Page 6 of Love Bites Really Hard (Mated to the King #4)

six

ZORA

Dinner was easier than expected. Oscar wasn’t there, which made things more tolerable for Bane. I sat on his lap in the dining room and fed him fruit, while he gritted his teeth against the flow of my magic that everyone around us could undoubtedly feel.

It was actually kind of fun.

And definitely hot—I was insanely wet between my thighs. If I didn’t touch myself or something before I went to bed, I was going to feel like crap.

I was supposed to hate him for imprinting on me, though. So, I couldn’t admit to enjoying it.

The unmated men glared at us and whispered throughout the meal, until we finally finished eating.

I couldn’t tell him exactly what I wanted to, because of the monsters’ insanely good hearing.

So I leaned against him, lifting my lips to his ear and murmuring, “You’re trying so hard not to make a scene, aren’t you, babe ?”

He clenched his jaw tighter, but I was pretty sure he got the message.

Make a scene.

I threw more of my magic into the room, and earned a few quiet groans from men who tried to stifle them.

Bane snarled, standing abruptly. “Don’t use your fucking magic on anyone.”

With that, he threw me over his shoulder.

And stormed out of the room.

We made it through the elevator and back up to our apartment’s door before he growled.

“What’s wrong?” I contorted myself so I could see in front of him, and watched him scan his thumb.

The lock beeped red.

He scanned it again, and again.

Rejected, two more times.

“Fucking Oscar,” he swore.

Bane wasn’t even trying to act neutral anymore, which seemed like a big deal for him.

“Is there a code you can type in?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m sure he changed that too.”

He stabbed a few numbers on the keypad anyway.

1234 again.

Seriously, the guy needed a better code.

But the lock beeped again, another red light flashing.

He snarled at the door, set me down to the side of it, and shifted.

My eyebrows raised when he slammed his shoulder into it, hard. There was a snapping noise, and the door crashed open—from the hinged side.

He grabbed me again before I could follow him into the room, and carried me past the kitchen and couch. As soon as we were in the bedroom, he threw me on the bed.

I landed lightly enough to know he was being careful. He was pissed, but he wasn’t going to hurt me.

He proceeded to hunt down every single camera in the apartment, tearing them down and crunching them into balls of metal. I didn’t dare ask how much they’d cost, or if there was a better solution than just smashing them.

He found one in the kitchen.

In the living room.

In the bedroom.

In the closet, even.

The useless door was ripped out of the way again just long enough for Bane to toss the cameras’ remains out before he slammed it again.

I still had his phone, so I pulled it from my pocket and sent a text to Lex.

Bane

This is Zora. Oscar hacked our door, so Bane ripped it out. We’re going to need a new one, with a lock that isn’t connected to the internet.

I sent myself his number, just in case I ever needed it. He answered just as the message with his contact information finished sending. I’d save it to my phone later.

Lex

On it

Bane

Thanks

Lex

No problem

Good job at dinner, btw. I’m already getting messages about the king’s evil new mate

Bane plucked the phone from my hand and scanned the messages, murder in his eyes. When he read the last one, he growled again and tossed the phone to the bed.

Then, he started pacing.

He was still in his gargoyle form, his shirt so tight it was basically glued to his skin. His pants looked like they were going to tear at any given moment, and the poor button threatened to pop right off.

I still needed some time to myself, to work through everything that had happened that day.

But I had to fix Bane, first.

If I could.

I had to try, at least.

I let out a quick breath, then finally got off the bed and crossed the room. I intercepted him in the middle of the path he was burning on the tile, grabbing him by his belt loops.

When he stopped, I unbuttoned his jeans.

“I’m not in the mood,” he snarled.

“I’m not offering to get you off again,” I shot back. “I’m loosening these so you can breathe without tearing them.”

He stared down at me for a moment.

I glared back, daring him to argue.

When he didn’t, I undid the zipper too, then stepped back.

He didn’t start pacing again immediately, which seemed like a good sign.

“What’s wrong?” I prodded, and his face twisted with anger again.

“Mates are cherished. Cared for. Loved . I don’t want my people thinking I don’t want you, or even like you. It’s fucking messed up to pretend any of this. I?—”

I grabbed him by his thick shoulders.

Since I wasn’t sure what to say to talk him down, I did the only thing I could think of to stop his spiraling.

