Primal Heat(Wild Lake Wolves Book 3)(29)

We went down to the lake together hours later after the sun had set. I  hadn't heard what he'd said to the rest of the pack, but I sensed them.  Not close, but there. Surrounding the perimeter of the lake. Vigilant.  Patrolling. A circle of threat.

Bas offered to take me up at the house, but something in me knew it  should happen here, at Wild Lake itself, as if they were baptismal  waters.

"Are you sure?" he asked me for the millionth time.

For the million and first time, I started my answer with a kiss. "You know I am. That doesn't mean I don't have questions."

Bas smoothed a hair away from my face. A full moon rose over the tree  line, bright and blue, and the lake reflected it like a mirror. "Ask me  anything."

"Will it hurt?"

He smiled. "Maybe for a fraction of a second. But, it will hurt worse if I don't do it. Hasn't it already?"

He was right; it had. When we came together, he always held back. I'd  felt that burning ache near the nape of my neck. Although I hadn't  articulated the source of that ache, I understood it now. I needed Bas's  teeth. I needed his mark. My body craved it as much as the rest of our  joining.

"And you said after, I'll want you even more?"

His soft chuckle held the hint of sin and sent desire and heat coursing  through me again. "Probably. But, you'll be part of me, Abby. You'll  feel me. And I'll feel you. Even when we're not together. I'll know if  you're scared, if you're in pain. So will the rest of the pack. As time  goes on, I'll mark you again and again. Each time, the bond grows  stronger, but we can take our time with it. Only what you can handle.  But, eventually, we'll be able to communicate without words, just like I  can with the rest of the pack."                       
       
           



       

"And you're sure I'm not going to sprout fangs and fur, mister?"

He kissed my forehead. "Positive. I told you. I can't turn you. You don't have even a drop of were blood in you already."

"Got it."

I tried to be matter of fact. There was still some detached part of me  that couldn't quite process what was about to happen. This was a  marriage of sorts. Once Bas marked me, there'd be no going back. But, as  Bas looked down at me with the moonlight reflected in his eyes, all my  doubts washed away. In their place, his pulse beat steadily along with  my own as he brought my hand up to cover his heart.

No doubts. No questions. Just this. Bas and me and fate. For weeks,  since the moment I met him, I'd known. He was mine. I went up on tiptoe  and kissed him.

He was slow and gentle at first, letting me trace the line of his jaw  with my fingertips. I peeled his shirt away from his shoulders and  worked the button on his jeans. He stepped out of them and stood before  me. Solid muscles, hard as steel. I closed my fingers around his  erection, lengthening it, then sliding my fingers down to stroke his  balls.

One breath. Two. My heart quickened, then settled, synchronizing with his.

Bas stepped forward, pressing his chest against mine. He ran his hands  along my shoulders, sliding my cotton blouse down. I wore nothing  underneath. The cool air hit my breasts, pebbling my nipples, but only  for an instant. Heat poured off Bas, enveloping me, protecting me. I  slid out of my jeans and stood before him. He sank to his knees as I  wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

Bas pressed his lips against the sensitive flesh between my legs,  coaxing me nearly to a climax. I rocked back and forth, dropping my head  back as I drank in the sensation. He opened me with skillful fingers,  working me. He stroked gently, then grasped my swollen clit between his  thumb and forefinger until he had me on the brink of desire.

Then, he rose and circled me, trailing rough fingers along my abdomen,  up over my shoulder blades, then back around. He stood before me with  his hands on my shoulders. Bas's wolf eyes flashed brilliant silver to  match the moon. He urged me down until I knelt before him. He was huge  and hard in front of me and I wanted to taste him, but Bas had a  different purpose. He stepped behind me and put a hand on the small of  my back, gently pushing me down until I knelt on all fours. Desire  surged through me, settling to a throbbing point between my legs. He  angled me toward him, with firm hands on my hips, then slid one hand up  my spine.

