A grin kicked up the corner of her mouth. Their own home. She would love that.
Declan answered her grin with one of his own. She didn’t know what he smiled about, probably about getting laid again, but she was fine with that. As long as he stayed in the moment with her they could work everything else out later.
Running her hands beneath his shirt, she slowly pushed it up, enjoying the soft skin and hard muscles of his abs and chest. He reached behind and tugged the shirt the rest of the way off. Once it hit the floor, he grabbed for the hem of her tank top.
The calluses on his palms rubbed over her skin, spreading shivers in their wake. He didn’t take time getting her undressed. He seemed rushed and desperate. Her tank went flying, and his thumbs ran along the inside of her shorts. Dropping to his knees, he pulled them down, placing kisses along her freshly exposed skin.
He tugged one foot up, then the other, pulling the shorts off and flinging them behind him somewhere. She giggled at his eagerness, which died quickly once he guided her to the edge of the bed, forcing her to sit when the backs of her knees hit. The carnality exuding from his eyes would have buckled her if the bed hadn’t been there. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart beat out of control. He looked at her as though she was his only reason for living.
Mates. Her lion purred.
Declan insinuated his body between Avery’s soft thighs. Leaning forward, his eyes slammed shut as he breathed her in. Lavender, vanilla, and woman swamped him, engulfing his senses and pulling his lion to the surface. His incisors grew, stretching and pulling at his gums.
The need to mark her was almost too much. He needed to do it again, needed his scent covering her. His lion would settle for nothing less than total domination.
Raining down kisses from the inner knee up to the juncture of her thighs, he purposely skipped her pussy, moving onto her other leg. His hands skimmed over her thighs, his left hand coming into contact with the marks. Rising up on his knees, he worked his way toward them, planting soft kisses on each mark before laving them with his tongue. The driving need to know what had caused her to put them there over road his arousal by a hair.
“Avery?”
“Yes,” she purred. Her hands landed on the top of his head, nudging him away from the marks and toward her core. He chuckled, refusing to move. She didn’t have the strength to force him away.
“Tell me,” he said, knowing she knew what he wanted.
“Class. Yesterday. Needed a distraction. Please,” she begged, tugging on his head.
Pain sliced through his heart at her words. She’d needed a distraction from him, from his angry glare and refusal to take her.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Make it up to me.” She pushed on his head again, and this time he allowed her.
“Anything you want,” he said.
Hovering over her pussy, he breathed in deep and shuddered. He dropped his mouth an inch, making contact with that sweet center of hers with his tongue. He barely skimmed the pretty pink lips, and she arched into him, begging him without words to go deep.
He spread her open with his hand, his lips covering her clit, sucking it in between his teeth. As he bit down, he inserted two fingers into her cunt, fucking her with his digits exactly as he would be fucking her in the next few minutes. He wouldn’t be able to wait long to get back inside her. She bucked against him as she convulsed and came around his fingers.
Pulling free, he ran his hand lightly over her pussy before gripping her hip. All he could smell was her sweet essence. It soaked into his skin, inciting the lion.
Now! It roared from within.
He laved the delicate skin of her inner right thigh, close to the junction where pussy and thigh met. Without the slightest hesitation, he marked her, his teeth sinking into the soft flesh. Her blood flowed into his mouth as enzymes released into her bloodstream. The second of many bites to come over the course of their mating. The final bite, the one sealing them together, would be done after the mating ceremony with his bare cock lodged inside her.
Declan quickly shed the rest of his clothes. He grabbed his wallet and groaned. He didn’t have another condom. What were the chances she had a stash in her bedside table?
Glowing, sated eyes stared at him. “What’s wrong?”
“No condom.”
Her smile dropped in disappointment. “Oh. Um, I don’t have any.”
Declan was elated she didn’t have a need for a condom stash, but he was also ready to cry. His dick hurt so damn bad, but he refused to have sex without some sort of protection. He hadn’t planned on taking her so soon after seeing her at the bar. Hell, he had been lucky he’d had one on him in the first place.
Edging away from the temptation of her body, he looked for his pants.
“Declan?”
“Yeah?” He couldn’t make eye contact with her. He was likely to beg her to offer him some relief. Considering his fuck ups, no matter his pain level, he wouldn’t do that to her—pressure her into something she wasn’t ready to give freely.
He heard her shifting on the bed. Glancing at her quickly, he found her on her knees, legs spread.
She licked her lips and beckoned him over. “Come here.”
He swallowed hard. He could clearly see what she offered. “You don’t have to, Avery. I didn’t plan on any of this.”
A sexy little grin curved the corner of her mouth. “I know. Makes it even better.”
He took a step closer and, when he was within range, she grabbed his hand and pulled him close.
Running her hand over his length, Declan clenched his teeth and groaned. The cool, softness of her skin on his heated flesh made his eyes roll back. Preoccupied with the sensations bombarding him, he missed the moment when she leaned forward and took the head into her mouth. Swirling her tongue around the crown before engulfing him in the warm heat of her mouth, she didn’t stop until he bumped the back of her throat.
“Holy shit, Avery.”
