Novak Raven (Harper's Mountains #4)(46)

Over and over, she slid onto him, and this felt better than anything ever had. Her chest was on fire, and her mind was completely fogged with the high. Slowly, she worked her biting kisses down, down until she reached the muscle right at the top of his peck. Testing, she bit him harder there and rolled her hips. But Weston didn’t try to escape her like he did last time. This time, he cupped the back of her head and dragged her closer, bucked into her deep.

“Do it,” he rasped.

Avery sank her teeth into his chest just as her body exploded with ecstasy. This was happening. Her life was changing for the better, right now, in this moment. Every instinct in her body screamed to do it right. To do it hard. To scar him so he would never be able to look in the mirror without thinking about her. Inside, Avery’s raven was crowing in triumph that she was claiming her mate. Avery had never heard of claiming marks for normal ravens, but she wasn’t normal, and Weston sure as hell wasn’t normal either. He was half grizzly shifter, raised in a crew of claiming monsters that made this moment feel so right.

Weston threw his head back and gritted out her name as his dick pulsed hard inside her. Heat flooded her in jets as he pushed into her again and again. Warmth flowed into her mouth, the taste of copper struck her tongue, and then it was done. Her mark was made.

Avery released his torn skin and writhed against him, arched her back, and closed her eyes when his lips landed on the base of her throat. The scrape of his teeth brought on another pounding aftershock from both of them. She was prepared to beg, but Weston didn’t ask, didn’t hesitate.

He bit down near the tip of her collar bone, right on her shoulder, and he bit to claim. It was hard, his teeth cutting straight to her bone. Pain blinded her for a moment before he relaxed his jaw and let her go. Both of their chests heaving, they hugged each other tightly, bodies crashing against each other as Weston drew every aftershock from her.

“I love you. I love you,” she panted. Those were the only three words that made sense right now. Her chest was hot, as if someone had poured lighter fluid down her throat and lit a match.

And just as the sensation got to be too much, too harsh, Weston winced away hard, putting inches between them when he grabbed his chest. And just like that, the burning was gone. It was as if someone had doused her fire with a bucket of cold water. The shock remained, but not the burn.

Weston started shaking hard, staring at her with wide, dark eyes. She understood. The adrenaline in her system was doing something strange to her body, too. His gaze ducked to her bite mark, and slowly…so slowly…a smile crooked his lips.

Streams of red were racing down his chest from where she’d bitten him. Yet another way they matched. They’d chosen each other.

Weston gently ran his hands down her hips to her knees, then lifted that dark, sexy gaze to hers. “Mate,” he murmured. “I love you, too.”





Chapter Nineteen


Mate.

It had been one week since Weston had called her that for the first time, but Avery still got a giddy feeling whenever she thought of that word.

She finished washing her hands in the bathroom sink of Big Flight and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She’d changed so much since she’d come here. No longer did she hunch or try to stay as small as she could. No longer did she stare at the ground or avoid gazes. No longer did her raven stay quiet and sad inside of her. Weston’s encouragement to own her inner badass made her stand taller. Her growing friendships with the Bloodrunners and her observations of the other strong women in the crew made her damn proud of the animal in her middle.

Avery’s skin was clear and glowing with her happiness. Her eyes were light teal and clear, her skin was tanner, and her hair lighter from working outside. Her hands were calloused, where they had been frail and easily blistered before. That was from Weston and Ryder insisting she come on some of the ATV tours to learn the trails. Even her arms were becoming more toned, and her body felt stronger, more capable of endurance. Raven’s Hollow hadn’t broken her like she’d thought. It had just weighed her down for a while.

No longer was she meant to stand in the shadows and look pretty. She used her body now. She was proud of it. She was even happy with her curves that had been so different from the other shifters of Raven’s Hollow.

Weston and the Bloodrunners, had helped to make her proud of who she was.

And the best part of her reflection was the healed circular scar Weston had given her.

She was the mate of the Novak Raven, and no one could ever take that away from her.

She wasn’t alone in the world anymore. She wasn’t invisible.

Avery adjusted the strap of her Big Flight tank top so it wouldn’t cover any of the claiming mark, then she dried her hands, and left the bathroom in search of Weston. He would be back from the last tour any second now.

This was her favorite time of day. Evenings in the mountains were gorgeous, but that wasn’t all of the magic here. She would get to spend the rest of the evening with her mate, riding in his truck, eating dinner—sometimes just them, sometimes with the Bloodrunners—and they would hold each other and love each other until she fell asleep in 1010. Not tonight, though. Tonight she was going to let Weston read all the letters she’d never sent him. She was ready. She was strong enough to sit beside him and answer his questions about the dark parts of Raven’s Hollow. And then she would ask him again to sleep beside her the whole night because she was strong enough to shoulder his burdens along with her own.