She hissed as he worked his finger deeper; the burn felt surprisingly good. “Only if you make me come fast.”

“If that’s what you want . . .”

A moan slipped out of her as his mouth clamped around her. He ate at her pussy like his life depended on it; all the while his finger thrust in and out of her ass. The dual assault on her senses drove her insane, making the friction build and build inside her. Then his mouth suckled her clit and, yeah, she was gone. She fisted his hair as bolt after bolt of pleasure racked her body, leaving her a shivering mess.

Tao rose above her, licking his lips. “Nothing should taste that good.”

She stared into gold eyes that were hooded and gleaming with a need that called to hers. His face was stamped with possessiveness and a predatory hunger that made her pussy clench. “Fuck me.”

“I want your mouth first.” Grabbing a chunk of her hair, Tao kissed her hard, thrusting his tongue inside. She gave as good as she got, digging her nails into the skin of his back and arching up to grind against his cock. He groaned, so full and aching to be in her. Surely it wasn’t a good thing to need anything this much, but he needed her. There was no changing it. “Tell me what you want, Riley.”

“You talk too much. Get moving.”

“I’d love to, baby, I really would. But you didn’t do what I asked.” He shook his head in reprimand. “Now tell me what you want.”

She rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake, Fenris, do you have to be so damn chatty in bed?” He stilled, eyes glittering with menace, and she realized she’d made a mistake. “Um . . .”

“Did you just call me Fenris? Because you know I don’t like that.”

She twisted her mouth. “Well—”

He flipped her over, pulled her to her knees, and slapped her ass.

“Hey!”

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and snatched her head back. “What’s my name?”

“I can’t believe you just spanked me!” The bastard did it again. She reached back and slashed his upper chest—it was instinctive, a primal reaction. Her stomach dropped as his blood pooled to the surface. She realized she hadn’t scratched him with her nails; she’d used the tips of her talons . . . and she’d clawed him deep enough to permanently mark him. The same realization was in his eyes—eyes that flashed wolf for a second. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “I am so sorry.”

Tao slammed his cock into her pussy. She was swollen from her orgasm, but he forced himself deep. Her pussy, so hot and slick, clenched and rippled around him. Too fucking good. He should have been angry about the mark. Instead he was at risk of exploding right then. Curling over her, he pressed her into the mattress. “Want more?”

“But I just—”

He rammed into her again. “Do you want more?”

Thrown that he didn’t seem to care about the mark—or at least was too damn turned on to care about it at that moment—she said simply, “Yes.”

“Then what’s my fucking name?”

His teeth scraped over her shoulder in warning. She bit out, “Tao.”

“That’s my girl.” He fucked her hard. Maybe too hard, but she was pushing back to meet every brutal thrust and moaning for more. Those husky little moans were chiseling away at his control—like he’d had much of that to begin with.

He pushed her deeper into the mattress so she couldn’t move, not at all surprised by the low guttural sound that rattled out of her throat. He hammered into her even harder, faster, letting her know she wasn’t getting the upper hand. Her pussy tightened around him, showing him that a part of her liked the dominant move.

He bit her earlobe. “I’m going to come inside you, Riley. Come until you’re dripping with me. But first I want to hear you scream and feel you come around me. Make that happen for me.” Pounding into her, he slipped his hand around her and plucked at her clit. “Come.”

The growled word vibrated with a pure male power that sent Riley tumbling hard into a vicious orgasm—it wrenched a scream from her throat and threw Tao over the edge. An agonizing pleasure flooded every part of her and stole every bit of her strength, leaving her body weak and quaking. She would have sunk into the mattress like a limp ragdoll if she could have moved, but Tao’s body still held hers in place.

After a few moments, he pressed a kiss between her shoulder blades and pulled out of her. “Don’t move.”

She would have—okay, she might have—obeyed that order if she’d had the strength to control her body. Instead she slumped onto her stomach, breathing hard. She sensed him leaving the room, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see what he was doing. Moments later he reappeared, and then a wet cloth was dabbing her back. She frowned. Why the hell would he be cleaning her—?

Oh yeah. Clearly some of his blood had seeped from his chest onto her back. She still could not believe she’d branded him. Flushing red, she said, “I really am sorry about that.”

“Don’t be.”

Her eyes flipped open at his nonchalant response. “Don’t be? Those marks are deep, Tao. They won’t fade.”

“I know that.” Lying on his side, he dragged her to him so her back was against his front.

“You should be pissed.”

“Well, I’m not.” He kissed her shoulder. “Now sleep.”

“Sleep?” Was he for real?

“You’re tired, so sleep.”

She would have argued with him further, but she was tired. More importantly, she was sleepy. So she let the subject go and closed her eyes. Tomorrow, they could deal with it tomorrow.

CHAPTER NINE

Before Tao even opened his eyes, he knew he was alone. He reached out with his enhanced hearing, listening for any movements in the bathroom. There were none, but Riley’s scent was strong enough in the air to suggest that she hadn’t been gone long.

He inhaled deeply, taking that scent inside him. It shot right to his cock, and he almost groaned. It was a sincere shame she wasn’t right there beside him—he could have rolled her onto her back and driven himself deep inside her.

After edging out of bed, he washed and dressed in a black T-shirt and dark blue jeans before heading downstairs. There were no sounds coming from inside the cabin, so he guessed she was either out on the porch or lying on the sun lounger. But when he slipped out the patio door a few minutes later with a cup of coffee in hand, it was to find no sign of her.

Hearing a distinct prruk-prruk call, he looked up to see a very familiar raven soaring above the trees. The metallic glint of her feathers shone in the sunlight, making them seem alternately blue and purple.

His wolf pushed against his skin, wanting out, wanting to play with the pretty raven. Instead Tao leaned against the porch post and watched as she performed a series of carefree, acrobatic flying maneuvers. As she flew, her wings made a sound that was much like silk rustling. She was so incredibly agile and beautiful, much like Riley herself. It was surprisingly relaxing to just watch her flutter around.

After a minute or so, she swept down and perched on the wooden porch rail. Head cocked, she blinked at him. Those dark-brown eyes held a surprising amount of intelligence and curiosity. The raven had come close to him before, but never this close—she seemed to prefer dropping worms on his head.

“Don’t bite me with that big beak.” Slowly he reached out and lightly skimmed a finger over her long wings. The feathers were softer than he’d expected.