by Jenika Snow
But God it really did.
“It’s just dinner, Ali.” He took a step toward me, and as I stared into his blue eyes I knew it wasn’t just dinner. I knew tonight would define exactly what it meant to be mated.
“Okay. Just dinner.” And as I said those words I knew they had just set in motion the direction of the rest of my life.
Chapter Eight
Maddix
I’d never had a woman at my home. Hell, I’d never had a female in any capacity. A thirty-something-year-old bear shifting virgin who had waited for his one true fated mate his entire life.
I flipped the steaks on the grill, the sound of sizzling meat, the scent of dinner filling my head. I didn’t even know if Allison liked meat but that’s what tonight was about. Tonight, I’d learn about my mate.
Tonight, I’d make her mine, because even waiting these past couple days had been hell. Living hell.
Even before meeting Allison, she was all I’d thought about. I hadn’t known her, but I knew she’d been out there for me, waiting, ready to be claimed and marked by my bear.
A low grumble left me and I pulled the steaks from the grill and placed them on the plate. I’d wanted to pick her up at her cabin, make this all official and gentlemanly, but my mate was independent, had fire in her. She wanted to come here herself, and when it came to her, she called the shots, even if I was an alpha.
What Allison would realize was, although I was bigger and stronger, she was the one who held all the power.
Allison
“Tell me everything.”
I picked up my wine glass and took a small sip. I’d never been much of a drinker, but tonight a little liquid courage would do me some good. Or maybe it would make things worse, mainly speaking about my arousal. “What do you want to know about me?” I asked Maddix as I stared into his blue eyes.
I’d been at his cabin for the last hour, and we were nearing the end of dinner. For not knowing him, and for the mating being pretty intense thus far, the evening had been very relaxed and comfortable. It was like I was supposed to be here. And that in itself was insane to me. But it was also perfect.
It was a contradiction, it seemed.
It didn’t help that he was so easy on the eyes, that his animal magnetism and male prowess seemed to put me at ease.
And the meal he’d cooked had been delicious, far better than anything I could’ve ever prepared myself.
He was gorgeous, masculine, and could cook. A package all wrapped into one nearly six-and-a-half-foot tall sexy bear.
I set my wineglass down and picked up my napkin to wipe my mouth. Last thing I needed was to look like a lush with droplets of wine sliding down my face. I didn’t miss the way his gaze was locked on the act. I wondered what he was thinking.
I couldn’t deny the fact I’d thought about what it would be like to be a shifter, to be able to take in someone’s scent and know what they were feeling. If they were afraid, happy. If they were excited or aroused.
Was he right now?
The way he looked at me, the way he tracked my movements as soon as I’d gotten to his place, told me that he was and he didn’t want to hide it. He made me feel wanted without touching me, without saying a single word.
It was the possessiveness and the way he looked at me, the way he would walk by me so close, yet not touch me, that made me feel extremely intimate with him.
It was insane. But it was also pretty incredible.
“What do you want to know about me?” I didn’t know if he wanted to know all the grizzly details about my accident, but a part of me wanted to be completely honest with him, to tell him every single little bit information about me.
“Anything. Everything.” He leaned back in the chair, and I took in his appearance. He wore a red flannel, one that molded to his muscular form perfectly. He reached out and grabbed his beer, his hand so big and masculine. As he took a long pull from it, he watched me over the rim, his eyes so blue they almost seemed unreal.
I thought I was doing a pretty good job of keeping my emotions in check, acting like I had my shit together, but I knew that was probably just wishful thinking.
“I used to dance professionally.” He lifted his eyebrow in interest and I smiled softly. “Ballet. It was my life. And not to toot my own horn but I was pretty good at it.”
“No doubt,” he said honestly, genuinely. “I bet you were fucking incredible.”
I averted my gaze to the table and felt my face heat. Hearing him compliment me had me pleased and embarrassed. I wasn’t used to people saying these kinds of things to me. But I knew it wasn’t just the things he said, but the fact I felt this happy because it was Maddix saying them.
“What happened that made you stop?”
I looked up and caught his gaze with mine. “A bad move during a performance that resulted in me falling in just the right—or wrong as luck would have it—way and ruining my dancing career.”
He didn’t say anything for long moments, and I felt the air thicken as my words hung between us.
“I’m sorry.” The empathy and genuine sincerity in his words went right to my heart.
I actually found myself raising my hand to rub my chest. I’d never felt something so strong just from someone’s words.
“It’s the mating,” he said as if he’d read my mind. Maddix leaned forward and held the bottom of his beer bottle between his hands, his focus still on me. “When you find your mate everything is heightened, more profound.” He reached out and took my palm in his, smoothing his thumb along the back of my hand. “And with each passing day, the longer we’re together, the more intense it will be for us.”
I swore it got hotter in here, as if his words were an accelerant.
I didn’t know what to say, how to respond to his comment. So instead of saying anything and looking like a fool, I stood and busied myself. I picked up my plate and headed to the sink, feeling awkward all of a sudden.
