Ani [Whitedell Pride: 7]

by Catherine Lievens

  Dominic was starting to think about using the collar the scientists had built to keep the Nix from shimmering, just to have the opportunity to talk to his mate without him running away. Okay, so he wouldn’t really use it, but it had crossed his mind. If Ani would stay still for the few seconds it would take Dominic to grab his mate...

  He didn’t know what he had done wrong. Maybe the kissing was too much? But Ani hadn’t said anything. Maybe he should go and talk to Keenan. The human seemed to always know what to do. He just didn’t want to make him remember about his own wayward mate. God, he was a mess!

  Pushing away from his desk, Dominic leaned his head back on his leather chair and looked at the ceiling hoping to find a solution. Yeah, that didn’t help. it wasn’t like there was one written there.

  He was about to get back to his desk and try to read the document—again—when the air shimmered right at his eye level and Ani appeared out of thin air. Dominic found his lap full of small Nix as Ani fell right into it, knocking the air out of his lungs. Still, he managed to engulf the man his arms before he crashed on the floor. He decided to savor this moment since he didn’t know when he would have the chance to have his mate in his arms again. He didn’t know what had happened to have Ani shimmer right into his arms, but it had to be a mistake of some kind. Maybe his Nix GPS had gone wrong?

  Ani blinked his eyes and looked up at Dominic.

  Dominic tensed, expecting his mate to jump down off his lap or to shimmer away again, but Ani shocked the hell out of him. Instead of disappearing, he leaned up and pressed his lips to Dominic’s.

  When Dominic didn’t react, Ani pulled away a little before trying again. This time Dominic wasn’t going to think too much about it. If Ani wanted to kiss him, he would do it and ask questions later. He attacked Ani’s mouth like a starving man, invading it with his tongue, nipping at Ani’s lower lip and sucking it in his mouth.

  He groaned when Ani whimpered and pressed his body against Dominic’s as much as he could. The kiss became even more heated as Ani slipped his hands under Dominic’s shirt, and as much as he wanted to continue this, he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to change Ani’s mind this radically. He had to know before things could go too far.

  “Hey, hey, Ani.” Dominic moved his lips away and Ani tried to follow them, his eyes closed and his lips swollen and red. He chuckled. The man was too cute to be true. “Wait, baby.”

  The pout on Ani’s face made him just want to throw the man on his desk and have his wicked way with him, but he had to do this right. He didn’t want Ani to start running away again tomorrow. This hot and cold treatment was confusing the hell out of Dominic, and making him a little angry too.

  “Ani, what happened? This morning you didn’t even want to talk to me, hell, you shimmered away when I walked into the kitchen, and now you just appear out of thin air and expect me to go with it without any kind of explanation?”

  Ani blushed and tried to hide his face into Dominic’s neck, but he was having none of that. He wanted his mate to look at him in the eyes when he answered, so he cupped Ani’s face and gently moved it. Ani was still looking down at his lips rather than at his eyes, but it was better than before, “So?”

  Ani bit his lower lip and worried it for a while before answering. “I know what I did was wrong. I should have talked to you, but...” Ani shrugged. “I still think you could have someone better than me. I thought that once you had had the opportunity to think about it you might change your mind.”

  “Oh, baby,” Dominic said with a sigh. “What can I do to convince you that I want you, only you?”

  “Nothing more than what you’ve already been doing. I think only time will help me realize that.”

  “What changed then?”

  “I talked with Finn and Keenan.”

  Damn, Dominic had to do something special for Keenan. Not only had he helped for the wedding, but Dominic knew that he had helped more than one mated couple in the house get together. Maybe he could find out where Jonah was and try to kick some sense into the wolf. “What did they say?”

  “That I could learn what I don’t know and that I had to trust you and let you decide what you wanted.” Yup, there was definitely a big gift in Keenan’s future. He had said all the right things.

  “And you trust me?”

  Ani shyly looked in Dominic’s eyes. “I do. So, do you want me?” Dominic could see the doubt and fear in those green eyes, and he wanted nothing more than reassure him.

