He touched my cheek. “People don’t normally find out. That’s why the town was so closed up when you got here. It’s a big secret to keep.”
I pouted. “But they were nice to Sam.”
Alex growled and pulled me into his chest. “Mine.”
I nipped at his chest. “Were you trying to eat me earlier? Is that a thing?”
His laughter rang out loud and clear through the forest.
“No. We do not eat people. There is something I wanted to explain to you, though. About mates.”
“Mates? Bailey said that before. Are we mates?”
“Yes. Mates are just like they sound. Soulmates. You were meant for me and I was meant for you. I could feel it the very first time I laid eyes on you at the rodeo. I knew you were mine.”
I kissed him then, desperate to feel something solid. “What does it mean?”
He kissed me back. “It means that we’re going to be together for a long time. It means that I love you, and that my heart belongs to you.”
I grinned up at him. “This is all so insane and I’m sure you’ll have to explain it all a million times later, but right now, I just want to be close to you. As close as I can get.”
He ripped the straps of my dress and pushed it off my shoulders. With a predatory look on his face, he pushed me against the tree. “As close as possible?”
My body reacted instantly, the same way it had this morning and three months ago. Maybe it was the mate thing, or maybe it was just how hot Alex was. I couldn’t be sure, but either way, I wanted him. “What did you have to explain to me about mates? I have about two more minutes of listening before I’m tackling you and having my way with you.”
He pushed my dress over my belly and hips and let it fall to the ground. His fingers cupped my sex and his mouth landed on my neck. “This. Mates claim each other. I wasn’t trying to eat you earlier. I want to claim you as mine. Everything in me is screaming at me to mark you so no one ever thinks they can touch you again.”
His lips felt amazing against my skin and I was ready to agree to anything. “Is it a hickey?”
He flicked his tongue over the same spot. “No. I bite you. It’s a bond between us.”
“Will it hurt?”
“Maybe for a second or two. It’ll be worth it, though.”
I rocked my hips against his hand, trying to get him to rub my clit. “Do you still want to?”
He scraped his teeth there and made me gasp with pleasure. “Fuck, yes. I’ve wanted to since that first night. It took everything in me not to do it.”
I tilted my head farther to the side. “I want you to mark me. I want to be yours. Do I mark you?”
He yanked my panties down and easily lifted me until my core hovered over his dick. “When I mark you, Elizabeth, everyone will know that I belong to you. You own my heart, little one.”
I cried out as he dropped me onto his shaft and pinned me against the tree. I dug my nails into his shoulders and held on. I wanted him more than anything. Nothing else mattered.
Alex drove into me again and again, filling my body until I thought I couldn’t take anymore. “I’ve missed you so much. Never leave me again.”
“My bear, make me yours.”
My body was close already. Alex seemed like he was right there with me. His thrusts were erratic and his grip on my thighs punishing. I tilted my head to the side, inviting him to claim me. I wanted to be tied to him forever.
Alex let out a roar louder than anything I’d ever heard and then sank his teeth into my neck. Stinging pain lasted for only a second before blinding pleasure filled me and I tumbled into the strongest orgasm of my life. I ripped my nails across his back as the pleasure shook me. Alex jerked into me once more before I felt his seed filling me.
I felt him licking my neck but my head was so light that it just rolled back. My body felt like all my bones had been removed. I slumped against the tree behind me and mumbled his name.
Alex held me tight in his arms and lowered us both to the ground. He laid me on his chest and held me tight. “It’s okay, little one.”
I lost track of how much time we’d been there, recovering, but the night had fallen without my knowledge. I idly played with Alex’s hair and pressed kisses against his chest.
“How do you feel?”
I lifted my tired head to stare at him and gave him a satisfied grin. “Like I should’ve stayed here three months ago and kept doing that.”
He grunted. “I should’ve tied you up and made you stay.”
I flicked my tongue over his nipple. “You should’ve, mate.”
Alex hardened under me and shifted us so that I was straddling him. “Are you too tired?”