Chapter 5

Icame home with a death sentence hanging over my head, but now I have a reprieve. Not necessarily a pardon—not yet, but there's hope. Dinah is unmarried, unmated, and sweet Fates, untouched. When she fell into my arms earlier, I thought I scented virgin blood in her, but having her explain her relationship with Jimmy changes everything.

I didn't mean to secrete my mating pheromones, but with her in my lap, my bear refused to let the opportunity pass us by. If she was a shifter, we'd already be naked—licking, sucking, and fucking our brains out. Considering her response as a human, sweet Fates, there's no question she's mine. The only remaining question is how do I seduce a woman who has been through the hell she's been through without coming off as a complete creep? If time wasn't an issue, I'd spend weeks romancing her until she gave herself to me freely—she deserves to be wined and dined and pursued by a gentleman—but time is the one thing I don't have, and no one has ever accused me of being a gentleman. We have less than twenty-four hours until the next full moon. Knowing she's my mate, having her close but not claiming her is going to make my bear feral.

"You want me to sleep with you?" My bear growls but I fight to keep my voice steady.

She bites her lip. "It's a big bed, and I haven't slept by myself in, well, ever. I slept with my sisters until they gave me to Jimmy at seventeen. He and I shared a bed and sometimes we cuddled?—"

"You cuddled?" I don't mean to cut her off, but my bear doesn't like the idea of any man touching her, innocently or otherwise. Why didn't Jimmy claim her as his own when he had the chance? Their cult leaders obviously expected him to. Unless he doesn't like females, which I suppose would be the only reason a man would lie with a beautiful woman like Dinah night after night and not…

Even thinking about another man touching her makes me angry.

"Jimmy is the only person to treat me like more than the next generation of breeders. He's a good man and deserves better than what happened to him."

"You both do."

Pressing her plump lips together, she nods. "We do."

"I'll sleep with you." Smiling, I try to calm my bear and put on a friendly facade. I'm sure my intensity is scaring her more than she lets on. "I'll even cuddle."

Her smile takes my breath away, and I know part of my life's mission as her mate is to ensure she wears one daily from now on. "Thank you, Kade. I don't know why you're being so nice to us, but thank you for proving there are good people in this world. We knew you existed."

Sweet Fates. If she knew the things I wanted to do to her, she might not think me so nice.

"Let's go to bed." I stand with her in my arms, strip off the blanket covering her legs, and walk into the bathroom without asking if she needs it. My T-shirt—which looks fucking tempting on her—rides up to mid-thigh, and I know she's bare underneath. The surrounding air is so thick with her arousal that I can taste it on my tongue, her body reacting perfectly to my pheromones. If she's turned on by being held by me, imagine her body's reaction to our first kiss or the first time I get my mouth between her legs.

Best not to dwell on that tonight.

As it is, I have a raging hard-on that I need to coax down before I strip into my shorts. At my primal core I'm desperate to claim her, but this is the teeter-totter I have to balance—man and beast.

I set her down between the sink and the toilet, noting there is a new toothbrush sitting out next to mine, and I'm guessing Nan gave her one before putting her in my bed. "Take care of business and let me know when you're done. Then I'll carry you to bed."

"I can walk," she protests.

"But why should you when I'm here to carry you wherever you need to go?" I wink and walk out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. Quickly, I lock up the cabin and turn off the lights while placing my phone on its charger. I'm yanking my shirt over my head and unbuckling my jeans when I hear the sink faucet turn off and Dinah say, "I'm ready."

I open the door to find her standing there with her left foot arched to protect her cut and blistered heel. She tied her platinum blonde hair into two long braids and although she'd scrubbed her face clean in the bath earlier, her cheeks are flushed, giving her a more youthful appearance than the one she had in the parking lot yesterday. She's just as beautiful, but in a different way. The rock-n-roll outfit didn't suit her, and while I like her in my T-shirt, I'm wondering what she would think about wearing a short summer dress—soft and feminine against her peaches-and-cream complexion, and in perfect harmony with her honeysuckle scent.

She's brushed her teeth, the mint hovering in the air and overpowering her natural scent. Nothing is better than her unique fragrance, the one I want to imbed my pheromones into while infusing my blood with hers. I carry her to the bed and lay her down, pulling the blankets up to her chest. "I'm going to take a shower and then I'll join you."

"You promise?"

"On my word. Now, go to sleep, Dinah. You're safe."

Nodding, she rolls to face the center of the bed, ensuring she'll be facing me when I join her in a few minutes. That alone makes my cock jump in my jeans, necessitating a long cold shower and a release. I leave her, turn on the water, and shed my pants. The cold liquid does nothing to ease my erection that throbs in my fist. Leaning back against the shower wall, I close my eyes and let the water pelt my chest. It runs in rivulets down my abs while I slowly slide my hand up and down my aching shaft.

Dinah, my sweet human virgin. What am I going to do with you?

I mean, I know what I want to do with her, and what I have to do with her if I want to live, but what happens after I claim her? Human mates are not the norm. If she rejects me, she rejects all of us in a way, putting our existence at risk. Will we have to move away from here? If so, where would we go? Fortune Falls, perhaps?

Shit. She's spent her life trapped behind a cult's prison-like walls, and she's only now getting her first taste of pseudo-freedom. So why would she welcome being trapped by me and my mating mark?

Simple answer: she wouldn't.

Well, that thought kills my hard-on.

Begrudgingly I turn off the water and towel dry, knowing I should make myself come before climbing into bed with her. Once her scent hits my nostrils, I'll be hard as a rock again.

Fuck me, this is going to be a long night.