  “More than anything, baby.”

  Ani’s expression became determined as he nodded. “Then I’m yours.”

  Dominic arched a brow. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  Dominic smiled. He really couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “Do you want me to claim you? We can date if you want to wait, take it slow.”

  Ani shook his head. “See, that’s why I trust you. It’s been more than two months but you still would give me time, even if your lion is probably giving you a hard time.” Ani cupped Dominic’s face and kissed him lightly, making his heart race. “It’s been long enough. I’ve watched you and I like what I saw. Besides, I’m scared I’ll find another reason to step away, and I don’t want that.”

  Ani leaned up and sealed their lips together again. Their tongues tangled and Dominic’s heart about ripped out of his chest at Ani’s surrender. He felt his mate’s hands slip under his shirt again, and this time he let the man do what he wanted. He just had one last thing to say, so he broke the kiss. “Our first time and our claiming is not going to be on this desk. You deserve better than that.”

  Ani’s green eyes twinkled when he looked at him. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

  The air around them shimmered and suddenly Dominic was on his bed. Ani had only to push him down on the comforter before he started to trace a path along Dominic’s jaw with his tongue.

  Dominic rolled them over and looked down at his soon-to-be lover for a few seconds before kissing him again.

  * * * *

  Ani’s heart was about to shoot out of his chest from the overload of emotions. He was losing himself in Dominic, in his mate’s taste and the feeling of his tongue stroking against his, into the weight of Dominic’s body pressing on his own and effectively pinning him on the bed. Not that he minded it, really. He had been dreaming of this since he had first met his lion, even if he had never allowed himself to actually think it could become real.

  The feeling of Dominic’s hands on his skin made it very real, and even if he still had a hard time believing that he was worthy of Dominic, he was going to be selfish and let the man decide what he wanted. Apparently, he wanted Ani, and that was more than fine with him.

  Dominic’s mouth left his and travelled along his jaw, then his neck. Ani shivered at the feeling of the hot lips as they nibbled on his flesh. He knew that was the place Dominic would bite him when he claimed him, and it made it all the more erotic to know that. He was a bit apprehensive about the pain he was going to feel, but Finn had assured him that it lasted no more than a few seconds before becoming indescribable pleasure. More than the pleasure, he couldn’t wait to feel the connection with his mate, to hear him in his head as he did Finn.

  Dominic tried to go lower but he encountered Ani’s shirt. The growl he gave to the offending fabric made Ani laugh. He didn’t know that sex—making love, at least on his part—could be funny. Not that he had experience, because he didn’t count what Leold had done to him like that. That hadn’t even been sex, it had been humiliation and degradation.

  A soft kiss on his lips snapped him out of those bad memories. “Where did you go, baby? We can wait if you want to.”

  The worry in Dominic’s eyes touched him deep. He knew this was going to be different. This was love and affection, not whatever had happened to him before. He cupped his mate’s cheek and went up for another kiss. “I’m fine, and I want this.” He tilted his neck to the side in a show
of surrender. It felt right to do this with Dominic. “I want to be yours.”

  The growl that rose from Dominic’s throat made him shiver in arousal. “You’re already mine, Ani. You will always be mine from now on.”

  “Yes. Yours.”

  The possessive part in Dominic, the animal part, seemed content with Ani’s answer. Their lips crashed together again and Dominic gave him no opportunity to think about anything that wasn’t them in this bed, to think about anything at all. He assaulted Ani’s senses, filling him with his scent and the feeling of skin against skin when he literally ripped Ani’s shirt off. It shocked the hell out of Ani, but then their bare chests collided and he couldn’t think anymore.

  He hesitantly slid his hands down his lover’s chest, caressing the smooth skin stretched over taut muscles. He felt them move under his fingertips as Dominic traced a path down his chest with his tongue. He wanted to explore, but he couldn’t move under Dominic’s ministrations, and as his lover went down, down, the only thing he could reach was the golden length of Dominic’s hair.

