My throat had gone tight. Emotion swelled in my chest, bright and heady. “I love you too,” I said without even needing to think about it. It was almost a relief to say it. God, why hadn’t I already, to all of the guys? I needed to, more. All of the time. Until they couldn’t possibly forget it. Because it was true. In the midst of all the chaos, I’d fallen for them with every bit of my heart.
The same rush of feeling flowed back to me from everywhere Marco and I touched. He grinned at me, so brilliantly I almost lost my breath. He moved as if to kiss me again, but at the same moment voices carried from the other end of the greenhouse.
“What do you think, trees or ground?”
“Why not both? I could use a good run.”
Shit. Of course, all the feline kin had free run of this place. I grimaced, and Marco shook his head, his smile turning wry. I was getting used to all the shifters seeing me unclothed, but I wasn’t exactly keen to make this private moment with my mate suddenly public.
“When they see us together, they’ll probably leave,” Marco murmured.
A crazy idea lit in my head. One that would at least skip the seeing us part. And maybe would restore a little more of Marco’s reputation with his kin. A mischievous smile crossed my lips. Marco raised his eyebrows, and I pressed a finger to his mouth to tell him to keep quiet. Then I raised my voice.
“Oh, Marco! Yes, just like that. Mmm, don’t stop!”
The corners of Marco’s eyes crinkled as he suppressed his amusement. The intruders’ conversation fell silent. I threw in a loud moan for good measure. “Oh, yes. Give it to me hard! You’re so good!”
There was a brief rustling, and then the thud of the door closing. Marco tipped his head next to mine, his shoulders quaking with muted laughter. A snicker slipped out of my mouth. We both burst into giggles.
I swiped the tears of amusement from my eyes. “How long do you think it’ll be before they dare set foot in here again?”
“They’ll probably wait until I’m halfway across the country,” Marco said. “You’re lucky they didn’t happen to be eager voyeurs.”
“Oh, I’m sure I could have come up with something else in that case.”
His eyebrows shot back up. “Now I’m sorry I missed the opportunity to see that.”
“Too bad for you.” Or maybe not. His arm had come to rest just below my breasts. Our legs had intertwined on the ledge. My heart skipped, with nothing but desire now. “What do you think? Can you make me sound like that for real?”
Marco’s gaze started to smolder. “I think I’m up to that challenge. Is that what you want, Princess?”
It was. In that moment, when he looked at me like that, there was nothing I wanted more.
“I want you,” I said, low but clear. “All of you. Marco, will you take me as your mate?”
A guttural sound escaped him, and then he was kissing me again, with so much passion it set my body on fire. I gripped his shoulder with one hand, the other trailing down over the muscles I’d so longed to explore earlier. The water lapped around us as we claimed each other’s mouths completely.
Marco brought his palms to my breasts, circling the heels of his hands against my nipples. The water teased them even harder between each of his caresses. I moaned against his mouth, arcing into his touch. He took the opportunity to tangle his tongue around mine. We dueled and devoured each other as his hands dipped. When he pinched my nipples between his thumb and forefinger, a spark of stark pleasure shot straight down to my core.
I gasped, my hips bucking against him. The hard length of his erection brushed my core, making me twice as hungry in an instant. He left my breasts to grip my thighs and pull me to him. His cock settled against my clit. I shuddered with pleasure as he rocked his hips, inflaming me more with every stroke.
“The answer is yes,” he muttered. “In case there was any doubt about that.” Then his mouth caught mine again. I floated on the bliss racing all through my body, but my sex throbbed with a deeper need.
I reached between us to curl my fingers around his cock. Marco hummed happily as I slid them up and down. I lifted my hips, offering myself to him, and his chest hitched again.
He pulled back from our kiss to meet my eyes. A question shone in his. As if I hadn’t already made myself clear enough.
“Please,” I said, drawing him forward.
He pressed me harder against the wall as he eased his cock into me inch by glorious inch. I clutched at him, resisting the urge to buck against him like a wild woman, no matter how much I wanted him all the way in, now. The thrilling burn radiated from my core through every nerve. He kissed the corner of my jaw as he plunged all the way to the hilt. His breath spilled hot down my neck.
“Oh, God, Princess,” he groaned. “So fucking beautiful.”
I panted, lost in my need for him. “Less talking, more fucking.”
He chuckled roughly and started moving. With each thrust, my body trembled more, clamoring for release. Our bond flared between us with a rush of bliss that left me breathless. I pumped my hips in time with his rhythm, whimpering as he pushed even deeper.
“I don’t have you screaming my name yet,” he murmured. “That’s what you asked for, isn’t it?”
“This is good,” I said raggedly. “This is—oh!”
He adjusted the angle of my hips with his next thrust. His cock pressed against that sensitive spot inside me with one long stroke. I quaked with the sensation, ecstasy blurring my vision.
Marco picked up his pace, hitting that spot with a heady caress every time. I moaned, my head falling back. “God. Right there. Don’t stop.”
His chuckle was lost in another groan. He plunged into me once, twice more, and that was enough to send me spinning over my peak. I cried out, loud enough that the whole room probably could have heard it if I hadn’t already scared everyone else away.
Marco’s lips collided with mine. I kissed him through the bursts of sparks going off behind my eyes. Then with a shudder he followed me over, spilling himself inside me.
He rocked to a stop, letting me ride out the aftershock. I hugged him, shivering with bliss. “Now that’s my princess,” he said softly. His arms came around me, returning my embrace.
I tucked my head against his shoulder, overwhelmed by more feeling than I could blame on the sex. “And this is my mate,” I whispered back.
He kissed my cheek, running his fingers over my hair. I nestled closer to him. How much longer could we stay here? It had become such a beautiful escape.
Marco tipped back my head to claim my lips again. The kiss started out gentle, but as I returned it, fresh desire stirred inside me. He made an approving sound as I kissed him more deeply.
I was just thinking we might go for a second round—to make up for lost time and all—when a clatter carried through the greenhouse walls.
We both froze, ears perking. For a second, there was nothing. Then the air split with the boom of a gunshot.
Chapter 20
Ren