by L. P. Maxa
Shit. He forgot to mention one crucial part of the claiming process. “Um, Corey?”
“Hmmm?” She already sounded hoarse from moaning so loudly, and it sent chills down his spine.
He cracked his neck, trying to find the right words. “Are you on the pill?”
“No. Why?”
His arm muscles were bulging from hovering over her for so long. “I forgot to mention that part of the mating process is that there can be nothing between us. No condoms or it won’t work.”
She snorted quietly. “Is that a line? Like ‘I forgot one’ or ‘I’m allergic to latex’?”
“No, sweetheart, it’s not a line.” He hung his head. “Uh, I can’t pull out either.”
Corey tensed under him. “So either we wait for me to go get on the pill and then another month for it to be effective or you essentially try to knock me up?”
“I’m sorry. I forgot. My mind was so focused on what your reaction would be that I kind of forgot the details of all this. Look, if you want to wait…? We’ll wait. It’s up to you, and I’ll support whichever decision you make. One hundred percent.”
Corey threw her head against her mattress a couple times, like she was equal parts frustrated and pissed. “Fuck. Okay.”
“Again, sweetheart, I need more words.”
“Okay, as in, I don’t want to wait.” She ran her hands down his back until she reached his ass. With her hands she urged him forward toward her core.
He resisted. “Are you sure? Do you understand what that could mean?”
She raised one eyebrow. “Yes, Dom. I am well aware of what unprotected sex leads to. Now, mate me up before I change my mind.”
He shook his head. “No, if you’re going to change your mind about this then we can wait. This isn’t something that—”
Corey wrapped her legs around him and pulled. He slipped inside her tight pussy before he could get another word out. He stilled, staring down at her. She wore a sexy smirk. “Claim me, Dom.”
He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding and captured her mouth again. “I do love you, Corey.”
“Is that part of the process?” She spoke softly, in an uncertain whisper. Like she couldn’t believe he was saying those words to her.
“No.” He pulled all the way out.
She looked up and stared into his eyes. “I think I love you too.”
And with those words he surged back inside her in one thrust. Her breath caught in her lungs, the sound driving him wild. He buried himself to the hilt, as far inside her as he could go.
Corey took a shaky breath and placed her hand on his stomach, stopping him.
“Are you okay? Am I hurting you?” He bit his lip to try to hide his purely male reaction. He really didn’t want to hurt her, ever. But what guy wouldn’t get an ego boost knowing that his girl could barely contain the size of him?
“Try not to look so smug. I’m okay, it’s, uh, it’s been a while. I need a minute.” She took another few seconds, breathing deeply, and then nodded.
Dominic smirked as he started to move inside her, slowly, in and out. With each thrust his pleasure built until it was almost too much to take. God, this felt amazing. He hadn’t even finished yet and this was already the best sex of his life. It really was like they were made for each other. Every stroke was better than the last.
He tried to keep his movements slow and controlled; he didn’t want to hurt her again. After a few minutes she started to match him thrust for thrust, and he lost it. Like something inside of him snapped. He started hammering into her, causing the headboard to slam into the wall behind it. He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. He fused their mouths together and his tongue mimicked his dick. Then he pulled away and placed kisses on her neck, until he reached the hollow where her neck met her shoulder. He bit her, lightly, testing to see her reaction. She moaned and arched up into him, like she was giving permission. He bit down harder, and she screamed.
Chapter Seventeen
Corey
Corey could barely stand all these sensations. Him filling her, nailing her, her head was almost against the headboard and she was pretty sure they had started in the middle of the bed. God, he was so rough and it felt so good. When he lightly bit down on her neck? That felt fucking amazing. She was so close. When he bit her the second time, it was much harder, and she flew over the edge. She didn’t think she had ever screamed so loud in her life. She bet the cranky math teacher next door even heard her.
“Look at me.”
Dominic’s voice sounded demanding and gruff. She did as she was told, locking eyes with him. He pulled all the way out, and then surged back in as far as he could go, instantly spilling into her. She could feel his cock pulsing out his release. Whether it was looking into his eyes, that one last hard thrust, or the feel of his orgasm, she didn’t know, but she came again. This time looking right at him.
The air shimmered around her, like it had when Dom had shifted. Her skin felt like it was burning, the sensation bordering on painful. Her heart fluttered, skipped a beat, and then righted itself. Through all of that, her orgasm kept going. After another thirty seconds or so, everything in her body started to calm.
After they both floated back to earth, and their breathing returned to normal, Dominic collapsed on top of her. Rolling them slightly so he didn’t crush her. They stayed that way, still together and quiet for a few minutes.
He reached up and brushed the hair from her face. “Now you belong to me and I belong to you. It’s done.”
She opened her eyes and was rewarded with his smile. “We’re mated.”
“Yes, baby, we are.”
“Was the biting part of it?”
“I don’t know, maybe.” He shrugged one muscular shoulder. “I’ve never had the urge to do that before. I mean, when you get the birds and bees talk in my family, you get the claiming talk too. But my uncles never went into step-by-step detail.”
