Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Rocked by his words, Devon stiffened. “I’m not saying they don’t hate Pamela or that they’re not pissed at Finn. But they love him, Tanner. They wouldn’t concoct a scheme like—”

“People betray each other all the time, kitten,” he softly reminded her. “And they’d see it as fitting, considering he betrayed them.”

“Okay, but they could have hurt him in a billion other ways.”

“Yes, they could have, but this isn’t just about him. You, Pamela, and Finn shook their world. I think at least one of them wants you all to pay for that.”

“But whoever’s doing all this made it very clear that the kidnappers weren’t to harm me,” Devon pointed out.

“This is about revenge, kitten. They probably want to be the one who makes you pay. Especially since they can’t physically reach Pamela. They can only hurt her through you. You’re the only thing that matters to her. Take you out of the equation, and she’d have no other reason to live. No other reason to hold on to what semblance of sanity she has. It would wreck her.”

Devon’s stomach bottomed out. He made sense, and she hated that.

“The person behind all this didn’t bank on me marking you; they’d expected to have their hands on you by now. Think of what would have happened if their plan had worked.”

Devon licked her lips, running through the scenario in her head. “If I hadn’t escaped the incantor, then I’d be in the grasp of whatever fucker hired him. They would have asked Finn to make the trade, but he wouldn’t have handed over Asa.”

“That’s right, he wouldn’t have. Primes need to be ruthless. They can’t afford to show weakness. Can’t be seen to give into terrorist actions. Despite understanding that, Knox and Jolene would have pushed him to make the trade. And if he refused …” Tanner trailed off, allowing her to finish.

“They’d have killed Finn,” said Devon.

Tanner nodded. “I think it’s safe to say that our prime suspects are Leticia, Spencer, Reena, and Kaye.”

“Leticia already punished Finn, though,” said Devon. “She left him shortly after Jolene contacted him to tell him about me. Took the kids with her. She then made him grovel for two years. Made him watch her have relationships with other men to give him a taste of how she felt.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s forgiven him,” said Tanner. “And I doubt she’s forgiven Pamela. Did your mother know he had a partner when they had their one-night stand?”

It was Jolene who replied. “She said she didn’t, but her gift would have allowed her to see the darkest parts of him. Maybe that’s why she didn’t tell him about Devon. Maybe she felt guilty and didn’t want to hurt his family.”

Tanner rubbed at his chin. “Reena doesn’t make any secret of how much she dislikes you, kitten.”

“She senses that he’s proud of Devon—that’s her problem,” said Jolene.

Devon made a face. Was the woman high? “Proud of me?”

“He might not approve of your job, but he does respect your determination to rely on yourself,” said Jolene. “Out of all his children, you’re the most like him. Reena only wants Daddy’s approval. Kaye is a free, directionless spirit. Though Spencer works hard, he only does it because he wants to take over the family business one day—he doesn’t want to build anything for himself. But you work hard and go after what you want in life. He can relate better to you than he can to the others.”

Devon blinked, having never looked at things from that angle before. “Well, if he feels pride in me, he has a real funny way of showing it. I really don’t see Reena wanting Finn dead. We shouldn’t point the finger her way just because she doesn’t like me.”

“I agree,” said Jolene. “She isn’t the only one who dislikes you. Don’t forget you had that falling out with Kaye a few years back.”

“Falling out?” echoed Tanner.

Devon sighed. “Like I told you, Kaye’s always been pretty much indifferent to me. But shortly after Harper mated with Knox, Kaye turned up at Urban Ink and asked to take me out to lunch. She said it was time we ‘bonded.’ About an hour into our lunch, she asked me to use my close connection to Harper to get her boyfriend a job interview with Knox; said it was time I did something to help ‘the family.’ I was so pissed. She was pissed that I was pissed. Things got heated. A lot of ugly shit was said—apparently I’m a loser and a slut.”

A growl rumbled out of Tanner before he could stop it.

