begging first.

He couldn’t keep the grin off his face. He didn’t want a doormat for a spouse, and Fate had seen to it he hadn’t gotten one. Sarah had proven to him, and to herself, that she was strong enough to hold him off, but also strong enough to let herself go for him.

He blinked. Damn. He tried to hold back his groan but some slipped past. He’d forgotten to give her the ring he’d bought for her for Christmas. He’d have to give it to her first thing in the morning. Maybe he’d take her to France in Epcot for breakfast and feed her beignets before asking her to marry him. He hoped she liked the simple, square-cut diamond set in yellow gold he’d gotten her.

He closed his eyes and allowed sleep to wash over him. He wasn’t surprised when he met Sarah in his dream.

She was everything he ever wanted to dream of, and more.