Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

MELINDA

J oe grabbed her behind her knees, sweeping her up in his arms and setting her down in front of the fire. He walked back to the open window, tossing out the snow that had come through, closing and locking it securely. Once he had ensured the windows and door were locked, he returned to her, shucking out of his jeans.

He was a gorgeous hunk of alpha male shifter: tall, broad shoulders with sculpted pecs and abs and those sexy hip notches that led to the most magnificent cock she'd ever seen. Joining her on the floor, Joe's hands roamed her body, caressing the sensitive skin of her neck before moving down to the curve of her waist. Melinda could feel the heat of his hands, and it sent shivers down her spine. He kissed his way down her neck, his lips leaving a trail of fire as he went and causing a soft, shivering moan to escape her lips.

Her hands reached up to trace the planes of his chest, exploring his body the way he had hers. As Joe's lips continued their descent, pausing to kiss the sensitive skin above her collarbone, she pulled him closer, their bodies melding together in a desperate dance of desire.

Eager to explore, he cupped her breasts, his fingers gently massaging the sensitive skin. Melinda arched her back, pressing herself against Joe, needy and wanting. She pulled him up, her lips finding his again in a searing kiss. Her hands slid down his stomach, finding his thick, hard length.

Joe hissed in a breath as her hand closed around him. "Melinda, you should stop."

The words came out strangled, raspy, and she knew he didn't want her to. "I don't think so. This is exactly what we should be doing, Joe."

Her hand stroked him gently, feeling him twitch in her grasp. His breath hitched, and she smiled. He might be an alpha male apex predator, but Melinda knew she had him right where she wanted him. It might only be for one night—there was no guarantee either of them was getting out alive—but for this one night, he was all hers, and Melinda intended to make the most of it.

She moved closer, her lips brushing against his, their tongues dancing together as if they had done this a thousand times before. Her other hand reached around to cup his ass, pulling him even closer. She could feel him pulsing against her palm, and she knew she couldn't hold back any longer.

Breaking the kiss, Melinda's eyes locked with Joe's as she gently pushed him onto his back and leaned over him, her mouth hovering over his cock, letting him feel her breath. He groaned, a low and needy sound that made her own desire rise even higher. She took him deep into her mouth, sucking and licking, her tongue swirling around every inch of him.

Joe's hands fisted her hair, guiding her movements, urging her to take more of him, to take him deeper. "I thought you were gorgeous the first time I saw you half frozen in the snow, but you're even more beautiful when you suck my cock like that."

She smiled around this thickness and hummed a sound of happiness at the compliment. Melinda looked up at him in the dim glow of the cabin as he lay back, watching her; she felt her heart catch at the look in his eyes. He looked at her with so much desire, so much need, that it took her breath away.

The thrust of his hips reminded her of what she was doing, and she turned her full attention back to the task at hand. Melinda tried to take as much of him as she could, feeling him hit the back of her throat. She gagged slightly, but she didn't pull away; she wanted to taste every inch of him, to memorize the feel of his skin against hers, even if it was just for one night.

Joe's breath hitched, his hips thrusting into her face, his body shaking with the effort to hold back. But she could tell he was close, his breath ragged, his groans becoming more urgent.

His fingers tensed in her hair, and he pulled at her head. Melinda fought to keep her mouth around him, but he moved away, drawing her up to kiss her with a deep groan before he pulled away.

"I don't want to come in your mouth the first time, Melinda. I want to be buried deep in your pussy."

"Then stop playing around and fuck me, Joe," she whispered, looking right into his eyes.

He reversed their positions so that she was on her back, and it was he who loomed over her, lingering in places with kisses or the touch of a finger, until she was a mess of need and desire. Joe rolled her to her side, facing the fire, but he didn't push her onto her belly, driving into her like she thought he would. Instead, he snugged his hips against her ass while he spoke in her ear.

"You are my fated mate…" When she started to protest, he growled. "You know it as well as I do."

He wasn't wrong. When she thought about it, she had felt all of the normal signs, but things had been moving so fast, and the adrenaline had been flowing.

"You understand that, don't you, Melinda? From this point forward, we are bound together for all eternity," he said, nipping her ear.

His hand worked around her throat as he thrust his hips against her and suddenly, she wasn't the one in control anymore. When his hand clasped gently around her throat, pulling her face towards his, Melinda felt a thrill run down her spine, straight to her clit. The intensity of his words, of his declaration, sent a shiver through her, and she knew she was completely in his grasp, both physically and emotionally. She knew tigers in general, and she suspected sabretooths even more so, claimed their mates, transitioning them so that they were the same species. She wasn't sure that wouldn't be a good thing.

"That's exactly what I want, Joe," she whispered back, her voice breathy with need.

