"That's my good girl. One day, I'm going to f.u.c.k you in front of the guys so they can see what a good girl you are for me."

"No way." She ignored that the idea excited her, not wanting to acknowledge that apparently she had an exhibitionist streak that ran that deep. "That's where I draw the line."

He tskd, withdrew his fingers and slapped her c.l.i.t with his c.o.c.k. "There are no lines, baby. You belong to me. I own this body. I can do whatever I want with it. I can use it however I want. And I intend to f.u.c.k this gorgeous body for the guys to see. But right now, I want you to ride me." He positioned his c.o.c.k at her entrance and she placed her hands on his shoulders as she began to slowly sink down onto him. "You like that, baby? You like my c.o.c.k filling you and stretching you?"

"Yes." She bore down harder, wanting those last few inches.

"Oh yeah, that's it, take all of it." Finally he was buried b.a.l.l.s deep inside her and he groaned as her muscles tightened around him. As she took a minute to adjust, he licked and raked his teeth over his mark until she was moaning and squirming.

With the hand collaring her neck, Trey slowly guided her body upwards, loving how she didn't fight him but gave him complete control. Then, just as slowly, he impaled her on him again. He knew his Taryn, knew how she loved it hard, so he teasingly kept the movements agonizingly slow and gentle as he impaled her on him over and over. Soon enough she was squirming again. "What's the matter, baby? You want more?" She nodded. "Then take it."

So wound up with the need to come, Taryn didn't hesitate; she began riding him hard and fast like a woman possessed, oddly liking the friction coming from the feel of the denim of his jeans against her a.s.s. There was just something about f.u.c.king a guy when you were totally naked and they were still partially dressed that got Taryn going. She probably shouldn't have enjoyed the way he was gripping her throat, but she did. It was possessive and dominant and a reminder of how much stronger he was, how easily he could hurt her, but that he never would.

Sparks of bliss were shooting through Trey's body with each of her downward thrusts. He had to wonder if she'd taken horse riding lessons growing up because, s.h.i.t, she had some strength in those thighs and abs. He tugged her face closer and closed his mouth over hers, kissing her with a desperate hunger that matched her pace. He swallowed every moan, groan and whimper she made, eager for more. Knowing what she liked, he used his free hand to tweak and pluck at her hard nipples and to mold and squeeze those b.r.e.a.s.t.s that were bouncing as she rode him, drawing his gaze.

"Trey, I need to come."

"No. You don't get to come until I say." He wasn't ready to leave her body yet. "Do you have any idea how hot it was having you suck my c.o.c.k, how long I've imagined you doing that? Since the day I had you drugged and brought here. You've been mine since that day, Taryn. You always will be. Do you hear me?" She nodded. "Nothing can ever happen to you, nothing, understand?" He'd never get through it if he lost her. Never.

The anxiety in his voice tugged at her heart. "It's okay. I'm fine. Fine. Here. Yours."

A growl escaped his lips. "Always mine. Say it."

"Always yours."

"Louder."

"Always yours!"

"Good girl." With the hand clasping her throat he urged her to go faster as he began punching his hips up to meet her downward thrusts. "Bite me." He groaned and shuddered as she bit his chest, sucking and branding him. "I love it when you mark me." He moved his hand from her throat to her hair and s.n.a.t.c.hed her head back as he began punching his hips harder. "Come. Now." He sank his teeth into her neck and slipped his thumb between them to circle her c.l.i.t. Just like that, she shattered.

An intensely powerful o.r.g.a.s.m ripped through Taryn, wrenching a scream from her lungs. Her muscles closed around his c.o.c.k and he punched into her one final time, growling her name, as his own release hit and his c.o.c.k pulsed deep inside her. Totally replete, she collapsed against him, gasping for breath. He held her close as the aftershocks racked their bodies it was a hold so tight that it was almost desperate. "I'm not going anywhere, Trey," she a.s.sured him softly.

He grunted. "You say that as if you have a choice."

"a.s.s," she chuckled.

"I mean it, Taryn. I won't ever let you leave. I'll never give you up. I'll never let anyone take you from me."

She lifted her head and smiled at him. "Then it's a good thing I'm planning on staying."

The sight of her warm, rea.s.suring smile triggered another of those strange pangs in his chest. Trey meshed his lips to hers, indulging in a long thorough tasting of her mouth. Then, content, he nuzzled her neck and breathed in deep. And froze.

"What's wrong?"

"You smell different."

"What? How?"

