As he brushed aside her hair to nip and lick her nape, she said, “I don’t think you’re in a position to judge your wolf.”

“What do you mean?”

She snorted at the innocence in his tone. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

“What?”

“You’re making sure I’m wearing your scent.”

Smiling against her nape, he admitted with no repentance whatsoever, “Fine, so I want you to smell of me.” Just the same, he wanted his skin to smell of her. He brushed his cheek against hers. “Although I love your scent exactly how it is, there’s one thing that would make it better: if it was mixed with mine.” When the mating bond progressed a step, it would happen; their scents would twine and form a unique scent that would declare they were mated.

He wanted that, but he wasn’t sure how to make it happen. The bond wouldn’t fully snap into place until he and Ally were completely naked to each other—it was a form of surrender on both parts. For most couples, that often meant overcoming fears, accepting hard or painful truths, and exposing and moving past their personal scars.

Although he and Ally were working toward it, the progression of the bond wasn’t something that could be forced or hurried. That pissed him off, because Derren wasn’t a patient guy when it came to Ally—he wanted everything, and he wanted it now.

“Maybe your wolf will settle a little when he knows a single sniff will tell other males I’m claimed and off the market.”

He doubted it, but one could hope.

“Maybe you’ll be calmer too.”

“I’m always going to be very possessive, Ally,” he warned her, his hand cupping and shaping one luscious breast while no one was looking, loving her sharp inhale. “It’s not part of my personality, but it’s who I am with you. You don’t have to tell me it’s not healthy to want to own you—mind, body, and soul. I already know that. And I already know it’s not good to want to possess every part of you, to be all you need and want. But I do anyway.” He narrowed his eyes at the large wolf that wandered too close. “Fuck off, Brack.”

With a playful snap of his teeth that made Ally smile, the wolf bounded away—crashing into Jesse’s wolf and then flopping onto the ground.

“Don’t,” she moaned quietly when Derren licked and nipped a particularly sensitive spot on her throat. “Not unless you want me to have an orgasm in front of all these people.” As his arousal trickled over her and fed her own, she gasped. “Oh my God, a part of you likes that idea.”

Derren laughed. “Like the idea that everyone can see how hard you come for me? Yeah, part of me does. But it’s not something I’d ever let happen.” He spoke into her ear as he discreetly pinched her nipple just shy of pain. “No one gets to see what you look like when you come but me.” He punctuated that with a sharp tug on her neglected nipple.

She moaned inwardly when his mouth latched onto her pulse and sucked. “That’ll change fast if you don’t stop touching and teasing me right now.”

“I’ll stop before you can come.”

Little bastard. “If you do that I’ll fake an orgasm in front of all these people so they can see just what I look like when I have one.”

He bit her jaw. “Hey, don’t you ever fake orgasms with me.”

She huffed. “I don’t get why guys get so pissed when girls do that. Hell, your gender can fake an actual relationship.”

His mouth twitched into a smile. “Oh, you’re getting all huffy and snippy.”

“I’m snippy pretty often.”

“It’s true that, emotionally, that’s your basic setting.”

“Why are you saying that with approval?”

“I like that you’re prickly, because you’re hot when you get all flustered. Even more so when you’re angry.” Seeing her worked up just made him want to fuck her until she was boneless and relaxed in his arms—and he often did. “I also like that I know what’s under that testy, impatient exterior.”

He would bet that many people would be surprised to find a great deal of softness and emotional insecurity under Ally’s tough surface. The fact that he saw sides of her no one else saw, that she let herself be open and, in effect, vulnerable around him . . . it gratified and humbled him and his wolf.

“Just like I know what’s under your serious, secretive, and relatively intolerant exterior.”

“Yeah?” He arched a brow. “And what’s that?”

“You have an unexpected playful streak.” He fussed over Willow sometimes but never enough so that people could see past his solemn surface. “You can be quite a relaxing person to be around when you haven’t got your guard up. And you’ve got an amazing singing voice. But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“It’s not amazing.”

“Oh, and there’s that too.”

“What?”

“You’re quite shy when it comes to revealing your talents.”

Derren nipped the tip of her ear, making her release a low yelp. “You really shouldn’t tease me, baby. Not unless you want a repeat of last night.”

Quietly, she hissed. “You spank my ass ever again and I’ll—”

“Love it, just like you did last night.” He chuckled at her snarl. “Hmm. It seems I have to prove it.” And he did exactly that later that evening . . . which earned him a rake of her claws to his chest. The brand did nothing but satisfy him.