I kissed him.

Hard.

Our mouths collided roughly, and his body went still. I wasn’t trying to feed on him, so I just dragged my tongue over his—and he finally launched into action.

His hands were hot on my waist as he returned the kiss, lifting me off the ground without hesitation this time. He had me pinned to the wall much faster than he had in the conference room, and he kissed me just as hard as he had there.

His hands gripped my ass before one of them found the bottom hem of my shirt and tugged it upward. He broke the kiss for a heartbeat, for the sake of freeing me from the fabric, then recaptured my mouth.

He worked my breasts roughly, like he couldn’t help it. Like he had to touch me, or he was going to combust.

Like I was his .

Bane was brutal in the best way, his hard stone lips and tongue warring with my soft ones.

Animalistic, with his hands gripping and kneading my skin desperately, like he couldn’t stop himself from feeling. Touching. Taking.

Without warning, he ripped his mouth away from mine. I could feel him trembling, just slightly, as I sucked in air desperately.

What a kiss.

What a fucking incredible kiss.

It was a good thing he’d mated me, because there wasn’t a chance anyone else would ever be able to make me feel like that again.

“It kills me not to take care of you the way I know I should.” His voice was low and angry, but his anger wasn’t pointed at me. “I should be making your life easier.”

“I have three mated sisters, and none of their lives got easier after they mated, Bane. That’s not how it works.”

“It should.”

“No, it shouldn’t.” I took his face in my hands, lowering his chin to force his eyes to mine. “Even when people are happily mated, having a partner makes life more complex. There’s more to consider. More things to do, too. Being mated doesn’t make life easier—it just makes it better.”

“Have I made your life better, then?” The bitterness in his voice caught me by surprise, but I had no problem with it. I was just glad he wasn’t pretending to be neutral again.

“I’m not sitting in a room, yelling at Oscar. Or on a plane, trying to get as far away from him as possible. So yeah, I’d say this is better.”

He scoffed. “I haven’t even taken care of that problem yet. The male who wants to take you from me locked me out of my own fucking room. I?—“

“You want to take care of me?” I interrupted.

“Of course I do,” he growled back.

I was taking a risk.

I knew I should shut myself down before I did anything I might regret, too.

But I wanted him. Desperately.

And I was pretty sure there was a simple answer to the stress he was feeling. It wouldn’t fix anything, but sometimes, a distraction was all you needed.

“I’ve been horny all day, Bane. Take care of that.”

He stared at me for a moment.

A long, long moment.

And I didn’t look away.

His chest rumbled dangerously.

Then, without further warning, he hauled me into his arms and crossed the room, recapturing my mouth in his.

Bane shifted back to his human form, and his lips grew softer against mine as we made out while he carried me to the bed. He sat down on the edge with me on his lap, and tore through the crotch of my jeans with his claws like they were little more than a napkin.

I gasped into his mouth when his fingers dragged over my clit lightly, the remains of my jeans still clinging to my legs. My panties were still in his pocket, so they weren’t a problem.

He growled into my mouth when I grabbed his hand and pressed his fingers against me harder, but he got the message. He increased the pressure, rolling his fingers in a rough circle again, and again, until I lost it.

I cried out in pleasure, grinding against his hand as I held it between my thighs.

The release was great, but it wasn’t enough.

He snarled into my mouth when I freed his cock and lined him up with my entrance. His snarl became a curse as I lowered myself over him, taking his tip inside me.

He pulled me down harder, driving in a little deeper.

I held on to his shoulders for dear life as he gritted out, “Fuck, Sweetheart. You’re unreal.”

Right.

It was his first time.

Unless we counted the moment in the conference room, which was iffy, considering we’d only been together for all of two seconds.

I’d already given him that blowjob earlier, but I wanted to make the sex good for him. If I was going to be his first and his last, I didn’t want him walking away from the moment with anything less than absolute confidence he’d made the right choice.

Even if I wasn’t absolutely confident myself.

But honestly?

I’d never much enjoyed sex.

I’d only done the deed while feeding a handful of times. None of them had been stellar. Or even enjoyable.

So, how was I supposed to make sure he enjoyed it?

That was the question of the?—

“Holy shit,” I swore, jerking my hips as he lifted me up higher before pulling me down harder.

The world spun as he was fully sheathed inside me.

His cock was huge.

