Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
“Move, please,” I whispered.
“Thank fuck,” he growled, starting with slow strokes, one hand lifting my thigh around his waist as he kissed me deeply.
His pace built as I met him thrust for thrust, my nails scoring his back and my lynx urging him deeper.
“Come again for me, kitten,” he demanded, his thumb circling my clit.
Pleasure coiled tight and snapped, my body clenching around him in waves. “So close.”
That spurred him on, and he hammered into me harder. “One day soon, I’m gonna fill you deep and put my pup in your belly so the world knows who you belong to.”
The words sent me over again, and he followed with a roar, spilling hot inside me, claiming my body and soul. We collapsed, tangled together with him still hard and deep inside me.
His mouth trailed down my neck until his teeth brushed the place where his mark would go. My entire body arched, heat rolling over me again. My lynx purred so loudly I felt it in my bones.
Booker’s breath hitched. His wolf surged so hard that I felt the ripple of it through his muscles.
“You ready to take my mating mark, kitten?”
I wanted to complete the bond between us and bind our souls together more than anything. “Yes.”
He pressed a soft kiss to the spot he’d just grazed. Then his lips parted, and his teeth skimmed my skin again, a whisper of a bite that made my vision blur. But just as he drew in a breath, footsteps creaked faintly in the hallway. He went still.
Every muscle in his body locked as his wolf snapped forward, protectiveness flooding the air around us. He lifted his head, his body vibrating with tension as he listened with supernatural precision.
“Booker?” I whispered, barely a sound.
He lowered his forehead to mine. “Not like this. Our mating should be private, just you and me. I want to take my time with you.”
I hated the idea of waiting but loved the sound of what he’d described. “Yes. I want that too.”
He guided me back against the pillows, drawing me into his arms after pulling his thick length from my body. We curled together beneath the blanket, the mating bond humming between us like a living thing.
Booker pressed a soft kiss to my temple, lingering there like he couldn’t pull away. “Soon.”
10
BOOKER
Iwoke to the soft rise and fall of Alara’s breath against my chest. She was curled into me like she’d been doing it her whole life. My wolf settled for a fraction of a second, soothed by the feel of her tucked safely in my arms.
But the peace didn’t last.
A low, uneasy growl rumbled through my ribs, his reminder that yesterday’s ambush wasn’t finished business. Something had been wrong out there.
I brushed a hand down her back, memorizing the weight of her against me and how her fingers clutched unconsciously against my stomach. Leaving her now felt wrong on every instinctual level but letting a threat linger near her was worse.
“I’ll be back soon,” I murmured, barely audible.
Her lashes fluttered but didn’t lift. She shifted closer, nuzzling the spot where my shoulder met my collarbone. That nearly kept me in bed, but her safety came above anything else.
I brought my mouth to her temple and pressed a lingering kiss there, letting her scent steady me one more time before I eased away. Then I dressed quietly and slipped out her door, shutting it softly behind me.
When I made it outside, the mountain air woke me all the way up. I crossed the courtyard and cut into the tree line toward the location of the ambush. Without warriors around to stir the soil or confuse the scents, I was hoping to catch a trace of whoever had attacked.
I crouched near the slope where the fake attack had started. The scuffle marked the earth, but beneath the obvious signs were claw marks that didn’t belong to any of the warriors who’d participated.
My brows furrowed when I noticed the pattern was similar to the other warriors but not quite the same. There was only one logical explanation for what I was seeing.
My wolf pushed forward with a snarl of recognition, every hair on his body standing on end.
The challenger was a lynx but not part of the trial I’d faced.
I stood slowly, scanning the surrounding trees. Something out here had waited, watching for their moment.
A breeze shifted, carrying a scent that made my whole body go rigid. An unknown lynx male.
Not anyone who’d been in the courtyard yesterday.
My wolf’s teeth scraped the inside of my skin, begging to shift so we could hunt whoever this bastard was. I forced him down and tipped my head toward the deeper forest.
If he was still out here, I needed reinforcement before I went barreling after him. Luckily, Keane was an alpha who had a telepathic connection to his pack, including me. I sent him a quick mental pulse of warning and urgency.