Page 24 of The Wolf Prince’s Mate (Marked Beneath the Moon #2)

twenty-four

NOVA

Clay slept through the whole afternoon. I knew he didn’t mind having the TV on while he was out, so I binged a mystery TV show. He stirred every time I tried to move, which made getting up out of the question.

At dinner time, I slipped out long enough to heat up the last few burritos from his freezer, and made him wake up to eat them.

He went back to sleep immediately, burying his face in my hair the same way he had earlier, and I went back to my show.

It was one of the most relaxing days of my life, even though I knew the next day would be far less comfortable.

In the morning, I was up before Clay. After pulling one of his button-ups on just to drive him a little crazy, I headed out to the kitchen to start the coffee. He still wasn’t a big fan of it, so I didn’t make him a cup. Instead, I fried some eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

The food was just about done when he came stumbling out, his eyes bleary and his hair sticking up at every angle. He was still naked, and his morning wood saluted me.

The relief in his eyes was palpable as he dropped into one of the barstools, slumping over the countertop.

“Thought you left,” he mumbled.

“You’d have to carry me off the property and throw me over the fence.” I considered it for a moment, stirring the hash browns. They took longer than everything else, so I guess I hadn’t started them early enough. “And change the code.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Yet.”

He let out a harsh breath. “It’s not safe for you to be here, Nova. You need to leave.”

“You came out here panicked because you thought I did,” I pointed out, not looking over my shoulder at him.

I knew why he was trying to get rid of me, so I wasn’t offended. The man clearly wanted me. He was just afraid, and I wasn’t going to let his fear hurt my feelings.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he growled back. “I just need you safe.”

“Your wolf loves me. He’d rather hurt himself than me.”

Clay’s chest rattled with his wolf’s growl of agreement.

“I can’t control him right now. It’s not safe for you to be here.” The man sounded like he was in pain, and he leaned back against his chair, slouching.

He needed a distraction.

And I could give him that.

I turned the stove off and dished the food up, then carried the plates over to him. After setting them both down in front of him, I bent over.

And wrapped my lips around his softening cock.

He gritted out a curse, his hands tangling in my hair as I bobbed over his erection. He hardened again for me instantly, and I took the thick base of him in my hand.

I worked his cock as I sucked and bobbed, and it wasn’t long before he was swearing as I swallowed his release.

“Since when are you a professional at giving head, Gorgeous?” he growled, his chest rising and falling as I licked the last of his salty release and stood up straight.

“I don’t think you want to know the answer to that.”

He clenched his jaw.

I sat down on his lap, hoping my bare butt would be a distraction.

His hand landed on my upper thigh, and he pulled me back so my ass was against his cock.

He was still hard, so I was pretty sure my plan was working.

I grabbed my fork and cut into my eggs. Before I could lift a bite to my mouth, his fingers were on my center.

I nearly dropped the utensil as he dragged them over my clit.

“Sucking me off made you wet for me?” His words were nearly a snarl.

When he left his fingers where they were and didn’t give me anything else, I realized he was legitimately waiting for an answer.

“Of course it did. I’m never in control with you—but when my mouth was on your cock, you couldn’t do a damn thing but sit there and let me please you.”

The fingers he had on my clit pressed harder. I barely stopped myself from jerking my hips.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth, Gorgeous. You fucking own me. I can’t sleep without you. I can’t eat without you. I can barely breathe without you.”

“That doesn’t sound healthy.”

“I don’t care.” His lips brushed my shoulder, where his wolf had bitten me. It was long-since healed. “Tell me to stop. Tell me to let you go.”

“No.”

He throbbed against my ass, and he pressed harder against my clit. “Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me I’m insane. That you’ll pick another mate. That you’re leaving.”

“No, Savage. You’re not insane. I want you. I’m not leaving, ever .” I looked over my shoulder at him, and found his expression raw.

Dark.

Desperate.

His wolf was in his eyes, just a little.

He and the beast were one and the same. He just couldn’t admit it to himself yet.

But he would get there.

We would get there.

