Angela’s gaze softened, which made him feel pathetic. Before she could respond, his handheld radio beeped.

“Rainer, your female is on the property. I’m escorting her to the front door.” It was King’s voice, one of his pack mates.

Rainer’s heart rate tripled and he jerked open the front door and strode outside. A nearly full moon hung low in the sky and the crickets were out in full force tonight, creating a symphony of noise. He barely heard them over the blood rushing in his ears. Their property was surrounded by the forest and thick foliage and the only way on to it by vehicle was a small two-lane road. Though he’d wanted to escort Estrella he’d known he wouldn’t have been able to keep his hands off her if he’d picked her up. They’d have never made it out of her house if she still accepted his touch.

And his Alpha had been very insistent that she be at the mansion when he and their guests arrived.

He watched as one of their SUVs pulled up and parked in front of the mansion. When Estrella stepped out of the passenger side, his eyes widened. She wore a knee-length simple black halter style dress with strappy heels and her dark curly hair was wild around her face. She looked sexy as sin and all he wanted to do was strip her and bury himself inside her tight body.

Nervously, she smoothed her hands down the front of her dress, looked down then back up at him. He quickly covered the distance between them and tugged her hands, pulling her tight against him. The moment he did, some of the fear left her face.

“Do I look all right?” she whispered as she slid her hands up to his shoulders.

He nodded and forced himself to speak. “You look gorgeous. Your family won’t be here for a few hours though.”

“I know. I came early because I wanted to see you.” Her dark eyes were wide as she watched him. Almost as if she was nervous about his reaction.

Rainer decided to lay everything out there. She might stomp on his heart, but hell, the woman had thrown herself in front of him to take a knife for him. She was worth it. “I’ve missed you so much, Estrella. I can’t do anything without remembering what you taste like, what you feel like. I swore I’d give you time before I told you, but you’re my mate. I knew it the moment we met. There’s a lot you still need to learn about pack life and your history and hell, everything, but I want you forever.”

She sucked in a deep breath and instead of responding, lifted up on her heels and crushed her mouth to his. Her kisses were needy and frantic and nearly bowled him over. Rainer was vaguely aware of King clearing his throat and saying something about Estrella’s bags, but he didn’t care.

Lifting her up, he hurried toward the house and practically flew up the stairs. They passed a few of his pack mates, but he ignored them all. Getting Estrella to his room and naked was all he could focus on.

He felt practically possessed until he slammed his door shut with a booted foot. After locking his door, something he rarely did, he let out a long sigh of relief. “I’ve been waiting forever to get you alone,” he growled as he set her on her feet.

Hope flared in Estrella’s eyes. “Really?”

His head cocked slightly to the side. “Are you kidding me? It’s taken all my restraint to give you space the past three days.”

She looked surprised before frowning. “You don’t care that I’m also part vampire? Or at least have vamp blood in my veins?”

Rainer let out a harsh laugh as he started taking off his boots. “I don’t care about any of that.” His own Alpha was mated to a vampire, but that wasn’t the reason he truly didn’t care. She was sweet, sensual, caring and she’d been willing to take a blade for him. She’d thrown her own body over his when that vampire had tried to attack him.

Estrella wrapped her arms around herself as a new thread of nervousness rolled off her. “You’ve been really short with me on the phone the past couple days.”

He paused as his second boot hit the hardwood floor. “I didn’t know what to say and I didn’t want to scare you by telling you I want you as my mate.”

Her arms fell. “You were serious then? I know you said it to Taran, but I thought you were just being territorial or something when you didn’t bring it up again.”

He growled again, unable to stop himself. “Of course I’m serious. I’d never joke about something like that. No shifter would.” Panic slammed into his chest as he realized she’d never actually responded. She’d just kissed him and that could mean any number of things. “Do you not...” He couldn’t get the words out. Fearful that if he said the words, they’d become a reality, they stuck in his throat.

“I want to mate with you too!” Her heated declaration soothed him immensely. “You’re the only thing in my life that makes sense. The past few days without you only made it that much clearer and I don’t want to even imagine a world without you. I...I’d like to take some more time to get to know one another before we actually mate, but I thought maybe you could move in with me or—”

“Yes.” Rainer had already talked to his Alpha about that very thing. He wanted to teach Estrella about her history and get to know her away from the pack. He’d just thought it might take a little more convincing. While he had no doubt of his own feelings, he hadn’t realized she felt the same.

