The words made Nick pause in his movements. He truly hadn’t expected her to give him those words, hadn’t believed she felt that way—not yet. He could have used their bond anytime to find out for sure, but he hadn’t wanted to delve that deeply in case what he found wasn’t what he’d hoped to find. But now what she felt was radiating from the bond. So knowing that it was true, feeling it was true, Nick was filled with elation and a sense of completeness that only Shaya could have given him. It made something settle deep inside his wolf, gave the animal a peace he’d never otherwise have known.

“Come here, baby.” Her mouth met his, and Nick devoured it, dominated it, but also cherished it. Then he placed a hand on her lower back and gently pressed forward until she was leaning on her elbows. “Now I’m going to make you come.” With that, he began f**king her with hard, feral digs that made her cry out, made her gasp his name and tear at the bed sheets with her claws. “Now.”

The combination of his order, the feel of his teeth buried in her shoulder, and the light pinch on her clit had her body imploding. She threw her head back, screaming. That was when, in one smooth movement, he pulled out the butt plug and thrust into her ass. She screamed again as the sensation intensified her climax.

Nick didn’t move one single inch as she came down from her orgasm. When she began to writhe, he cinched her hips and held her still. “You okay, baby?” He couldn’t sense any pain from her, but he needed to hear her say it.

“Move, Nick; I need you to move. It hurts a little, but it’s a good hurt.”

Satisfied, Nick slowly withdrew until only the head of his c**k was inside her, and then he thrust forward just as slowly. “Fuck, baby, that feels so good.” He did it over and over, not picking up the pace until she became restless against him and begged for more. When she tried slamming back into him, he hardened his thrusts slightly, staying fully connected to her through their bond so he could make sure she wasn’t in pain.

“Let go, Nick. I know you’re holding back.”

It seemed he wasn’t the only one who was tapping into the bond. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’d never hurt me. You’ve lost control lots of times, but you’ve never once hurt me, and you won’t do it now. Let go.”

Groaning, he began frantically pumping his hips, taking what he wanted and giving her what she needed. Every thrust was a brand, a reminder that she was his. Her noises drove him crazy and spurred him on until his pace was frenzied and relentless, offering her no mercy, ensuring she never forgot this, never forgot how good it felt.

“Nick, I need to come.”

“Then come.” As her body tightened and rippled around him, pure rapture tore through Nick—a pleasure/pain that went on and on—and he exploded inside her.

Shaya screamed his name as a blistering, white-hot fire tore through her mind, body, and soul—bowing her back and sending tremor after tremor ripping through her, obliterating every thought she had in her mind except for one: She loved the bastard.

“I’m not a bastard,” Nick practically slurred as they sank onto the mattress, still joined.

She hadn’t actually meant to say that out loud. “Sure you’re not, Beavis,” she panted.

He growled and nipped her shoulder, rolling them onto their sides. “I’m not stupid.”

“No, you’re just slow. And it’s such a shame too.”

“If I’m Beavis, you’re Butt-Head.”

She snorted. “You wouldn’t call me that.”

Smiling, he licked one of the marks he’d left on her nape. “Sure I would, Butt-Head.”

Indignant, Shaya shuffled over so that his c**k slipped out of her. “The fact you think you can get away with that just proves that you’re dumb.” Then she dashed for the shower. Of course he followed her, and of course he made her come with his mouth again. Having stripped off the shredded bed sheets, they eventually collapsed on the bed, still naked.

“I can’t believe you’ve already ruined the brand-new sheets. You need to learn better self-control,” he teased.

“I refer back to my earlier comment—you’re a bastard.”

Chuckling, Nick moved onto his side and pulled her to him. “Yeah, well, you still love me.”

She could sense his utter surprise. “You should have known I love you. You’ve heard what they say: ‘Love sucks; true love swallows.’ As I recall, I’ve always taken every last drop.”

He groaned. “Now I’m getting hard again.”

“Sorry, stud, but we can’t do anything about it until we’ve decided something important.”

“What’s that?” he asked, licking at his claiming mark. He couldn’t think of anything more important than making her come all over again—it was his favorite thing to do.

“What are we going to name the pack? It needs a name.”

“Huh. I hadn’t thought of that. Any ideas?”

“Well…when Taryn, Caleb, Joey—that’s the kid that Taryn thought was her true mate and died when he was nine—and I were little, we used to pretend we were a special ops team.”

“Special ops team?” He chuckled.

“Taryn and I weren’t girly as kids. Anyway, we used to call our team ‘Mercury Ops.’ I think that would be good for a pack name.”

“The Mercury Ops Pack?” he echoed with distaste.

She slapped his arm. “No. The Mercury Pack. It would mean a lot to me. And to Taryn. And to Caleb. And to Joey, whose soul may haunt you forever if you say no.” She fixed a pitiful look on her face. “Please?”

“Oh, I do love to hear you beg, Shay.”

“I’ve already run it by Derren and the others; they all like it.”

He narrowed his eyes as he realized something. “And here I thought they were working on you, but you’ve been working with them, haven’t you?”

She shrugged unapologetically. “Your wolf will always feel like something’s missing if he doesn’t do what he was born to do. That’s not good with me. So…the Mercury Pack—yes or no?”

“If I say no?”

“I’ll harass you until you say yes.” When a strange glint entered that dusky-green gaze, Shaya automatically became wary.

“I’ll tell you what: I’ll say yes if you agree to something.”