Healer's Need Read online

“Tate.” A plea and a question all rolled up into one. A need to see where this new side of him would take her and a request for assurance at the same time.

  When all she got was a snap of his coyote’s teeth, she crawled backward, then pushed upright on her knees as though ready to flee again.

  He shifted mid-stride, the sting of the transition against his flesh more fuel to the fire. “Stay down.”

  She gasped and sunk back so she sat on her heels, her knees just slightly parted. Whether it was the fact that he’d forgone his clothes in the shift, or how hard and tall his cock stretched against his belly, her eyes got bigger and her jaw slackened. “Tate.”

  “You wanted my beast, mihara.” One beat and he flashed forward, gripping her hair at the back of her head and craning her head back as he leaned in close. “Now you’ve got him.”

  A groan.

  Not a whimper like he’d expected, but an honest to God groan so thick with lust his cock jerked in approval. “You like it, don’t you?” It was more of an observation spoken aloud than a question, but even as he said it, the man in him had a hard time grasping the reality.

  “Maybe,” she managed through a raspy breath. “The jury’s still out. You might be a total bust.”

  Another challenge.

  And he fucking loved it.

  He tightened his fist and tugged her forward, forcing her back on her hands and knees.

  She moaned, and her eyes slipped shut for a second, then snapped right back open. A silent demand for more. From where he stood in front of her, her mouth was poised almost directly in line with his dick, her lips slightly parted and her eyes locked on to his.

  “You think you can make me lose control? Think because you forced a hunt you can make me falter?” Twisting his wrist, he released the grip on her hair, coiled it around his hand like a leash and pulled. “Give it your best shot, mate.”

  Comprehension settled behind her green eyes in an instant. Bold and unmitigated feminine power ripe for release. It wasn’t the first time she’d been given the chance to use her mouth on him, but it was damned sure the first time she’d brought this energy to the equation. A primal submission rather than an innocent exploration.

  She inched closer, tentatively testing his hold on her hair and releasing a shaky exhale just inches from the base of his shaft.

  Her hot breath washed over him. Drew his nuts up tight and made his dick stretch even farther. “That’s it.” Tempted as he was to spear his fingers through her hair and pull her to him, he kept the tension and held her firm. “Push me as much as you can. See what it gets you.”

  She smiled, a devilish curve of her lips paired with a gleam in her eyes that gave him serious pause. Holding his gaze, she licked the base of him, her tongue dipping downward for just a beat between the top of his balls then traveling up the length of him. She paused at the ridge, flicking the tip of her tongue along the sensitive spot then pressing her full lips around it and suckling gently.

  He growled his approval, rolling his hips just enough to glide his length against her plump lips.

  It didn’t daunt her. Nothing did. Not the sounds rumbling from his chest. Not the hold he kept on her hair, or the way he moved against her. She licked. Sucked. Explored and savored every inch of him. Experimented and studied every response he gave her, keeping her keen eyes on him as much as possible.

  She circled the head of his cock, teasing the slit at the end as though eager for a taste, then consumed him. Sunk her plump lips down until he grazed the back of her throat and firmly cupped his balls in the palm of one hand.

  A snarl slipped free and he palmed the back of her head, the need to control—to dominate and claim what was his—clawing at the last of his restraint. The tug he’d felt the first night he’d taken her swelled behind his sternum. The same connection that had stretched taut and demanding one minute, then retreated.

  The bond.

  It was there.

  Waiting.

  Not on her. On you.

  He’d been the one who’d missed it. Who’d shunned her offering by holding back who he was and robbing them both in the process.

  As if she sensed it, too, she hollowed her cheeks, drew harder on the next upward glide and fisted the base of his shaft. The head of him slipped free of her lips and she aimed a wicked smile up at him. “You know, I don’t think this is the best way to push you.” She teased the sensitive ridge with the tip of her tongue and hummed. “But I have a feeling this is.”

