As she stepped out of the corner shower she wrapped a thick white towel around herself and went back into the bedroom, all the while ignoring the way her stomach was clenching at the mere thought of having Trey inside her. Not Trey as her mate, but Trey as the man who had an overwhelming effect on her body merely by looking at her.

It was no wonder that he had always reeled in females with little effort. Not that there would be any more reeling. A split second later she realized just how much possessiveness had been in that one thought, and she had to roll her eyes.

Hearing a low growl, Taryn slowly turned her head. Closing the bedroom door was Trey, staring at her with such heat in his eyes that she sucked in a breath.

“You have tattoos,” he all but growled. Trey had never really thought of them as sexual but the sight of them on Taryn’s body had his c**k throbbing. He couldn’t decide which he liked best, the anklet or the howling wolf on her shoulder.

She grinned wickedly. “So I do.”

All Trey wanted right then was to trace both with his tongue, but he doubted he’d have the self-restraint to take things nice and slow when his lust for her was like a fever in his blood. His wolf was eager to come inside her – another way to mark his mate. But both he and his wolf knew that this was about more than just consummating the claiming. Taryn needed to acknowledge, accept, and admit that she was his mate.

They weren’t mates of the soul or even the heart – both of which made it possible for it to be temporary – but she had to understand that this didn’t make the mating any less real. They were still mates in the physical sense which meant that she still belonged to him. If he didn’t make her understand and admit it, this would never work. He wouldn’t have her always throwing in his face that he wasn’t her true mate, implying that he didn’t have any rights to her. She was his now. Or at least for a short while anyway.

“Lose the towel,” he ordered. Not many people would dare to ignore an order from him, but of course Taryn did. “Lose the towel,” he repeated. But she only smiled.

“Honestly, does that usually work?” She could understand if it did. Hell, that implacable, uncompromising tone had very nearly worked on her. She was just so damned horny and her wolf craved his possession, but even her wolf knew he had to prove he was worthy of her surrender.

“I know you’re an alpha, Taryn, but I think you might be forgetting that so am I. Believe me when I say that I will have your submission.”

“Unleash the beast if you want. I’ll try not to laugh, I promise.”

His wolf stretched within him, ready and content to catch and subdue his little mate. “Don’t make me chase you, baby. Don’t make me have to spank that ass.” Not that that would be such a bad thing. “Come. Here.”

“Yeah, well, ordinarily I would but it’s been such a long day and -” Abruptly he dived at her but she swiftly and skilfully dodged him and managed to place a good distance between them.

“You want this, Taryn.” He grinned as her gaze zoomed in on his hands as he unsnapped the buttons of his fly. His painfully hard c**k sprang out and she licked her bottom lip. He groaned then shoved down his jeans and stepped out of them. “I can smell your arousal,” he added as he unbuttoned his shirt and had her backing up toward the bed.

“If you say so.” Her aloofness might have been more convincing if her voice hadn’t been so hoarse with lust. In her defence, his body was unbelievable. All muscle and sinew and power, but not in that over-the-top way were veins were popping out or anything. No, it was all sleek, smoothly shaped muscle made all the more better by that golden tan. Her wolf was growling her approval, wanting Taryn to lick a path along that golden skin from the column of his throat to the base of that thick, long cock. It wasn’t such a bad idea.

“I can sense how hard your wolf’s riding you.”

“Jealous that she is and you’re not?” Again he rushed at her but again she dodged him, jumping onto the large bed and then running across it to land nimbly on the other side.

His expression was castigating as he stood on the opposite side of the bed. “You’re denying me what’s mine. That hot little body is mine now.”

“You really believe that? Ah, bless your little heart.” His long arm shot out and his hand snagged the end of the towel, whipping it away. Bastard.

As his gaze caressed her naked body and took in all that flawless creamy skin, Trey actually felt like he’d been poleaxed. Although she was slender, she wasn’t skinny or fragile looking. She was lithe and sinuous with gently and perfectly curved hips, shapely toned legs, and a gorgeous set of br**sts. He’d always gone for voluptuous women, but it became clear to him now that he had seriously underestimated the appeal of small br**sts. Taryn’s were high, plump, and perfectly rounded, calling his name. His mouth watered as he caught sight of her completely bald pu**y. “Mine.”

“I’m afraid not, big boy.”

He leapt across the bed and grabbed her arm but she expertly twisted out of his hold and backed away. “You can keep running from me but it won’t change anything.”

“I belong to no one but myself.”

“That mark right there – my mark – says different.”

“I’m your mate,” she allowed, “but I don’t belong to you or anyone else. Well, actually, if you want to get technical about it, I’m not actually your mate yet,” she added with a smile.

“Oh you will be very soon, baby, once I shove my c**k inside you.” He charged at her with renewed vigour, catching her just as she turned, and crammed her against the wall, her back to his chest.

Taryn struggled and twisted but his body was like a cage around her. “Move you son of a -” Then abruptly he plunged a long finger inside her, addressing that aching emptiness, and she practically liquefied against the wall, moaning.

“That’s it, baby, be still for me.” He kept his thrusts shallow and leisurely, licking his claiming mark and liking her answering tremor. “Feel good?”

“It’s alright, I guess.”

He had to smile. “It’s alright, huh?” She cried out as he plunged another finger inside her. “You’re so tight,” he groaned. “Tight. Hot. Wet. Mine.”

“Wrong.”

“Well, baby, while I’m finger-fucking you against this wall and you’re moaning like crazy it sure feels like I own you.”