“I pointed out that everything she owns was either bought by Finn or paid for using the credit card that he gave her, whereas I’ve never accepted a handout from him and have worked for everything I have. She yelled at me, accusing me of thinking I was better than her. I said I knew I was better than her, because I’d never use people the way she did.”

Devon shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think she has the smarts to come up with such a complicated plot. She’d come up with something much simpler. As for Spencer? I wouldn’t count him as a suspect—he and I don’t clash or anything.”

“But let’s not forget that he’ll get a bigger piece of the inheritance pie if you’re not in the picture, kitten—many people have killed over greed. Demons mostly kill over power. He’ll take over the lair when Finn dies. Anyone can see just how much Spencer’s looking forward to ruling.”

Jolene folded her arms across her chest. “In other words, they’re all viable suspects. I’ll have my sentinels track down Flanagan. We should find out if there’s a connection between him and Sheridan. It’s possible that both were randomly chosen as conduits, but I’d like to be sure there’s no link at all between them.”

“We should also see if we can link either of them to Leticia or one of your half-siblings, kitten. Do you know if any of them have the ability to speak through another?”

Devon shook her head. “Finn would know, wouldn’t he? Jolene told him that Sheridan was used as a conduit. He didn’t mention that Leticia or any of his children had that ability.”

“Maybe because he knew, given the strained relationship they have with you, that we’d consider them suspects,” mused Jolene. “Or perhaps they have the aid of someone who does have that ability.” She shrugged. “I don’t think there’s any sense in telling Finn of our suspicions. He wouldn’t believe us. And I’d rather not give the others a heads-up that we’ve put some pieces of the puzzle together.”

Devon gave a slow nod. “Let them think we’re still chasing shadows. We’ll find out which one of them is behind this, and they won’t even see us coming.”

*

It didn’t surprise Tanner that his hellcat didn’t speak much throughout the journey back to his complex. She seemed in a daze as she allowed him to lead her into the elevator and up to his floor. She also didn’t comment on him taking her to his apartment rather than her own.

Inside the living room, he pulled her close. His chest tightened as he stared down at her. She looked all hollowed out, like she hadn’t eaten or slept in a while. No surprise. She’d had a shit evening. Had been forced to go for a hike down memory lane—a lane that was rocky, treacherous territory. And then she’d had to face the very real likelihood that one of her half-siblings could be the person who’d tried to have her kidnapped.

His demon let out a disgruntled growl, not liking that she wasn’t her usual fiery self. Rather than trying to shake her out of her funk, since Tanner figured she was entitled to indulge in one for a while, he took her to his bathroom and slowly shed her clothes. They didn’t speak much as he bathed her, but he sensed the tension leaving her muscles. Her eyes closed in contentment when he began massaging shampoo into her hair. By the time he was plucking her out of the bath and patting her dry with a lush towel, she no longer looked so lost.

In his room, he brushed her hair and then slipped one of his shirts on her. Fastening the last button, he asked, “You hungry?”

She gave a weak shake of the head.

He curled his hands around hers. “Talk to me, kitten. What’s going through that head of yours?”

She licked her lips. “I want to argue that you’re wrong; that Leticia and the others aren’t involved in this. I want to believe your theory is way off-base.”

“But you know it’s not.”

“I tried to stay out of Finn’s life. I never asked him or any of them for anything. I never bemoaned not having a place in their family or—”

“Listen to me, baby. This isn’t about you; it isn’t about what you did or didn’t do. Whatever emotions are driving this fucker—anger, hate, resentment, all three—are nothing to do with you. People feel those emotions every day and don’t plot to kill. Their actions are on them. Not on you. Not on Pamela or Finn.”

She bit her lip. “You were mad that I didn’t tell you the truth about Pamela.”

“At first, yeah, but I get why you didn’t. It just bothers me that you don’t feel you can trust me with whatever’s in here”—he tapped her chest and then moved his finger to her temple—“or up here.”

