CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Dipping the string mop into the plastic bucket, Mila yawned. She’d knocked down the freaking tub of shaving cream while tidying her station, and she totally blamed Dominic. If he hadn’t repeatedly woken her throughout the night with his insatiable cock, she wouldn’t be so damn lethargic. She couldn’t help but snarl when he came up behind her.

Snaking his arms around her waist, he rested his chin on her shoulder. “Tired, baby?” She could hear the smile in his voice.

“And whose fault is that?” she clipped, wringing the soapy water out of the mop using the bucket’s built-in wringer.

“You weren’t complaining last night. In fact, you were moaning. Groaning. Whimpering. Almost sobbing at one point.”

Mopping up more of the spilled cream, she sniffed haughtily. “I don’t sob. Or whimper.”

“Oh, you definitely whimper.” He nuzzled her neck, inhaling deeply. “And you came very close to sobbing when I spent a good twenty minutes just working your clit with my tongue, refusing to touch you anywhere else.”

Fuck if he wasn’t right. But she’d never admit it aloud. “Perhaps you lie to comfort yourself—I’m not sure.”

He nipped at her neck. “You know I’m not lying, just as you know you’re getting turned on just remembering it.”

Dammit, she was. “Wrong again.”

“Really? Hmm. Then these must be Tic Tacs in your bra, huh?”

A chuckle burst out of her. “Fuck you, GQ.”

His shoulders shaking with muffled laughter, he kissed her neck. “I’ll get you some coffee.” Releasing her, he turned to Archie and Evander. “Anyone else want coffee?” The two male cats called out their orders as Dominic strode into the break room.

Shaking her head, she went back to mopping the floor. She needed to hurry her ass up, since Dean was waiting on the sofa.

She dipped the mop in the bucket again just as the door opened and let in a gust of street noise. She flashed a polite smile at the stocky hyena shifter who was one of Archie’s regular clients. “Archie, your three thirty is here,” she called out.

The hyena rolled his eyes at her. “Will you never refer to me by my name?”

“When you insist that your name is Hambone, no, I can’t call a grown man that.”

Dean let out an amused snort. “Yeah, I’m with Mila on that one.”

Archie summoned his client over, so Mila quickly warned him, “Careful, the floor’s wet.” As the hyena sidestepped the wet spot, the door once again swung open. A woman stepped inside and glanced around, seeming unsure, tugging at her black curls restlessly.

“Hi, do you have an appointment?” Mila asked.

The woman’s eyes snapped to Mila, momentarily flaring with something dark. “Um, no,” she replied. “I just wondered if you could take a look at this for me.” She dug her hand into a brown paper bag, seemed to angle the bag toward Mila and—

Thunder rang through the air. A harsh impact slammed into Mila just as red-hot pain exploded in the left side of her chest. She recoiled in shock, her mouth dropping open, her feet slipping on the wet floor. Not thunder, she thought as she fell. Not thunder. Fuck.

Gunfire split the air, making Dominic’s heart slam against his ribs. He raced out of the break room and into the barbershop . . . just in time to watch Mila lose her footing and awkwardly fall backward. She hissed, and as if weighed down by pain, crumpled onto her back. The scents of blood and gunpowder tainted the air. Mila’s blood. It seemed to clog his nostrils and churn his stomach, sending his wolf into a blind panic. And for a single moment, Dominic’s world stopped.

A vicious, debilitating fear clawed at his insides, raked at his throat, and settled on his tongue, thick and metallic. His wolf froze, rooted to the spot by raw shock.

“Stay back!” ordered the woman near the door, shakily pointing a brown paper bag at Mila while her manic eyes danced from person to person. A bag that had a fucking hole the size of a bullet in it. “Stay back or I’ll shoot her again!”

Rosemary.He almost didn’t recognize her. She’d dyed her hair black and had it permed into tight curls. She looked a little like Mila. His Mila. Who the bitch had fucking shot.

Even though Mila had slapped her hand over the wound, blood still bloomed and stained her shirt right above her heart. How that heart was still beating, he didn’t fucking know. But it wouldn’t beat for much longer. No one could come back from such a fatal shot to the chest without medical help. No one.

Mila was conscious, her eyes hard on Rosemary, but her face was creased with pain. Shit, he needed to get to her. Needed to stop the bleeding. Get a healer. Something. But he couldn’t fucking move while that bitch was still aiming the gun at his mate.