He looked down, and she fluttered her eyelashes, swallowing the head of his dick down her throat. She hummed, grabbed his balls, and rolled them in her fingers all while bobbing up and down. She pulled almost all of the way off him before swallowing him again.
“Again, Avery. Swallow me down again.” Voice rough, he barely held onto the human side. The lion enjoyed the mating, hoped for his turn with her lioness next.
Shallow thrusts of his hips he worked himself into frenzy with the teasing pulls. She came off with a pop, flipping quickly onto her back, and dropped her head over the side of the bed. Grabbing his steel-hardened dick, she guided it into her mouth again, latched onto him, and sucked. Her hands ran up his legs until she clutched his ass, forcing him to move faster in and out of her mouth.
Declan felt the come rising inside him, ready to burst free. He grunted and thought he told her he was about to explode, but she refused to let go.
“Avery,” he shouted, shoving to the back of her throat, and came. She took it in stride, swallowing him down without a struggle, humming the entire time.
When he finally stopped ejaculating, she leisurely lapped at his deflating cock, licking and kissing the tortured flesh until she deemed she was done.
Dropping to his knees, he kissed her on the forehead, slumping against her.
How did he ever think he could ignore her?
Chapter Eleven
Avery rolled over and got a good look at Declan. Exhausted but sated, he appeared content to stay right where he sat.
She, however, was ready to go. She felt recharged and alive, ready to tackle the world—as long as Declan stood by her side.
Her stomach growled, breaking the silence in the room.
Declan chuckled while getting up off the floor. Grabbing his jeans, he slipped them on but didn’t bother to zip or button them. He held out his hand and helped her off the bed. Once she stood in front of him, he kissed her…deeply…soundly.
“Let’s eat,” he said, handing her his T-shi
rt.
She slipped it on, hiding the smile the simple gesture created.
She grabbed her phone off the charger. “How about I order some pizza? Steph’s delivers here all of the time. They have my standing order on file.”
His eyebrow raised in skepticism. “Really, you have a standing order at Steph’s?”
“Yeah, double meat stuffed, super grande.”
“I’m impressed. Order away. I’m sure I can eat a couple slices.”
She speed dialed Steph’s as they walked out into the living room. “Hey, Georgie. I’d like my regular times two. Yes, two of them. Cheesy bread, too. And a six pack of soda. Use my card on file. Thanks. See you in twenty.” She hung up and tossed the phone on the coffee table.
“You’re going to eat one by yourself? I’ve seen their pizzas. They’re big.”
“I love them. Trust me. I’ll have no problem polishing off mine.”
Declan shook his head and tugged her toward the couch. He sat down, pulling her next to him, making sure her legs were across his lap.
“I picked dinner, how about you pick the movie?” She handed him the remote and did a tiny dance inside at how cozy the situation felt.
Declan picked an action flick while they waited for the food.
Avery reveled being with him. Now that they had gotten over the misunderstanding, she felt they were on the right track. She wouldn’t say she loved him, but he was her mate. They could build from there. She hoped.
She knew she should be a tad bit angrier about what he had done, how he had gone about things, but she didn’t want to. Call her a pushover or a too-stupid-to-live chick, she didn’t care. She’d dreamed about finding her mate for years, and it finally happened. Not in the fashion she’d hoped, but what in life went according to plan? If only she had realized it when she’d felt her world crumbling.
Her phone buzzed again, and she jumped up. Dashing into her bedroom, she grabbed tip money and her shorts and then headed for the door.
“Be right back. Time to get the food.”
“I can go and get it. You aren’t exactly dressed.” Declan had gotten up from his seat and met her at the door.
Avery slipped on the shorts, the seam rubbing up against her naked pussy. “No, best if you stay here. I don’t need a man traipsing all over the townhouse quite yet. I need to let the girls and Housing Management know about you first.”
He nodded, but Avery didn’t think he knew what he’d agreed to. “I don’t want you thinking I’m ashamed of you. We have a certain set of rules we have to go by.” Ones they would have to talk about and live by while they figured out what to do.
Running downstairs, she snatched the pizza from Georgie, promised she would explain the two pies later, and was back on her level in less than ten minutes.
She and Declan dug into the food as they sat on the couch, watching the movie. A perfectly normal, domestic thing to do, and, for once, she decided not to make a pig out of herself. She closed the lid on the pizza box.
“Done already? I thought you were going to show me how well you could devour one of those things.”
“I never said I did it in one sitting. Besides, we can save the rest for later.” She licked her lips out of nervous habit. “That is, if you want to stay longer.”
“Definitely.” Declan studied her. She sure as hell hoped she didn’t have pizza all over her face. He played with her hair then tugged on the ends. “I have a question.”
He sounded so serious a jumble of nerves formed in her belly. “Okay, shoot.”
“Where were you this morning? I got to class early and waited for you. Mark got a kick out of it. I may have freaked out a little.”
“A River Rock police officer freaking out because of little ole me? Wow, I guess I should say I’m honored, and I’m glad I could help entertain your friend. We need to introduce him to Reese. She likes to wallow in other people’s misery as well. I had my classes changed up. Reese did it for me. I was mourning the loss of our nonexistent relationship, thinking you’d rejected me and couldn’t do it.”
