Shay had been furious when Anthony had declared the baby wasn’t his and that he’d never have anything to do with it. He’d even saidget rid of it. A painful sense of abandonment had come after her initial rage. She hadn’t cared about losing Anthony—he’d shown her once and for all how much of a deadbeat, cheating asshole he was—but she’d mourned the fact that her daughter wouldn’t have a dad. Shay’s father had been so wonderful, so loving, and she’d stupidly hoped that somewhere, buried deep in Anthony’s body, there’d been at least oneselfless bone. She’d hoped that he would’ve given a shit about his own kid.
But none of that mattered now. What mattered now was the male in front of her—the male whowantedShay and her baby.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she closed the distance between them, stopping only when she stood before him. Drakkal tilted his head back, ears perking. There was an eagerness in the way his tail moved atop the bed, an anticipation—and it mirrored the way Shay felt.
She reached out with one hand and ran her fingers through his mane. “So…we’re really doing this? We’re really giving it a shot?”
Drakkal covered her hand with his, stilling it, and stared into her eyes. “I want nothing more than I want you,kiraia. Maybe I’ve been stupid lately, but I’m not dumb enough to pass up a chance to have you.”
Heat flooded her core and overflowed to suffuse her body, right down the tips of her fingers and toes.
I want this. I wanthim.
She smiled and released her grip on the blanket, letting it slide down her body to pool on the floor. “Then have me.”
The hungry gleam in his eyes intensified as he raked them over her. He inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring, and fixed his gaze on her pussy. She knew he could smell her desire. He extended both arms, settling his hands on her hips—over the bruises he’d left the night before. That only turned her on more. With an oddly gentle firmness, he drew her closer until she stood between his thighs.
He slid his right hand up, his calloused palm gliding over her skin until he was cupping one of her breasts in his big, strong fingers. He leaned forward and sucked her nipple into his mouth. Shay moaned and delved the fingersof both hands into his mane, using it to pull him closer. His rough tongue abraded her nipple, sending strong currents of pleasure straight to her center. She tilted her pelvis toward him.
Drakkal slid his metal hand around to grasp her ass. Like the rest of him, that hand was a contradictory blend of hard and soft—the unyielding metal plates contrasting the thick padding on its fingers and palm, which had the slightest give to it.
Only after her sensitive nipple was tender and red did he release it, shifting his mouth to the other to lavish it with equal attention. The delicious torment left her quivering in need. Her breath quickened and grew ragged, and her pulse pounded as her arousal grew. She squeezed her thighs together, but it wasn’t enough to alleviate the hungry ache between them.
He withdrew his mouth from her breast, leaving her bereft and desperate for more, and moved his hands to her hips. When he guided her backward, her instinct was to resist—she only wanted to be closer to him—but he was too strong.
Drakkal drew his legs together. His cock was fully erect now, throbbing in the open air, with its head aimed directly at her and the knot at its base thickening.
He hooked his hands behind her thighs and lifted her suddenly, forcing her legs apart. Despite how awkward she felt with her rounded belly, Drakkal had plucked Shay off her feet with no apparent effort. He guided her legs to either side of his thighs as he pulled her toward him, positioning her astride his lap. His shaft pressed along her slit, hard and hot, and she felt his pulse through it; its every faint beat and tiny twitch produced a new twinge of pleasure low in her belly.
Shay looped her arms around his neck.
“You’re already mine,kiraia,” Drakkal growled.
He cupped the back of her head with his left hand, twining his metal fingers in her hair, and pulled her down into a scalding, claiming kiss. She parted her lips, and Drakkal readilyaccepted her offering. He ravished her mouth, demanding everything she had to give, and she succumbed to his savageness. Their lips molded to each other, their teeth nipped tender flesh, and their tongues moved in an intricate, sensual dance.
The kiss was reckless, punishing, masterful, and consuming.
It was everything.
Shay rocked her hips, sliding her slick pussy along his cock. Whispers of pleasure rippled through her. With every undulation, the head of his shaft stroked her clit, building her desire higher and higher and making her belly flutter.
Gripping his mane, she wrenched his head back, breaking the kiss. Drakkal snarled, but the sound ended with a grunt when Shay dropped a hand and clamped it around his shaft. Locking her eyes with his, she lifted her hips, guided the head of his cock to her entrance, and bared her teeth as she sank down upon him. “And you’re fucking mine.”
Shay’s sexwelcomed him into its hot, tight embrace, taking him in so deeply that her folds were touching the uppermost portion of his knot. Drakkal hissed through his teeth, trembling with the immense wave of ecstasy that had erupted within him. The words she’d spoken—paired with the way she’d just taken him into her body—could be interpreted as nothing but a claim.
He'd claimed her last night. Now, she was claiming him, accepting their bond as mates. That alone was almost enough to make him come right then and there.
He curled his metal fingers in her hair, tugging her head aside to expose the bite mark on her shoulder while he kneaded the supple flesh of her thigh with his right hand. An approving rumble sounded in his chest.
“Leave your mark on me, female. Show me your words aretrue.” He lifted his chin and tilted his head to the side, baring his neck and shoulder as he guided her face closer.
Her little teeth clamped down over his flesh, and, though she didn’t have fangs, he felt her bite. The flash of pain sent a jolt straight to his cock. He growled and moved his hands to her hips. He refused to climax without giving her anything in return, and he was already dangerously close.
Without releasing her bite, she lifted her hips and dropped back down on him, again and again, and he used his arms to grant her movements new force. Each of her downward strokes brought a maddening blast of pleasure, and each upward slide of her pussy nearly stole his breath.
Her panting breaths were hot against his neck, and small moans tore from her throat each time he entered her. She slid her hands to his chest, clenched his fur in her little fingers, and, finally, released her bite. Drakkal shuddered, groaning as feeling flooded back to the mark she’d made. The resurgence of pain only heightened his pleasure.
“Look at me,” he growled between heavy, ragged breaths.