He said just two things to me before he claimed me. "I love you," he whispered. Then, "Hold still."

I was beyond words. My thighs trembled. My wetness grew. He stroked me  again, spreading the lips between my legs. I felt the head of his cock  nudge against my opening. Instinctively, I leaned further forward, my  chin just inches from the ground.

Bas slid into me, stretching me wide. I gasped at the size of him, as if  he'd grown even thicker than our last coupling. It wasn't the only  thing that felt different. Only now did I realize how much Bas held  back. Now, he was primal, raw. He rooted himself deep, keeping one hand  on my shoulder, the other clawing at the ground. His wolf was there. I  felt it in Bas's ragged heartbeat that now matched my own. Though I  couldn't see his eyes, I knew they'd gone silver as the beast flared to  life within him, finally reaching out to claim what both of us craved.

Bas fucked me hard and deep; my teeth rattled and my thighs quivered. It  was good and hard, and I shuddered with pleasure. I arched my back as  my first orgasm tore through me and threatened to unseat Bas. He held me  steady, letting out a growl that vibrated in me along with my wave of  pleasure. Heat spread along my neck. A pulsation grew there. My thoughts  turned base.

Fuck me. Claim me. Mark me.

I reached back and slid the hair away from the nape of my neck, exposing  my flesh to him. Bas grunted and rammed into me, holding himself still  and deep.

This moment. With Bas's full length impaling me. My walls clenched  around him as I struggled to contain the next wave of pleasure rocking  through my body. I craned my neck, begging for a different kind of  release. Then, finally, Bas gave it.

He leaned far forward and scored my flesh with his teeth. He was right;  it hurt only for a moment, then pleasure blossomed out as my blood  flowed. He bit deep, making me well. I cried out as Bas came in me. His  shuddering cock spilled his seed inside me. His muffled growl made me  gasp as his teeth pressed even deeper.

Then, finally, we were both spent and Bas withdrew, cradling me against  him in a heap of limbs as we found our way to the ground. He kissed me,  and drawing me against his chest, he pulled my hair away and ran his  fingers along the edge of the wound he made. It throbbed in time with  our pulse.                       
       
           



       

He'd been right. The connection between us grew from that single point  at the base of my neck. I felt him. He'd told me he loved me, and I  wanted to say the words too. But, I knew it didn't matter anymore. He  knew. He could feel it in me just as I could for him. I said it anyway.

"I love you so much," I whispered, craning my neck to kiss him.

"Are you all right? Did that hurt very much?"

"No, my love. It felt right." I reached back and covered the wound with  my hand. Incredibly, it had already started to heal. I traced the  crescent-shaped edge of it. Bas's brand. My mark. My love.





Chapter Twenty-Three

The next morning, the pack was ready to move. Kane Matthews's pack lived  at the northernmost tip of the lower peninsula. Bas decided not to give  them a warning that we were on the way. I followed the pack out to the  clearing where Callum waited with the copter, readied for flight.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Bas turned toward Pat. She hadn't  taken the news of Willie Gaither's apparent treachery well. She'd  produced a second will and had me review it. It had been dated two  months earlier than the one I found on file at the county courthouse.  The best she could figure, Old Willie had made her father sign the new  one and kept it from her. The ownership issue never came up because the  land hadn't been put up for sale in all that time and her father had  deeded the land before he died. His will was on file, but there'd never  been anything to probate. Now, Pat wanted to be there when Bas talked to  Kane about dealing with Dale.

"Bas, I want Kane to have to look me in the eyes. I'll deal with Young  Willie later. But Kane needs to handle Dale. If he won't, I want him to  give his explanation straight to my face. I've known him since he was a  scruffy-headed toddler."

"Fair enough," Bas said. He held out a hand to help Pat get into the helicopter.

"What about Harold?" I asked him while Callum helped Pat get strapped in. "Is it safe for him here by himself?"

"He won't be for very long. I've sent for Tucker, one of the other pack Alphas, to check in on him."