Page 17 of Love Bites Really Hard (Mated to the King #4)

seventeen

ZORA

I laughed as he hauled me inside, shutting the door roughly behind us.

He set me down on the edge of the bed and opened my thighs, kneeling on the floor between them as he shifted back to his human form. “I thought I’d find you touching yourself.”

“You’re better at it.”

His eyes heated, his gaze meeting mine. “Of course I am. Your body is mine.” Leaning in, he inhaled deeply at my core. His chest rumbled, and he dragged his nose over my center.

I buried my fingers in his hair. “I don’t want to wake up alone again.”

“Okay.” His tongue flicked the front of my panties, teasing me lightly through the fabric, but I pushed his head away to stop him.

“I don’t want you to go back to your meeting. I want us to have a few days to get to know each other, away from everyone else.”

“Okay.” He tugged my panties to the side with his finger and dragged his tongue lightly over my clit, making my hips rock.

“Wait.” I pushed his face away from me again. “I want us to be a team, okay? Even if there’s a baby involved. I don’t want you to be the king while I stay home and take care of the kid. That might be perfect for some people, but I like working. I want to help. I want us to handle the Manor stuff, and I want us to handle the baby stuff. Together.”

“Okay.”

“Stop saying okay, and talk to me,” I growled.

His eyes met mine, and the look in them was so steady, so calm, it made my chest ache.

Maybe neutrality wasn’t always bad.

Maybe sometimes, it was security.

“Sweetheart, I don’t care about the meetings. We’ll skip them. If you want to take time off, we’ll take time off. If you want us to split our work equally, we’ll do that. Your requests are more than reasonable.”

“Okay.”

He chuckled, pulling my hands from his hair and kissing my knuckles.

“Do you have any requests?” I finally asked.

“You. Naked. On all fours, after I’ve tasted my fill of this pretty little cunt.”

My breathing hitched. “You should pull out when you finish, if we’re not holding back entirely.”

Holding back entirely seemed out of the question. We’d already failed spectacularly at avoiding sex completely. If he pulled out, at least we were making an effort.

“Deal.” He released my hand and tugged my panties down my legs. When he pulled them off entirely, he opened me up wider, leaning in and inhaling.

His chest rumbled. “Were you sitting on the coffee?”

I scowled and smacked the side of his head lightly. His smirk told me he didn’t care. “If that’s your way of telling me I need a shower, you can go right back to your meeting.”

He dragged his tongue over my clit, and I swore, grabbing his hair and using my grip to push his head away again. “If I smell so bad, don’t?—“

“You smell and taste fucking delicious. I was teasing you. And the coffee doesn’t smell as bad today.” He licked me again.

“It doesn’t?” The excitement in my voice had to be evident.

“No. It’s just as strong, but not unpleasant anymore. My council was nearly gagging at the scent, though. They were probably glad when I left.”

A laugh sputtered out of me.

He flashed me a grin from between my thighs. “I’m glad you love coffee so much. It’ll keep the other monsters further away from you.”

“Guess I should’ve had some before the masquerade party,” I teased.

“No. The Oscar situation was a mess, but it brought me to you. I’d live it all on repeat if I had to, to keep you.” He licked my clit again, making me shudder as my grip on his hair tightened.

“I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Stop distracting me. I’m trying to eat you.”

“Maybe that’s the second most romantic,” I gasped.

He laughed—then worked my clit with his tongue until I was crying out in pleasure.

As my climax faded, he rolled me to my stomach and lifted me up to my knees. His hand smoothed over my ass, while the cropped shirt I had on rode up over my bare breasts.

“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he growled, squeezing my backside in a massive handful.

“Says the guy who just made me come on his mouth in record time,” I mumbled into the sheets.

“Maybe I’m perfect too.”

I laughed, grinding my backside against his erection. “Why are you still wearing all of your clothes, babe?”

“I’m going to have to learn to like that nickname, aren’t I?”

“Seems like it.”

He freed his cock and lined the tip of it up with my entrance. “I’ll strip completely for the second round. Right now, I need to be inside you.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” I lowered my hips, taking the tip of him inside me.

He growled, smacking my ass lightly as he pulled out and ran the head of his cock over my clit. “Maybe I want you to beg for it.”