He sensed that Rosemary would shoot her again without hesitation. Would think nothing of pumping another bullet into Mila. And then he saw it—exactly what his life would be like without his little cat. Felt the taste of the empty, cold, pointless future that lay ahead of him if he didn’t fucking do something.

“Time to go, Dominic,” said Rosemary.

The words jolted his wolf out of his shocked state, and the beast let out a mournful howl edged with pure fury. His heart pounding like a drum, Dominic took only a single step forward. “Put the gun down,” he told her, marveling at how steady his voice was.

“I saw pictures of you with her,” Rosemary spat. “She’s in our way. She needs to die.”

“And you shot her. No human can survive a wound like that.” Luckily, Mila wasn’t human, but Rosemary didn’t need to know that. “So you don’t need the gun now. Put it down.”

She licked her lips. “We have to leave. You and me. Now.”

She really thought they’d just walk out of there? Every male in the room was ready to pounce on her. Hell, Mila herself would probably give it a try. What’s more, Tate, Luke, and the enforcers were outside the door, ready to barge in. But no one would make a move while Rosemary was aiming that gun at Mila. If Dominic could just get her to point it elsewhere . . .

“Look at me, Rosemary,” Dominic ordered, because her attention had drifted back to Mila, her eyes filling with hatred. “Look only at me.”

Rosemary’s brows drew together. “Why are you still over there? I told you, we have to go.”

“Go where?”

“Home. We’re mates. You don’t believe that now, but you will. We just need time.”

His eyes darted down to Mila. More blood had stained her tee and was now pooling beneath her. Fuck. A chill invaded him all the way to his soul, swept across his skin, and lifted the hairs on his nape and arms. His wolf tugged at the reins, needing to get to his mate.

“I’m not real comfortable going anywhere with you while you have a gun in your hand, Rosemary,” said Dominic. “Put it down.”

The bobcat edged ever so slightly toward her, and Rosemary’s gaze snapped to him. “Get back!” Finger flexing on the trigger, she glared at Dominic. “If you don’t leave with me right now, I’ll shoot her again. I swear it!”

His gut in knots, Dominic forced himself not to move. “You trust me to get that close to you without trying to grab the gun?” he asked, hoping she’d point it at him to ensure her own safety. Her eyes narrowed, dancing from him to Mila, and he knew she was weighing whether she should turn the gun on him or not.

Fighting the urge to close her eyes, Mila swallowed hard. She was so cold. Tired. Heavy. She kept her hand on the wound, but it was hard to keep up the pressure when a terrible weakness was pulling her under. The blood just kept pouring out of her, no matter what she did.

Her chest felt like it was on fire. As if hot sulfur was bubbling within the wound, and it burned like holy freaking hell. Each rise and fall of her chest sent fresh jolts of pain rippling through her.

Her cat was furious, wanted to surface and pounce on the human with the gun. Mila couldn’t have shifted even if she’d wanted to. She was weakening fast, and the need to sleep was pulling at her.

With the little energy she had left, Mila whipped up her leg and kicked at Rosemary’s hand, sending the gun flying out of her grip. Stars burst behind Mila’s eyes and a blazing, crippling pain seized her chest and rolled over her in waves that made her stomach curdle. She breathed deep, but her vision blurred. Faded. And then the lights went out.

Adrenaline spiked through Dominic as the gun went skidding along the floor. Everyone moved at once.

Dean grabbed the handgun as Rosemary made a dive for it.

Evander tackled Rosemary, taking her to the floor.

The door swung open and a large number of people poured into the barbershop.

Archie and Dominic went straight to Mila, who’d promptly passed out.

Crouching at her side, Dominic’s stomach lurched—she was so pale and pasty; sweat beaded her upper lip and forehead. “Baby,” he whispered, his voice as shaky as his hands. Cursing, he put pressure on the wound. God, there was so much blood. His wolf paced and raked at the ground, seething, panicked.

“We need a healer in here!” Archie yelled, his face set into a mask of alarm. “At least the bullet went straight through,” he said to Dominic. “She wouldn’t be lying in a puddle of blood if it hadn’t.”

Now that he could see the exact location of the wound, Dominic couldn’t understand howthe fuck she was still alive. “How is her heart still beating?” It was weak and irregular, but it was there.

“She has isolated dextrocardia,” said Archie. “Her heart is on the right side.”

