“You were. We all were.”
“They couldn’t have taken him if I’d been watching.” Riley inhaled deeply, knowing she was close to snapping. She didn’t want Tao to feel the brutal edge of her anger, not when he hadn’t done anything to deserve it. If he was there, she’d take it out on him. “I need to be alone for a little while.” It wasn’t a request.
He growled again. “Don’t you fucking dare. Don’t you pull away from me.”
“I’m not.”
“I can see you doing it. When you’re hurting, you shut down. You retreat and pull away.” Tao wouldn’t allow that. “Talk to me.”
She flexed her fingers. “I just want a little time alone. What’s so bad about that?”
“Would you leave me alone while I was hurting?”
“This isn’t about me! It’s about a two-year-old cub who’s already been through enough!”
“And you’re hurting for him, but you’re also blaming yourself. It. Was. Not. Your. Fault. You hear me?”
“I need some air.” She whirled toward the balcony, but a hand snapped around her arm and spun her back to face Tao. Anger shot through her veins, making her extremities tingle. “Don’t you fucking manhandle me.”
“I didn’t hurt you, I never would, but I’m not letting you go. I won’t allow you to punish yourself, Riley. That’s what you’ll do if I let go. You’ll shift and fly all over the fucking land until you’ve overexerted yourself.”
He was right, she would. “Let go of me.”
“Make me,” he taunted. “Come on, Riley, rant. Get it out. If you don’t, you’re going to twist yourself up inside.”
“I don’t take my shit out on other people. That’s your thing.”
He smiled at the acerbic remark. “That’s it, baby, keep it coming. What else do I do that pisses you off?”
“You want too much!”
“Damn right I do. I won’t be satisfied until I own every part of you, inside and out. Don’t stop there. What else?”
“You try bullying me into doing what you want!”
“I do. I’m doing it right now, as a matter of fact. Let’s hear the rest.”
God, she wanted to smack that smug grin right off his face. Or maybe just claw it off. He thought he was so freaking smart. “There’ve been times when I’ve mistaken lust for love, but this bone-deep loathing I have for you is definitely genuine.”
He just smiled softly. “You don’t hate me, baby. You love me and you know it, but you’re scared.”
She flushed. “Scared, my fat ass!”
“You are. You’re scared that I’ll leave you, scared that you won’t be enough for me in the long run, which is the most ridiculous fear you could have. I would never suggest claiming you as mine if I thought different.”
She snickered. “If you think I’ll ever let you claim me, you can kiss my ass!”
“So help me God, Riley, if you talk about your ass one more time I’m going to fuck it.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Bite me, Fenris.”
His chuckle held no humor. “Damn, you really shouldn’t have said that.” He shoved her against the wall, slammed his mouth down on hers, and drove his tongue inside. She fought him, clawing at his arms. But the fight quickly left her and she sank into him. The kiss was hot. Hungry. Greedy. He feasted on her, exploring every crevice of her mouth and sucking on her tongue.
Whipping off the blanket, Tao wedged his thigh between hers, pinning her to the wall. “Undo my jeans.” Instead she clawed off his shirt and bit down on his shoulder—a dominating move that told him he wasn’t in control here. Too bad for her that Tao wouldn’t be dominated.
Grabbing a bunch of her hair, he yanked her head aside and growled into her ear. “Fight me if you want, but you’re never going to be dominant in bed.”
She did fight him. She struggled. Scratched. Bit. Snarled. Even kicked at him.
Tao shackled her wrists with one hand and pinned them against the wall above her head. He collared her throat with his free hand and squeezed. “Behave.”
“Fuck you,” she hissed.
“It’s not me who’ll be getting fucked.”
Riley was about to vow to rip out his throat, but then he gripped her hip and ground her clit against his thigh. The friction made her gasp. Again and again he did it, stealing every thought from her mind except how good it felt. Needing more, she took over, grinding herself harder, shuddering at the feel of the denim. He kissed her neck in reward and began to squeeze and plump her breast.
He flicked her nipple with his tongue. “Are you mine, Riley?”
His eyes glittered with warning. He wanted her to stop fighting him, she knew. But Riley wasn’t so easily controlled. “Sort of.” One brow lifted, and his mouth surprisingly curved in amusement.
“Sort of?”
“Sort of.”
“Well, while I’m watching you rub against my thigh and I can feel how wet you are through my jeans, it tells me that your body knows it’s mine.” He bit her lip. “And let’s be honest, baby . . . so do you.”
Tao picked her up and tossed her on the mattress. The sweet scent of her need made his head spin. He had to taste her. He fell forward and clamped his mouth around her pussy. Her hand fisted his hair as he licked and sipped and drank from her, drowning in the taste and scent of her. Wanting more, he drove her hard and fast into an orgasm that made her moan his name and almost yank a chunk of hair right out of his head.
Licking his lips, he shoved off the rest of his clothes. The sight of her there all flushed with her mouth and pussy swollen . . . His cock throbbed like a bitch. “Perfect. And all mine.” Draping himself over her, he growled, “Mouth, Riley.” She gave him what he asked for, moaning softly. “Ready for me to claim you? Because that’s what’s going to happen.”
At those words, Riley stilled. “If you leave a claiming mark on me, you can never take it back. It won’t fade, even if you change your mind about me, it will always be there.”
“Good, that’s exactly where it belongs.” He curled her leg around him. “I know you’re scared. But I promise you, baby, you don’t have to worry about me changing my mind. I don’t have the strength it would take to let you go.” It was the God’s honest truth. “I want to claim you because you’re my choice, because I love you. And you love me, don’t you?” She nodded. “No matter what, I’m yours. Your turn—say it. Say it, Riley.”
She swallowed. “No matter what, I’m yours.”
“No walls, no doubts.”
“No walls, no doubts.”
He slammed home, jaw grinding as her pussy closed around him like a hot fist. Knowing he was about to claim her, that from this night onward she’d be irrevocably his . . . it sent his hunger raging and made his wolf’s control snap.