“Then you picked the wrong woman, because I won’t beg for anything.”

He laughed—the sound was low, gravelly, and sexy. “Forever with you is going to be fun, Sweetheart.” He stroked my ass lightly, then smacked it again. “If you’re not going to beg, then demand it.”

“Give me your cock, asshole,” I breathed, as he stroked my clit with the head of it again.

He brushed my back entrance. “You want it here?”

“I’m going to kill you, Bane.”

He laughed, loudly. “I’ll enjoy it when you try.”

Finally, he lined himself up with my entrance and thrust, hard. All arguments and protests died in my throat as he filled me. Even in his human form, he was huge.

“Fuck, that’s good,” I gasped.

“I’m just getting started, Sweetheart.” He pulled out and filled me again, slowly, his hand still on my backside. “Lift that pretty little ass higher. I want to see every inch of you as I take you.”

“You have a filthy mouth.”

“I can feel how much you love it.” He smacked my ass again, and my hips rocked in response.

He had learned exactly what I wanted. And shit, he knew exactly how to give it to me.

He worked me slow and deep, until we went over the edge together, my nails digging into the mattress and his grip insanely tight on my ass as he pulled out just in time to release on my lower back.

“You look so fucking good like this, Sweetheart,” he rumbled, dragging his hand slowly through his release like he was trying to rub it into my skin.

“I always look good.”

“True.” He slipped his hand between my legs, coating my core in his pleasure, and my thighs clenched. “You still want more, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what you did to me,” I grumbled. “I didn’t even like sex.”

“I made you mine.” He teased my swollen clit lightly. “I want to try something.”

“Other than the spanking? I’m obviously a fan of that.”

“I noticed.”

“What do you want to try?”

He teased my clit instead of answering me.

“Wipe my back off with your shirt so I can sit up,” I said, moving my hips a little and earning another smack to my ass. “You’re still wearing too many clothes.”

He did as I’d instructed, pulling his shirt off and cleaning my skin.

I slid off his cock and rolled over, pushing his pants down his gigantic thighs. “Tell me what you want, Bane. We don’t beat around the bush, remember?”

His chest rumbled. “I don’t want to pressure you.”

I rolled my eyes as he stepped out of his pants. “Maybe I’ll go take a bath, then.”

He growled, grabbing my hips when I stood up. He turned me back around, and lowered me back to my hands and knees. When he spread my ass cheeks and filled me again, my hips arched.

“You feel so good inside me.”

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, Sweetheart.” He spread my thighs wider.

“What do you want to try, Bane?”

“I want to shift,” he gritted out.

“I sat on your stone cock right after we met, remember? I obviously don’t have a problem with tha—oh, fuck!” I gasped out the curse as his cock swelled and hardened.

He was big before, but now?

There was a thick, hard rock inside me.

And it felt so much better than I ever would’ve imagined.

He didn’t move at first, giving me a moment to adjust. My hips were rocking, more curses escaping me as I moved, using him until I was crying out as my body clenched around him.

He snarled, throbbing with my climax even though he hadn’t gotten off with me.

“What are you waiting for?” I moaned.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he gritted out.

“Do I sound hurt?”

He smacked my ass again, a little harder. My hips jerked, and when I looked over my shoulder, I could see in his eyes that he was fighting for control. Trying to keep a hold on himself. On what he wanted. What he needed. What he did to me.

And I wanted to see that control snap.

“Put your fingers in your mouth. Tell me how we taste together,” I said breathlessly, going still so he wouldn’t think I was trying to push him.

I was, though.

That was kind of our thing.

His grip on my ass tightened for a moment, before he finally lifted his fingers to his mouth, and sucked.

His responding snarl was animalistic.

Beastly.

All monster.

And I was completely, totally here for it.

His body trembled as he fought himself, trying to hold back. To resist acting on what he wanted. What he needed.

“What do we taste like?”

“Coffee.” The word was little more than a growl.

My excitement faded slightly.

He hated coffee.

He lowered his fingers to my clit again and dragged them over the slickness he’d left there. His release, and mine.

Then he lifted his hand back to his mouth, and sucked it off his finger again.

I clenched around his cock. The feeling was so unreal, I had to bite back a moan.

He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. “We’re the best thing I’ve ever fucking tasted.”

“Let me taste.”