“It’s not about trust.”

“You didn’t trust that I wouldn’t judge Pamela for what happened.”

“It’s not that. It’s just … strong people can’t always see things from the perspective of someone who’s so emotionally vulnerable.”

“My opinion? Your mother isn’t weak. A lot of people in her position would have turned rogue a long time ago. She held on. And she held on for you. That’s not weak, baby.” The woman was resilient, just like her daughter. Fuck, his hellcat had been trapped in a car with a dead body—a dead baby—for hours when she was only a child. That would fuck anyone’s head up, but she’d worked through it as best she could. Even had enough softness in her to feel sympathy for the person who put her through that shit.

“I really did try to get out of the car. I just … couldn’t.”

He caught her face in his hands. “You hold no blame in what happened.”

“I know, but I can’t help feeling that I should have tried harder to make Pamela listen to me about the baby. She kept ignoring me, no matter what I said or how many times I said it.”

“Give your six-year-old self a fucking break, kitten. You couldn’t have known what would happen. You hold no blame. If our positions were reversed, you’d say the same thing to me.” He curled her hair behind her ear. “You’ve got to let that shit go. It taints the way you look at Asher, and it could taint the way you look at your own children.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but then she swiftly clamped her lips shut and averted her gaze. And something about the way she did it made his alarm bells ring.

“What is it?” He cocked his head, trying to read her expression. “You can tell me anything, kitten. You know that.”

But she slowly shook her head, her eyes glinting with a pain he didn’t understand the source of.

“I swear to Christ, you’re safe with me.” But she didn’t say anything and, yeah, that hurt. Tanner was a hard man to get close to—he owned that. But Devon had just as many protective shields in place. Or maybe she only raised those shields with him.

“Don’t give me that look,” she said when he took a step back.

“What look?”

“That wounded look. Like I’m holding back from you.”

He lifted a brow. “Aren’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but not in the sense that you’re stuck in a one-sided relationship where I’m not living up to my part of the deal. This isn’t a relationship. That means you can’t be mad when I won’t bare my soul to you.”

He felt his nostrils flare. “I just want you to trust me. Is that so fucking bad?”

“No, it’s not. And I do trust you. That doesn’t mean I have to expose all that I am to you. And it’s not like you don’t have your own secrets, is it? Do I push you to tell me more than what you’re comfortable sharing?”

“There’s no reason for you to feel uncomfortable sharing things with me, no matter what they are.”

“That isn’t the point, and you know it. You want too much from me.” She narrowed her eyes. “Sometimes … sometimes, I even get the feeling you’re trying to leave some sort of mark on me—not one I can see, but one I’ll feel—so that I’ll never be free of you.”

Because he was. “A part of you will always belong to me. I’m not giving it back. It’s mine now. You don’t need it as much as I need it.”

And he’d take more pieces of her if she let him, Devon thought. God, what was she doing? How could she have thought she could really have a simple, shallow fling with this male she’d grown to care for? There was nothing simple or shallow about what she felt for him. Never had been. And every protective instinct she had was telling her to cut her losses and leave.

Just the thought of it made her chest pang, but what choice did she really have? He’d demand more and more of her, make himself more and more important to not just her but to her demon.

She hadn’t thought there was a chance of the entity ever forming an attachment to him, but she’d been wrong. The threads of an attachment were there already. It liked him, respected his strength, trusted him to protect Devon. She needed to walk away while she still could. “I think we should end this now.”

He went rigid, eyes darkening to flint. “What?”

“I told you, you want too much from me. You’re not a guy who’ll settle for anything less than what you want, and I’m not willing to give you any more of me than what you’ve already had.” And by dragging out this whole thing, she was only hurting herself. “My demon isn’t just possessive of you, it’s starting to become attached to you—I can’t let that happen, Tanner, I can’t. It’s best if we end this now.”

His jaw tightened. “You’re serious?”

Sadly … “I’m serious. We need to go back to the way things were.”

