Page 59 of Wild Games

When I relax and give in to the pleasure, everything explodes into brightness.

His teeth graze my neck. The sharp press of fangs against the sensitive skin where a mate mark would go is exhilarating. For a moment, time stops, and I think he’ll do it. Claim me here and now.

And I want him to.

But he jerks back abruptly, breathing hard. His eyes are wild now, more wolf than human.

“I can’t.” The words sound torn from him. “I won’t mark you if it might hurt you.”

My brain can’t fathom the mental gymnastics he’s doing.

“You won’t be wild once we’re mated.” I’m still catching my breath, body humming from his touch. “The bond will settle your wolf.”

I know it with every fibre of my being.

“Maybe,” he says again as he steps back, putting distance between us. The loss of his warmth makes me want to reach for him. “Maybe not. It’s too much of a risk.”

Damn him and his stubbornness.

“That’s not your choice to make alone.” My wolf is angry that he’s taunted us with the prospect of a bite only to pull away.

He’s the shifter equivalent of a prick tease.

“Yes, it is.” He’s already at the door, not meeting my eyes. “Stay here. Rest. I’ll... I’ll be right back.”

But I know he won’t be. He doesn’t trust himself not to mark me, and more frustratingly, doesn’t trust that I know what I’m choosing.

The door closes behind him with a soft click. I sit there for five minutes, letting my breathing settle, and my legs remember how to work before I slide off the table.

He doesn’t get to make this choice for both of us and doesn’t get to decide I need protecting from him.

The hallway is empty when I peek out, but I know exactly where he’s gone.

I follow quietly, bare feet silent on the cool floor. The trail leads through the kitchen, past the empty common rooms. Other wolves are still at the lake dealing with the aftermath. We’re alone.

Tiptoeing into the mudroom at the back entrance, I get a thrill at the idea of stalking my mate. The basement door is there, keypad glowing softly in the dim light. My fingers move over the numbers quickly, entering the code from memory.

The lock clicks open, and I pull the door wide then descend into darkness.

The temperature drops with each step down. The stairs are rough concrete under my feet, the walls close enough to touch on both sides. Jax’s familiar scent surrounds me.

“Jax?” My voice echoes off the stone walls. “I know you’re here.”

A growl rumbles from somewhere in the shadows ahead. Not quite wolf, not quite human. The sound raises goosebumps along my arms, but not from fear. This is my mate.

“You shouldn’t be here.” His voice comes from the far corner, rough and strained. “Go back upstairs, Camille.”

“No.” I move toward the sound, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, seeing the outline of chains on the walls. “Not this time. We need to talk about what just happened.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I can make out his shape now, pressed against the wall, like he’s trying to disappear into the stone. “I almost marked you. Without permission. Without making sure it’s what you really want.”

I frown at him, my noble idiot.

“It is what I want.” I stop a few feet away, giving him space, but not letting him hide from me. “You know it is.”

“You don’t understand what you’re signing up for.” He shifts, and I can see him better now. Still in the scrubs from the clinic, hair wild, and eyes reflecting what little light filters down from above. “You’ll be bound to a dead wolf walking. Do you know what that does to someone?”

Now it’s my turn to be stubborn.