Iwake the moment her fingers flex against my lower stomach, but I don't move a muscle and keep my breathing steady. She's draped over my chest, the back of her head under my chin, and the blankets bunched at the foot of the bed from when we kicked them off during the night. I run hot anyway, but having my mate next to me has my bear pacing and my body temperature kicking into overdrive. Unable to see past the back of her head, her breath tickles my skin as she lightly traces the ridges of my abdomen. I'm hard—because of course I am—and presumably tenting my shorts.

Or worse, I've pushed through them, presenting my cock to her curious gaze in all of his glory.

I close my eyes as Dinah gently lifts her head off my chest. Her breath traces a line up to my chin, which is the only sign I have that she's looking up at me in the morning light. She raises and holds her breath, looking at my closed eyes before resting her head back on my chest. Her fingertips brush over the skin of my exposed cock, and I can't stop him from jerking into her caress.

Yes, mate. Touch me. I do not mind.

She sucks in her breath and pulls her fingers away, like he might bite or something. I suppress all my baser instincts and lay still as death, focusing on my breathing with my hand resting comfortably on her hip. Acting is not one of my specialties, so I'm not sure how long I can pretend to be asleep, but I want her to be curious and unafraid. The cult that raised her had plenty of shame and judgment to go around, but she'll get none of that from me.

A solitary fingertip slides up and down my shaft and I can't take it anymore. I let out a low moan and flex my fingers against her hip like I'm waking from a dream. I guess in a lot of ways that's exactly what she is—a dream come true. She pushes off my chest, our eyes meeting for the first time in the morning light.

"I'm sorry." There's a trace of fear flittering across her features.

I wrap my free hand around my cock and squeeze, remaining calm like this is the most natural thing in the world, because for the two of us as fated mates, it is. "There's nothing to apologize for, Dinah."

"I've never—" She bites her lip. "—it's so soft, but so hard. Does it hurt?"

"Not exactly. It can get uncomfortable, but I deal with it." I make a show of letting go of myself. "You can touch me, Dinah. Explore me. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do."

My bear secretes my mating pheromones, the air thickening with them as her pupils grow wide and dark. "It's okay?"

"Yes. Sweet Fates, it is more than okay."

She sits up on her knees at my hip and looks down at my cock. I place my hands behind my head and watch her with utter fascination—the same level of awe with which she tentatively reaches out to touch me. First her fingers lightly glide over me to trace the veins and crown, and then she grows bolder, wrapping her fingers around my shaft and squeezing like I did. "Is this too hard?"

"No."

"What do I do now?"

Dear goddess, I'm going to die, but at least I'll drop dead happy. "What do you want to do?"

"What would you do?"

My bear growls and I drop my voice an octave to suppress him. "Oh, Dinah, that is a very dangerous question."

"Show me?" She reaches up and grabs my bicep, pulling my hand out from behind my head and wrapping it around hers. I adjust her fingers so her thumb slides up and down the underneath of my shaft and spreads the drops of pre-cum spilling out of the tip—moving our joined hands together until she has a rhythm established.

Pulling back my hand, I grip the sheet next to my hip and arch up into her fist.

"Does this feel good?" Dinah asks.

"So fucking good," I say through clenched teeth, my eyes half-lidded and most likely gleaming with a golden shimmer.

"How do I know when to stop?"

"You'll know."

She smiles and refocuses her attention on the task at hand—literally. Like a puzzle she has to figure out, her concentration is adorable, and between my desire to mark her with cum and my bite, I'm on the edge of releasing in no time.

"Dinah, I'm going to come." I get the words out as my balls tighten and my cock spurts the first thick rope of cum.

She gasps and loosens her grip, but before she can move away, I wrap my hand around hers and squeeze, jerking myself to completion. Panting, I let go and watch as she stares down at the pool of cum on my belly. "Is this what comes out when the husband pushes inside his wife?"

"Yes." By far the weirdest way I've heard coming described, but I roll with it.

Slipping her fingers through it, she brings her hand up to her face to inspect it, rubbing her fingertips together before sticking her tongue out to taste it.

I groan, my cock bouncing against my belly in anticipation of the fun to come.

"Was that wrong?"

"Dinah, there is nothing wrong with sex between two consenting adults. Nothing you do or think you want to do is wrong. Ever."

A blush hits her cheeks. "That was very… I mean, it made my body warm and tingly."

I reach over the edge of my bed and find my discarded T-shirt, using it to clean my chest. "Do you ache between your legs?"

The blush deepens as she nods.

"I can take care of that for you. I can make you feel as good as you made me feel. All you have to do is lay back and spread your legs."

Her eyes dart to my hardening cock. Yeah, it'll take a lifetime to get enough of her, and even then, that's not long enough.

"Not with him. I'll use my mouth and tongue. That's it."

After thinking about it for the longest minute of my life, she rolls off her knees onto her hip and then lies down beside me, pulling her T-shirt down. Her legs are ramrod straight as I sit up and look down at her. Blessed be, she looks like an angel with her blonde hair and my white T-shirt. I want to kiss her as much as I want to sink my cock and fangs into her. Is it weird that I'm more worried about scaring her off with a kiss than I am an orgasm?

"You have to relax and spread your legs for this to work."

"Will it hurt?"

"Not if I do it right." I wink and flash her a teasing grin while moving to kneel between her splayed, still-bandaged feet.

She returns my smile, takes a deep breath, and relaxes the lower half of her body. With her thighs spread, her arousal fills my lungs and my bear salivates, clawing at my chest to claim her already.

Shut the fuck up. This isn't a shifter female with the same driving needs as us. This is a virgin human and a little finesse and patience is required.

He chuffs and lays down, licking his lips in veiled frustration.

"Trust me to make you feel good." I lay down between her legs and press kisses against her inner thighs. Her muscles tremble with excitement—and maybe a touch of fear of the unknown—and her breathing quickens with the first swipe of my tongue up her slick center.

Sweet Fates. So this is what heaven tastes like?