She repeated the process over and over until Ashley’s stomach and scalp no longer glowed, indicating that all of what had been polluting her insides was gone. Taryn then stumbled backwards, breathless and a little weak. “She should wake up soon.”

Caleb urged her onto Roger’s leather office chair and placed a bottle of water into her hand.

Shaya shook her head. “No matter how many times I see you do that it always amazes me.”

“So…you extracted the drug from her system?” asked Roger.

“No,” said Taryn. “I can’t explain it well, but it’s like I extract the badness.”

“Like…the bad effects of the drug or illness or injury?”

Nodding, she replied, “Kind of, yeah.”

“That was so cool,” gasped Nicole. “Even cooler than when you broke Brodie’s nose. You going to heal her?”

Taryn tilted her head as she considered it. “Nah.”

CHAPTER THREE

Three times Trey had strolled the length of the bar, searching for Taryn. Where the hell was she? For a second, he wondered if she had backed out, but the thought had left his head as quickly as it came. Taryn Warner wasn’t the type to wriggle out of a deal.

He knew she had been in this exact spot not so long ago. Her scent still lingered and it was reasonably fresh. His wolf growled at the exotic smell, wanting to hunt her down. To hunt her down and mark her, claiming her as his.

“Her scent disappeared not far from here,” said Dante as he reappeared at his side. “Looks like she went into the private office and she hasn’t come back out yet.”

“What would she be doing in the boss’s private office?” If anything sexual was going on, Trey would kill him. Surprised by the vehemence behind that thought, he double-blinked. The sight of his Beta and three enforcers grinning told him that they knew what he’d been thinking. They had all warned him that because his wolf was so near to the surface his possessive streak would be hard to control. Know-it-all bastards.

What they couldn’t know was that his body reacted to Taryn in a way that it never had to another female. He tried to think of it as a good thing; it would mean the sex would be amazing. But he didn’t like that she seemed to have some sort of power over his body, not to mention his wolf. Already he was feeling possessive of her for God’s sake.

Intending to answer his own question of where she was, Trey began edging through the throngs of people toward the office. He was barely three feet away when the door opened and Taryn walked out looking pale and shaky. He knew that look. It was the same look his old pack healer had worn whenever she had used her gift. Concern – relatively unfamiliar and unwelcome – travelled through him, but then a smile split her lips at something her friend had said and a shaft of lust shot through his system.

Seeing that she hadn’t noticed him, he stayed where he was and waited for her to near him. Once she was close, he deliberately bumped into her and watched in satisfaction as surprise and then lust flashed in her eyes.

Oh God, thought Taryn as she saw the heated, determined expression on Trey’s face. His enticing male scent surrounded her, blocking all else. Her wolf shot to alertness and growled her arousal. Taryn held still as he buried his nose in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. When his face returned to hers, his eyes had turned wolf and he was so unbelievably focused on her that they might as well have been the only two people in the club. She knew it was an act, but her body still reacted and her clit began to throb in time with her overactive pulse.

Knowing what she was supposed to do, Taryn placed her nose at the junction of his neck and shoulder and, just like he had done to her, took in his delicious scent on a long inhale. She didn’t have to fake being drunk on it. As Taryn returned her gaze to his, Trey’s hands landed on her hips and he tugged her to him. Then he pretty much took her over. His mouth crushed hers as his tongue thrust forcefully into her mouth, sweeping against her own. The kiss was dominant and possessive as he took the response he wanted, demanding her submission.

One hand collared her throat possessively as his other clutched her ass, branding it as his. She didn’t realize she was grinding against him until he hoisted her up and curved her legs around his hips to better the friction. Helplessly she moaned her pleasure into his mouth, digging her nails into his back. If the growl that rumbled up his chest was anything to go by, he liked to be scratched.

Trey couldn’t believe how responsive Taryn was. The whole claiming might be an act, but he knew that her body’s reaction wasn’t forced or exaggerated. She was like fire and he couldn’t help but revel in it, in her taste, in her scent, in the feel of her skin, and in how her body seemed to conform perfectly to his. It shouldn’t have been possible that a slender person could fit snugly against someone as broad and burly as he was, and yet she did. Those little moans she was making were driving him insane and he wanted nothing more than to flip up her dress and f**k her right there. Only his awareness that there was a nearby threat to their claiming kept him from thrusting into her.

Pulling his mouth from hers, Trey moved his hand from her throat to tangle in her hair as he kissed and nibbled his way down her throat before settling in the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He scraped his teeth over the spot, letting her know what was to come. When he was sure her climax was near, he bit down hard, breaking the skin and tasting blood. Instantly she shattered, groaning and shuddering. He sucked strongly on the patch of skin he had bitten, being sure to leave a distinct mark that couldn’t be considered as anything other than what it was. A claiming.

As quick as that, a rush swept through Trey and he felt a sort of snap in his head similar to that which he’d felt with each of his pack members when they blooded. Then he sensed her through the pack link, not her thoughts, but her fiery, spicy, sensual presence. It was done, she was his to protect as his mate and part of his pack. His wolf growled his approval, urging Trey to sweep her away to their territory away from the threat that her dad’s enforcers presented. He pulled back to admire his work and swiped his tongue over the mark, liking the look of it on Taryn’s skin and how she trembled in response.

Taryn knew her face was a mask of surprise and she knew everyone would mistake it for her shock at supposedly finding her mate. Her surprise, however, was genuine. She hadn’t expected Trey to be able to pull that kind of response from her body, even with the effect he seemed to have on her. She had practically melted for him and he hadn’t even really touched her. And when his teeth had sunk into her skin…it was as though an electric current had travelled through her, sparking her release to hit her. Not like when Roscoe had bitten her against her will; that had left her feeling violated and enraged.