  He had been dreaming of sinking his hands into the long strands for months, and it felt as soft and silky as he had imagined. The hair was still bound on Dominic’s nape, and Ani wasn’t sure he could unbind it, but he wanted to so much.

  He lost his focus when Dominic’s teeth nibbled around his bellybutton before licking down to the button of his jeans. There was no way he could compare this to what Leold had done, and he unwaveringly pushed the thought of that man aside. The man was dead, and he had no place in this bed.

  Pushing on his feet, he arched his back and gently pushed Dominic’s head away from his pants, just enough to have space to snap open the button and shimmy the pants and the underwear under them down his legs. Luckily before shimmering into Dominic’s office he had gone to his room and taken off his jacket, shoes and socks, so he was now naked in front of his man.

  Dominic rose up on his knees and looked down at Ani’s body.

  Ani fidgeted, aware that his body was wantonly on display. It sparked a flicker of arousal deep in his gut just to see Dominic still half-dressed above his naked body. He didn’t remember when the lion had taken his shirt off, but it wasn’t really important. What was important right now was getting the man as naked as he was and possibly getting his cock deep in his ass.

  Just the thought made Ani blush, but he pushed through the embarrassment and dared to tease his mate. His hands were trembling as he raised them and laid them on his chest before running them down, over his belly and around his belly button, inching closer and closer to his erection.

  His shaft was rock hard and pointing up at Dominic as if daring him to take care of the problem he had caused. Ani never looked down at himself. His gaze never left Dominic’s, and he could see the heat flare as his hands moved on his body. He circled the base of his cock with the tip of one finger before tracing the thick vein that ran down his length. A groan escaped him as he wondered how Dominic’s touch would feel if it was him touching Ani’s flesh.

  He didn’t have to wonder long, thankfully. Dominic jumped off the bed with a snarl and literally ripped his pants off, revealing the entirety of his sculpted body. Ani took in all him, the yards of golden skin, the muscles moving in the afternoon light that filtered through the curtains, the way the man knelt on the bed and prowled toward him, making him shiver. Most of all he couldn’t seem to take his eyes away from the hard shaft that bobbed between Dominic’s legs. He gulped loudly, briefly wondering if that would fit in him. It had to be ten inches long, if not more!

  He didn’t really have the time to dwell on that, though. Dominic moved to the right and reached for the nightstand, his hand coming back holding a tube of lube. The lion dropped it next to Ani’s hip before pressing their bodies together. Ani could feel every inch of his lover’s lickable body against his, the hard muscle contrasting with his softer flesh. They fit together perfectly, even if Ani was a lot shorter than his mate. The fact that Dominic’s body nearly swallowed his own should have scared him, but instead it only made him feel protected and loved.

  Their lips met again, and as Dominic plundered his mouth, Ani felt his mate’s rough hands stroke his skin. He was melting under the pleasure, and he couldn’t believe some of the noises he was making. He was writhing under his mate, mewls and moans filling the room around them as Dominic grabbed his erection and started jacking him off oh-so-slowly. He tried to push into his man’s fist, but Dominic wouldn’t allow it, keeping the pace leisurely and making him crazy with need.

  Ani grabbed Dominic’s ears with both hands and blocked his face so that they were looking at each other. “Are you going to fuck me or what?” Shit, had the snarl really come from him? His eyes widened as he realized that yes, he had really been that aggressive. This wasn’t like him!

  Dominic chuckled and his hand left Ani’s dick as he felt the lion move. Dominic kissed his neck as he heard the telling noise of the lube bottle cap opening. His hole fluttered in anticipation and he finally felt a slicked finger probing against him.

  It had been a while, so he was tight and he felt the burn when the finger became two. Dominic took his time, though, so it didn’t really hurt, not even when he scissored his fingers and added a third one, then a fourth.

  Ani whimpered when Dominic moved and his fingers slipped out, but he knew he was going to be even fuller in only a few seconds. He looked at Dominic’s eyes, and they were so full of love and desire that he felt nearly light headed at the thought that it was all for him.

