Chapter 20

Zander

Piper"s soft moan escaped from her mouth, and I greedily swallowed it with my own. It"d felt like forever since I touched her, when in reality I knew that wasn"t true. Letting her make the first move had worked.

She slipped her fingers into my hair, and dragged me closer, tangling her tongue with my own. It made my wolf happy to know that she wanted to be dominated by a male, which wasn"t news to me.

I sensed it from the very beginning. She"d lacked something in those past relationships, and I was dead-set on making up for the lost time. With chocolate on her breath, it made each second sweeter.

Reaching forward, I fisted the hair at the back of her neck and did the same to the skirt of her dress. I would make a note for William to let her order regular clothes—if she decided to stay.

The sad little boy in me still had hope that she may stay.

Judging by the noises coming out of her, and the scent of her arousal, I would say there was a chance. Leaning forward, I pushed her backward until her back hit the granite countertop, and I crawled on top of her.

The look of desire on her face spoon-fed my wolf hope. She looked excited, her chest rising and falling quickly, her eyes dilated in the kitchen lighting. The sack of flour beside me fell and spilled onto the floor, but I didn"t care if the entire kitchen blew up around us, I wasn"t stopping until we had to.

Piper stared up at me with wide eyes, and I slid my fingertips against the slit in her dress, and slowly pulled the skirt up to her thighs, giving me room to maneuver between them.

She swallowed deeply, tightening the fabric of her dress into her fists. The look on her face, her flushed skin, I would forever remember that moment. I took a mental picture, and put one palm on each side of her head, moving my hips against her opened thighs.

Slowly, because I secretly liked the tease, I lowered my head and nipped at the mound of her breast before licking over to the other one. Piper kept quiet, like she feared that if she moved, I would stop.

I kissed up her neck, inhaling her scent, imagining what my mark would look like on her porcelain skin if I ever had the pleasure of marking her. Piper moaned as I bit the pulse throbbing there, and then on the edge of her jaw.

She moved her hips slowly, edging me on, but I ignored her wishes. "You"re red, Little One," I whispered into her ear. "Are you wet, too?"

Her breath hitched. I didn"t need her to answer to know the truth. I smelled her arousal. Moving my hips forward, against the juncture of her thighs, Piper tightened her fingers and arched her back. "I"ll take that as a yes," I whispered, reaching over to swipe my finger into the batter next to her head.

Piper watched my finger as I brought it to her mouth, and slowly, as if I may bite, sucked it into the back of her throat. My body lit fire. Seeing her close her eyes as if she enjoyed it more than me, and lick her lips when I pulled it out, made my wolf purr like a cat.

"More," she whispered.

I chuckled, and bent down to kiss the chocolate off the edge of her lip. She looped her arm around my neck to hold me there, while I dipped my finger again and pushed it into my mouth. "Come and get it," I whispered against her lips.

Piper took the challenge, leaning up to meet my waiting mouth, and kissed me deeply. The taste of your mate puts anyone else to shame.

Even the chocolate that fueled my childhood.

Moving my hips, I settled myself against her underwear, showing her what she did to me. It was high school all over again, and I didn"t care. I loved every minute of grinding myself against her.

Piper moaned loudly, rolling her hips to meet mine, she began mumbling under her breath. I tangled my fingers into her hair and forced her to look at me. "You feel that?" I asked gently.

She nodded. "Yes," she said. "God, yes."

"It"s all yours, Little One. All you have to do is give in, let me mark you, make you my Luna, and I"ll ride you until this countertop breaks into two pieces beneath us."

She laughed humorlessly, sliding her hand down to the juncture of her legs, and palmed me through my jeans. "I want it so bad I"m aching," she whispered against my mouth.

"I know, Little One. I"m going to give you every inch," I whispered. "When I mark you. It"s tradition," I said against her neck, watching the goosebumps form along her skin. "Out of respect for our Luna, we mark her before we close the mating bond, which includes shoving my dick inside of you."

She let out a frustrated groan and shook her head. "No, I want you to do it now. I need it now," she demanded.

I chuckled, rolling my hips into her again, she fisted my hair and brought my mouth to hers. "I"m not a wolf, I don"t have to abide by those rules, Alpha Zander," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, Little One, you"re going to go by my rules, because I make them. And it"s tradition to mark your mate first. What kind of gentleman would I be if I went against rules that were set decades ago?"

"A normal one," she said, licking some chocolate off the side of my mouth. She moved her hips again, begging me with those sultry hazel eyes when the kitchen door swung open.

Vivian shrieked loudly, which made Piper do the same. She buried her face into my shoulder, while Vivian looked around at the mess. "Vivian," I said. "It"s not lunchtime yet. Do you need something?"

"You"re baking without me?" she asked, hurt all over her face. "If you wanted something sweet, all you had to do was ask, Sir," she said softly.

Piper mumbled into my shoulder, and I smiled over at Vivian, while I sat up on my knees, bringing Piper with me. "Vivian it"s not the time. We"ll be gone in a few minutes. I"ll clean this up—,"

She scoffed half-heartedly. "I"m being replaced."

She left the kitchen door swinging behind her. Piper laughed softly and rubbed the heel of her eye with her palm. "Vivian really doesn"t like anyone else in the kitchen, does she?"

I chuckled, and got off the island, offering Piper my hand to help her down. She slipped down, wiping the flour and mess from her dress when embarrassment climbed her cheeks.

I pinched the point of her chin and lifted her gaze to mine. "I can"t wait to sink into you, Piper. That"s if you decide to stay."

The light in her eyes dimmed, and she avoided my gaze. The confusion on her face pierced my heart. "I need to clean up," she whispered softly.

"By all means," I said, watching her turn and walk toward her room. She glanced over her shoulder, her cheeks still red, and her adrenaline finally evening out. We stared at one another for several seconds before she shoved through the swinging door and walked up the stairs.

I popped the cookies into the fridge. Vivian stood awkwardly in the dining area, waiting on us to leave. I gave her the rest of the instructions on the cookies and walked toward my bedroom to take a much-needed cold shower.

Halfway up the stairs I smelled Piper"s scent and realized it was near. I made it to the second floor, and started toward my room, when I felt her gaze. I turned to look at her standing in front of her four-post bed wearing nothing but her underwear.

My wolf pulled and shoved, begging to be set free. I knew she was teasing me because she didn"t like my answer from the kitchen. It was tradition, and as soon as we mated as one, she would see what I had in store for her.

Slowly, she reached behind her, and unclasped her bra, tossing it to the side. Her pink nipples were beacons guiding me forward. My mouth watered at the thought of taking them into my mouth and sucking her until she became sore. Smiling, she walked toward the door, closer to me, and hooked her finger into the hem of her panties.

The little minx began to tug them off as she shut the door in my face.

A laugh erupted from deep inside of me. It felt raw and like something from my youth. As badly as I wanted to walk into her room, hold her down and give her everything I wanted, I didn"t.

Because all an alpha had was his word, and I knew by her teasing me, that she wanted me badly. That was the passion I needed to draw from her to make her stay. We"d see how badly Ms. Sloane wanted her mate"s touch during the next couple of days.