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“You need to stop talking,” I whispered.
She looked me in the eyes. “I accept you as my mate.”
Those words almost snapped me out of reality. I went into a fugue state and didn’t even remember taking her hand and leading her back to my house. There was a vague memory of Steff and Blayne saying something as we left. The walk across the street happened in a blink. One minute, we were stepping out the front door of Harley’s house, and the next, I was slamming the door of my bedroom. The dragon, the animal inside me, was taking control.
The house felt almost alien to me. I’d spent so little time there it had begun to no longer feel like my home. My home was with Harley and the girls, but for this, we needed privacy. My decision had been made the moment she said she accepted me as her mate. It was time.
Harley sat on the bed as I stood above her. She ran her hands across my stomach and chest. Blood pounded in my ears, and I could actually see the veins in her neck. They pulsed, calling to me. Screaming for my venom. For the part of me that would claim her—change her forever. The fear was still there, and I tensed, trying to hold off for a few more minutes. My vision narrowed, and all I could see or hear was my mate. There was only Harley. Nothing else.
She seemed to see me struggling for control. She looked up at me and whispered, “Don’t fight it, Tate. I want this. Claim me. Make me yours.”
My eyes shifted, the gold glow reflecting off Harley’s face. A knowing smile spread across her face, and I started tearing her clothes off. It was manic, almost out of control. She tugged and tore at my clothes. The neck of my shirt ripped as she yanked it off my head, and buttons popped off her shirt as I yanked it open, revealing her breasts.
Scooping her up and moving her farther up the bed, I settled atop her and kissed her hard. Our tongues twisted and fought playfully as my hand moved gently across her belly. After drifting across the tuft of hair between her legs, I slipped a finger inside her, making her moan. Her nails dug into my back as I latched my lips onto her neck. I sucked at the soft flesh there, moving my finger in and out of her.
My cock was throbbing, almost aching, it was so hard. Harley’s hand brushed between us and took me in her hand. I breathed out a heavy sigh as her fingers stroked me, making my dick pulse harder. I didn’t know it was possible to be that hard, to want someone that much. I looked into her eyes and saw the need there, saw that deep down, beyond everything else, she wanted me. Me. All these years after my family turned their back on me, someone actually wanted me.
Needing her more than ever, I pulled my hand away and nestled myself between her legs. I took my cock and grazed the head against her clit, moving back and forth. Harley arched her back, lifting her hips.
She gazed into my eyes with so much love and murmured, “Now. Make love to me, Tate.”
Groaning, I slid into her, her warmth enveloping her. Her breasts pressed against my chest and my hips began to move. Harley slipped her hands up into my hair, and her eyes rolled back in her head as I began thrusting faster and harder. My lips grazed across her jaw and neck, the dragon screaming at me to do what we both wanted.
“Do it, Tate,” she gasped, barely in control. “Take me. Claim me!”
The dragon roared, and my own voice echoed its cry. I clamped my teeth onto her neck, my fangs already out. I sucked in a mouthful of her blood and injected her with my venom. I could almost feel that part of me coursing through her body. The
connection was already forming, and I’d never felt anything like it. I came, grunting and burying myself deep inside her as my body shuddered. Harley screamed my name and slammed her hips into me over and over, fucking me even as I was locked in motionless pleasure. Moments later, her own body vibrated and shook beneath me, a wordless moan erupting from her throat. We collapsed against each other, heaving and panting, overcome by what had just happened.
Not sure if I’d done it right, we lay there, holding each other, waiting for… something. I’d never done this before. Even if there hadn’t been a curse, I wouldn’t have really known what would happen. My body knew how to claim someone—it was instinct. Just like a man or woman knew how to have sex even if they’d never seen it or been taught. Other than that, I didn’t know what might happen.
I laughed. “I feel so much better. The feral feeling, it’s gone.”
Harley caressed my face and nodded, a faint smile growing on her face. I pulled her close to me, the bond between us growing with every second, unbelievably powerful. I put my hand to her chest, feeling her pulse.
I pressed my face to hers. “Our hearts are beating in sync.”
“I feel different,” she whispered.
Nodding, I said, “It’s the mating bond. I kind of thought you’d have shifted by now. The wound on your neck is already closed up and vanished. It definitely worked.” It was true, but there was a faint scar where my teeth had torn her skin. A scar that would permanently mark her. Just enough for me to see, to know that she was mine forever. My dragon purred with satisfaction.
Before we could drift off to sleep, a heavy fist pounded at my bedroom door. The explosive sound snatched our bliss and peace away. There would be only one reason for someone to come over here and interrupt this. Something had happened.
Before I could ask who it was, Steff screamed through the door, “Tate! The hunters are here. They’re in Harley’s backyard.”
THIRTY-SIX
HARLEY
Tate threw my clothes to me, and we got dressed as fast as we could. Once we stepped out of the bedroom, Steff was there waiting for us. The look in his eyes could only be described as anxious rage.
“They started calling to us from the woods out back. Humans wouldn’t have heard it. I’ll be damned if Miles was the first of us to hear them. He started yelling at me and Blayne. As soon as I saw them out there, I busted my ass over here to get you.” He glanced at me and Tate awkwardly before adding, “Hope things went… well?”
“Yeah, we’re good. What do they want?” Tate said.
“Haven’t said. They kept saying they wanted all of us there before they’d talk.”
The walk across the street was much different than the one we’d taken a few minutes before. The woods behind my house, which had always looked quaint and lush compared to the concrete and steel of New York, now seemed dark and intimidating. In those trees, Miles had been attacked. Danger stood among those shadowy branches and leaves.
We walked into the house and locked the door behind us, not wanting to be flanked if that was their idea. Blayne joined us,
and we walked toward the back door. Before we opened it, Tate took me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes.
“If things go badly, you need to get the hell out of here. My truck is out front with the keys in it. You run, you get the girls, and you get the hell out of here. Don’t look back.”
I looked into Tate’s eyes. In my heart, I knew I could never leave him, especially after what we’d just done. After the deep, unending connection we’d made. I knew what he needed to hear. I looked back at him and nodded my head firmly in assent. He still didn’t look comfortable letting me come outside, but I think he wanted me where he could see me. He unlocked the door and swung it open.
We stepped out, and I could see a single man in the distance, about twenty yards from my back porch. He had a rifle slung across his shoulder, but it was hanging to the side, not in his hands. His arms were crossed, and he had what I would call a prickish smile on his face. I hated him on sight, like I probably would have even if I didn’t know he wanted to hurt us. This was the type of person you would cross the street to avoid.