"Our scents. They've mixed." A smug grin spread across his face. "It's the mating bond. It's advancing." That meant that whatever it was they were doing, they were doing it right. It also meant that any shifter who picked up her scent would know she was a mated female before even seeing her mark or marks.

Although she rolled her eyes at his self-satisfaction he could feel that she, too, was glad about it and liked the knowledge that it would be instantly clear to everyone that he was taken. He also felt her concern that maybe this was the most they would have, that the bond would never be complete because they might never feel they could be totally naked to each other.

What caused him the most unease was that beneath all that was her fear that he might never come to feel for her what she felt for him, that she would forever be in a mating with someone who couldn't love her. It made Trey want to kick his own a.s.s.

He wondered if she had been able to sense just how much he wished he could give her those words she wanted. It amazed him how there could be so much power in three little words. To him, they didn't have any true meaning or hold the same power because they had never been part of his vocabulary. It wouldn't have been any different than someone reciting an unfamiliar j.a.panese phrase and expecting him to not only repeat it but to also understand what it meant. His mom had been a good mother, but she hadn't been what anyone might call tender or 'loving'. His dad had been far from it. Even Greta, the person who had played the most part in his upbringing, had never used those words though he believed she cared for him.

Trey knew though that even if he had heard it every day of his life there was still a possibility he couldn't have repeated it to Taryn. Considering the things he had done in his life and how f.u.c.ked up his conscience was, it was possible that 'love' wasn't something a person like him could feel, that it was reserved for good people like Taryn. It made him wish that he was a better person. There was no denying that Taryn deserved a better mate. Even with that in mind, though, he couldn't give her up. Wouldn't.

He hadn't thought of his life as something that was dark or empty until she came here and suddenly lit it up and filled it. Even when he had been doing his level best to avoid her he had been simultaneously drinking in her presence in his life. It pained both him and his wolf that he couldn't give her his mate what she needed. What he did know was that if it was possible for someone like him to experience an emotion so strong, then Trey would feel it for Taryn.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

"So...who do we think the informant is?"

Everyone at the patio table looked at Dante, but no one answered him. No one wanted to actually face the fact that one of their own had betrayed them. Trey had secretly arranged for he, Taryn, Dante, and his enforcers to meet at the lake this morning to discuss the issue in private. As sad as it was, he felt that these were the only members of his pack he could truly trust. Well, them and Greta. However, he didn't trust Greta to keep the issue of the informant to herself. She would most likely begin confronting and interrogating everyone, and he didn't want the informant to know that they were aware of his betrayal yet. Taryn very much doubted that Darryl's two thugs would own up to him that they'd told her about the informant, so if Trey played dumb they might just get to the bottom of the matter before anything else happened.

"Personally, I don't think it's a stretch to conclude that it's the same person who vandalized Taryn's car, killed the bird, and left her with that b.u.mp a few weeks back." Tao shrugged.

"Then we need to look at people who aren't particularly happy about her being here," said Trick around a mouth of chewing gum.

"Most of us weren't happy at the beginning, including me," admitted Dominic before offering her an apologetic smile a smile that quickly turned impish, warning her of what was to come. "Of course I love you now. If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, I'd have a galaxy in my hand." As usual, some groaned, some chuckled, and Trey hit him.

Taryn shook her head. "You just can't help yourself, can you?" Dominic winked.

"Getting back to the s.h.i.tty subject at hand...The obvious suspects would be Selma and Hope," said Trey, ma.s.saging Taryn's nape. "Although I think Hope would have only been involved if Selma was."

Tao c.o.c.ked his head. "What about Kirk? He's sure p.i.s.sed about her being here."

"I don't get why he's so hateful about it though," said Taryn. "I mean, I know he doesn't like me, but if he is responsible for all this then it seems a bit of an overreaction to disliking me."

"Kirk's always been hateful. He has issues. Mommy issues."

"Care to elaborate?"

It was Marcus who explained. "His mom was human. She wasn't Brock's true mate. Apparently Brock found his true mate but she was already shacked up with another guy. He got involved with this human female not telling her he was a shifter. When she realized what Brock was and that their son was half-shifter, she freaked and deserted them both. Kirk had only been a toddler at the time."

Taryn couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy for both Kirk and Brock. "There's always the senile old crone," she said with a smile.

"Greta might call you every name under the blue moon, baby, but I know for sure she likes you in her own way," Trey a.s.sured her.