*

Stomach rolling, Tanner fisted his hands. He’d known this would only ever be temporary and that he’d have to give her up at some point. He’d thought he’d readied himself for it. Thought he’d accepted it. Thought he’d be able to calmly walk away when the time came. But as she stood before him declaring that it was over, everything in him rebelled.

His hound roared and prepared itself to lunge. Not to hurt her—no, never that—but to subdue her; to demand her submission; to prevent her from leaving.

They needed to go back to the way things were, she’d said. He couldn’t imagine going back to no longer having the right to touch her, taste her, and take her whenever he wanted. Couldn’t imagine taking a backseat in her life and becoming nothing more than a fucking observer—a mere figure in the background while she chose a mate, set up house, and then later had kids.

And him? He’d have nothing. He knew Devon; knew how deep her loyalty ran. If she took a mate, she’d no longer engage in her little games with Tanner, no matter how harmless he claimed they were. Their banter and flirting would have to end, so he’d no longer even have that much with her. All they’d have would be a strained, awkward mockery of what a friendship should be.

He’d never have suspected that the thought of walking away would hurt so much. His aversion to relationships wasn’t a simple case of commitment issues. Tanner had been alone since he was two-years-old—he didn’t know how to be anything else. The Ramsbrook staff had ensured he was fed and sheltered, but they hadn’t raised him. He’d raised himself, and he hadn’t done the best job of it.

“Alone” was familiar for him and his demon. Felt safer. Meant they didn’t have to rely on anyone or lay themselves bare. But right then, being alone didn’t seem safe to either of them. Didn’t feel comforting. It felt wrong. And his hound was having fucking none of this “going back to the way things were” shit.

The demon couldn’t give less of a fuck that she was a hellcat. Few things piqued the interest of his easily bored hound, but Devon did. She amused it. Impressed it. Surprised it. Had earned its respect and loyalty. It liked her company. Liked that she played with it. Liked that she made Tanner laugh. It wouldn’t permit another male to come along and claim her. No fucking way. She was his demon’s choice just as much as she was his.

As a sense of resolve settled over him, Tanner crossed to her, his jaw set. “You’re not leaving me.”

She sighed. “Tanner, be fair—”

“You’re not leaving me.”

“Oh, I am. Look, I don’t want to argue with you or … why are you looking at me like that?” Devon felt her pulse quicken as he began to circle her like a predator. The glint in his eyes made her skin prickle. He didn’t seem angry. He looked strangely satisfied. Relaxed, even. As if he’d made peace with something, maybe? She wasn’t sure. Didn’t get it. Just knew it was weird. And she was done with “weird” for the night. Devon raised her hands. “I’m gone.”

She turned toward the bedroom door, and a wave of power swept out and slammed it closed. “Oh, very mature.”

Behind her, he leaned in just enough to sniff at her hair. She snarled. “Don’t make me hurt you, pooch.”

“Do your worst, kitten,” he said, eyes lit with something close to mischief. Oh, the hellhound wanted to play. Well, she didn’t.

“I won’t do this with you. I’m out of here.” She skirted around him, marched to the door, and—

She spluttered as an invisible force gently pushed her backwards. Devon whirled on him, gaping. The bastard was smiling. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? You can’t keep me here.”

“Sure I can. And I will. It’s where you belong.”

Where she belonged? Devon stared at him. “I’d ask if you were on dope or something, but I don’t smell drugs on you.”

With just a few slow, fluid strides, he ate up the space between them. “There’s no point in fighting me. It’s done.”

“Huh?”

“You know the males of my kind can take a long time to mate. But once we make our choice, it’s permanent. There’s no going back, kitten. Not for me, not for you, not for our demons. Like I said, it’s done.”

Feeling a little dazed, Devon put a hand to her head. “I feel like I’m only hearing one side of a phone call.”

