Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“A nut?”
“Yep.”
“Funny. You always seemed irritated by me.”
“Right back atcha.”
She lifted one shoulder. “You annoyed me a lot more in the beginning.”
“But not so much nowadays?”
“You grow on people. But then, so do moles.”
He laughed, and the sound surprised him. “Does that mean you would have given me a chance if it hadn’t been for the mating bond?”
Standing, she took the empty bowls to the sink. “You’d have wanted a chance?”
“I told you after making you come that I didn’t want anyone else touching you, remember?”
“Yeah, but that was just because you marked me.”
He shook his head. “I had a taste of you, and for the first time in a while, I felt something more intense than the anger I’ve been living with since the extremist attack. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted more. I don’t know how much more I would have pushed for—I didn’t feel that I had a lot to give anyone.”
She tilted her head as she made her way back to the table. “Is that why you paused in your pursuit of Shiloh?”
“Ah, Shiloh . . . it should have occurred to me that you’d want to know about her.” Bracken snatched her hand, dragged her to him, and pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling him. Humming in satisfaction at having her right where he wanted her, he settled his hands on her hips. “It seems like a lifetime ago.”
Madisyn rested her hands on his chest. Solid and packed with hard muscle, it made everything feminine in her do a little happy dance. Despite the topic of conversation being another female, her blood heated at having him so close. Plus, his cock was mere inches away. It wasn’t easy to resist settling her pussy right over it. “I don’t need to know the ins and outs of it all.” She didn’t want to.
“Nothing happened between me and her. You had more with Lucah than I had with Shiloh. We mostly just exchanged text messages. She responded mainly with threats and insults. She was never the one to text first. Not until the end. And when, deep in grief, I didn’t reply to the few messages she sent, she left me alone.”
Using his thumb, Bracken rubbed at the concealer covering his mark on Madisyn’s neck. And there it was. His wolf rumbled his approval. “You wouldn’t have left me alone. If I ignored your texts, you wouldn’t fade into the background. You’d rip me a new asshole. You’d never let me descend into a well of self-pity. No, you’d expect me to pull up my big-boy pants and sort my shit out. That’s what I need, Madisyn. Someone who’ll challenge me. Someone who won’t be careful with me. Someone who’ll make me live. You already do that. You’ve been doing it since we first met.”
Madisyn swallowed. His brooding, hooded eyes darkened with greed as they fell to the bite on her neck again, and the flash of pure masculine satisfaction made her cat sniff haughtily. “I’ll also drive you as crazy as you’ll drive me,” she warned. Her stomach clenched as a languid, sexual smile slowly curved his mouth.
“Sounds like fun.” Lifting her wrist to his mouth, he traced the tattoo there with his tongue. It was a cluster of small objects: a pocket watch, a blue hat, a bottle labeled “Drink Me,” and a bushy striped tail. “Alice in Wonderland.”
“Yes. It was my favorite book when I was a kid.” She almost shivered as he blew over the wet patch of skin.
He flicked open a button on her shirt, and her brow hiked up. “I’m staying here tonight,” he told her, opening another button.
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you now?”
“Yes. We’ve talked. I’ve explained everything. I’ve answered your questions. You’ve answered mine. It’s all good.” And there went another button.
“Still, some would say that this is rushing things.”
“We’re not dating. You know that.” With her shirt finally open, he slid his hands inside and splayed them on her back. “When it comes to claiming you, I can go at your pace. Everything else?” He shook his head. “I already told you, I’ll demand everything.” He yanked her close, squashing her breasts against his chest and feeling the hard stab of her nipples through her lacy bra. “I’ll own you. Already do.”
Fisting her hair, Bracken took her mouth, sinking his tongue inside . . . and there was that sweet and wild taste that haunted him. Fuck, he’d never get enough of it. Never stop craving it. Gripping her hip, he rocked her against his cock. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she let out a throaty moan he felt all the way to his balls. Knowing he was about to fuck his mate, about to shoot his come deep inside her, only made his cock harder.