Dominic’s eyes fell closed. Something so simple had saved her damn life.

Helena knelt beside them. “You can move your hands, Dominic. I can heal her.”

Dominic didn’t move an inch. Just watched as Helena laid a hand on Mila’s shoulder. As usual, the air went static. He faintly felt a crackle of healing energy work its way through Mila.

“It’s all right,” Helena told him. “She’s fine now. Just weak and tired from blood loss, so she may sleep awhile.”

Lifting his hands from the wound, he saw that it had closed. “Thank fuck.” Dominic scooped Mila up and held her to him, breathing her in. His eyes stung, and the back of his throat hurt. His wolf pressed against Dominic’s skin, nudging her, wanting her to wake.

Her parents rushed over and made a fuss, stroking her face and kissing her hand even though she remained unconscious, but Dominic didn’t let Mila go. Couldn’t. He needed to feel the reassuring weight of her in his arms or he’d lose his fucking mind.

Hearing a pained cry, he flicked his gaze to the corner of the shop. Luke had detained Rosemary, the fucking bitch, pinning her wrists behind her. She was writhing and spitting insults, but the male held her easily while Tate and the enforcers examined her gun and questioned her.

Dominic tightened his hold on Mila and stood just as her Alpha approached. “I’m getting my mate out of here.” He needed her to be someplace safe.

Vinnie nodded. “We can’t keep this incident within the shifter community. Humans in the street saw Rosemary in here and heard the gun go off. If we hadn’t assured them that we’d already made a 911 call to report a hostage situation, they would have called it in themselves—in reality, of course, we called our pride mates on the police force. People are out there, waiting to snap photos that they might then sell to the press.

“Take her out the rear exit, away from the cameras and nosy-ass spectators. Evander’s out there—I sent him to get his car, and I’ve instructed him to drive you both to her apartment building so you’re out of sight and don’t need to walk there. To explain that she’s healed, we’ll downplay her injury a little to the police and say you took her to your Alpha so that she could heal Mila.”

Dominic shifted Mila ever so slightly in his arms. “Tell your cops they won’t be getting a statement out of her. I don’t want any more of this fucked-up shit touching her. You tell the little white lie that she’s now part of my pack—it’ll place her out of the reach of human authorities.”

Vinnie gave a slow, satisfied nod. “We can do that.”

Her eyes wet, Valentina pressed a kiss to Mila’s head. “You keep my girl safe, Dominic. Understood?”

Dominic nodded. “Believe me, Valentina, she’s my absolute priority.”

After giving Mila’s hair one last stroke, James lightly slapped him on the back. “Go, get her out of here.”

Shooting one last glare at Rosemary, who was now shrieking his name, Dominic spun on his heel and stalked through the shop, down the length of the narrow hallway, and out the back door.

Evander was pacing near a gleaming black Mercedes. He halted as they approached, his brow creased in concern, and opened the rear passenger door. “Is she all right?”

“Unconscious,” Dominic bit out, sliding into the car. Cradling her, he kissed her temple, his eyes falling shut. She’d come far too close to death. Had bled profusely from a bullet wound right in front of him, and he’d been able to do nothing. A sense of failure pricked at both him and his anxious wolf, who lay down, resting his chin on his legs.

Evander quickly drove them to Mila’s apartment building, but Dominic didn’t take her inside. He walked to his SUV, settled her into the passenger seat, and hopped into the driver’s side. He needed to know she was safe, needed her to have privacy and peace while she rested. As such, he drove out of the lot and onto the road, heading toward his territory.

Oh, he knew her parents and pride mates wouldn’t like it. Understood they’d want to be there when she woke. But he couldn’t indulge them in that. Just couldn’t. As he’d told Valentina, Mila was his priority. He’d do what was best for his mate, not her parents. And Dominic knew Mila wouldn’t like it if she woke to find an apartment full of people anyway.

As he drove, he occasionally laid a hand on her thigh or reached out to stroke her hair. She never stirred. Not once. Not even when he finally arrived at his territory and took her out of the SUV to carry her up the stairs of the cliff face.

Walking through the tunnels, he heard chatter and laughter coming from the living area. He didn’t head there. He went straight to his room, kicking the door shut behind them. Only then did his wolf lose some of his tension. Dominic’s remained.