Freaking huge.

And apparently, this angle meant he hit my g-spot perfectly.

He repeated the motion a little more smoothly, and I gasped out another curse, my hands still gripping his shoulders.

Maybe I didn’t need to do anything after all.

He released my hips long enough to tear through the black lace of my bra. He pulled the loose fabric away immediately, and gripped my breasts in both hands as his cock throbbed hard inside me.

My hips moved desperately as he dragged his thumbs over my nipples, and when he finally released one to recapture my hip, I was deliriously close to climaxing again.

Bane lifted my hips so he could yank me down again, bottoming out inside me—and when he repeated the motion, I came with a loud, desperate cry.

He snarled and lost control with me, filling me with his release until we were panting together, our eyes locked.

“Take off your shirt next time,” I managed, my fingertips digging into his biceps.

“Why not this time?” He pulled it over his head, and my hands slid over his chest.

The muscles were perfect. I was absolutely here for them.

“You’re not…” I trailed off.

“Done? No. Not even close, Sweetheart.” He lowered to his back on the bed and rolled us over, so his massive body was on top of mine.

My heart beat wildly as he pulled one of my legs up higher, opening me wider as he pulled out and thrust into me.

I couldn’t help but suck in a breath. “I don’t like being on the bottom,” I breathed, though my body was already clenching around his cock in a way that said I really did like it.

“With who?” he growled.

The look in my eyes said any person whose name I gave him would die. Quickly.

“Anyone.”

He throbbed hard, and I moaned, digging my fingers into his chest. “You don’t want to be dominated, Sweetheart?” The heat in his voice made my toes curl and my hips arch. I was trying to take him deeper, even though his cock was already against the back of my channel.

“No. Fuck,” I gasped out the curse, even though he hadn’t moved.

“So you don’t like this?” He didn’t sound like he believed me.

I wasn’t sure I believed me either.

“I don’t know. I never liked being on the bottom before.” I rolled my head to the side, trying to stop my heart from racing.

It didn’t stop.

I wanted him too badly.

“Everything will be different with me. You’re mine, remember?” he lowered his lips to my throat and sucked, lightly.

“You’re mine too.”

His chest rumbled. “That’s right.

“You have to move again. I can’t take it.” I rocked my hips, growing more desperate by the second.

“You still want me to get off of you?”

“I don’t know,” I moaned. “Just move.”

He chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice as he took my ass in his hands, tilting me before he pulled out and drove in.

Deep.

So perfectly, blissfully deep.

I cried out as he filled me again, harder. Rougher, too. “That pretty little cunt is so fucking tight for me, Sweetheart.” His voice was gravelly, his words filthy as he drove into me again, and again.

I buried my hands in his hair as he brought me back to the edge until I was climaxing around his cock while he found his release with me.

“Still hate being on the bottom?” he panted, his eyes wild and his hips still jerking as we recovered for a moment.

“Think it might be a new favorite,” I panted, a chunk of hair in my face. The hair didn’t matter. My body was still clenching around Bane’s cock with the aftershocks of my release, and I swear, I must’ve found heaven. Sex had never even felt good before, but somehow, he’d made it feel so much better than just getting myself off.

And the way his cock throbbed told me he wasn’t done.

His chest rumbled in satisfaction. The way he had effortlessly taken control of the moment told me that being on top was his favorite, too. Given that he was both a gargoyle and the king of all the monsters, that really didn’t surprise me. A man that strong wanted to be the power player, always.

To the extent that he was even willing to pretend he felt neutral about things that mattered.

Like mate bonds.

I’d break him out of his neutrality, though. Maybe it would be my new goal.

“You done with me now?” I asked.

“Sweetheart,” he said, lowering his mouth to mine and kissing me, slowly. Sweetly. Until he was thrusting inside me again, slow and rough and absolutely fucking perfect. “I could have you on my cock all night and not be done with you. Monsters don’t need breaks. We’re going to stop when you’re too tired, not me.”

“I won’t get too tired,” I tossed back.

He kissed me again, lightly, and bit down on my lip. It didn’t hurt, but I gasped anyway. “Then I guess we’re going to fuck until we collapse.”

“I can handle it if you can,” I breathed.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” He pulled my hands out of his hair and pinned them above my head, then thrust into me again. And again.

Until I took him over the edge with me once more.