  One blink and she was in motion, shoving him away with hands at his hips and scrambling to her feet.

  The predator in him answered. Surged beyond the last of his control, wrestled her to the ground, and pinned her face down with an unforgiving grip at the back of her neck. He ripped her dress free in one yank, exposing her perfectly bare body beneath.

  The bond between them surged. Pulsed and burgeoned to the point he could barely breathe, let alone voice his command. “Ass up.”

  Her gasp and the consequent shiver that wriggled through her worked him with the same decadent stroke as her mouth had done and made his cock jerk in approval. She braced her hands beneath her shoulders and lifted her hips as much as his body above her would allow. Raw need and lust coated her husky voice. “Tate. Hurry.”

  The ripe musk of her arousal hit him like an uppercut and his companion growled in appreciation. He nudged her knees with his. “Wider.”

  She eagerly obeyed, the greedy tilt of her hips and her exposed sex the most erotic vision he’d ever seen in his life. “Oh, Elise.” The low rumble that rolled from his chest felt like thunder rippling through the earth. He slicked his cockhead through her drenched and swollen folds. “If you think I’m hurrying this, you’re sadly mistaken.” He notched himself inside her.

  She tried to push back and take him deeper, but he used the hand at her neck to stay her and, through some goddamn miracle, forced his hips to keep their distance. When she finally settled and accepted she had no control, he blanketed her back and pressed a deceptively tender kiss to the space where her neck and shoulders met. “You feel it don’t you?”

  She whimpered in answer and her eyes slipped closed, the hands pinned beneath her shoulders fisting in frustration.

  “You felt it the first time we had sex, too, didn’t you? You figured it out and decided to push me.”

  “Yes.” Not an ounce of regret registered in her voice. Only exasperation that he hadn’t yet given her what she wanted. “I want you. All of you.”

  All of him.

  The man and the beast. The light and the dark.

  He licked the tender space beneath his lips and reached his hand beneath her, toying with her distended clit. Pushing his hips just enough to get her attention, he grazed his teeth along the same spot. “Who do you belong to?”

  “You. Only you.” She wriggled beneath him. “Please.”

  The bond strengthened. Stretched tight and pounded with a primal beat, demanding its due. “Mine.”

  He surged forward and sunk his teeth deep. Filled her with all of him even as he yielded to the bond’s claim. To her heat. To the wet, grasping clutch of her sex and the sweet brush of her relieved sigh in his ears.

  It was wild. Utterly savage and untamed, and yet blindingly perfect. Beautiful in its hedonistic simplicity and fundamental nature.

  One man. One woman. Perfectly joined in the most vital connection.

  He yanked her upright, collared her throat with his hand and thrust upward, burying himself to the hilt. Sunlight bathed her torso, painting her skin in a golden glow and highlighting her plump tits as they bounced and jiggled.

  She dropped her head back against his shoulder and cupped her breasts. Lifted them and teased the hard tips as though offering them for his pleasure. Her eyes opened, the lids weighted with lust and need and the green of her eyes nearly consumed by her pupils.
“Please.”

  Anything.

  He’d give her anything.

  Annihilate any threat. Conquer any foe. Give until his body couldn’t give any more.

  Fingers drenched with her arousal, he circled her clit. Teased the tight bundle of nerves until her cunt fluttered around his cock—then gave her the pressure she needed.

  The bond pulsed and a deep piercing sensation stabbed around his heart.

  Her back bowed and she cried out as her pussy convulsed around him. Fisted to the point he had no choice but to respond. To drive deep and fill her. To mark her with his come and bind her to him in the most ancient way possible. His cock jerked inside her. Flooded her even as the slick muscles of her sex milked his release.

  Whole.

  His.

  Finally.