Not wanting her to wake to the sight and smell of her own blood, Dominic shed their clothes and stepped under the hot spray of the shower. Even the water didn’t rouse her—hell, she didn’t even so much as pucker her brow. He quickly and carefully soaped her body, washing every flake of dried blood from her skin.

Having patted her dry, he slipped her into one of his shirts and settled her into his bed. He was just about to join her when knuckles rapped hard on the door. A pulse of adrenaline shot into his system, because right then—while his mate was weak and unable to defend herself—any presence felt like a threat.

“Dom? I got a call from Vinnie.” Trey.

Forcing his fists to relax, Dominic crossed to the door and opened it to find both his Alphas standing there. Stepping into the hall, he pulled the door shut behind him.

“How’s Mila?” Taryn asked.

“Sleeping,” Dominic replied simply, not in the mood for conversation. He wanted to be with Mila. Alone.

Trey looked him up and down. “You good?”

“Yep.”

“From what Vinnie said, Mila’s family wasn’t happy to find her apartment empty, but I think they’ll understand why you brought her here.”

“Why don’t I check on her?” Taryn suggested.

Dominic stilled. “She’s fine.”

Trey sighed. “I get that your protective instincts are doing the mambo right now, but you know she’s not in danger from us. You know that, or you would never have brought her here.”

“When she’s at full strength, you can see her. Until then, no one comes inside.”

Her face soft with sympathy, Taryn looked like she might step forward and hug him. Instead she nodded. “All right. I’ll send Grace with food. She doesn’t have to come inside. She can leave the tray on the floor out here. Mila will be hungry when she wakes.”

Dominic gave a curt nod and returned to his room, locking the door behind him. Maybe it was irrational, but he just didn’t trust anyone to be around her while she was so vulnerable. Not a single soul.

Sliding onto the bed, he pulled her flush against him and dragged the covers over them, not wanting her to catch a chill. His wolf snuggled up to her, still anxious. The beast hadn’t yet fought his way completely through the raw shock that had gripped him earlier. Hell, Dominic’s brain was still scrambling to process what had happened, trying to make some sense of it. One second she’d been fine; the next she was bleeding on the fucking floor.

He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her wrist, needing to feel her pulse beating against his mouth. “I’m sorry I left you,” he said, his voice like gravel. If he hadn’t gone to the break room, if he’d stayed with her, he could have pushed her out of harm’s way. Could have wrestled the gun from Rosemary’s hand before she had the chance to fire.

Intending to be the first thing Mila saw when she opened her eyes, Dominic didn’t move from her side as she slept. Not even when Grace knocked to say she’d left a tray of food outside the door. His attention was solely on Mila.

He plucked at her curls, traced her cheekbones and jawline, and dabbed kisses to her face, palm, and wrist. Not a single touch disturbed her sleep. Nor did the ringing and beeping of their cell phones. Was that normal? He didn’t know.

Panic tightened his chest and stiffened his muscles until they ached. Helena had told him that Mila would sleep for a while, but he hadn’t thought she’d fall into such a deep sleep. The longer she took to wake, the tighter the knot of panic inside him became. It was like there was a large rock lodged in his chest, making it hard for him to take a full breath. His ribs felt too tight, too constricting.

Maybe he should have let Taryn take a quick look at Mila. He could call his Alpha female and ask her to come. She’d—

His heart jumped as Mila’s eyelids flickered slightly. Relief swept through him like a tidal wave. “Hey there,” he said softly. “Can you open those eyes for me?” Seconds ticked by before her eyelids finally fluttered open and her dazed blue gaze found his. He smiled. “There’s my girl. How are you feeling?”

The sleepy glaze cleared from her eyes, and they sharpened as memories no doubt flashed through her mind. She glanced around, and he could almost see her trying to piece together what had happened since she passed out. “Helena healed me?”

“Yes.” He kissed her, craving her taste. “I brought you here. Needed to know you were safe.”

Sensing he expected judgment for taking her away from her pride, Mila petted his chest. “I get it.” In his shoes, she wouldn’t have acted differently. Her cat roused, rumbling a growl as Mila felt the echo of the bullet penetrating her chest courtesy of fucking Rosemary. “Where is the little bitch?”

“Your pride mates detained her, but the police probably took her into custody.”