He skimmed his fingertips down her arm. “The first time I saw you was through the window of your old Urban Ink studio. I thought … Christ, what an ass. Then you turned around, and the view got even better. And I just had to have you. But then I realized you were a hellcat, which meant I couldn’t make a move on you. I figured I’d get a handle on this thing between us. Figured it would fade. But it never did.”

“Because I was forbidden fruit.”

“Because you’re you. Sweet. Restful. Bitchy. Fierce. Independent. So strong and unbelievably stubborn. I fell hard, kitten. But there was nothing I could do about it.”

Throat thickening, Devon bit her lip as he slid his hand up her spine and curved it around her nape. “Tanner—”

“Back then, I didn’t expect that my demon would eventually get so used to having you around that its instinct to harm you would fade. Didn’t expect it to ever be protective of you. But it was the kind of protectiveness a person would feel toward a small, vulnerable animal. A kind of ‘aw, this creature is cute and needs to be guarded for its own sake’—which sounds insulting, but that’s more than what my demon feels toward most people.

“You showed it that it was wrong to view you as weak. Showed it that you were its equal. And then the type of protectiveness it felt toward you changed into a whole other kind. More of a ‘I will bite the fucking face off anyone who tries to hurt what’s mine’ kind.”

The hand cupping her nape slid up to palm the back of her head as he added, “I don’t know how you earned its trust—my demon watches everyone closely, waiting for them to fuck up—but it trusts you. Wants to collect and claim and own you. Wants you to be as attached to it as it is to you.”

Overwhelmed, Devon closed her eyes. She should have been elated at what she was hearing. Instead, she was afraid. Afraid to believe it was true, even as she knew Tanner would never lie about something like that. But it was scary to have someone hand you something you’d wanted for so long—something you’d thought you’d never have—because you knew how much it would hurt to have it snatched away.

“Look at me, kitten.”

Oh, God, that soft tone undid her every time. She opened her eyes, and the hand cupping her head gently tugged her so close her body was pressed to his.

“Why do you look so scared?”

She licked her lips. “In a very short space of time, you’ve gone from wanting a fling to wanting everything. How do I know you won’t change your mind again?”

“Baby, I’ve always wanted everything. Just didn’t think I’d ever be able to have it. I couldn’t change my mind even if I wanted to. As for my demon? I told you, it’s already formed an attachment to you. It will never let you go. Not ever.” His eyes drifted over her face. “You can feel I’m telling you the truth. Can’t you?”

Devon swallowed. “I feel it,” she admitted. But the fear didn’t leave her system, which made her feline roll its eyes, the heifer. It wasn’t in the least bit spooked by what it was hearing. It thought him a suitable, worthy partner for Devon; liked his demon’s strength and viciousness.

It sent her an impression of the feline standing in front of her, on guard. Not a reassurance that it would protect her; a reminder that it would never support any situation that it thought could later cause her harm.

“I’d be lying if I told you we’ve got an easy road ahead of us,” said Tanner. “I’ve never been in a relationship before. I’m gonna fuck up regularly, and there may be times when you’ll ask yourself why the hell you took a chance on me. But I’ll give this everything I’ve got, kitten, I swear that to you. Can you promise you’ll do the same for me?”

God, she wanted to. She really, really did. But how could she reach for this when she hadn’t yet told him that she might never be able to give him the kids he might later want? “There are things you don’t know, Tanner.”

“I don’t care. There’s nothing you could tell me that would change my—”

“I’ve never gone into heat,” she blurted out. “Not once.”

His face went all soft, and he stroked his free hand up her arm. “That doesn’t have to mean anything, kitten. A hellhound from my lair didn’t have her first heat until she was in her late thirties. She has four kids now. Even if that didn’t happen for us, it would change nothing. There’s no one else I could ever want.”

He flicked up a brow. “You hear me? No other woman could ever be what you are to me. That’s no word of a lie. You will never have to worry about me walking away. When I decide something belongs to me, I keep it close. I don’t share my possessions well. Never did.”

“Your possessions?”