“Was the eye contact part of it?”
“Yes, that was part of it.”
“It was, uh, it was so different from…well, it was different.” Corey doubted that the phrase it was so different from all the other times I’ve had sex needed to be said in that moment.
“I understand what you’re saying, sweetheart, it was different for me too.”
They were silent for another few minutes. Dominic was stroking her face and arms and side. Anything he could reach, he touched and caressed. It was almost like he was petting her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it. All too soon he stopped and pulled out of her. “Where are you going?” Oh wow, she sounded needy. She laughed to herself. What was he going to do, leave? Holy crap, maybe he was going to leave. What if all this mating and claiming and shifter stuff had been a lie? A way to get her in bed. Maybe he was a crazy con artist who liked trying to knock up unsuspecting girls.
He chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. I thought we could get under the covers and get more comfortable.” When he looked over, he must have seen the panic she felt written on her face, and his laughter died. “Hey, Corey, look at me. I will never leave you. Everything I said, I meant with my whole heart. You are mine, forever. I’m not going anywhere.”
He looked down to where their bodies had been connected. She followed his gaze, seeing some of his cum running down her leg. She wrinkled her nose, seconds away from getting up to take a shower, when he ran two fingers up her leg, capturing it. “What are you—?”
He pushed it all back inside her body.
“What the actual hell, Dom?” She slapped his hand out of the way. “If it comes out on its own, I think it’s safe to leave it out. Or do you want to call one of your uncles and ask?” What a possessive, ridiculous thing to do. Problem was, she was more pissed at herself than Dom because it had kind of turned her on.
He smirked, never taking his eyes off hers while he repeated the act, trailing his fingers up her thigh and slipping inside her. “You like it.” Only this time he didn’
t come back out. He curled and uncurled his fingers, making her bite her bottom lip to keep from groaning.
“No, I don’t.”
He shook his head playfully. “Your heart rate increased, and your breathing changed. I can see your pulse racing in your neck. You’re mine, Corey. You’ll never be able to hide that part of yourself from me.” He tilted his head to the side. “You like it.”
Corey couldn’t stifle the groan of pleasure that came out of her mouth when he curled his fingers a second time. Damn. If she was going to let him know his crazy sperm act turned her on, she was going to do it on her own terms. She grabbed his arm and pulled his fingers out of her. Then she pushed his shoulders back against the bed and climbed on top of him. She took his still-hard cock in her hands and positioned it so that she could slide down on him. She took it in all at once, and started riding him. She didn’t need to catch her breath or relax her muscles.
There, take that, smug jerk.
“Told you.” He ran one hand up her thigh, her stomach, her chest, to her neck. He put his large hand at the base of her throat and applied a tiny bit of pressure. He waited, like he was trying to judge her reaction, like with the bite.
The feel of his hand around her throat was so fucking hot. She leaned into him a little more to let him know it was okay. It was the ultimate show of trust. She trusted him to not hurt her. She began to ride him harder, grinding against him. His other hand moved from behind his head and gripped her thigh. “Oh god, Dominic, I’m so close.”
“I know, baby, you feel so fucking good. Come for me, Corey, come for me so I can pull out this time. I’m about to explode.”
“Don’t you fucking dare pull out before I’m done.” She rode him faster, leaning into his hand, increasing the pressure on her neck.
“Oh god, baby, hurry.”
All at once they both started screaming. Corey went over the edge and took him with her.
Chapter Eighteen
Dominic
When he came back down from his second orgasm high, Dominic put both his hands behind his head and smiled up at his mate. “I tried to pull out. If you end up pregnant, you have no one to blame but yourself.”
Corey hopped off him and started jumping up and down. “Oh it’s totally your fault. If you could control yourself, maybe you could have lasted a few more seconds.”
Dominic started cracking up. “Sweetheart, what the hell are you doing?”
“I’m getting out all your extra sperm and don’t even think about coming over here and putting it back in. Weirdo.”
“I don’t think it works that way.” He patted the mattress beside him. “Get back in bed, you little nutjob. And it’s not my fault. You looked so damn sexy riding me like that. The sight of my hand around your throat, holy fuck, that was hot. I’m surprised I lasted as long as I did.”
Corey stopped jumping and crawled back into bed. He pulled her close until her head was resting on his chest. “I’ll find a doctor here and get on some form of birth control.”
“Really?”
“Uh, yeah, I don’t want to have kids until I’m married. That’s frowned upon in my family. I don’t want to upset Daddy.”
“First of all, please don’t talk about upsetting your daddy when we are lying in bed together naked. It creeps me out. Second, you know we kind of are married.”
Corey held up her left hand and pretended to study it. “I’m sorry, do you see a ring on this finger? Because I sure as hell don’t.”
“Baby, we’re mated. That means you and me, together forever. Isn’t that what marriage is? Actually what we have is more than marriage, it’s more than some vows and a piece of paper. It’s core deep.”