“I’ll call my parents in a little while and get an update.” Mila fell silent as he flicked open the top few buttons of the shirt she was wearing. He carefully danced his fingertips over the little spot on her chest where the bullet had hit her, as if he needed to be mindful of a wound. “It’s gone, Dominic. I’m healed.” But he still touched her like she was something fragile, like if he wasn’t careful, she might suddenly be gone from his arms. “I’m okay.”

A breath shuddered out of him. “You almost weren’t.”

The note of shame in his voice made her snap, “Oh, hell no. You don’t get to feel guilty.” Her cat would have rolled her eyes if she could have. It was just typical of a dominant male to shoulder the responsibility.

“I left you.”

“You went to make me coffee.”

“If I hadn’t, I could have pushed you out of the way and grabbed the gun.”

Mila shook her head. “She had it hidden in a paper bag. I highly doubt you would have guessed she was armed.”

“But I’d have recognized her.”

“You sure? I only saw a picture of her from an online article, but she looked a hell of a lot different today.”

“She looked like you,” Dominic pointed out.

“Yeah, I noticed.” Damn if it wasn’t fucked up that the woman had changed her appearance to match Mila’s.

“I’d have known her scent. I could have—”

“For all we know, she’d been watching and waiting for you to leave my side before she entered. When she first walked into the barbershop, she didn’t home in on me. She glanced around. She could have been checking that you were a fair distance away before she struck.”

“And if I hadn’t been in the break room—”

She put a finger to his mouth. “Stop. I’m fine.”

He swallowed. “I thought you were gonna die right in front of me. I couldn’t do shit about it.”

“You kept her attention on you. You distracted her. It gave me an opening. I couldn’t have caught her off guard and kicked her hand if you hadn’t.” Mila palmed the back of his head and pulled him closer. He buried his face in her neck and locked his arms tight around her. She sifted his hair through her fingers, soothing him. “Shake off the anxiety, Dominic. I’m okay.”

Lifting his head, he kissed her. It was soft. Deep. Reverent. Mila could almost feel his need to take her, assuring himself she was alive in the most basic way. She was totally up for that.

Needing more, Mila bit his lip, trying to provoke him into upping the intensity. It didn’t work. His hands drifted over her, gentle and oh, so careful as they explored, seduced, and aroused.

Even when he finally sank his fingers into her pussy, building the friction inside her, he kept his thrusts slow and easy. Frustrated, Mila clenched his fingers with her inner muscles, hinting for more.

He didn’t give it to her.

Mila felt his rock-hard cock throb against her, felt how tightly his muscles were bunched as he fought to hold back. But even when he rolled her onto her back and lined up his cock with her pussy, he kept his control perfectly in check. She didn’t like it. Wanted to feel alive, not be handled like she was breakable.

With a surge of strength that surprised them both, Mila shoved him back and got to her knees. “You don’t get to treat me like I’m delicate. See me, Dominic. Not the blood, not how weak I was earlier, not flashes of what happened in the barbershop. See me as I am right now. I’m here, I’m fine, and I’m horny as fuck.”

“Mila—”

“You don’t want soft and slow any more than I do. Take what you do want, Dominic. Fuck me how you really want to fuck me. Remind us both that I’m alive.”

His mouth set in a harsh slash, he fisted his hands. “Stay on your knees. Turn around. Grab the headboard.”

Well.Mila did as he ordered. Her pulse quickening, her nipples tightening, she waited to see what he’d do.

“Spread your thighs wider. That’s it.” Pressing his front to her back, Dominic dipped the head of his cock between her plump folds. So slick. “Just remember . . . you asked for this, baby.” He snapped his hand around her throat and rammed into her, groaning as her hot, soaking-wet pussy squeezed him tight. “Take all of me, Mila.” He slammed home again, burying himself balls-deep. “Fuck.”

Even as her quaking pussy burned in the best way and felt deliciously full, Mila hissed at his blatantly dominant hold. “Let go.”

Instead, Dominic flexed his grip on her neck, gritting his teeth as her pussy rippled around him. She liked him holding her this way, she just didn’t want to admit it. He caught her earlobe with his teeth and bit. “You told me to fuck you how I really want to. This is what I want. My hand collaring your throat while I take what belongs to me.”

His fingers digging into her hip, he fucked her hard. So hard he had to be hurting her, but he couldn’t stop, and she didn’t ask him to. “Mine.”

Gripping her shoulder with his teeth, Dominic slid his hand up from her hip to close around her breast, wanting to feel it bounce in his hand as he furiously pounded into his mate. He felt every moan, groan, and whimper all the way to his balls.