“Yeah. You’re by far the finest one I own.”

Devon went to speak, but then his mouth dropped on hers. His tongue dove inside and licked at hers, coaxing it to play. He didn’t kiss her, he greedily ravished her mouth. Just like that, the air ignited with a need so raw and powerful it was almost palpable. That need punched its way inside her, coursed through her veins, and settled deep in her core.

She tore her mouth from his as he ripped open her shirt. “Wait—”

“Fuck, kitten,” he groaned, staring down at her breasts. “My kitten.” His eyes snapped to hers. “You’ve always been mine.” His warm, calloused hands roughly palmed her breasts as he again closed his mouth over hers.

She arched into him, moaning as clever fingers pinched and rolled her tight nipples, tugging on the piercings just right. Every erotic flick of his tongue pulled her deeper and deeper under his spell, until every rational thought in her head simply scattered.

Devon gave as good as she got, shoving her hands under his tee and digging her nails into sculpted abs she’d traced with her tongue more than once. He growled as she dragged her nails down, scoring his flesh. His strong hands were sure and confident as they roamed over her body, his fingers splayed wide, flooding her system with all kinds of delicious feel-good chemicals. She wanted … more.

She tackled his fly just as he whipped off his shirt. His cock sprang toward her, thick and hard. She fisted his shaft and squeezed, eliciting a deep groan out of him. God, he was so hot and heavy in her hand.

His mouth took hers with renewed vigor as she pumped his cock with a firm grip, having already learned exactly what he liked. His sleek, solid chest drew her eyes, and she just had to take a bite. She sank her teeth into one pec.

He hissed, tangling his hand in her hair. “Fuck, yeah, harder.”

She obliged him, deepening the bite so the mark would linger for a—

The hand gripping her hair snatched her head back, and then he walked her backwards, herding her toward the bed. “Sit down, kitten.”

Sitting on the edge of the mattress, she found herself almost eye level with his cock. Yeah, she saw where this was going.

Tanner brushed his thumb over her plush lower lip, making a mental note to leave an imprint of his teeth on it later. “You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined having your mouth wrapped around my dick.” No idea how often he’d envisioned fucking said mouth and coming down her throat. “Are you going to give me that?”

“The reality surely can’t live up to the fantasy,” she said, and he realized she was teasing him. “Are you sure you want to risk spoiling it?”

His mouth curved. “I’ll take my chances.” She fisted his cock again and looked up at him, sure and cool and hungry. This wasn’t a female who’d ask for direction or want any instruction, he thought.

She flicked out her tongue and lapped at the head, sweeping up the drops of pre-come. And then she closed her mouth over the head and sucked. Eyes drifting shut, he drove his fingers into her hair and bunched it tight. Fuck, it already felt ten times better than he’d imagined.

“Take all of it, kitten.”

She bopped her head, swallowing more of him, leaving behind a tiny trace of lip gloss as she pulled back. That only seemed to make the whole thing hotter.

He traced the outline of her lips with his finger as she swallowed him down over and over, keeping the suction perfectly tight, making little purring sounds that ate at his control. Her wicked little tongue sporadically danced around his shaft and flicked the sensitive spot beneath the crown.

Just when he thought she couldn’t take any more of his length, she swallowed a little bit more, driving him closer to orgasm. And then she deepthroated him. The breath slammed out of his lungs. “Jesus Christ.”

Composure gone, he roughly thrust into her mouth, keeping his grip tight on her hair. She didn’t struggle. She sucked harder, purring. Glazed, hungry eyes locked with his, and his balls drew up tight.

Her mind fluttered against his. Come, she whispered.

That sensual invitation slid up his spine and acted like a trigger. He fucking exploded, swelling and pulsing inside her mouth. “Yeah, baby, drink my come.” She swallowed it all, holding his eyes the entire time.

