Page 41 of Marked By Moonlight

Mine… Forever…my inner beast agreed.

And hell. Even my human side agreed. I loved her, and she loved me. So why not claim her with a mating bite?

My gums ached as my dragon fought to emerge.Claim her. Now. No one can take her from us, then.

I sensed a fault in that logic but was too lost in the moment to care. Intoxicated by her scent, I nipped her neck and rubbed my chin over her soft skin. Scrubbing it, almost.

She leaned closer, begging for more. More I was happy to give.

Beeeep!A car careened around the closest corner, then raced away.

We broke apart, panting. Then we exhaled. False alarm.

For a full minute, we sat there, our chests heaving. Then Mina ran a hand over her neck, mumbling, “Wow, that was good. Is a neck orgasm a thing?”

I grinned, though an unsettled thought poked at the edge of my mind. But the past week had been hell, and the present felt so, so good. Why not bask in this feeling for a while?

“I mean it. That was incredible,” she said, still touching her neck.

My groin ached as if she’d rubbed there too, and moonlight shimmered over her skin. I froze, staring. In the heat of the moment, I’d come close to a mating bite. Things hadn’t gone that far, but I’d nuzzled her hard. Too hard?

I snapped back to my senses, suddenly afraid. It was one thing for a shifter to mark their lover with their scent. But there was another type of mark an overzealous shifter could leave when circumstances were just right. One in which destiny intervened to propel two lovers closer to aforeverbond.

Marked by moonlight,I’d heard it called. Something much deeper and longer-lasting than the usual, faint remnant of alover’s scent. A moonlight mark glowed, announcing a shifter’s intention to mate to his rivals.

“Mm,” Mina murmured, nuzzling my chin.

I glanced at her neck. Had I slipped up and allowed my inner beast close enough to the surface to mark Mina with its leathery hide?

A cloud drifted over the moon, and the shimmer faded. Or had I imagined it?

My heart pounded. On the one hand, I loved the idea. But if I’d inadvertently given Mina a moonlight mark, there would be no hiding my love for her, and she would be in that much more danger.

And, fuck. I had plenty of supernatural enemies waiting to exploit my slightest vulnerability. Until now, that hadn’t been an issue, because I didn’t dovulnerable. But loving Mina exposed me in a whole new way — and exposed her to all kinds of dangers too. In which case, I couldn’t stay away from her. I had to make sure she was safe.

I craned my neck, studying hers. But there was nothing now. No way to tell for sure.

“Wow. That was intense.” She chuckled. “I was ready to screw you right here. Maybe it was a good thing that car came along.”

Yes, but had it come a moment too late?

I gulped hard, murmuring, “Yeah. Good thing.”

Mina cocked her head. “Something wrong?”

“No. I mean, yes. I’m just worried about that picture I was sent,” I bluffed.

She grimaced. “Right. What do we do about that?”

Easy answer, for a change. “You go home, stay safe, and leave it to me.”

She snorted. “Don’t even start. If I wantedoverprotective, I would be with Clem.”

My gut churned at the thought of her with the police officer. Still, he would protect her until I could get back there myself, and that was what counted, right?

“I mean it, Mina. You’re safest at the château until I figure out who sent that photo.”

Until I wipe that ass off the face of the earthwas more like it, but Mina didn’t need to hear the blunt version.