She took a tentative seat on the edge of his bed and his gaze followed the delicate line of her neck down to her cleavage. It remained there until she cleared her throat, drawing his eyes back to hers. Her full lips curved up slightly as she said, “You don’t mind living away from your pack?”

“Not as long as I’m with you.” He was already in love with her and his wolf side was completely in sync with her jaguar side. “Now take off your dress, sweetheart.” His hands were shaking and he didn’t trust himself not to rip it off.

A burst of lust rolled off her so potent he couldn’t help but smile. “You’re very demanding,” she murmured.

“In the bedroom, yes I am.” When she went to take off her shoes first, he shook his head. “Leave them.” The thought of making love to her with those on—his brain short-circuited as she untied the halter at her neck and the straps fell to reveal her breasts. She reached behind herself and he heard the soft sound of her zipper being pulled down.

Then her dress pooled around her feet leaving her standing there wearing a scrap of lace and straps that barely covered the juncture between her thighs.

He swallowed hard before tugging his shirt and pants off. Rainer told himself to go slower, but the thought of getting inside her nearly consumed him.

Foreplay.

The word sounded so loudly in his head, he paused before scooping her up and laying her out on his bed.

As she spread her legs, he slid her panties down her smooth, toned legs. The sweet scent of her arousal intensified as he blindly tossed the material aside. “Foreplay,” he muttered.

She giggled, the sound wrapping around him like a siren’s song. “Are you telling yourself that or me?”

“Myself.” He looked up at her, stretched out on his giant bed as if she were an offering. Her olive skin seemed luminescent under the dim light of the moon streaming through his open drapes. “I would have killed all of them for you.” He didn’t need to expand, knowing she’d understand. Before they’d realized who those vampires were he’d been ready to bring the entire building down around their heads.

“I know.”

“Does that scare you?”

She shook her head sending her curls bouncing. “No.”

That was all he needed to know because if the time ever arose that he had to defend her again, he wouldn’t pause to kill for her. Estrella was his.

Dipping his head between her legs, he licked the length of her wet pussy and couldn’t bite back a satisfied groan when she gasped at his sudden onslaught.

He wanted to make her scream his name. As he teased her, his entire body shuddered at her taste. She was sweet perfection.

Her legs trembled around his head, squeezing him with each stroke of his tongue. He kept his teasing light and playful.

When she tunneled her fingers through his hair and gripped his head, he grinned against her compliant body. Her breathing had turned erratic and the scent of lust that rolled off her nearly drowned him.

“Skip foreplay,” she demanded.

Grinning, he shook his head as he zeroed in on her clit. Pressing his tongue against the bundle of nerves, he exerted more pressure than he had so far. Her hips rolled against his face as she let out a yelp of surprise and pleasure.

Since it was clear she was ready for him, he slid two fingers inside her without warning.

“Rainer,” she moaned his name as she tore her hands from his head and clutched the bedding underneath her.

Her inner walls clenched convulsively around his fingers so he slowed his movements. The first time she came tonight would be when he was inside her. And there would definitely be more than one time. He’d make sure of it.

Slowly, he dragged his fingers along her inner walls and savored the desperate sounds she made. Though he hated to tear his mouth away from her, he lifted his head. “What did you say? I didn’t quite hear that,” he murmured.

“Make love to me now,” she demanded, her voice full of desperation. As she spoke, her inner walls tightened around him even more.

Those words had an immediate effect on him. Unwilling—and unable—to tease her any longer, he withdrew his fingers and covered her body with his. The heels from her shoes dug into his ass as she wrapped her legs around him.

The slight pain gave way to pleasure as he rocked into her. When she let out a sigh of relief, it nearly unraveled him. Knowing she was just as desperate to be with him as he was with her soothed the most primal part of him while it simultaneously unleashed him.

Palming her breasts, he tweaked and teased her hard nipples. The tiny buds had drawn tight and each time he rubbed one, her inner walls tightened even more around his cock.