  Loosening his grip at her throat, he skimmed his lips above the blossoming mark at her neck and sucked in much needed air, the combined scent of the lake, forest and their release leaving an indelible imprint on his memory. How fitting that they’d sealed their bond here. Surrounded by nature in a place uncannily similar to the place where he’d first tasted her kiss. Where they’d begun their slow and careful dance.

  But the days of careful were over.

  She knew him now. Had not only accepted him and opened herself to the bond between them, but had welcomed him eagerly. Matched his ferocity with her own relentless spirit and forced what he’d been too hesitant to face.

  She nuzzled his neck and sighed. “You’re thinking too much.”

  He chuckled at that, his muscles protesting the simple action even as the lighthearted reaction forced his thoughts back to the present. To her sweat-dampened skin against his and the subtle undulation of her hips against his as she found her way back to reality. “That’s usually my line.”

  “I think today proves you’re guilty of overthinking just as much as I am.”

  He met her sated gaze, the sun setting in the distance bringing out tiny flecks of gold in her otherwise deep green eyes. “I should have trusted you with who I was.”

  “You had your reasons.” She traced his jawline, dragging her fingertips through his beard in that thoughtful, affectionate way he’d grown to crave. “But I love this part of you, Tate. Love knowing you can draw a part of me to the surface no one else can. That no one else but you will ever see.” She paused as though searching for the right words. “Today I was free in the most fundamental sense of the word. You gave me that.”

  Free.

  Of all the ways he’d imagined her characterizing what they’d shared, that hadn’t been on the list.

  But it fit.

  He cupped the side of her face and claimed her lips. Offered his thanks and reverence for all she was the best way he knew how. By the time he lifted his head, she lay boneless against him, the sun kissing the horizon and his bite deepening to a stark purple. He dipped his head toward it. “You got your mark back.”

  “I did.” Straightening away from him, she went to all fours, then gracefully rolled to her back, cocked her knees to one side and her arms stretched overhead like some forest nymph sent by the Keeper to tempt him. Her sexy smile made his coyote huff with pleasure. “I am a little disappointed, though.”

  So playful. Reveling in the last rays of sunlight. Sensually aware and toying with him like she’d been born for this. He sat back on his heels and studied her, his cock stirring with the promise in her voice. “Disappointed? And here I’d thought you’d gotten what you wanted.”

  Her raspy laughter moved easily through the air around them, sultry and rich. “Well, I was rather hoping for more than one. At least two. Maybe more.” She cocked an eyebrow and slowly parted her legs, guiding her hand so it teased the top of her mound. “Assuming my hunter is up for it?”

  He straightened and braced himself over her, his body humming and ready to go despite how hard he’d just come. “Oh, mihara. Where you’re concerned you have no idea what I’m up for.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Perspective really was everything. Perspective and experience. It had barely been five years ago—only a few months after Elise had graduated from high school—when she’d spied a girl in a store with her arm around her boyfriend, laughing and cuddling close to him in a way some would have called an overdose of PDA. It hadn’t been the affection that had captured Elise’s eyes, but the bold mark on her neck. A hickey, her mom had called it with a giggle when Elise had asked about it.

  Elise had judged it unsophisticated. Crass and crude.

  But she hadn’t understood. Not even a little bit.

  She twisted in front of the cheval mirror in the corner of the bedroom and traced the blossoming bruise high on one ass cheek. It was one of four. And seeing every one of them in her naked reflection brought a sense a pride. Of ownership and the dark, delicious memories that came with earning them.

  “You look mighty pleased with yourself.” Tate shifted in the bed behind her, the brush of his skin against the crisp sheets filling the otherwise quiet room with a sensual hiss. With the angle of the mirror, his muscled torso and tanned skin was displayed perfectly against stark white sheets. The masculine knots Priest had tattooed into his flesh added an animalistic edge. Reminded her of the hunter she’d finally begun to know.

