He groaned, tore open the box, and she saw his hands tremble when he tore off a roll of the condoms. He paused. "I should put one on now. No. I'll wait. If I take my jeans down I don't think I could zip them back up."

She focused on the front of his jeans-the rigid, thick bulge pressing against the denim proof that he wanted her. Her focus returned to his face and the humor struck her. She laughed. "You look more anxious than I am."

He flashed a grin. "Probably. I'm your first shifter so the pressure is on for me to make this great for you and this is my first time marking a woman."

"Take deep breaths." She held out her hand. "I'll hold the condoms." He pa.s.sed them over to her. "Here."

"You think we'll need all these?"

"Yes." He dropped the box on the floor next to the bed and put his knee on the edge of the mattress. "I'm gearing up for mating heat and my hormones are going a little crazy." His warm hand brushed over her thigh. "Spread wide for me, kitten." She hesitated and then did it. She knew her cheeks pinkened since she exposed her p.u.s.s.y to him but the low growl he made a.s.sured her he enjoyed the sight as his gaze fastened there. He licked his lips, his nose flared as he took in her scent, and he put his other knee on the bed and faced her. She watched as he slid down the bed to sprawl on his belly until his arms braced his face in the cradle of her thighs. Their gazes met.

"You have no idea what you do to me. I could get addicted to you." She shivered at the thickness of his voice, how it deepened into a harsh, rough sound. "Just hearing you talk to me in that tone makes me ache."

"Talk to me. Tell me if I move too fast, frighten you, or if you're uncomfortable."

"Okay. What about this marking thing?"

He hesitated. "I won't warn you but I'm hoping I time it perfectly so you'll barely notice. Trust me."

"I'm spread out naked on a bed with you. If that isn't trust, I don't know what is." He chuckled. "Good. Relax for me, kitten. This will feel good." He slid his hands under her a.s.s, his shoulders lowering to press against her thighs, and focused on her spread s.e.x, just under his mouth. Shannon closed her eyes and her fingers fisted. The condom wrappers reminded her that she held them so she placed them on the pillow next to her and then grabbed the edges of it as a hot, firm tongue slid across her c.l.i.t.

Her breath caught in her throat and then a snarl tore from Anton. She jolted from the vicious sound but then he sealed his lips around her sensitive flesh there, suckling and licking at her furiously.

Ecstasy arched her back and she would have bucked her hips if his hands weren't gripping her a.s.s to keep her in place. He mercilessly dominated her c.l.i.t. She moaned and purred, the sounds tearing from her throat, and she clawed at the pillow.

She knew she was going to come embarra.s.singly fast again but Anton seemed to sense it because he pulled his mouth away and lifted her a.s.s a little. She gasped when his tongue penetrated her v.a.g.i.n.a. He surged forward, entered her, and snarled again, working his tongue deeper inside her body.

"Anton," she rasped.

He withdrew and pushed forward again, his tongue feeling long and thick as he explored her, f.u.c.king her slowly. His nose rubbed her swollen, throbbing c.l.i.t each time he drove into her, his face pressed tightly against her folds. She tensed, her eyes snapped open to stare at the ceiling, and she screamed his name when the climax gripped her.

A groan came from Anton as he kept moving his tongue inside her, seemed to coax her pleasure out longer, and then he withdrew. His cheek rubbed the inside of her thigh with a slight rasp. She felt his lips there when he turned his head, and then something sharp and wet dragged against the tender skin.

He moved up a little, brushed light kisses over the curve of her lower belly, all the way to the top of her hip.

He struck fast, just as her body started to relax from the intense pleasure he'd given her, and his fangs sank into the fleshy part of her hip just under the bone. She gasped, her hands released the pillow to grab his thick, silky hair, and she clutched his head. Pain and pleasure surged through her body at the sharp bite, confusing her senses. His tongue laved the area he'd bitten and another deep groan came from him but was m.u.f.fled against her skin. His jaw worked gently to squeeze the skin he held between his teeth.

She focused on the ceiling. The pain faded but she knew his teeth remained. He'd bitten her.

She knew he'd planned to mark her but she hadn't expected it just yet. He eased the hold of his mouth and licked her skin. The pain totally faded once his teeth withdrew. He brushed a few kisses on the spot before lifting his head to check on her.

His eyes had shifted into that exotic look of part wolf, part man. They were beautiful and incredibly dark. Pa.s.sion burned in his intense gaze and he licked his lips, drawing her attention lower.

Blood-hers-covered his lips. Her hands released their hold on his hair. He growled low at her, removed all traces of her blood with a few more swipes of his tongue, and then rose up to his knees.

"You're marked and mine for the next few weeks." His tone came out even harsher, gruffer, and less human. "Hand me a condom. I'm in control."