Declan didn’t know what to say. He would to have to get used to the brutally honest thing with her. He didn’t run into many women as up front as her. But then, Avery didn’t fall into his “usual” kind of woman. She was far superior. His mate. The woman tailored perfectly for him.
His lion chuffed in agreement. No demure lioness for him. He liked it. Declan had a feeling he would always get an honest answer out of her whether he liked it or not.
They still had a lot to talk about, a lot to decide, but for the first time in over a week, he could honestly say he wasn’t worried about what to do. He was right where his lion wanted him, and the man agreed. She made it easy for him to relax and enjoy their time together.
Time was exactly what he wanted, too. A lightbulb clicked on in his brain. He had a bag in the truck filled with everything he would need—a change of clothes and basic hygiene items. He would have no problem spending the night at her place and getting ready for work in the morning. Though, if he played it right, he might miss his class in favor of some personal time with her.
“I get the feeling you don’t want me wandering about, but I need something out of my truck.”
“Okay. I can go down with you.” She wiped her hands on a napkin before taking a swig of the soda.
“You afraid I’ll get kidnapped between here and the truck or that I won’t come back?” He didn’t get why he would need to be escorted. Didn’t she trust him?
No, you dummy, not after the shit you pulled.
Avery snorted. “No, it’s just there are rules we have to abide by. No unescorted men on the premises is one of them. The only caveat to the rule is if the man is mated with one of the women living in the house. It’s pretty rare to see since, by the time they’ve gone through the mating ceremony, they are usually already living together.”
“We’re mated,” he argued. She really didn’t need to go with him. He wouldn’t be able to stay away from her now if he wanted to. He craved her scent, her body, and her presence. She filled an empty space in him he didn’t know existed.
“No. We’re mates. Not mated. Pretty big difference.”
“You think so? I’m positive there will never be anyone but you. Don’t you feel the same?”
“I do…but I’m still kinda hurt. Mates by fate or not, I want to get to know the man I’ll be spending the rest of my life with before actually going through the mating ceremony. I’m told most couples don’t, but both of our well-ordered lives and plans have been shaken up. I think we need to take the time to make peace with it all. While we’re doing that, we can figure out a new plan, one we create for us.”
“All right, then.”
She made sense, in a way, glad she wanted them to take their time. One thing that would happen quicker than she probably thought would be their moving in together. He stood and held out his hand, waiting for her to take it. When she did, the glide of her palm against his sent fire shooting up his arm. Pheromones released, binding their essence together. The more they touched, the more they rubbed off on each other. The stronger the bond.
It was one of the reasons a male generally couldn’t go long periods of time without his mate. The need to mark her, imbue his scent on her, could drive a man insane.
He would wait to bring it up, though. He wanted them to have tonight.
Together, they walked down the stairs. When they got to the second landing, she stopped. “Go ahead and get what you need. I need to check on the girls anyway. Let them know you’re here.”
He leaned in, brushing a sweet, swift kiss on her lips. A breathy sigh, not from Avery, brought his head up.
Blaire stood in her doorway, watching them. “It’s so romantic.” She swooned, her body drifting with a dreamy sigh. Declan didn’t know if he should try and catch her or not. The girl definitely had flighty, romantic dreams filling her head. The guy who mated with her would have his work cut out for him.
He
looked toward Avery, who smiled indulgently and shook her head. “I’ll be here when you get back. Make sure you lock the back door, though, when you come in.”
“Okay.” He jogged down the stairs and out the back. When he got to his truck, he grabbed his gear bag and headed inside again.
The entire trip took him about five minutes. He felt the need to rush to be near her. When he made his way to the second floor, Avery leaned in the doorway of another girl. He heard her smooth, husky voice seconds before her scent drifted over him. His lion propelled him forward—not that he gave much of a fight.
He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her into him. She didn’t break from her conversation, only relaxed into him as he nuzzled the side of her neck.
“This must be your mate.”
“Hmm.…” Avery responded, apparently lost in the small nips and sucks he planted along her neck. When the girl said her name, she jolted in his arms. “Oh, oh! Stop that.” She batted him away and shifted to try to break his hold. He wouldn’t let go. “Sorry, Tess. Yes, this is my mate, Declan Weller. Don’t worry if you see him here from time to time.”
Declan interrupted before Avery could finish. “I’m with River Rock PD. Now, your home will be safer than ever.”
Tess cocked an eyebrow. “Thank goodness you’ll be here to save us poor, defenseless women. I mean, how would we ever be able to fend off an intruder?” She brought her finger up to her lips and tapped. “Oh, I know,” she explained in an overly bright tone. “We can shift and maim the bastard. If that doesn’t work”—she shrugged—“we can rip his balls off and throat out.”
Avery snorted, and Declan took a step back. Tess was one angry chick. “All right, then. I think I’m going to take Avery upstairs. Nice meeting you, Tess.”
“Bye now. Y’all come back soon,” she drawled.
As soon as Avery stepped out of the doorway, Tess’s door slammed shut.
Declan ushered her upstairs and into her place. “She must be a barrel of fun at parties,” he quipped.
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