Mila wished she could say she wanted him to release his grip on her throat, but there was something heady about feeling all that dominance, strength, and power . . . and knowing he’d never use it to hurt her. With his teeth digging into her shoulder, one hand collaring her neck, another holding her breast in a proprietary grip, and his cock tunneling through her body again and again, she felt utterly possessed.

Mila swallowed as his hand released her breast and slipped down her body. One touch to her clit and she’d go off like a rocket.

He gave her inner thigh a sharp slap. Mila hissed at the sting, but the pain radiated up to her pussy and made it spasm.

“Fuck, you like that.”

She gasped as he did it again, but he spanked higher up her inner thigh this time. Again, the burn settled in her core.

As a rush of hot cream bathed his cock, Dominic swore under his breath and pounded harder, faster. Stuffed her full over and over. And he knew he’d never get enough of her. Of this.

His gaze landed on the little spot in the crook of her neck that he’d raked his teeth over more than once. Each time he’d looked at it, he’d thought it a good place for a claiming mark. And now, with his senses swamped by Mila, he had to grind his teeth against the primitive drive to bite down on her neck and claim her permanently as his own.

The urge just kept on taunting him, pushing him, tempting him. Eating at his control. It didn’t help that his wolf was pressing him to do that very thing.

When Dominic paused, panting, Mila frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Letting his hand slip from her throat, he cupped her hips as he rested his forehead on the back of her own head. “Just give me a sec.”

Hearing the strain in those words, Mila clipped, “I don’t need you to be in control.”

“Yes, you do. Or I’m going to claim you.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs. She heard the truth in that statement. Heard how badly he craved to claim her. Felt that same longing to permanently brand him as hers—a longing that was shared by her cat. Mila shrugged. “So do it.”

He groaned. “Shit, Mila, don’t say that unless you mean it. It’d kill me if you later regretted it.”

“I won’t. I want this.”

“Be sure,” he said, his voice unintentionally harsh. “Because there’ll be no going back after this. I don’t care that imprinting bonds can fade—for me, this will be irrevocable.” He dug his fingers into her hips. “You hear me, Mila? If I claim you right now, it’s for good. I won’t let you go.”

“Just fucking bite me.”

He sank his teeth down hard, tasted blood, and growled in victory. Ignoring how she tried to buck and squirm on his cock, he held her in place as he sucked and licked at the mark, making sure the permanent brand would never be mistaken for anything but a claiming mark. His wolf rumbled a dark sound that vibrated with pure satisfaction.

Locking one arm tight around her waist, Dominic planted his free hand on the wall above the headboard and licked over the bite. “Mine. Always mine.” Then, control obliterated, he was ramming into her again. Possessing her body, asserting his claim on her, taking what was his to take.

As his balls drew up tight, he snarled into her ear, “Come all over my cock, Mila. Let me feel . . . Yeah, that’s it, baby.” Her head fell back onto his shoulder as she came with a choked groan, quaking and contracting around him. “Fuck.” He slammed harder, faster, and jammed his cock deep as he exploded inside his mate, his eyes going blind with the pleasure that whipped through his body.

Floating on sheer bliss, Mila slumped, her eyes closed. Only the arm around her waist kept her from collapsing onto the bed. Sated all the way to her soul, she didn’t stir as Dominic pulled out of her and tugged her down to the mattress. Then they were lying on their sides, facing each other as he traced the bumps of her spine.

“Look at me, Mila,” Dominic softly ordered, needing to stare into her eyes, needing to be sure there was no regret there. When her eyelids fluttered open, all he saw was peace. He drew in a contented breath and pressed a lingering kiss on her mouth. “I don’t think my wolf has ever felt so settled.”

Her lips curled lazily. “I was just thinking the same thing about my cat.”

He gave her a slow, languid smile. “Yeah? Good. Because she’s mine too. I want her happy.”

Her badass cat totally melted when he said stuff like that. “She is.”

Skimming his finger over the claiming bite on her neck, he asked, “You sure you’re good with this?”

“I’m sure.”

“No regrets?”

“None at all.” Mila sank her teeth down hard on his neck, sucking, licking, and leaving her own permanent brand.

Cursing, Dominic tangled a hand in her hair. A raw, primal need shuddered through him. His blood thickened, his cock hardened. And for the second time in the space of mere minutes, he lost all control.