She had to think a moment to remember why he asked her for them. She turned her head and found where they'd ended up. Her fingers shook as she tore one from the roll and handed it to him.

He used his teeth to rip it open so he only had to use one hand. His free one tore at the snap of his jeans. He spit the piece of wrapper away and met her gaze again.

"Close your eyes. I don't want you afraid. Just feel."

She hesitated. "Do you want me to turn over?"

"No. I don't trust myself to take you that way yet. My wolf gets a little too excited in that position."

"What's not to trust? Will you be too rough?"

He met her worried gaze. "The condom will prevent me from mating you. If I were to come inside you and bite you at the same time, you'd end up with me forever." Her jaw dropped.

He softly growled. "I won't bite while I f.u.c.k you, Shannon. The condom would prevent me from accidentally mating you even if I did get you with my teeth. I'm just being careful. Your taste drives me a little insane."

"In a bad, want-to-maul-me way?"

He flashed a grin. "No. In the I-want-to-f.u.c.k-you-like-an-animal-and-mate-you way. I'm in control though. Close your eyes and trust me."

Shannon closed her eyes. She heard the denim whisper down his legs, the mattress moved as he kicked free of his jeans, and she thought she could even hear him roll on the condom. She wanted to peer down between their bodies to get a glimpse of his c.o.c.k but then he lowered over her and the opportunity was gone once their bodies were compressed together.

"Look at me," he demanded.

His voice turned her on and the warm, hot flesh pressed against her did too. She inhaled his scent and her stomach clenched with need. She didn't hesitate to wrap her legs around his hips high enough to curve her legs over his a.s.s. They stared at each other for long seconds.

"You're so beautiful," he rasped. "I want you to know that." Her mouth parted to tell him how she thought he was the most handsome man she'd ever met, even with his exotic, wolfish eyes at the moment, but his mouth descended quickly to mute any words.

There was no gentle brush of lips. Anton's hungry mouth branded her and not even the taste of her own blood could stop her from responding with her own frantic desire that built lightning fast.

His growl vibrated against her puckered nipples and his hips lifted enough to spread her thighs wider apart. She couldn't miss the hard, thick brush of his condom-covered c.o.c.k as it nudged her soaked folds. He didn't use his hands, didn't need to in his deeply aroused condition, and then when he found the perfect spot, he pressed forward.

She gasped against his tongue when the thick crown of his c.o.c.k slowly penetrated her p.u.s.s.y. He stopped kissing her but didn't move his mouth away. They both held their breaths a little before he groaned, pushing in deeper but going really slowly as he stretched her wider to accommodate him.

Shannon clutched his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin, but she forced her grip to ease.

She always had to remember not to claw during s.e.x, a desire she always had if she experienced pleasure, and Anton gave her that as her body parted for him, regardless of the snug fit. He pressed deeper and she moaned again.

When he started to withdraw, her legs instantly tightened to prevent him from leaving her body but then he pushed forward again, driving deeper, moving back and forth as he made her take more and more of him. Nothing had ever felt more pleasurable.

He backed up a little to freeze over her and she met his gaze. "Don't hold back. You can't hurt me. Just don't draw blood with your teeth. I'm not sure how pumas mate so we'd better not risk it." She stopped trying to fight the urge to dig her nails into his skin. He gasped and then growled at her, his s.e.xy eyes narrowing, and he gave her a pained smile. She froze.

"It feels good," he a.s.sured her. "You're so tight. Am I hurting you?"

"No."

"Hang on to me. My control is starting to slip. I'm being a saint so far." She wasn't sure what that meant until he buried his face against her throat and started to move again. His hips pressed against her inner thighs when he drove forward, giving her all of himself, and she gasped at the sensation of how deep and thick he felt inside her. The overpowering jolt of desire made her want to bite him but she turned her head away instead, clenched her teeth, and then he started to pound against her fast and hard.

The hammering speed of his c.o.c.k against her highly sensitized nerve endings inside her p.u.s.s.y nearly hurt but it was too good to be pain. She panted, purred, and then screamed when she came apart under him. Explosions of ecstasy cascaded from her center straight into her brain and Anton snarled a word she didn't catch, threw his head back, and roared out in a half howl, half cry. Inside her, he seemed to swell and pulse within her twitching v.a.g.i.n.al muscles.

Their heavy breathing drew Shannon back from the happy place the big male on top of her had sent her. She turned her head, realized he'd mostly collapsed on top of her but his braced arms allowed her to breathe and sweat slickened their bodies. Anton lifted his head from the pillow next to hers and met her gaze. The exotic wolf look of his eyes had gone, replaced by the fully human Anton. He smiled at her, showed her perfectly straight, human, white teeth, and opened his mouth.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No."

