Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Sexual tension arced between them, muggy and crackly. It made her stomach clench and her blood heat.
Isaiah gripped her jaw. “This face …” He dragged a blatantly proprietary gaze over her facial features, cataloguing each one. Male appreciation burned in his eyes. “It’s probably good that Havana got in the way of us being alone here earlier.”
“Why?”
“Because I would have fucked you for sure, and I want the first time I take you to be the same time I claim you as mine.” Isaiah watched as need rose up in her gaze and swallowed her pupils. His body stirred and tightened in response.
He wanted to take her. Now. Hard. But before they got to that … “Let’s make sure we’re on the same page, I don’t want any misunderstandings between us. My guess would be that, as a submissive shifter, you don’t want to lead in the bedroom.”
“Holds no appeal for me.”
“All right.” Releasing her jaw, he burrowed his hand in her hair, loving the silky feel of the thick mass. “In sexual contexts, I like to lead. The thing is … it won’t be a case where I just give you orders to follow. Sometimes, there’ll be no orders. I’ll just come to you wherever you are, bend you over something, and take you right there.”
Heat flared in her gaze, and the glimmer of her cat’s eyes flickered behind her own. He liked that he had the animal’s full attention as well as hers.
His own cat stayed back, moodily observing; a non-participant. He knew what Isaiah intended, and he was angry that Isaiah would think to brand a female who wasn’t their fated mate.
“Consent is important,” Isaiah went on, gently rubbing strands of her hair between the pads of his fingers. “I need to know I have it; that when we’re here in this house, there is no need for me to request permission because it’s already been granted. This is our space where, in terms of anything sexual, I lead and you follow. But if you ever say no, then it doesn’t happen. Simple. That’s all you ever have to say: No.”
“But you won’t ask, you’ll just take,” she understood.
“Only if you give me that consent here and now. You don’t have to, Quinley. We can wait; give it time. There’s no pressure. My ultimate goal is to have it eventually.”
She licked her lower lip, her eyes diving deep into his; watching and searching. “You have it now.”
His hardening cock twitched. “You’re sure? You understand what that will mean for you? That no matter where in the house you are, no matter what you’re doing, no matter if you’re asleep or awake, you’re my toy at all times? A treasured toy. One I’d never hurt or misuse. But one that will be there for me to fuck whenever I want it.”
“I understand,” she rasped.
“Can I trust that you will always speak up if you’re not down for whatever is happening? You’re a pleaser by nature, I get that. But it would never please me to realize you’re not enjoying what’s happening. I would sense it. I would know. I would feel like a bag of shit and, worse, so would you. My wants don’t come before your needs, you understand?”
“I’m not someone who’d fail to speak up. If I don’t like something or I’m just not feeling in the mood or whatever, I’ll tell you.”
Reassured, he nodded. “To be clear, you have the same permission where I’m concerned. Don’t feel you ever need to ask to speak or touch me or anything else—I’m looking for you to give up control, not be a mindless participant. You want to struggle, struggle. You want to be passive, be passive. You want to make your own demands, make your own demands. Do whatever you want … unless or until I tell you otherwise.”
“Are we done talking now?” she asked, clearly eager to move things along.
That made him smile. “Not quite. I know some shifters in our situation wait until a bond forms before they brand each other. I get it. Brands are permanent. But to wait would be to start off this mating with doubts. I don’t want to do that.”
Also, putting that mark on her would be the only way to make his cat consider her his. “I want to brand you tonight, mark you as mine. I want you to do the same to me. But if you’re not ready for that, I’ll understand.”
She swallowed. “I want us to do it tonight. I don’t feel a need to wait.”
Satisfaction flamed in his belly. “Good.” He snaked his hand around her throat, taking a firm grip of it, power flooding his veins. He could do whatever he wanted to her. The knowledge of that wasn’t merely a thrill, it was liberating. He could be himself. Wholly himself.