“I need you just as much as you need me, Clay. Stop holding yourself back.”

Something in his eyes snapped.

He shoved me to the countertop and slammed into me.

I gasped as he filled me hard and fast.

“You think you can take all of me?” he snarled, hitting the back of my channel roughly before repeating the motion. “You think you can handle everything I am?”

“Fuck, yes,” I breathed.

He slapped my clit, and I cried out at the intensity of the pleasure. “You have no idea what you’re asking for.”

“Then show me.”

He fucked me so roughly, I was gasping for air and seeing stars as I came once, and again. When he finally went over the edge, sharp teeth cut into my shoulder, in the spot he would bite me beneath the full moon.

The spot he would use to make me his, permanently.

I couldn’t suppress my scream of pleasure as I shattered with him.

We came together, both of us panting as we caught our breaths.

I eased myself away from the countertop, and Clay pulled me with him as he sat back down in his chair. My ass was on his thighs, and he was still buried inside me.

He pulled our plates closer.

I managed a breathless laugh. “I’m not hungry now.”

His lips brushed my shoulder, kissing the bite mark there lightly. “Thanks for cooking.”

“Thanks for not kicking me out.”

“I think we both know I couldn’t go through with that.”

“Probably not.” I leaned back against him, closing my eyes as my heart rate slowly returned to normal. Against my back, his slowed too.

One of his hands remained on my thigh, and the other sat loosely on my hip, over my stolen shirt.

“Look,” Clay began, his voice full of hesitation.

I cut him off. “I’m not leaving, okay? I’m not. We’re in this together, and Clay, I love you too. I understand that you’re scared, and I don’t blame you for that, but you don’t get to tell me we’re done and walk away just because you’re scared.”

His grip on my thigh tightened, and his arm wrapped around my waist. “I’m fucking terrified, Nova.”

“I know. We’ll get through it.”

He let out a shaky breath against my shoulder. “Did you talk to my brothers?”

“I did. Do you want to know what I think?”

“Not particularly. But something makes me think you want to tell me.”

“I do.”

“Alright, Gorgeous. Shoot.”

“Your wolf isn’t insane,” I said bluntly.

Clay went still beneath me.

His grip tightened fractionally, then didn’t budge.

“He’s been in survival mode since your brothers attacked him, but that doesn’t make him crazy. That would scar any kid—and a wolf pup would be even more affected by the betrayal, because he can’t work through it mentally the way a human kid can.”

Clay didn’t say a word.

I didn’t even feel him take a breath behind me.

“He’s not crazy,” I repeated. “I see him looking through your eyes all the time. I think he lets you pretend you have him caged because he knows you don’t trust him. I think he could break through and take over any time he wanted, but he chooses not to. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He doesn’t want you to be any more afraid of him than you already are.”

There was a long pause.

“You know I can’t believe any of that, Gorgeous,” he finally said.

“I know. But I think you will eventually.”

Clay chuckled, but there was no humor behind it. “Something tells me you have a plan that I’ll hate.”

“If I did, I wouldn’t spoil it by telling you.” I took a bite of my food.

Clay didn’t do the same. “Just don’t try to make him shift, alright? I don’t trust him around you.”

“Respectfully, I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want, Savage. We’ve established that you’re not going to make me leave. You already announced that I’m your fiancée, too, so you’re not getting rid of me. If I want to ask your wolf to come out, I’m going to do it.”

He sighed heavily. “I should throw you into your car and push it through the damn gates.”

“Maybe if you weren’t still buried inside me, I’d consider you capable of that.”

He rumbled half-heartedly. His nose brushed my throat, and his lips followed. “If he ever tries to hurt you…”

“He can’t, and won’t,” I said emphatically. “If he does, I’ll leave.”

And that alone would be enough to prevent him from hurting me, even without a mate bond. He wanted me to stay close.

“One more thing,” I added.

Clay sighed again, and I bit back a grin.

“The full moon is two weeks from yesterday. We’re sealing our bond that day. Got it?”

He growled, tightening an arm around my waist. “You’re going to get yourself killed, Nova.”