He growled possessively, but touched my clit again before he pressed his fingers between my lips. I sucked the slickness off his skin, and my channel clenched again.

He swore, and jerked his hips.

“Well?” he growled.

“Delicious.”

The word seemed to snap his control. He roared, grabbing my ass and driving into me hard and fast. We came together, quickly, but he didn’t stop. He just fucked me harder. And faster.

The bastard was right.

He was perfect.

Eventually, Bane carried me to the bathtub, and filled it to my chin with blissfully hot water while he held me in his arms. I rested my forehead against his stone neck, and he stroked my lower back lightly.

“How sore are you?” There was concern in his voice, but hunger, too.

The man was insatiable.

“Give me an hour in the water and I’ll be ready to go again,” I said against his neck.

He rumbled, and his cock throbbed against my ass.

There was a knock on the door after a while, and he left the tub long enough to open the door with a towel around his waist. He traded words with someone for a minute, and I heard something slide across the floor before he came back.

“Who was that?” I asked.

He dropped his towel and climbed back into the water with me, pulling me back into his arms. “I had the vampires deliver a canopy for our bed. I’ll set it up later today.”

My mood darkened. “So I can sleep without you?”

“So you’ll still be able to rest if you ever need to go to bed without me,” he corrected, and I scowled. “If you want me to sleep with my wings wrapped around you, I’m never going to argue with that. But not having a canopy could affect you negatively, Sweetheart. That’s not okay with me.”

My anger faded.

He ran a hand down my back. “I need to make you something to eat when we get out.”

“I had coffee.”

The look he gave me said that coffee did not qualify as food. He wasn’t really wrong.

“I can cook for us.” I leaned against his chest.

“That’s my job.”

“Everything can’t be your job. We’re a team, remember? You agreed, when you were trying to get in my pants.”

“I remember. We can cook together, partner .”

I snorted.

He chuckled. “So we’re going to ignore the Manor for a few days and spend time getting to know each other.”

“Right,” I agreed.

“It’ll go more smoothly if we spend a few hours in my office, taking care of everything that needs to be done immediately, first.”

“Can your assistant do any of that?”

“The sexy one?” His voice wasn’t playful, but I knew he was teasing me anyway.

“That one,” I agreed.

“He’s been asking for more responsibilities for years. I guess I could give him a few.”

“That sounds good. We’ll stop in your office to deal with things, and then take a week off. We could go on a vacation or something. Get out of the Manor entirely,” I suggested.

Bane’s lips curved. “I thought we were just staying in for a few days.”

“When was the last time you took a vacation?” I checked.

He considered it. Finally, he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever taken a vacation.”

“Well, then it’s settled. We’re going on vacation. I’ll book us a place and put it on your tab.”

He laughed—a deep, rumbly sound that made me bite my lip to hide my grin. “You mated me, Sweetheart. My tab is yours now.”

“Guess we’re sharing everything, huh?”

“Yup.” He kissed my cheek. “What kind of vacation are you thinking?”

“Either something with a beach, or something with a big, private pool. Or a lake. A cabin by a lake in the mountains could be cool. We could fly a bunch. What sounds best to you?”

“I’ll enjoy whatever you choose.”

I flashed him a glare. “Bullshit. Stop being neutral.”

“Alright, I’d prefer the cabin. And I can make a few calls to find something, if you don’t want to take the time to search.”

“That sounds even better.” I leaned back against him, closing my eyes. “Have Oscar and Sierra broken the imprint yet?”

“They have. I assigned someone to keep an eye on the cameras. He spent most of the night with his face between her thighs, so it seems safe to say they’ll be sealing their bond soon.”

My lips stretched in a smile. “Good. I can’t believe we made it out of that, and I didn’t have to mate with that bastard.”

“Believe it, Sweetheart. You’re all mine.” He slid his hands over my body. “I’m so fucking glad you turned him down.”

“You could’ve dodged a bond like this for another few centuries if I hadn’t.”

He lowered his lips to my cheek, and kissed me lightly. “Dodging a bond is overrated.”

“Truer words have never been spoken.”

His mouth moved to my ear, and teased my piercings as I leaned against him, more content than I’d ever imagined.

Dodging a bond was overrated.

Sealing the bond with Bane was the best decision I’d ever made.