"I won't claim you until we're safe and you can make the transition without people trying to kill us…"

"But wouldn't we both be better off, if I was a sabretooth?"

He paused, seeming to consider her words. "Maybe, but we can't take the time. You're better off as a healthy fox than a weakened sabretooth. You proved that tonight, but I need to hear you agree to be claimed and turned," he commanded, his voice rough with desire.

"You're mine, and we are sabretooth," she answered, the words feeling both empowering and terrifying.

Joe chuckled, a low and dangerous sound that sent another shiver through her.

"Not yet," he said, his cock pressing against her entrance, teasing her with just the tip. "But you will be, and from this moment on you are mine."

Joe put his hand over her mouth, sliding his middle finger between her lips just as his cock thrust into her from behind. Melinda gasped, her eyes widening as he entered her inch by inch, filling her with his thick length. It felt like fire, like both pleasure and pain, as he stretched her open and filled her completely.

His hand slipped from her mouth, and she cried out as he grabbed her hips and thrust into her hard. Melinda pushed back against him, meeting his every move with her own, her body arching and undulating in time with his. The sensation of his cock inside her was overwhelming, and she felt like she was going to burst from the sheer intensity of it all.

Joe's hand slid back up to her throat, and she felt his fingers wrap around it, his grip firm but not too tight. Melinda moaned, her head thrown back as he fucked her from behind, his hips grinding against her ass. It was a violent, primal dance, their bodies moving together in a frenzy of desire and lust.

"Touch your clit, Melinda. Get yourself off on my cock." Joe demanded, and she obeyed, her fingers sliding down into her wet folds, finding her hardened nub. She circled it, her body begging for release as Joe continued to fuck her, his thrusts growing harder and faster.

Her moans were drowned out by his deep growls, his longing for his own release clear in every grunt and groan. "Come on, baby. Let me hear you come for me."

Melinda complied, rubbing her clit in time with his thrusts, her nails digging into the blankets lying beneath her as she neared the edge. Her body tightened, every nerve ending feeling like it was about to explode, and then it happened. She cried out, her orgasm washing over her like a tidal wave, her body pulsing around his cock as she came hard.

Joe felt it, his hips thrusting deeper, harder, as he worked to push her higher, further over that precipice where she could fly free.

"That's my good mate," he urged, and her finger kept moving, her lips trying to say his name, but unable to, she could only gasp as pleasure drowned out everything else in the world.

As her body continued to tremble and shake from the intensity of the orgasm, Joe's thrusts became more erratic, his breathing becoming ragged. He leaned forward, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered, "I'm going to come, Melinda. I want you to feel it."

She nodded, her body still convulsing from her own release, her cheeks flushed and her heart pounding. She'd never felt so alive, so wild, so free. She wanted to savor every moment of this.

Joe's hips thrust harder, faster, and she could feel his cock swelling inside her as he reached the brink. His fingers tightened around her throat, his other hand gripping her hip, holding her steady as he surged into her.

"Yes," Joe groaned, his hips snapping back and forth in a frenzy. Melinda could feel him pulsing inside her, filling her with his heat and his cum. It was a powerful and intense sensation, and she knew she would remember this moment forever.

As Joe's body shuddered and convulsed, she knew that she was truly his fated mate. There could be no question. Her heart caught up to her body, and she surrendered to the feelings rushing through her. This was more than just a response to primal urging to mate after a battle, this was a moment of respite she'd taken with her fated mate. This was a connection, a bond that would never be broken.

"I meant it, Melinda. This changes everything," Joe said as he pulled out of her and pulled her up close to spoon with her under the blankets. "Claiming bite notwithstanding, you're mine now. And none of those bastards will get to you. I wasn't going to let them before, but now? I'm not fucking around with them anymore."

The room was quiet, the only sound being their ragged breaths and the faint crackling of the fire. She lay there, her body still pulsing with the aftershocks of their intense encounter. Melinda could feel Joe's heart pounding against her back, his chest rising and falling with each breath, and she knew that he felt it too.

She turned to face him, her eyes searching his for any sign of regret or doubt. But what she saw there was nothing but possessiveness and the promise of protection.

"You're right, Joe," she whispered, her fingers splaying over the muscles of his chest. "This changes everything."

He nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I'll keep you safe," he vowed, his voice deep and gravelly. "Anyone who thinks to harm you will have to go through me."

Joe's fingers brushed through her hair, his eyes on hers, watching her, gauging whether she had truly accepted the inevitability of their destiny.

"We make a good team, Joe."

He nodded before taking her lips in a deep and passionate kiss, their tongues more leisurely exploring each other's mouths, their bodies still hungry for more. The night wasn't over, not yet, and suddenly, Melinda knew she didn't just want to live to get the information about the methane into the right hands, she wanted to live to be with him, to share a life with him, and she'd fight tooth and nail to make sure that happened.