A shudder ran through Taryn as a powerful fist tangled in her hair and snatched her head back before sharp teeth raked down her throat. The move was dominant and possessive and much approved of by her wolf who quivered at each demonstration of his strength. Her back arched and her br**sts pushed out, pressing her hard ni**les against his chest and making her inhale sharply.

Looming over her, Trey seized her gaze. “I need your taste in my mouth, Taryn.” He really did need it. Needed his senses to be full of her, his mate. His mate who was there with him, not Tao or anyone else, but him. He watched as defiance flashed on her face and she growled. Trey gripped her wrists, backed her into the tiled wall and pinned her there with his body, keeping her hands high above her head. His rebellions little mate struggled just like he knew she would. “Yeah, baby, fight me. Fight me all you want but you’re not going to get dominance here.”

Trey was coming to understand a few things about Taryn. He was learning that her problem with submitting went a lot deeper than her just being an alpha female. She didn’t want another person to have any power over her, didn’t want to be vulnerable to them or else they could hurt her the way everyone else had. The only two people who had ever protected her in any way had been the same two people who were taken from her when she was just a kid. She hadn’t been safe in a very long time. Hell, her own dad hadn’t even protected her.

Trey’s theory was that if he could get her to understand that he wouldn’t abuse any power she ever gave him over her then just maybe she wouldn’t fight him so hard. Oh she’d still be fiery and obstinate and spit strings of profanities at him, but she might just be more accepting of his dominance.

“Move you piece of shit!” she growled as she squirmed wildly, snapping her teeth at him. She met his gaze boldly and unflinchingly, trying to stare him down.

“Keep fighting, baby. Shall I tell you what’s going to happen when you stop? Shall I tell you how I’m going to reward you when you submit?” His voice low and calm, he spoke at a slow and steady pace. “I’m going to carry you to the counter and sit you on the edge. Then I’m going to tell you to spread your legs. And you will. You will because you know how good it will feel when I taste you and f**k you with my tongue. Would you like to know what’s going to happen after that?”

No, Taryn didn’t want to know because she could feel his sensual voice full of temptation beginning to weave a smell around her and she didn’t trust herself not to succumb to his wicked promises. His tone was deep, commanding, controlled and dominant, much like that of a hypnotist. And it was making her wet. Her body was such a traitor sometimes.

Although she was still writhing she had stopped snapping those teeth. Even better, Trey knew he had her full attention. “I’m going to slowly sink my c**k into you, fill you up, and then I’m going to f**k you raw.” Moving his mouth to her ear, he spoke in the same low, calm voice. “It’ll feel so good, Taryn. It’s okay to submit to me, because I’ll respect that submission. I won’t hurt you. You’re safe with me.” Instantly she froze and he guessed he’d surprised her. “You know that. You can feel it. Your wolf knows it.”

Okay so it turned out that it was actually possible for something to shock Taryn more than anything else that had happened today. The amount of assurance in those few words ‘You’re safe with me’ told her that Trey was fully aware of just how much her resistance to submitting was fuelled by self-protection. He was right, she did believe she was safe with him just as her wolf did. She was confident that he would never physically hurt her. It gave her a thrill to know that this strong, powerful male could easily hurt her but he didn’t.

“I don’t want you to be a submissive wolf, baby, that’s not what this is about. You’re an alpha female, I acknowledge that and I respect it. But I need you to respect that I’m an alpha male. A very dominant alpha male who wants you to submit to him – not become submissive, just submit to him in this.”

Again he had surprised Taryn. He didn’t want to change her, wasn’t disregarding her own strength the way others had before him. Instead of making their battle for dominance all about physical strength and proving his will was stronger, he was promising to give her what she’d missed from her life since it became apparent that she was latent – respect and protection.

She knew he couldn’t offer her the one other thing she was missing – just plain old someone to care about her – but he could give her those other things if she would trust her safety to him. And with that acknowledgement of who she was and what she needed, he had just earned hers and her wolf’s submission in a whole other way.

For a moment Tao’s words came back to her, his implication that by giving in to Trey she was allowing him to use her. They were already using each other in a sense though, weren’t they? Their mating was based on a mutually beneficial deal. Would it really be such a huge thing to include sex in the mix? Sex that just happened to be the best she’d ever had. Was it really so bad that she wanted to lose herself in Trey for a little while? Not lose herself in the mating and forget it wasn’t real, no, never that. She just wanted to enjoy this mating bond that she might never have again.

Trey felt as the rigidness slowly began to leave her body, but he sensed that her defences weren’t down yet. “You can do this, baby, I know you can. I know you’re strong enough to let me lead here.” She swallowed hard and her jaw lost its tenseness. Almost there. “It’s okay, baby. You’re safe, I swear. It’s okay.” When she inhaled deeply and the spark of defiance left her eyes, triumph shot through him and his wolf. “That’s a good girl. My good girl.”

So damn turned on it wasn’t even funny, Trey ravished that carnal mouth, drinking her in. Having this strong alpha female submit to him like that sent a ravenous hunger like nothing he had ever known before blasting through his system. And not just any strong female, but Taryn.

Surely it was wrong that even though Taryn was imprisoned between him and the wall and could barely move she was so unbelievably close to climaxing. His implacable voice that oozed supreme confidence hadn’t helped and now she was writhing and whimpering as she ground against him. Suddenly he cupped her ass and hoisted her up, urging her to curl her legs around him. Keeping her pinned to the wall, he rubbed his c**k against her clit, making her groan into his mouth.