MasukThings are getting more complicated, aren't they? 😁 How do you think this will end?
“Who is it?” Natalie asked Ryan.“Your dad. Only he wants to set up a meeting to discuss it in person. Any idea why?”Natalie’s heart slowed down. “My dad likes to name-drop.”“Name-drop?” Paul echoed.“There are different levels to an alliance. Most simply want the association with that pack, want to build the number of associations to look impressive.”“A little like people on social networks wanting to have a massive friends list?”“Exactly. Others want an assurance that if they ever need to call on the pack in an emergency for backup of some kind, they’ll get it. Then some are a lot like people who enjoy boasting about all the important or influential people they know—like to drop names into conversations and claim that that person is a close acquaintance to look impressive to others.”Dominic folded his arms across his chest. “So, basically, your dad wants to be able to throw my name around to deter others from fucking with him, and maybe even call on me for protection?”“Yep.”“
Dominic couldn’t help but make a derogatory snort at Natalie’s words. “That guy is an asshole.” He wanted to rant and rave, but he knew this wasn’t the time. So, he gentled his voice as he asked, “How did she die?”Again she hesitated, and again he gave her that look. “My mom and Ava’s mom were close friends. Every Sunday they’d go to the market in town and take me and Ava with them. On this one day, I couldn’t go because I was in the basement—”“The basement?” There was something in the sound of her voice that had his hackles rising.“It was my dad’s version of a punishment.”“He used to confine you?” Hell, that would be bad for any kid, but for a werewolf…“It’s all part of that ‘him being an asshole’ thing. Anyway… On the way into town, some blitzed guy in a banged-up Chevy crashed into them, sent them toppling over… It was thought that the three of them were unconscious when it went up in flames. The drunken bastard was fine.”Dominic held her tightly to him and kissed her hair. “
Dominic kept frustrating Natalie until he knew she was ready to smack him over the head. With a smirk, he lashed his hot tongue on her clit and began swirling around it, his finger spearing inside her with fast strokes. She groaned, melting into the mattress, and he growled again—approvingly.Dominic knew that Natalie wouldn’t last much longer, that she needed to come, but he couldn’t bring himself to part with her taste. It was like an aphrodisiac to him because it was creamy and zesty—and his. For as long as she was mated to him, every part of her was his; this pussy, that he loved the feel of around his cock, was his, and he needed to hear her say it.Abruptly he shoved another finger inside her, making her cry out and buck. “Who does this pussy belong to?” he gritted out as he curved his fingers inside her while pressing his thumb on her clit so that his hand was clamped around her. Eyes glazed with lust met his.“Shut the fuck up, Dom, and make me come.”He thrust his fingers dee
Unable to resist Natalie’s lips, Dominic leaned forward and nipped at them. “When you froze me out earlier, it hurt, but I realized I deserved it. I got to thinking about the way I’ve been acting—and the way I haven’t been acting. Like I told you that first night, I claimed you, and you’re my mate whether this is short-term or not. It’s time I started treating you like it.” He licked his tongue along the seam of her mouth, tempting her to open it for him. The little witch didn’t. Obviously, his explanation wasn’t good enough. “I’m not much good at verbal apologies, baby, but I am good at oral ones.” “Oral ones?” His meaning became clear as he gently pushed her onto her back and began sliding down her body. She gripped him by the head, keeping him still—which happened to place his mouth level with her breasts, so he grazed one of the nipples poking through her sweater with his teeth. “Where do you think you’re going?” “I need to apologize. It’s really very important.” He could fe
Dominic was beginning to wish Natalie was his true mate, even though that made him an absolute bastard where mating was concerned. He knew his curse. Knew he was cursed by the moon to never have a mate, yet he wished it anyway. He remembered how the curse came to be. A tiny screaming baby had been dumped in his arms that night. He had just wanted to help his mother’s friend get into her cottage as the good son that he was. But the second she had landed in his arms she stopped wailing and looked up at him. The next thing he knew, her mom was flapping excitedly, saying stuff like “instant connection” and “true mate.”Instead of being happy, he’d been scared. At fourteen years old, it had felt too damn weird to him to be told he had a strong bond with a tiny baby. It had even made him feel a little ill. The fact that he hadn’t felt the tug of the bond made the whole thing worse, reminding him just how closed off he was. So he stayed away from her and kept quiet about it. Her mom had prom
“Okay,” Davina said as they came to a halt outside the forest. “Let’s put ourselves in Natalie’s shoes. She wanted to be alone. Nothing more than that, right?”“Yes, so she came out here,” said Paul.“But we wouldn’t let her be. And I doubt that, while she was in that foul mood, she was too pleased about her simple wish being ignored like that.”“Definitely not,” agreed Marcus, “but she didn’t come and verbally kick our asses, and that doesn’t sound like her.”“It’s worth pointing out that she wasn’t at all herself,” Trevor observed with a shrug.“But she will have been utterly pissed and insulted by the idea that we thought we could still follow her and think she wouldn’t know,” mumbled Talon.“Do you think maybe she’s been teaching us a little lesson about how not stupid she is?” asked Ray.It fell into place suddenly. Dominic smiled. “Something like that. She’s been leading us on a merry chase. I know where she is.”Everyone’s expressions begged, Where?“She’s back inside the caves