She rested her fist on his chest, and then propped her chin on it. “Look, I know it might sound silly, but I still want all the traditional stuff. We did your traditional stuff tonight. Why can’t we do mine too?”
He pulled back so he could look into her beautiful green eyes. “You want the traditional engagement and wedding and all that, then we’ll do it. I promise. And until then I also promise to be more careful. I’ll try to control myself until you finish and then I’ll pull out.” He smiled at her then kissed the tip of her nose. “Now go to sleep, we both have school tomorrow.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me. Three more interviews and I really doubt these will be as easy, especially after what happened earlier today at the track.”
“Jace and Jasper Franklin? Who else?”
“Yes, the twins and then Cooper Hall. Jace is strange, I’m actually kind of nervous about his eval. What position does he play?”
“He is our starting third baseman. I know he comes off a little different, but try to give him the benefit of the doubt, okay?”
“Of course.” She snuggled in closer to his side like she was ready to fall fast asleep, but then suddenly she sat up. “Holy shit. You are a wolf.”
Dom jumped slightly, her loud words and quick movements startling him. “Yes, Corey, I’m a wolf. That now sinking in?”
“No it’s the wolf the other night. Was that a real wolf or a you-type of wolf? Are there other wolves here? Who else knows about you? I have so many questions.”
“It’s so late, baby. Please go to sleep. How about you make a list of questions and I promise to answer three a night? Will that work?”
“That’ll work.” She snuggled back into his side. Seconds after her eyes closed, her breathing evened out, letting him know she was finally asleep.
Dominic lay awake, staring at the ceiling. There was still so much to tell her, so much more to learn about each other. But at least the most important thing had been taken care of. She was his. Now all he had to do was spend the rest of his life making sure she wanted to stay that way.
He couldn’t believe how much love filled his heart as he held her. He felt so content and happy, like the luckiest man in the world. There we go, more sappy thoughts. He’d believed this was something he never wanted, forever with one girl, but he knew now that he couldn’t live without her. He finally forgave his dad. He’d held so much resentment toward him for so long. Dominic had blamed his dad for being weak. He’d thought if his dad had been stronger he would have been able to handle his mom leaving. Now he understood how a broken heart could kill a man.
Dominic knew he’d die without Corey.
Chapter Nineteen
Corey
Waking up next to Dominic had been wonderful. Corey was so pumped she got to do it for the rest of her life. The rest of her life. That sounded crazy even in her head. They had breakfast together, and then after he’d gone home to change, they drove to work together. It had been pure bliss. She felt like she was walking on a cloud all the way to the athletic building.
And blah blah blah, plus all that other girly stuff.
Ugh. She needed to stop thinking of him and start focusing on the screen in front of her. She was reading files on the guys she was meeting with today. Of course their files told her nothing interesting, all the players on the team seemed to walk the line. She had finally started to read again when she heard a knock. “Come in.” She looked up to see Jasper walk through the door. “Hey, Jasper, have a seat.” She shut her laptop and picked up her pen, ready to make some notes relevant for his eval. “Thanks for coming to meet with me today, I really appreciate it.”
“Well, I wanna play ball, so I don’t really have another choice. Do I?”
She gave him a tight smile. “Sorry, kiddo, you don’t. But I promise this will be fast and easy.” Damn it. Fast and easy? Not something to say in front of horny teenage males. She pointed a finger at him when he chuckled under his breath. “Don’t say one word, Jasper, what I meant to say was, this won’t take long and I don’t have many questions to ask.”
“Whatever you say, Ms. Cooper.” Jasper held his hands up, surrendering.
She cleared her throat and sat up straighter, going into counselor mode. “How long have you been playing baseball?”
“Uh, as l
ong as I can remember. My dad played college ball, even played pro for a few years. Then he met my mom and got married, started his own company to have more time with us.”
“What do you love most about playing?”
“To start?” Jasper’s face lit up. “Everything. I love being part of the team. I love the smell of fresh cut grass on the field. I love the sound the ball makes when it hits my glove.” His smile faded slightly. “You aren’t going to share this with the other guys, are you?”
“No, Jasper. I won’t share anything we talk about with anyone else. Don’t be embarrassed. It’s wonderful that you are so passionate about baseball. Many people go their whole lives without feeling true passion about anything. You are lucky to have found something you enjoy.” Corey tilted her head, studying him. She was pretty sure he had said everything she needed to hear. This was a boy who simply loved to play ball. “I think we are good here, buddy, you are free to go.”
“Really? That’s it? Henderson interviewed me for hours. Made everyone answer questions about our families, girls we dated. All kinds of weird stuff.”
“Really? Well, I don’t know what Mr. Henderson was up to. But I need to know that you love the game and that you play for the right reasons.” Corey smiled at Jasper, but her brain was going a mile a minute. What the hell had Henderson been doing? Why would he make these kids sit for hours while he hammered them with personal questions? No wonder they were so pissed when they thought they had to do it all over again. Poor guys. “Thanks for coming in, now go back to class and try to behave yourself.” Jasper got up but didn’t leave.