I wanted to throw myself in his arms, just let the world, all the troubles, all the shit, melt away as I gave myself over to him. My dancing career had made my life so isolated, in a sense. I had no family anywhere close to the city, and if I were being honest, I hardly saw them.
But when I’d met Maddix, even though I’d stabbed him, he’d made me feel like I wasn’t alone anymore.
And as I set the dishes down, I felt Maddix standing right behind me, his body heat moving into me, around me. I turned around and leaned against the counter, tipping my head back to look at him. He didn’t speak, and instead lifted his hand and brushed my hair off my shoulder, his fingers gently moving along the expanse of my throat.
I felt my entire body shiver in response.
As I looked into his face there wasn’t anything I wanted to do more than to kiss him. It was like this powerful surge inside of me, pulling me closer, demanding I do this and more. There was no way I could adequately explain what I wanted him to do to me, how I felt, what this all meant, to someone not experiencing it.
This was special, personal. It was all for me. For us.
“Maddix.” I said his name on a breath. “This is crazy.” He took a step closer to me and closed his eyes for a second, his nostrils flaring slightly.
“It’s absolute fucking perfection.” He opened his eyes again and lowered his gaze to my mouth.
For a moment he didn’t speak, and in that time, I don’t think I breathed. I was in this trance, mesmerized by the size of him, the spicy, masculine scent of him. Every single part of Maddix drew me in like a moth to a flame, driving my arousal higher, causing me to question my sanity.
“Ali, baby, I want to kiss you really fucking badly.” He lifted his gaze to my face. “Will you let me? Will you let my bear taste those sweet lips of yours?”
I felt like a magnet was pulling my eyes down, and as I gave in to the need to stare at his chest, then down to his abdomen that looked like he was hiding paint rollers under his shirt, and lower still until I could get a good look at what he s
ported behind the fly of his jeans.
Hard.
Long.
Looking like another limb.
Maddix was the epitome of what the word male meant.
His erection pressed against the denim, so massive that my throat tightened and I actually contemplated if that would even fit inside of me when we fucked.
And yes, I was already thinking about that because it would happen.
He erased the space separating us, pressed his chest right up against mine, and the air left me in a rush. “Let me kiss you, mate. Let me taste you.”
God, he was just so big, and even though that was obvious at first glance, actually feeling him right up against me, making me feel so small and feminine, really cemented the fact that Maddix was a big fucking beast.
He lifted his hands slowly, placed them on the counter right beside my hips, and leaned his face in close to mine. “Come on, baby. Say you want my kiss.” He pressed his hard dick into my belly, and I couldn’t stop myself from moaning in pleasure.
It felt like he was hiding a steel pipe between his legs.
Another gush of wetness slipped out of me, making my panties even wetter. Then this deep groan rumbled from him. His mouth was so close to mine, and I knew the only thing that could have moved between us was the very air we shared. He kept his gaze trained right on my lips and I found myself licking them.
“Kiss me,” I finally said, ending the torment I was putting us through by denying this very natural thing from happening.
He had his mouth on mine instantly. Maddix ran his tongue along my bottom lip, and then did the same to my top. I could hear him dig his nails against the metal of the sink, like some kind of crazed animal unable to control himself.
And he was an animal, all bear and all mine.
And the reality was I wanted to have Maddix in all his raw, male, rough ways, no boundaries, no restrictions. I just wanted him to claim me.
I opened my mouth, took his tongue between my lips, sucking on it, moaning. He tasted spicy, yet sweet, with a hint of the beer he’d drunk at dinner.
And with each passing second, I wanted it fast and hard, and right now.
He broke the kiss, much to my disappointment, and dragged his lips along my cheek. Not able to hold my eyes open at the feeling, I let my head fall back slightly and moaned at the feeling of his mouth on me, of his stubble moving along my sensitive skin.
“You and I both know that what we share, the feelings, desire, and this powerful fucking need, is not something either of us can deny.” He had his mouth right at my ear now.
I found myself nodding. He was right.
He ground his dick against me again, over and over until I found myself reaching up and holding onto his biceps for support. He was rock hard and tense beneath my palms, and I slid my hands over the bulging definition of his arms and up to his shoulders.
“God, Maddix.” I hadn’t meant to say anything, but the words tumbled out of me on their own.
“This need, desire, has been building in me my entire life. I’ve been waiting for you, Ali, been dreaming about you, fantasizing about you, fucking jerking off to the image of you being mine.”
I felt his lips move along the shell of my ear when he spoke, and a shiver worked through my whole body. He groaned and pressed his hard cock against me again, over and over again as if he couldn’t stop himself from dry humping me.
“No one will ever compare to you, because you’re it for me, Ali. You’re the one.” He pulled away only enough that he had his mouth close to mine once more. “Tell me you feel this too, that you want this as badly as I fucking do.”
There was no stopping it, no denying it. “I want this. I want you.”
And God did I ever. I was about to let Maddix fuck me, and I knew going down this road would cement what we were to each other.
I would be his.