  She pressed the tender skin just enough an echo of the pain she’d felt as he sunk his teeth deep rippled out and unsteadied her breath. “I have every right to be pleased. I earned these marks.” She faced him and padded to the bed, the sway in her hips fueled by the idea wriggling through her head. She held his languid stare as she crawled onto the bed. “And I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.”

  “I’ve created a monster.” He cupped the side of her face and pulled her to him for a lazy kiss. “Not that I’m complaining, you understand.”

  She smiled against his mouth. “I’m not a monster. I’m just a very devoted student.” She backed away just enough to meet his eyes. “I mean, I might not be an expert on mates, but it stands to reason we’d be smart to learn what makes each other tick.”

  His eyes narrowed, either the playful tone in her voice, or the grin on her face tipping him off to her devious mood. “Putting together a playbook, are you?”

  “More like a quick reference guide. You know...so I know how to distract you when I need to.” She cocked her head and bit her lip. “Or if I decide I need more pretty decorations on my skin.”

  He slid his grip to the back of her head, his fingertips tightening against her skull. “Yeah? And which buttons have you figured out get what you want?”

  “Well...” She smoothed her fingertips over her name just above his heart. “Running is a good go-to. Of course, that can be problematic if I don’t have enough room to run. Say like when we’re here in the cabin.”

  “Mmmm.” Said like a man who was far more focused on what she was doing than what she was saying. Which was exactly what she needed.

  She leaned in and pressed a kiss to the same spot. “I’ve also figured out you’re a fan of wrestling and you’ll never let me stay on top for long.”

  Keeping his hand in her hair, he chuckled and stroked the length of her spine with the other. “You’re on top right now.”

  “Yeah, but you won’t let me stay here.” She kissed and licked a path toward his neck. “Then there’s the rise I got out of you mentioning other males.”

  His hand fisted in her hair in a heartbeat and his companion’s growl filled the cabin.

  “Easy.” She teased her fingertips along his jawline and brushed her lips across his. “That was just a one-time deal to get you off dead center.”

  “Smart. Otherwise, I’ll mark your ass with something other than my teeth.”

  Her sex clenched at the image his words created and the wanton hussy who’d all but taken up full-time residence in her head scribbled a new to-do:

>   Note to self—play the jealous card at least one more time.

  “Anything else?” he prompted.

  Tempting as it was to lose herself in a long, mindless kiss that would no doubt lead to an explorative, languorous interlude, this morning she wanted her hunter. Wanted one last taste of wildness before reality forced its way into their world. She forced a speculative hum to hide her devious intent and skimmed the curve of his shoulder with her mouth. “Well, there’s one idea I’m toying with.” She licked and sucked a lazy path toward the curve of his neck. “I’m not sure if it’ll get the response I want, but I figure it’ll turn out a winner for me either way.”

  “Yeah?” Again, with the distracted tone that said she could tell him she’d spent all of his money in a single shopping spree and he wouldn’t care. “What’s that?”

  She was out of her mind doing this. For all she knew, she was crossing some badass alpha line that would turn him off completely, or earn her a spanking faster than she was ready for.

  But what the hell.

  She’d come this far.

  And she could always heal it if things didn’t work out like she hoped.

  She pressed a lingering kiss to the base of his neck. The same sweet spot where he’d first marked her. “I’m curious what happens when I do this.”

  She bit him.

  Hard.

  Put everything she had—everything she’d felt in all the other times when he’d done the same to her—into the contact.

  Tate’s back bowed off the bed and he fisted her hair at either side of her head, his lethal snarl filling the room.

  And that was it. The last second she had of control before she was on her hands and knees, her face pinned to the mattress and her sex full of Tate’s cock.

  It was exactly the wild she needed. The untamed wonder she’d come to not only crave but welcome.

  By the time he was done with her, the bed covers were on the floor, both of them were sweaty and out of breath and she had not one, but two new bites—one at each curve of her hips.

  She rolled to her side and splayed her hand against his thrashing heart. “I take it that’s a button you’re not opposed to me pushing?”