In three long strides he was in front of her, placing a hand on the counter either side of her to cage her in. Slowly she raised her head and arched a brow questioningly, as if she couldn’t possibly imagine what his problem was.

“You weren’t there when I woke up.” The words rumbled out of him.

“True. And?” Taryn hadn’t actually expected him to react so badly. She had considered that his wolf might feel cheated out of what had become his morning ritual and maybe she’d end up with a nipped lip – that seemed to be his favorite thing to do when she had annoyed him – but it wasn’t his wolf looking back at her. It was Trey. With his mouth a harsh line and his eyes smouldering, he looked incensed, determined, and pretty damn horny. Her traitorous body responded to that lust. There was something else there too…if she didn’t know any better she’d have thought it was hurt.

“I like making you come in the morning, hearing you moan, having your taste on my tongue. This morning, you weren’t there.”

“Huh. Well my aim in life isn’t to please you so…”

He placed his face closer to hers. “Spread your legs.”

Her stomach clenched. “What?”

“I want my morning taste of you. So spread your legs like a good girl.”

“Not a chance, ass**le.”

The fire in her eyes had his already hard c**k aching painfully. “Don’t talk about ass**les unless you want me to f**k yours. You know exactly what my problem is so stop playing dumb. You snuck out of my arms and out of our bed – snuck being the key word. Believe me when I tell you that it’s in your best interests to not push me any further because I’m seriously pissed off.”

She cocked her head. “Do I get extra points if I fake giving a shit?”

Growling, Trey tangled his hand in her hair and mashed his lips to hers, thrusting his tongue inside and exploring her mouth. It was a hard, possessive, punishing kiss, but of course his little mate wasn’t prepared to take that punishment. She bit his tongue and pulled away.

“Go force your will on someone who’ll bow down at the wonder that is you.”

Out of patience, Trey gripped her ass and tugged her to the edge of the counter as he boldly cupped her and leaned forward to lick over his mark. As always, she shuddered. “That’s it, baby, relax for me. That’s my good girl.” He unsnapped the top button of her jeans and went for her zip. Shocking him to complete stillness, a slice of toast was slapped onto his face.

Before he could react, Taryn had slipped off the counter, ducked under his arm and was running out the door. Bitch. Amusement and anger warred within him for supremacy. He chased after her through the tunnels, out the main door, down the narrow flights of stairs and into the forest. He was stunned by just how much distance she had been able to place between them. Christ, she was fast. And so unbelievably agile.

Knowing she was nearing a pond and would soon need to turn left, Trey detoured through the trees and came at her from the front, springing in front of her. She froze and smirked smugly, further inciting his wolf. He was insisting that Trey take her, take her now. Liking that idea, Trey stripped off his clothes, holding her gaze the entire time.

Helpless to the effect the naked body of her mate had on her, Taryn licked her lips as she ran her gaze along Trey. He was so gloriously male. His form seemed designed to seduce, seemed created especially to deliver raw, carnal pleasure. And Taryn was eager for it. Eager to feel that long, thick shaft tunneling in and out of her. A wave of savage need had her stomach clenching and her body quivering. Afraid that she would end up giving him exactly what that hard-on said he wanted, she backed away. His cautioning growl made her halt.

“Is this your new thing, Taryn – putting space between us?” He shook his head, tsking. “It won’t work. We’re mates.”

“Wrong. We might have mated, but we didn’t do it because we chose each other and wanted to have that bond. We came together for a deal. That makes it an arrangement, not a mating.”

“I don’t much care what you want to call it, Taryn. The point is that because I’ve claimed you we have a connection you can’t ignore, that neither of us can ignore.”

“And this connection means I’m supposed to give you whatever you want?” She snorted derisively. “Well f**k you.”

“I know you’re upset with me, baby, but did you give me a chance to apologize? Or did you try to freeze me out again?”

It startled her that he sounded genuinely hurt by that. In fact, he looked it too. “Who said I was upset?”

“If you’re not upset then prove it. Come here so I can give you what both of us want. I can smell your arousal, Taryn.” He fisted his cock. “You want this.”

He was right, the bastard. She couldn’t help being annoyed with her body – it didn’t care that he had hurt her. No, it was responding to him as it always did – like the goddamn hussy Greta described! Even now as she was considering a good place to bury his body she couldn’t move her eyes from the sight of him stroking himself.

Not trusting that she could keep resisting him, she snarled and sprung upwards, grabbing onto the branch above her head. She hauled herself up and stood perfectly balanced. He didn’t look impressed.

“Get your pretty little ass down here now and I might not spank it.”

She snorted. “You say that as if you think I’d let you spank me.”

“Now, Taryn,” he drawled.

Instead she shot him a challenging look. As she expected, he began climbing his way up the tree, reaching for her. She sprang to the next tree, then swung from that tree to the next, and the next, and the next before finally jumping to the ground and dashing away. She could hear him hot on her heels but she didn’t once look back.

Moments later a set of powerful arms locked around her and tackled her to the ground. At the last second he spun, taking the brunt of the fall, before then rolling her onto her stomach.

“Caught. Trapped. And soon to be mounted.”

Taryn struggled. “Oh I don’t think so!” He grunted as she reared back and slammed her elbow into his ribs. Although she managed to scramble from beneath him, he grabbed her feet and dragged her back to him.

“Tricky little bitch,” he said with a smile. “My tricky little bitch.”

“No.”

He draped himself over her and placed his mouth at her ear. “Oh yes, baby, your ass is definitely mine. And if you keep struggling I swear I’ll f**k it.”