She snorted. "If you say so. Maybe it's not about someone liking or disliking me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if we're a.s.suming that the informant has been in contact with Darryl from the beginning, we have to a.s.sume that they told him our mating was all about a deal so that you had plenty of alliances. Darryl wouldn't have liked that, so he would have wanted me out of the equation. A good way to do that would be by trying make me feel unwelcome, damaging my car, killing my raven."

Marcus nodded a few times. "If you think about it, it wasn't until you both discovered that you were true mates that anyone tried to actually hurt you."

"It would make sense for him to want you hurt, as is evident from last night," said Ryan. "A shifter whose mate is hurting isn't in the best frame of mind, and it would make you, Trey, more easily provoked into breaking the agreement of a twelve week gap between anyone making good on the challenge from Darryl."

Trey wanted to punch something. The betrayal cut deeper than he would have thought possible. Apparently he wasn't as guarded as he'd always thought himself to be, or maybe his mating with Taryn had changed that. "Why would someone help Darryl? What could they possibly gain from it? If they weren't happy here and wanted to join his pack, they could have left. I wouldn't have stopped them. What they've done is punishable by death."

"Then the question is," began Trick, "who would be prepared to take that risk?"

After a long silence, Trey sighed and got to his feet. "I need to go for a run. My wolf's restless and p.i.s.sed, and I can't think straight when he's fighting for supremacy so hard."

Tao shrugged. "Then let's all go for a run together."

Trey held out his hand to Taryn. "Come on, baby."

Many days a week she and Trey would go play in the forest while he was in Cujo form and then lay near the lake while she read the newspaper, all the while running her fingers through his coa.r.s.e fur. Occasionally some of the pack would join in on their play in their wolf forms and then collapse beside her and Cujo, enjoying the close contact with their Alpha pair.

Taryn wouldn't have thought such a thing could be peaceful. She was drained, dirty, and currently had seven wolves all pressed against her. But always there was that sense of peace, belonging, and family. She could only a.s.sume that the wolves felt it too as they always seemed content to just laze there, all sprawled out with their eyes closed and their breathing even. So when each and every one of them suddenly jerked upright and went on the alert, Taryn knew something had to be wrong.

She thought of the male wolves who had attacked her the day before, wondering if they would be dumb enough to try to creep around their territory to finish the job they had barely begun. There was no question that they would be dumb enough, but the wolves didn't dart off in various directions to hunt down any intruders as she would have thought. They remained there, crowding her, protecting her.

A howl in the distance received an immediate response from the wolves around her it was a familiar howl. Kirk, she thought. The wolves all seemed to relax slightly, as if the possibility of 'danger' no longer worried them, but they didn't seem happy, and Cujo was emitting a low growl.

Before Taryn could think on it any further, there was the sound of a car approaching. She went to stand, attempting to see who the car belonged to, but Cujo growled and licked her jaw and she got the distinct impression that he wanted her to remain where she was. Soon there were footsteps and the sound of Greta speaking ever so sweetly. Voices responded just as pleasantly familiar voices that made everything make perfect sense.

A minute later, three male wolf shifters appeared with Greta. Instantly Cujo was on his feet, his attention solely on the male in front, but he didn't move from Taryn's side.

Taryn groaned and shot Greta, who was smirking mischievously, an accusatory look. "You knew he was in his wolf form. It didn't bother you that he might have attacked my uncle?" Taryn had forgotten all about their visit.

Greta huffed. "After the things he said to my grandson, no. I hope Trey rips out his throat." She snarled at Don, Nick, and another male wolf all of whom were staring at the old woman in amazement as she made the transformation from gracious, welcoming host to an agent of the Axis of Evil. Oh she knew how to play the frail, saintly old woman.

Taryn sat up and wrapped her arms around the neck of a growling Cujo who clearly remembered Don and was in an overly crazy protective state after her being attacked. Her own wolf wasn't too happy to see him either. "Trey," she whispered into the wolf's ear, knowing Trey would be aware of what was happening and would hear her. "I need you to come back to me now." Unfortunately, Cujo wasn't in any rush to retreat and let his human half have control. Had she recalled arranging her uncle's visit, she would have postponed it for another time. Too late now.

Looking up at Don, she said, "If you could all just take a seat over there at the patio table we'll be over in a sec." Turning to the six wolves around her, she ordered, "Change." Not looking all that happy about it, they shifted back to their human forms and not moving their gazes from their visitors each retrieved their own pair of jeans and t-shirt from the ones that were scattered around. Dante then brought over Trey's clothes and handed them to her. Focusing back on Cujo, she whispered, "Come on, Trey. Come back."