Chapter Nine
Maddix
I couldn’t control myself. I made a low, animalistic sound in the back of my throat and moved closer to her again. I placed a hand on either side of her head, caging her in, not letting her escape this. Our faces were only an inch apart now, the sweet scent of her invading my senses.
Yes. Mine.
Ours.
She was aroused. I smelled how wet she was between her legs, saw how hard her nipples were beneath her shirt. I could see how her pupils were dilated, how fast her pulse beat at the base of her neck.
Allison wanted this.
I stared right in her eyes, and moved one of my hands closer to her face so I could run my thumb along the shell of her ear. “I’ll never harm you, will always protect you, but never underestimate what I’ll do, how far I’ll go for you, mate.” I leaned in another inch until our lips were close enough that when I spoke they brushed together. “You run and I’ll give chase. Always.”
She parted her lips ever so slightly, this soft sound leaving her.
“You’re mine, and there isn’t anything or anyone, man or shifter, that will take you from me.” I felt my bear rise up then, wanting to make himself known.
“This is so insane,” she whispered, but I saw the way she looked at my lips, scented the fact her arousal went up another notch by my admission.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I found myself doing that over and over when I was in her presence, wanting to take in her very scent, to memorize it, to have her mark me. “I can smell how wet that tight pussy is for me.” I couldn’t stop the low growl that left me.
“Tell me how insane this is,” she whispered and looked at my lips.
“This is what life is about, what I’ve been waiting for.” Her arousal hadn’t dimmed, and although she tried to rationalize this, the mating claimed her as much as it did me.
I lifted my hand and pushed the long fall of her hair away from her neck, staring at the slender arch of her throat. My canines ached, saliva pooling in my mouth as I thought about puncturing her throat and marking her.
I lifted my gaze to her face again. “This may be strange for you, Ali, but the truth is this is what perfection is for me. Having you here, knowing you want this despite your confusion.” I took a small step closer. “Make no mistake in thinking you can run from me.” I ran my finger along the side of her throat, her pulse beating wildly beneath her ear. “I have your scent ingrained in my very cells.” I growled the words out. “I can find you anywhere, my female.” I felt my bear flash across my human side, saw her eyes widen as she saw the reaction. “I’ll track you, hunt you. I’ll always find you.”
“God, are you always this—”
“Intense? Possessive? Territorial?” I looked at her mouth, wanting to kiss her so fucking badly. “Only with you, Allison.”
I pressed my body flush with hers, heard her gasp, and knew she felt my cock pressing against her belly.
“Do you feel that?” I asked, but she didn’t respond, just licked her lips. I bared my teeth so she could see my elongated canines. “I’m going to claim you, take you as mine. No other male will know how you feel, how tight you are, how wet you get, baby.”
My cock jerked after I spoke, and her eyes widened further. I leaned in close so my mouth was by her ear now. “Mine, Ali. You’re all mine.”
She was breathing harder, faster, and the scent of her arousal filled the cabin like a field of flowers blooming.
I leaned back so I could look in her eyes again. “And every single time I take you, claim you, mate, I’ll make sure to fill you up with my seed until it slips out of your hot little pussy and makes a wet spot on the sheets.”
This little sound left her, maybe outrage, maybe desire. I scented both in the air and it made me burn alive. I watched her chest rise and fall. “I don’t think you fully understand what it means to be mated to me, female. But you will, and very soon.”
I was in a constant state of lust where Ali was concerned.
She stepped toward me, her mouth parted slightly as she looked up at me, her hair this long curtain moving f
luidly over her shoulders.
“Just tell me you want this. Tell me that you can’t fight the pull, the attraction.”
She sucked in a breath, her pupils dilating.
“I don’t want to fight you, Maddix.”
The way she said my name had my cock jerking, had pre-cum spilling from the tip of my shaft.
“I don’t want to fight this,” she whispered again.
I knew I had to have her now, had to finally claim her.
“When I first saw you, something in me awoke. I’d frightened you, made you run from me, and that’s not what I want. Not ever.” I lifted my hand up and ran my thumb along her bottom lip, feeling the soft plumpness of her mouth. “I want to make you happy from this moment on. I want to be the male you come to when you need something, anything. I want to be the man to give it to you, Allison. Always.”
We were only inches away now, breathing the same air, experiencing the same electricity and arousal. I smoothed my finger over her bottom lip, feeling her tremble. “There has never been anyone for me but you, baby. And that’s how it’ll be until the day I die.” I was transfixed, mesmerized by her. “Does this—the mating—scare you?”
She shook her head instantly. “No, but maybe it should.”
I was the one to shake my head now. “Never. I’d never hurt you, Allison.”
“As crazy as all of this is, being with you … being with you … seems like the most perfect thing in the world.” She looked me in the eyes. “It’s what I want.”
“You’ll never know what it feels like to have any cock but mine. You’ll never know the feeling of a male’s hands on you but mine.” I knew she could sense how serious I was, but she’d never know exactly the lengths I’d go for her. She’d never realize how I’d do anything and everything in my power to make Allison mine irrevocably.