Page 20 of Memphis Heat

She tilted her head in an instinctive move, baring her neck to him.

Jamie took advantage, clamping down on her shoulder as he partially shifted to battle form.

His teeth sank into her skin, bringing blood, but not enough to really harm her.

Not that she seemed to care. She pushed her hips back against him, demanding more without words.

His cock was mashed between the cheeks of her ass as he moved, sliding through her sweat-slickened skin.

He continued his teasing until she trembled beneath him, stilling, awaiting his pleasure. Submissive. Or as submissive as she could be. Just what he was waiting for.

Then he shifted his weight and sank his cock deep into her wet, slick cunt with one hard plunge.

He held back a groan, but only just. Amanda, on the other hand, didn’t try to mask her pleasure.

She cried out in sweet abandon, allowing him to take the lead as Jamie thought she’d secretly longed to do from the beginning.

Like any Alpha Bitch, Amanda had known he had doubts, reservations about taking his partner as his lover.

Had she waited for him to take the lead, he might never have done so.

By playing it like she had, she forced his hand, but once she had him, they both knew he’d never suppress his dominant nature for long.

“Now, love,” he rasped as he licked at the tiny droplets of blood between her neck and shoulder where he’d held her submissive beneath him. “It begins. You are mine. I will never let you go.”

“Yours,” she cried out as he moved within her.

Jamie circled her body with one arm and found her clit, stroking it once, loving the way her pussy quivered around his cock.

He could make her come so easily. She wouldn’t just fall over the edge, she’d jump if he pushed her even the slightest. He knew that was exactly what she wanted, but he held her back, not putting too much pressure on her clit as he fucked her.

Hard and fast, long, deep thrusts that ground his cock deep into her pussy. He rocked his hips against hers on every thrust. She was moving now, fighting to match his rhythm, reaching for that sweet spot where their bodies meshed in perfect harmony. He drove her harder, pushing her to her limit.

Mine , his breath seemed to hiss on every thrust. My mate. Mine .

“Now, Callahan!” she cried. “Now!”

Tempting as it was to deny her, to make her wait long past her breaking point, his cock agreed. Now. Mate. My mate. Now . He slid his hand lower, fingering her clit until the pressure was more than she could stand. She bucked against his fingers on every stroke, then ground back against his balls.

Jamie brought his teeth back to her shoulder, biting hard again, holding her still under his pounding.

She would take what he needed to give, would take his seed deep inside her until he swelled and tied them together once again.

His half-shifted wolf form was much stronger than her human form, but the need to actually show his dominance with his bite was an instinct he couldn’t suppress.

Then her cunt gripped him. Hard. Her muscles squeezed him in a pulsing grip that nearly brought him to his knees.

God knew his own orgasm was an impending explosion, but he simply gripped her hips, claws digging into her skin, and held on.

Amanda screamed as she came, never trying to wiggle free of his grip, accepting his domination as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

And it was. Alpha. Mate . This dance was older than time itself.

When the spasms lessened, Jamie gave himself the mental OK, quickening his pace, slamming into her harder than ever. The pressure built, multiplying inside him, needing to expel into her, to mark her, maybe even plant his seed inside his mate.

Then he could no longer hold back. Didn’t even try.

His orgasm hit him with an explosive force, his cum shooting inside her, the base of his cock swelling, knotting to hold that seed inside her and tie them together.

If Jamie had his way, he’d have stayed like that forever.

There was an indescribable closeness when he was wedged inside her wet heat, unable to retreat.

His spasms seemed to go on forever as pleasure kept shooting from his balls to his belly and down his legs. How he remained upright was beyond him, but this was his woman, damn it. When he was with her, he knew he could do anything. Even stay upright after the most intense orgasm of his life.

* * *

It was Callahan’s turn to watch Amanda pace.

She’d been like this since they came back from lunch.

He was no closer to figuring women out than he had been more than a century ago, but by now he did know better than to ask a woman what was wrong.

She’d say “Nothing,” and then he’d be in trouble for not knowing what nothing was the code word for today.

Better to just wait. She’d get to it eventually.

And even with the little he understood of women, he was sure it wouldn’t be good.

Why couldn’t everything be as uncomplicated as sex?

No, that wasn’t a great example, either. Women could make even sex complicated.

Still, he wasn’t prepared when she finally let loose.

“Do you love me?”

His left eye ticked an ominous beat. “What the hell kind of question is that?”

“One I’m asking you. Now.”

And one he’d better approach with caution. No matter what he felt, he’d said the words before, only to have them come back to bite him in the tail. “Why? What bug’s stuck in your throat?”

“I heard you. You and shithead. Miller. I didn’t know.

None of us do. We’re new at this whole not being human anymore thing.

Too na?ve to even think to ask about packs and bloodlines.

We thought we were pack now. We’re what you are.

But we’re not really human or wolf, are we?

We’re somewhere in between. Something less.

I can deal with black. I’ve always been black.

But this… I didn’t see this one coming.”

Fuck . “Well, you should have listened to the rest of the conversation then. It’s the Russians we’re worried about. And Jarod and Belle. Miller’s a fuckhead. He should have sent me in. I was born wolf.”

“Born, bitten, turned… why does that matter?”

“It doesn’t matter to me, or to any of the wolves in our pack.

We’ve mated with humans for so long we have no idea who’s what.

I was born wolf, and I was born here, but my pack immigrated to this country during the Revolutionary War.

We’re mercenaries. Pack is what matters to the old ones.

Born or bitten, they call us mongrels. The packs who have protected their bloodlines for generations.

Jarod won’t have a clue about pack bloodlines.

He’s a bite-turned wolf, and if it comes down to politics, the Russian pack will turn on him as fast as you can say ‘FBI shitheads didn’t do their homework.

’ I’ve read up enough on bloodlines I could at least fake it. Jarod doesn’t have a clue.”

It was his turn to pace. “But that doesn’t answer your question.

Yes. I love you -- more than I love the feel of the sun on my fur or a long morning run.

More than I love the feel of fresh grass between my toes.

All things that make me who I am, more than human, more than wolf, the best -- and the worst -- parts of both.

They’re part of me, part of all the things I cherish.

You’re that, and more. I’ve loved you since I first caught your scent.

I don’t say it, because it scares me. I don’t have the best track record with women.

I’ve learned it’s generally safer to keep my mouth shut.

But you make me want to howl it to the world.

And more importantly, to the pack. My woman.

My mate . And that scares me, too. Because with you, I’ve got something to lose. ”

Something lifted in Amanda’s expression. For once he’d said the right thing. “I love you,” she growled, kissing him hard. “And I don’t care what kind of mutt you are. You’re my mutt. That’s good enough for me.”

He wanted to grab her, rip her clothes off, and fuck her until none of this mattered.

But now wasn’t the time, he reminded himself.

Not now. But later. Pack gathering. He would claim her.

And gods help any wolf who tried to get in his way.

Because this time, nothing would stop him from making her his.

Just as he came to that almost lucid conclusion, he heard the sound of an approach warning. Carson had rigged early warning alerts all along the road into their isolated location.

Time to go be cops.