Savage Urges (The Phoenix Pack, #5)(68)

Ryan paused only long enough to hook her legs over his shoulders, and then he was pounding into her again—deeper this time, so deep he knew it hurt her a little. Her * tightened, bathing his cock in cream, and she arched into every thrust.

Fisting her hair, he yanked her head aside to expose her throat. He licked and sucked at the spot on her neck he’d chosen, letting her know what was coming. Then he bit. Sank his teeth down hard, tasting blood. Makenna’s * squeezed and fluttered around him as she came, screaming. All the while, he licked and sucked at the bite, making it a definitive brand that would be recognized for exactly what it was—a claiming mark.

Ryan grunted as Makenna reared up and bit the crook of his neck. No, she wasn’t just biting him; she was marking him. Claiming him right back. That knowledge threw him right over the f*cking edge. Tightening his fist in her hair, he jammed his cock deep and exploded inside his mate.

Boneless, Makenna lay with her eyes closed as her body was racked by little aftershocks. Ryan was irrevocably hers now, and that knowledge warmed every part of her. Still, the whole thing was bittersweet, because there was no bond to accompany the claiming. The absence of it was a physical ache. The only thing that eased it was the knowledge that the imprinting process would now surely begin.

Letting her legs slide from his shoulders, Ryan licked at the fresh bite as his now-relaxed wolf rumbled in satisfaction. It was higher on her neck than most claiming marks were. He wanted it to be the first thing she noticed every morning; wanted everyone who looked at her to know she was taken. “Now you can’t ever again argue that you belong to me.”

She frowned. “Actually—”

“Don’t dare even try it,” he warned her. But she was laughing. He nipped her jaw.

“Hey!”

He rolled onto his back, taking her with him so she sprawled on top of him. “Then don’t tease me.”

“But it’s fun.”

He grunted.

“Yes, it is. You have to admit, you wouldn’t want me any other way.”

Ryan frowned. “Actually—”

“Fuck you, White Fang.” She chuckled. Then she gave her wolf what the animal had wanted for a long time.

The woman could shift fast, thought Ryan as he suddenly had a beautiful silver wolf standing over him. He stroked her neck as she licked his jaw. A butterfly flew in their direction, snatching her attention. The wolf chased it, trying to swat it with her paw. Apparently she was easily distracted. That assumption was proven when the sound of a bee had her whirling, searching for the insect. Ryan almost smiled. His wolf lunged for the surface, wanting time with his mate. Ryan retreated and gave it to him.

Seeing that her mate had shifted, the female playfully snapped her teeth and bounded away. The male raced through the trees, following the scent of his mate. She was fast. But he was faster. Could track her anywhere. Soon she was in his sight. The male wolf knew there was a stream ahead. Knew she would have to turn. He took another path; came at her from the front.

The female didn’t halt as her mate neared. Didn’t try to skirt him. She pounced with a bark, knocked him to the ground. He got to his feet. Alert. Still. She didn’t like that. Her snarl was a taunt; she wanted to play. She’d teach him how.

The male followed her lead. They wrestled. Tumbled each other to the ground. Playfully bit, licked, and clawed. Then he mounted her, biting her nape. Claimed her as his mate just as his human had. The male wolf understood there should be a mating bond. Was confused that he didn’t feel it. Urged his human half to find it.

As Ryan and Makenna returned to their human skin, sprawled side by side, he promised his wolf he’d clear whatever jammed the frequency of the mating bond. Nothing got to stand between him and his mate. Nothing.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN





Ryan wasn’t on duty the next morning, but he still woke at his usual hour thanks to his internal clock. And there was his mate. She always looked young in her sleep. Deceptively harmless.

The claiming bite on her neck caught his eye, filling him with a masculine satisfaction he doubted could ever be equaled. It was official now. Makenna Wray was no longer the person he was trying to convince was his mate; she was his mate. There was no going back, only forward.

It bothered him that she still didn’t believe they were true mates. But nowhere near as much as before, because it meant she’d chosen him—not because fate paired them, but because she cared. From Makenna’s perspective, she’d forsaken her true mate to be with Ryan, to claim him and allow him to claim her in return. A person wouldn’t do that unless they cared deeply.

If the situation were reversed, he would have done the same. Like he told her, she was all he wanted, all he’d ever want. He couldn’t imagine anyone else fitting him the way she did.

He wasn’t lacking in self-insight. He knew he was so emotionally disconnected that he depended too much on facts. He knew he could be much too serious and didn’t know how to enjoy himself. Makenna balanced him out. Made him see the emotional connotations of situations, allowing him to look at things from different perspectives. She forced him to play, to joke, and to not take things too seriously.

Just the same, Ryan balanced her out. Makenna could be so blinded by emotion that she didn’t always consider things from outside the box. By pointing out the facts, he pushed her to do so. Also, although Makenna’s playful and mischievous nature wasn’t a bad thing, those traits manifested themselves into a need to provoke and antagonize whenever she was annoyed. Ryan made her consider the consequences of her actions—the lesson was slow going, but he had hope.