Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Good. Because I am going to claim you. I lean in and bury my face against her neck, breathing in her scent. I will fill you with my seed this day and mark my scent on you so that all will know you are mine.
She gasps, startled by my strong thoughts, but she holds on to me tightly. I can tell by her thoughts that she likes the idea.
“We should remake the bed, then,” she murmurs. “I’ve put away all the blankets.”
In expectation of her leaving, she has packed her bags. I can tell by the images in her mind that she prepared to leave, and it makes me growl low in my throat. I release my mate, walk away…then turn around and give her another fierce kiss of claiming. When she is breathless and staggering, I end the kiss and move to her bag, the one that she carries all her goods in. The blankets are stored in there, neatly rolled in bundles atop her back. I use my claws and slash the ties open, the blankets spilling out and unraveling. I do not stop there, though. I grab her pack and shake the contents onto the ground, then tear the fabric of the pack apart, rending it to pieces. You are staying. Your place is with me.
“Okay, okay,” she calls out, laughing. She’s both exasperated and amused at my tantrum. “I’ll have you know you just ruined a perfectly good backpack.”
I will get you more as long as you promise to never leave me.
Her expression goes soft, and she nods. “I won’t. I’m sorry, Zohr. Like I said, I’m not used to needing anyone, and I hate the thought of what it could mean for your safety if we stay together.”
I do not care, I tell her, stalking back to her side. I am far more miserable at the thought of losing you. I pick her up and carry her the few steps over to the spilled blankets scattered on the hard floor. Does this bedding please you? Or do you need more to mate upon?
She pats my shoulder, her lips twitching with amusement. “How about you let me fix the bed up, all right?”
Very well.
I set her down and she immediately goes to her knees, smoothing and straightening out blankets. I find it odd that humans are so fixated on extra skins on their bodies and blankets to sleep under, especially when it is so very hot. But then again, my Emma does not have hard scales to protect her from the equally hard flooring. It is painful under her softer body, and it reminds me that above all, my mate is vulnerable and not like a drakoni female.
I must be very careful with her, even in mating. She is strong and fierce in spirit, but in flesh she is so very fragile.
When she is finished with the bedding, she takes her shoes off and sets them neatly beside the blankets, then peels off her foot coverings. I can tell the blush has returned to her face, because her thoughts grow increasingly awkward as she undresses.
If your coverings embarrass you so much, stop wearing them, as I do.
Emma giggles and shakes her head. “That’d be a tricky one to explain to anyone we meet up with.”
Then we shall meet no one. We will avoid all others—both human and drakoni.
She raises an eyebrow at me. “Not a bad idea.”
I watch her as she makes herself comfortable, taking her time removing the layers she wears. My thoughts are hungry as she exposes her body, bit by bit, and when she slides off the thick blue skin that covers her legs and reveals the tiny tuft of dark hair between her thighs, I growl low in my throat, full of need.
Mine, I tell her.
I can feel her skittish embarrassment—and the excitement she feels, too. “Your thoughts are very…intense,” she tells me.
They are. I do not disagree. I feel very strongly for my sweet mate. It is time for me to claim her, to taste her again. Already it feels as if lifetimes have passed since my mouth was on her.
“Or yesterday,” she teases, hearing my thoughts. “Pretty sure it was just yesterday.”
Too long, I tell her. Can you blame me for being hungry for my mate? For loving her taste and the way she sighs when my mouth is on her?
She shivers and pulls the last of her layers of clothing off. “No.”
Then let me taste and enjoy you, I demand. I lower to the blankets and prowl over the short distance to her side.
She chuckles. “You know, when I decided to mind-link you, I had no idea you were going to be so very…playful.”
What did you think I was going to be? I lean in and press my face against her shoulder, to her delicious skin and breathe deep. She smells so good that it makes my cock ache.