“I’m going to save us both, actually. Put it in your calendar, fiancé.”

“I like hearing you call me that a hell of a lot more than I should,” he grumbled.

“Just eat your breakfast. I have big plans for your body today, and you’re going to need the calories.”

He slid a hand up to my breast and squeezed. “You’re objectifying me. I like it.”

“It’s appreciation, not objectification. And you’re the one who wanted the tattoo. If you changed your mind, we’ll find something else to do.”

“I didn’t change my mind.”

“Then pick up your fork, Savage.”

“Alright.” He did as commanded, brushing his lips to the bite he’d left on my shoulder again. “How many days until heat?”

“I don’t know. My hormones are obnoxiously random, remember? That’s the only reason we ended up spending it together in the first place.”

“I’m chalking that up to fate.”

“Then fate is a huge pain in my ass.”

He made a noise of agreement, finally cutting into his food. “Everything would’ve been much better for you if you never screwed me.”

“No, it wouldn’t.” I dropped my fork and awkwardly turned around on his lap. It took a minute, and his release gushed onto both of our thighs with the motion. I ignored it and stayed on his lap after I turned so I faced him.

His eyes were dark, and despite his erection, there wasn’t an ounce of desire in them. Only worry.

I put my hands on his face and tilted it down toward mine as I pressed my forehead to his. “If you hadn’t taken me to Stray, I’d still be suffering through heat alone. Maybe it would’ve killed me by now. If it didn’t, my stalker probably would’ve. Or I’d still be sitting in that damn bush, hiding from all my problems. Maybe I’d be living in a house Hunter gave me while knowing he wasn’t interested in me. I’d be lonely and sad and stuck. Olive could’ve died. Or maybe I would’ve mated with someone I barely like. I don’t know—but this is better. So much better.”

“My wolf could still hurt you.”

“Like hell he could.”

Clay’s eyes flashed with the beast, and his chest rumbled.

“Shift,” I said, and fur replaced skin in a heartbeat.

His wolf huffed at me and immediately licked my shoulder, where the human had bitten me.

“Just a few more weeks,” I told him.

He nuzzled my face, and I laughed as I ended up smashed against his furry shoulder. My wolf purred in my chest, and he nudged it.

“You want me to shift?” I asked.

He nodded against me.

“Let me get off this chair.”

The wolf waited dutifully as I landed on my feet and pulled the stolen shirt over my head.

My wolf took over without hesitation, and her paws were on the floor a moment later. Clay’s wolf rumbled again, louder, rubbing up against her side as he sniffed her.

She gave him a moment before stepping back and eyeing him. His tail wagged, and he stayed completely still.

After a moment, she began slowly walking around him. Inspecting him. Checking him out.

She had never been so bold, or so confident before.

She felt safe with him, which was huge. She rarely felt safe with anyone .

His tail wagged faster.

It was literally the only violent thing about Clay’s wolf at the moment—and it was violent happiness. Or excitement.

When my wolf had looked her fill, she started sniffing him.

His neck. His muzzle. His breath. His ears. His belly. His paws. His tail (which almost smacked her in the face).

All the while, he remained exactly where he was, never moving at all.

Except his tail. It wagged constantly.

He wasn’t insane. He was scarred. Hurt. Wary.

I could understand that, and I didn’t mind. Hell, I cared more because of that. Because it meant maybe he needed me just as much as I needed him.

When my wolf was finished exploring the massive male, she padded to the front door. There was no way she was going to get it open. It wasn’t wolf friendly like some of them at the Lodge. So, she made me shift back for a moment.

I opened the door for her, and she gently retook control.

Clay’s wolf brushed up against her side as he slipped out in front of her, giving her a soft growl that told her to wait.

She stopped dutifully in the doorway, and didn’t move as he prowled around the front of the cabin. He was clearly searching for threats that couldn’t have existed in the literal cage Clay had created.

My wolf waited patiently while the paranoid beast checked the area thoroughly, even disappearing into some trees for a moment before he emerged again.

He came back for her and nuzzled her neck before leading her out into the forest.