"Good. I'll give you about two minutes and then we're going again. I'll allow you to pick the position. Got any favorites?"

She stared at him in shock. "Seriously?"

"I'm not human. Neither are you, totally. Tell me you don't want me again and I'll stop." He suddenly lowered his face, brushed his nose against her shoulder, and growled deep in his throat.

Desire shot through her at the slight touch of him and the sound he made.

He chuckled. "That's what I thought."

Chapter Nine.

Shannon laughed and threw the washcloth at Anton as she tried to duck under his arm. He grabbed her around her waist, hauled her off her feet, and pressed her back against the cold tile on the wall of the shower. He looked highly amused when he pinned her there, his hips snuggled between her slippery thighs, and on instinct she wrapped her legs around his hips. He shelved her a.s.s on his forearm to hold her in place so she didn't slide down his soapy body.

"Wash your own b.u.t.t."

He chuckled. "You're supposed to worship me."

"I am, huh? Is that some funky shifter rule?"

"Nope but you have to admit, after the night we spent together and all the pleasure we shared, you think I'm a G.o.d."

"Really? Why would you say that? Someone has gotten a little egotistical."

"It may have been all those times you called out 'Oh G.o.d'." He brushed a kiss on her chin, lifting her high. "Weren't you telling me something?"

Shannon laughed. She couldn't help it. The night she'd spent with Anton had been the best one of her life. It had been more than just s.e.x. He'd made love to her. Every touch, every kiss, every caress they'd shared had bonded them in ways she'd never experienced before. Her smile faded a little at that realization.

"What's wrong?" He pulled back.

"Nothing."

A soft warning snarl tore from him. "Don't lie to me."

She stared into his eyes. "I'm not."

"You are. Do you think I can't feel it? I'm very tuned to you. I could feel you emotionally pulling away from me as if you'd done it physically."

That stunned her. "Seriously?"

He answered her by watching her silently.

"Okay. I was just..." Her gaze lowered to the top of his shoulder where she gripped him and noticed the faint but healing claw marks where her nails had marred his skin.

"Just what?"

"It's stupid."

"I doubt I'd agree. Why are you withdrawing from me? Did I say something wrong? I'm kidding about the G.o.d thing. You don't have to wash my a.s.s and I don't expect you to worship me." She lifted her gaze to meet his. "I know you were teasing. I just think that last night might have been too intense."

"You're sore. I'm sorry." He eased her down onto her feet. "I forget how human you are."

"I'm fine. My muscles ache a little but that's not it." She ran her hands over his chest, using the water falling over his shoulder to wipe away soap. "I meant emotionally. You touch me in ways that only guys I've been seriously involved with do. I don't know how else to say it."

"We are involved."

Frustration rose as she glanced at him. "I meant it must be a shifter thing but the way you touch me confuses me."

The blank expression on his handsome face a.s.sured her she'd lost him.

"d.a.m.n," she muttered, staring at his chest again. "You touch me like a guy who isn't a one-night stand."

"You're more to me than that." He suddenly gripped her chin and forced her to meet his gaze.

"You're mine."

For a few weeks, her mind whispered. "You marked me. I'm still not sure what that means."

"It tells other males you are mine and I'll do anything to protect you. You'll carry my scent. It also makes my wolf know we're together, that the connection is solid."

"I carry your scent?"

"Saliva from my fangs entered your bloodstream when I bit you."

"How long does that last?"

"A few weeks." He drew back but kept hold of her chin. "Does that bother you?"

"No." She hadn't realized how tense he'd become until he relaxed.

"You're cranky in the morning before breakfast, aren't you?" He released her to turn away into the full spray of the shower to rinse off. "I'll order food to be brought up while you finish showering.

Hurry up. It won't take long. I'm starving and I bet you are too." Her stomach rumbled as if on cue. Anton chuckled, ducked his head under the water to rinse away the conditioner, and then shook his head. Water sprayed her. He opened the shower door and stepped out before she could wipe the water off her face to retaliate. She could see the silhouette of him as he used a towel next to the frosted gla.s.s door to dry off. She hesitated and then reached for his shampoo.

Emotions confused her. She had a really bad feeling that if the next few weeks were anything compared to the last twelve hours she'd be walking away from Anton without her heart intact. He was easy to love and the s.e.x... Instant desire stirred her body at just the memory. Her nipples hardened despite the warm water cascading over her body and she knew she'd never be able to get enough of him.

I have to be in cat heat or something. It would explain a lot. First, how she'd jumped into a s.e.xual relationship with a werewolf so quickly and how her body ached just thinking about him touching her again.