  Time seemed to be suspended for a while as they gazed at each other. Ani wrapped his legs around his mate’s waist and Dominic seemed to take this as a go-ahead gesture. Ani felt Dominic’s erection nudge at his stretched pucker. He tensed a bit, but even as Dominic slowly entered him and moved back and forth gently until he was in to the hilt, he felt no pain.

  He was full, so full. Dominic wasn’t moving, waiting for Ani to tell him that he wasn’t hurting him, and Ani lost another small piece of his heart to the man. He wasn’t sure his voice would work right now, so he used his hips to tell his lover that he could move, moving them so that his mate’s shaft slid even deeper inside him. He hugged Dominic tightly as the lion started to move, the pace gentle.

  He jerked and mewled when Dominic’s shaft touched that place deep inside him, and from then on things blurred in a twirl of passion and grunts, moving hips and the sound of their flesh slapping against each other.

  Ani waited until he was close to his orgasm to tilt his head to the side, giving himself over to his mate. Dominic growled and it should have scared him, but he felt too right in his lion’s arms. The man struck, a twinge of pain passing through Ani’s neck before the most intense pleasure he had ever felt zinged through his body.

  His cock jerked and spurted jets of sticky cum between them as his back arched into Dominic’s body. Ani could feel the ecstasy running through Dominic’s body, echoing his own as he became a creature of pure instinct.

  His right hand left Dominic’s back and landed on his chest, right where his heart was. Ani felt his hand heating as Dominic sucked on his neck and made his orgasm seem endless. He could feel his own chest heating in a sensation he felt reflected through their bond, but then Dominic was coming in him, and he lost himself to the pleasure. The heating gradually lessened until it disappeared and they lay spent against each other.

  He knew what he would find if he looked down at his chest, and the contentment he felt at having claimed his mate was a mirror image of what he felt coming from Dominic. It was weird how he could feel Dominic’s emotions as if they were his own, even as he was still able to tell they were his mate’s.

  Focusing his thoughts on his mate, Ani decided to test their brand new bond.

  Dominic?

  * * * *

  He was still trying to get his panting breath under control when he heard the sweetest sound of all in his mind.

  Dominic?

 
Dominic remembered that Bryce and Finn were also able to talk to each other in their minds, and it was amazing that now he would be able to do the same with his own mate.

  Hey, baby.

  It worked!

  He looked up and smiled at a blushing Ani. Yeah, it worked. “Did you have any doubts it would work?”

  “Well, no, but I didn’t know exactly what I had to do to claim you.”

  It dawned in Dominic’s mind that since Ani had claimed him, he should have the mark stamped on his chest, so he carefully slipped out of his mate’s chute, a groan escaping him as he left the tight and scorching channel and rolled over.

  He sat down and looked at his chest, his eyes zeroing on the small mark that was now decorating his left pectoral. The letters D and A were woven together, the brown mark obvious on the paler skin that surrounded it. He remembered the sensation of warmth penetrating him there when Ani had laid his hand on his chest right after he had bitten him. He had thought nothing of it at the time, too busy enjoying his orgasm as it washed over him and their new connection, but now he knew Ani had wanted to claim him as much as he had wanted to claim the smaller man.

  He looked up and stared at the mark that was a twin of his own on Ani’s chest. Leaning over his mate, he stroked the darker skin with his fingertip, marveling at the smoothness of Ani’s body and at how right both the mark and the mating bite looked on him. Ani let out a deep sigh of contentment and moved closer to him, snuggling into Dominic’s side.

  Of course, the small bubble of peace they had managed to create didn’t take long to pop. Dominic’s cell phone rang and he scowled at his jeans as if it would make the cell phone in the pocket stop ringing. It didn’t work, of course, but at least it made Ani giggle, and Dominic was finding out that he would do about anything to hear that sound again and again.

  Sighing, Dominic leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed the phone from the pocket. Was it too much to ask that for a few hours he wouldn’t be needed to talk with other Alphas or help rescued shifters, or even be the peacemaker in the mansion? Sure, he had been the one creating it, but that’s why he had a Beta, damn it!