Feeling rather pleased with herself, Devon pulled back and licked at her lower lip. Tanner was staring down at her, his eyes heavy-lidded, his cheeks flushed. She was just about to ask when it was her turn to come, but then she found herself flat on her back on the mattress.

He dropped to his knees at the foot of the bed and clamped his hot mouth around her pussy. Inhaling sharply, she fisted the sheets as his tongue fluttered through her slick folds. God, that felt good. Too good.

Tongue, teeth, lips, fingers—he used them all as he wound her tighter and tighter until, finally, she shattered. And then he did it again, licking and probing and biting as he drove her into a mind-blowing orgasm that rendered her a shaking, whimpering mess.

His cock hard and heavy once more, Tanner flowed to his feet and flipped her onto her stomach. Flames of need licked at his skin. Only she could inflame and entice him this way. Only she could make him so fucking greedy and hungry.

He palmed her nape and dragged his hand down her spine, over the intricate lotus flower tattoo, smiling as she arched into his stroke just like a cat. He swatted her ass. “Up. I want you on your hands and knees. That’s my good girl.” He knelt behind her. “My demon wants me to take you like this. Wants me to fuck you so hard and deep it hurts. But it wants to do one little thing first …”

Devon jerked forward when a thick finger slammed into her. A cold draft swept over her back, making her shiver, as an inhuman growl rattled out of the body that blanketed her. A calloused fingertip probed her g-spot, and she almost jumped. Then the flesh beneath the tip of that finger began to burn … and she understood.

It hurt in the best way, but she was so stunned she tried moving away. Sharp teeth sank into the crook of her neck and held her in place. All she could do was cry out in pleasure/pain as the bastard branded her.

Finally, the burn faded, and a hot tongue bathed the bite on her neck. The air lost its chill, and Devon snarled. “Pooch, you need to do something about your demon. It’s fucking warped. It just branded my pussy.”

More aroused than he could ever remember being, Tanner wrapped her hair around his fist. “I know.” He snatched her head back and rammed his cock deep, bumping her cervix hard. He groaned through gritted teeth as her pussy clamped down on him and squeezed tight. “Fuck.”

Nothing cool or calm about him, he powered into her, filling the air with the sounds of grunting, snarling, and the slap of flesh. Every thrust was brutal. Forceful. Unrelenting. She went wild beneath him as his cock slid over the brand again and again, her moans a mix of both pleasure and pain. “Want me to stop?”

“Don’t you fucking dare stop!” Spine arched, Devon pushed back to meet each hard thrust as he slammed in and out of her. The friction that came from his cock dragging over the hypersensitive nerve endings of her newly branded flesh was like nothing she’d ever felt. Already her body was wound excruciatingly tight as the friction built and built. And then her pussy began to quake.

Tanner groaned. “Yeah, kitten, fucking come. Milk my cock.”

A shockingly powerful orgasm barreled into Devon, sending an avalanche of sensation washing over her. She came with a scream, bucking and pulling at the bedsheets, as rope after rope of hot come splashed her quaking inner walls. And then she was floating.

She slumped to the mattress, mouth dry, chest heaving, body shuddering. And one-hundred percent sated.

Dropping beside her on the bed, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “You okay?”

She opened one eye. “Not happy with your demon,” she slurred.

The corner of his mouth canted up. “You like it when the demon brands you.”

Yeah, but … “Not when it weirdly and inappropriately brands seriously sensitive places. And God only knows what the brand looks like.” At least she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone seeing it.

“My hound sent me a telepathic snapshot of it.” He took her palm and pointed at the mark there. “It looks like this, but it also has my fingerprint layered over the little tribal-like lines in the center of the circle.”

That was just weird, whatever way you looked at it. “Speaking of fingerprints, are these ever going to fade?” she asked, gesturing at the ones on her wrists.

His mouth twitched into a wider smile. “No.”

“I can’t walk around with fingerprints on my damn wrists, Tanner. I’m going to have to ask Raini to tattoo over them. You know that, right?”

