“God, I love your fingers,” she whispers, spreading her legs wider to receive me. She moans when I stroke a finger through her folds, dragging her wetness up and down, slicking her sensitive skin. Her thoughts grow excited when I carefully rub one finger in a circle around the nub of her clit, and then her fingernails are digging into my shoulders. “Dakh!” she cries out. “So unfair. I wanted to touch you.”

And you did. I claim her mouth with my own, nuzzling her before plunging my tongue into her mouth and taking her with a sweeping stroke. And now I am touching you.

She makes a soft little whimpering sound as I rub her clit with even, slow strokes. I know just how she likes to be touched now and what will give her pleasure the fastest. She bites at my lower lip, frantic, when I do not speed up. The endless, slow drag of my finger against her clit makes her writhe, arch, and then she comes a short moment later, with a frantic cry and a burst of wetness against my hand.

I growl low in my throat, enjoying the pleasure that radiates from her mind. I push her thighs apart and slide my bigger body between her legs, fitting my cock at her entrance. My mate. Mine to claim. My Sasha.

She’s slick with need, and I rub the head of my cock in her juices, wetting it so I can glide into her with ease. She moans and writhes as I draw it over her folds, back and forth. I want to sink into her, to claim her…but the sounds she is making are so sweet that I cannot help but drag out the pleasure a little longer. Do you want me inside you, my sweet fire?

“Dakh. Please. Now.” She reaches for me.

I capture her hands in mine, pinning her. It only makes her more aroused, and she begins to pant, her eyes heavy with desire. I keep her hands locked above her head as I slowly push my cock into her cunt. Her little moan of pleasure makes my body tighten, and I bite back the snarl that threatens to erupt.

My mate. Mine to claim. Mine to take.

Once I am seated deep inside her, I lean down and claim her mouth with another hard kiss. She meets it eagerly, squirming under me, and I thrust into her. She is tight, her fierce heat gripping my cock in a delicious grip. Over and over, I pump into her, my strokes growing more demanding with every little cry she makes.

By the time she is crying out my name, I am near to losing control. I manage to keep it for a short time longer, though, focused entirely on her and her pleasure. I like that I can make her come again just by pushing her to her limits. I send her intense thoughts, of all the things I want to do to her, all the ways I want to taste her, all the places I want to put my mouth, and she comes with a low cry, her body arching underneath me.

It is enough. Even as her cunt clenches tight around my cock, I find my release. As I pour my seed into her, I press my forehead against hers, my claws tangled in her hair.

Seeing Kael and his mate today made me realize that while I have my Sasha, I still crave one more thing to have total contentment: I want her body rounded with my child.

I want her to carry my young.

I want a family.

If that means I will take my mate hard and often, it is a task I will gladly perform.

My Sasha is too sleepy to pick up on these thoughts, though. She gives a happy little sigh, and her eyes drift closed, tired. I slowly pull out of her and tuck her body against mine. After a moment’s thought, I push her legs together and slide a knuckle over the seam of her cunt, where she is wet with my seed.

And I push the wetness back into her. I want her to take all of me. To be claimed by all that I am.

Mine.

38

SASHA

Over the next week, Dakh and I visit Claudia, Amy, and Kael three more times. Each time I go, I bring a bag full of presents for Claudia and Amy. They’re my friends, and I have a wealth of things, of course, but more than that, they’ve been kind. Claudia’s given me her spare saddle and spent countless hours teaching me how to rig the saddle and how to sit so I don’t get jerked around nearly as much. She’s been a great mentor.

I wish I could shake the sense that something’s…not right.

Everything is fine between me and Dakh. We’ve never been better. We make love all the time, I’m getting better at riding on his back, and I’ve never been so happy.

It’s something about my reunion with Claudia that bugs me. There’s a weird undercurrent that I can’t put my finger on. It’s like she’s…waiting for something. It’s strange, and I can’t figure it out, and the longer it goes on, the more it unnerves me. Sometimes I tell myself it’s my imagination, that I’m mistaking mental conversations she has with Kael for something else.

But the thought sticks with me and won’t go away.

I pack a few pretty scarves and a pair of pajamas into a backpack for Amy. For Claudia, I found a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. It’s not the drakoni version, of course, but it might ease some of her worries. They go into the bag, along with jars of my precious peanut butter and some pickles.

Ready to go? Dakh asks, striding past me with the saddle gear slung over one shoulder.

I watch him as he saunters away, his tight bronzed ass flexing. Mercy. He’s determined to distract the hell out of me, I think. You just walked past like that on purpose, didn’t you? I tell him, zipping the backpack shut.

He just grins at me over his shoulder, his expression playful and oh so human. I know you enjoy watching my ass flex.

I snort. I may or may not have bitten it last night in bed. Big deal.

Oh, you did. You definitely did.

No need to throw it in a girl’s face, I tease back. Or I might never bite it again.

I rescind all that I said.

I shake my head, chuckling to myself as I trot out the double doors after him. Out of habit, I check our “mailbox” for a note from Emma. The envelope was replaced a few days ago by a waterproof Tupperware container with a rock at the bottom, and I can leave items for Emma even if I’m not home.

Today, just like every other day this last week, there’s no message. My last two are sitting at the bottom of the box, and I frown at them. Either Emma’s reading them and leaving them, or she’s not even been by to check them. “Do you think she’s okay?” I ask Dakh as I put the lid back on it. “Can you smell her anywhere?”

There are a lot of foul smells, but I do not know which one would be her.

Har de har har. I sigh as I head over to his side. He’s bending over to put the saddle down, and damn it all if his ass doesn’t look super biteable. I just worry about her, I tell him.