Page 49 of Witchblood

The burn lasted a little longer than I remembered after he was finally fully seated. Now we both trembled. Him with the resolve not to move until I was ready, and me with need for him. He was so warm. I could feel his heartbeat in two places, in his chest against mine and in the throbbing of his cock deep within me.

“Move,” I begged when the pain eased. Pleasure began to pool in my gut, rising with the heating of his skin spread against mine.

Liam let out a slow hiss and pulled back, sliding himself almost all the way out, before pounding back in.

“Yes!” I cried. That was what I needed. “More.” He pulsed with heat inside me, like a branding iron, warming me from the core on outward. Sweat trickled down his chest. My body leeched warmth and strength from him. I panted, pushing back into his thrusts. Needing more. Something just out of reach. I wasn’t sure what, but fuck I needed something. I kissed him again, devouring his lips and nearly cutting my tongue on his teeth, which had sharpened.

Fangs. Only alphas could do partial shifts, and it was for one reason alone. To mark their mate.

“Mark me,” I begged into his mouth.

He shivered. Together we both must have looked like we were dying or something with the way we shook. “Sebastian,” he whispered.

“Now,” I demanded, the fox in more control than I was. But it was okay. The fox assured me, we would be okay. Liam was mate. He was safety, home, and love.

Liam roared a primal sound and pulled out just long enough to flip me over onto my stomach. He held me up, balanced on my hands and knees as he surged back into me. Deeper this time. The heat plummeting to the core of my being. It was just this side of pain, but so good I wasn’t sure whether to moan or scream.

“Mine,” he growled as he pumped into me.

“Yours,” I agreed, enjoying his strength, his warmth, his grip and the pulse of his heart against my back. His heart was mine. “Mine,” I growled at him. I was so close. “You’re mine.”

“Yes,” he agreed, lips against my shoulder, nipping a line to the base of my neck. He set his teeth there, waiting, his body slamming into me hard enough to lift me off the ground. Yet he held me tight and I took every bit of it wanting more, to be closer to him, to have him inside every pore of my being. Heat burst from me, not the kind that had burned my fur, but the familiar song of release as my cock spurted while I screamed Liam’s name.

His teeth sank into my flesh, breaking skin and drawing blood. I saw stars and shuddered beneath him as my blood filled him and he finally released his seed deep within me. A fire, sweet and comforting, soothing as it warmed my soul while it cooled the energy that had been gnawing at me.

For a minute I was dizzy. Liam was everything. Overlapping my soul. Encompassing my heart until all I could feel was him inside me, over me, all around me. Even our labored breathing was an echo of each other.

He eased us onto the bedroll, not letting any space separate us. I was too exhausted to move. Boneless. Satiated. The fox curled up inside me to sleep, content in our mate’s arms.Safe, it told me. I agreed and shut my eyes.

“Don’t leave me,” I muttered to Liam as sleep began to pull me into its embrace.

“Never,” Liam promised. He licked at the teeth mark on the back of my neck. The whole idea of the mark should have terrified me. We were bound. If I died so did Liam. But in that moment, I didn’t care. As long as he was with me. For the first time in my entire life I felt like I mattered to someone. I wasn’t alone. I fell asleep praying I’d wake up to experience the feeling again.

Chapter 23

Novels glorify sex and claiming. Make it all hot and sexy, and it was when it was happening. But sex is messy. Both physically and emotionally. Books often fail to give truth to the morning-after sort of emotions. Lying wrapped in someone’s arms is great, if your brain isn’t thinking stupid things likedoes he think I’m a wanton whore?orI hope he doesn’t think I like it rough like that all the time,andwow, I hope he doesn’t think I do that with just anyone.

Truth be told. I was more than a little embarrassed. I couldn’t recall a time in my life I’d been so demanding. Not that Felix would have ever allowed me to be selfish with my needs. He’d always come first. Liam…

Mate.

The word was almost visceral inside me. A claim written on my soul. I could feel him, not just physically, wrapped around me, but some part of his presence tucked into my chest like he’d taken up residence where my heart should be. And while I was embarrassed, there was no regret. He was mine and I was his. It felt right.

I also felt sticky, and like I really needed a shower.

No condom. Hmm. It didn’t worry me since as a werewolf, Liam couldn’t carry human diseases. Not that sort at least. They could get cancer sometimes, but it was rare. However, no disease didn’t mean no mess.

I shifted a little, moving my legs so I wasn’t completely pinned under Liam. He grumbled. I groaned. Yeah, rough sex. The whole feeling it the next day wasn’t as sexy as the books made it sound. My thighs burned and I had barely moved them and my ass…

“Ow,” I whined.

Liam moved, appearing over me for a second before running his hands through my hair and over my face, finally he traced the bite on the back of my neck. I could feel the bruise and his broken touch as his fingers drifted over the scabbed over portion. It would scar and that was the point. If you’d asked me a year ago if I would ever wear someone’s mark like a brand, I’d have told you how crazy the mere idea of it was. Now there was Liam and he had really become everything very quickly.

“Where do you hurt?” Liam asked. He didn’t look completely awake, but wow he looked amazing scruffy, with lines of sleep etched across his face.

“Um, where men hurt when other men ride them like a pony.”

He snorted out a laugh and kissed the tip of my nose, then he reached over me and pulled a small package of wipes out of a pile of what appeared to be supplies.