The smile slipped from his face. “There’ll be no tattooing over them. Imagine if your feline branded me and I wanted to cover it. How would you feel?”

As if he were rejecting its claim on him, which she’d hate—psycho or not, her feline was part of her. Dammit. She sighed. “Fine, I’ll leave them be.”

“Good girl.” He laid a soft, languid devastating kiss on her that melted her bones.

She bit her lip. “You’re sure about this? About us?”

“You wouldn’t even think to ask that question if you knew what I feel for you. There’s nothing soft or soppy about it. It’s dark and intense and scares the shit out of me.” He cupped her neck. “I told you that I own you, but you own me just the same. You never leave my mind for even a second, no matter how much is going on around me. I don’t like leaving you. Don’t like other men being near you. Don’t like that you have an anchor because I selfishly want to be all you need.

“It should be annoying that you’re on my mind so much, but it’s not, and I don’t even know why. What I do know is that there’s no going back.”

Warmth bloomed inside her and the backs of her eyes prickled. She took a deep breath. “You have to be one-hundred percent certain about this, Tanner. You say I’m on your mind all the time. Well, right back at you. You made yourself important to me a long time ago. Now you’re offering me something I never thought I’d have. I don’t mind admitting I’m scared to believe you won’t change your mind. If you ever stopped caring for me or wanted to end this, it would absolutely destroy me.”

“You don’t ever have to worry that I’ll stop caring about you, just as you don’t ever have to worry that I’ll leave you. I’m going nowhere. You’re mine. All rights reserved.”

“Even if I can’t give you kids?”

“Even if,” he replied without hesitation. “The female hellhound from my lair went to see a specialist, you know. He told her that the causes of these things can sometimes be psychological. Maybe that knot of guilt sitting heavy on your stomach for not saving that baby has had an influence of some kind over this. We’re demons, our minds are seriously powerful things.” He palmed one side of her face and swept his thumb over her cheekbone. “You’ve got to let that senseless guilt go, kitten.”

She swallowed. “It’s not that easy.”

“I know, but my guess is that you cling to it because you’d feel cruel for laying to rest what happened … as if that’s the same as saying it didn’t matter. It’s not the same. Just as it’s not bad to live and enjoy your life. You don’t need to cart these memories and that needless shame around with you. You’ve got to find a way to let it go. Especially because I won’t tolerate anything or anyone—that includes you—causing my girl pain.”

Devon took in a long breath through her nose. “I’ll work on it. I promise.”

“Good.” Wanting to lighten the mood, Tanner added, “Now that you’ve got regular access to superior sperm, I can’t see pregnancy being a problem.”

A laugh bubbled out of her. “Did you honestly just say that?”

“Well, you have.” He brushed his nose over hers. “So, what time are you moving your stuff in here tomorrow?”

She sighed. “Tanner, seriously, would it kill you to ask me to move in instead of making presumptions? I mean, if I tried telling you what—”

“Okay, okay, so that didn’t come out right. Look, I’m not always going to phrase things in a way you like. I’ve been a sentinel for centuries, I’m used to issuing orders and being direct about what I want. It doesn’t mean I see myself as in command of you. You’re my equal, my match, and I respect the hell out of your strength. I don’t want to control you. But it’s in my nature to take control of situations.”

That made Devon’s hackles lower, because she knew he was right. There was no sense in viewing his take-charge demeanor as a sign of disrespect.

“I want you to move in. I like starting my day with you right here. I like that the first words you’ll hear will be mine. So, will you please give me that?”

Quite frankly impressed he’d asked her so politely, she said, “Yes, I’d like that. Happy now?”

He hummed. “Ecstatic. And I’m positive you’re just as happy right now. I mean, we both know your heart has longed for this since the day you met me. Longed and pined and yearned. All that emotion you’ve been trying to hide—” He laughed when she hit him with a pillow. “I’m feeling the love, kitten. I’m seeing it right there in those pretty green—Shit! Do you always have to go for my eyes?”