Seconds later the change began and Trey was sat in front of her, his gaze still drilling into her uncle. She handed him his clothes and, without a word, he stood and pulled them on. Obviously sensing the precariousness of the situation, each of the visitors had their heads lowered slightly, communicating that they had no intention of challenging him, that they were no threat.

Once Trey was dressed he held his hand out to Taryn and gently pulled her to her feet. He kissed her softly, letting her touch and closeness rea.s.sure his wolf. Never had his wolf liked strange wolves around his mate h.e.l.l, he'd never liked any males around her but as their mating bond hadn't fully clicked into place, his wolf was even worse. The fact that she had been attacked yesterday and that one of the males here had once wanted to take her from him worsened his mood.

"Okay?" she asked, combing her fingers through his hair.

He nodded and nipped at her mouth. "Just stay close." If his wolf felt confident that Taryn was nearby, safe and protected, they might just get through this without him going for Don's throat.

As Trey and Taryn approached the patio table, the visitors lifted their heads to reveal nervous expressions. Trey gave them a nod of greeting and took a seat opposite them, pulling Taryn onto his lap who snuggled into him the way he liked. Dante and Tao took a seat either side of him and Taryn. He knew without looking that both their gazes were on a gulping Don.

Nick broke the silence. "Thank you for granting us permission to visit. You already know Don. This" he gestured to the stocky wolf on his right who was stroking his goatee "is my bodyguard, Derren. I asked my Beta and my enforcers to remain in the car." Well that had been wise of him. If Nick had arrived at the lake surrounded by a large number of strange wolves, Cujo would have pounced on them without a doubt.

Trey nodded curtly. "On my left is Tao, my Head Enforcer. On my right is Dante, my Beta. Behind us are Trick, Marcus, Dominic, and Ryan. And you've met my grandmother, Greta."

Nick smiled. "Yes. She's, um, charming. She has good reason to be unhappy to see us."

Don cleared his throat. "Yes. I realize I was very rude at the mating ceremony. And, well, I made judgements about you based on what I'd heard from others. It's simply that -"

"No," interrupted Taryn. "There are no excuses. An apology we can work with. Excuses h.e.l.l, no."

"Fair enough."

Hearing her again defend him caused another pang in Trey's chest. Ma.s.saging her nape, he said, "That's not to say you weren't right about me. I'm not a good person. If I thought someone deserved it, I'd kill them without blinking and I'd think nothing of it. I am, by my own admission, a hard, selfish, ruthless b.a.s.t.a.r.d. There's only one person in this world who's guaranteed to come to no harm from me, and that's Taryn."

After a moment of silence, Don nodded once.

"Dominic," drawled Taryn in her sweetest voice. "Is there any chance you could go ask Grace to fix us all some coffees?"

With the offer of hospitality, the visitors seemed to visibly relax and Don exhaled a sigh of relief probably relieved that he was still alive. "How've you been, Taryn?"

"Fine, thanks," she practically purred. She loved it when Trey kneaded her nape, even though she knew he was mainly doing it just to take comfort in touching her. Her wolf was just as contented. "How're the pups?"

"Still little beasts. They wanted to come and see you but well..."

But well he wasn't sure if things would be amicable or if Nick would be scooping him from the floor with a spoon. "Next time, make sure you bring them."

Don smiled a little as he asked, hopefully, "There'll be a next time?"

"If you're good."

"She doesn't give an inch, does she," he said to Trey.

Trey smiled down at his mate. "I kind of like that about her."

Greta hmphed, hands on hips. "Dante, shove over son."

Grinning in amus.e.m.e.nt, Dante shuffled along to the next chair so that she could take his. Her posture was both regal and confrontational.

Nick folded his arms across his chest, but not in a manner that was confrontational. "Well, I hope in spite of what happened you enjoyed the mating ceremony."

"It was real nice," said Taryn. "It's been a while since I went to one."

"You and Trey haven't had one?" asked Don, surprised.

Not liking this subject because she knew full well that Trey wouldn't want one, she simply gave her uncle a bored look and a dismissive wave of the hand.

"You're not one of those girls who dreamed about it all your life? Wow, my Ana already has hers planned and she hasn't even found her mate yet. Not to mention she's only seven."

"What about you, Trey?" said Don. "Don't you want a mating ceremony?"

Being the least romantic person alive, Trey hadn't even thought about it before now. He'd never even wondered if Taryn would want something like that which she did. And she didn't. He couldn't sense any more than that so he wasn't sure what was behind her indecision, but it was something they would definitely be discussing in private. He just shrugged. "If Taryn wants one, we'll have one. If she doesn't, we won't."