Jesse pulled out of her, yanked her upright, spun her around, and tossed her onto the bed. Then he dragged her to him, hooked her legs over his shoulders, and thrust back inside her, groaning as she rippled around him. “I want to look at your face when you come.”

He fucked in and out of her like a man possessed. The sight of her there—all flushed and restless with her nipples rock hard, her eyes sex drunk, and her mouth swollen—pushed him that much closer to coming. “Give me your throat.”

She bared her teeth. “I told you before, if you need that, then go get yourself a submissive.”

“The only thing I need is you.” He looked at where their bodies were joined, watching her pussy suck him back in again and again. As she began to tighten around him, he growled, “Fight it.”

“Can’t,” she rasped.

“Fight it.” He draped himself over her, spreading her legs wide and plunging even deeper. “Tell me who you belong to, Harley. Fucking tell me or I swear to God I’ll pull out and come all over you!”

With a resigned growl, she ground out, “I’m yours, you motherfucking, pushy bastard!”

“Never forget it.” He bit her neck, sinking his teeth deep and tasting blood. As she screamed and her pussy contracted around him, he licked and sucked, making a definitive mark that told the world she was mated, that she was his. That thought threw him into a climax so fucking powerful it hurt. He buried his face in her neck, jammed his cock deep, and exploded, shooting jet after jet of come inside her. It went on and on and on, vibrating through him.

Shaking, Jesse slowly slid out of her and collapsed at her side, heart racing. Fuck, he’d never come that hard or that long. And he’d never felt that satisfied. It went bone deep, fed his soul. Dragging his mate—his mate—against him, he stroked his thumb over his bite. It was done. She was his.

Of course, she could try denying his claim, could refuse to claim him in return, and could even choose to leave. Those thoughts would have sent him in a blind panic if he didn’t fully believe that Harley was content right where she was. If she needed time, he’d give it to her . . . even if it would make his wolf go insane. The animal intensely felt the absence of the mating bond. Until he and Harley imprinted, there wouldn’t be one, but Jesse was resolute that they would one day be fully mated, bond and all.

Panting, Harley lay in his arms. Limp. Sated. And satisfied on a level that wasn’t just sexual. Her cat was practically curled up in a ball of contentment. He’d claimed her. Jesse Dalton had claimed her. She expected him to complain that she hadn’t claimed him right back, but he seemed content enough to play with the mark on her throat. When she looked up, she realized . . . “You’re staring again.”

“I’ll stare at my mate all I want.” Threading a hand in her hair, he kissed and ate at her mouth, loving the taste of her. A growl of masculine satisfaction rose up his chest. “I missed you.”

“I don’t see how. I mean, apparently you’ve been stalking me.”

“Stalking? No. I just kept myself . . . well informed on your whereabouts.”

She snorted. “I should be mad about that. Why aren’t I mad?”

“Because you get me,” he said simply. “You know I did it because I was set on protecting you; it’s how I’m wired.” And she accepted and dealt with him. Rolling her onto her back, he said, “You missed me. Admit it.”

“Maybe a little.”

Humming, he lapped at her mark. Three years. Three fucking years, and now she was here—in his bed, exactly where she belonged, marked and claimed. Jesse pinned her gaze. “I won’t let you go.” He’d been possessive of her before. Now? Fuck, he was dangerously possessive. He knew for a fact that if anyone tried to come between them, they wouldn’t live long.

“I’m beginning to realize that, considering you just claimed me.”

“My wolf is pissed that you didn’t return the claim; he doesn’t understand the issues around the matter.” Their animals were too elemental in their way of thinking.

She smoothed her hands over his broad shoulders. She could touch him now whenever she wanted; he was hers. “You’re not pissed?”

“I understand why you’re hesitating. You wouldn’t just be claiming me; you’d be claiming a different way of life. If you need time, you take it. But I’ll only give you so much time. There’s only so long a guy can wait for his mate to claim him.”

Mate . . . She’d really never expected to hear Jesse call her that. It was a little surreal. “You were right in what you said earlier. I wasn’t happy living among a race where I always had to hide half of who I was. But I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself because that left me the option of giving into my cat and joining a pride. I don’t associate prides or packs with anything good. The fact is that I’ve never really had a place in either the human or shifter world.”

“You have a place with me.” He slid his hands under her back to hold her tighter to him. “Joining the pack won’t mean turning your back on Tess and the rest of your human family who were there for you all these years. It just means extending your family.”

“Not to them. Tess would respect my decision if she thought I was happy. But not my grandparents.”

“If they’ll only love you if you deny half of yourself, they’re not truly family and it’s not real love.”