Page 70 of Conquered Betrayal
“We were told about those by some friends of yours. We can talk more when this”—he circled a hand to encompass the pair of us—“is taken care of.”
He’d scarcely finished speaking, and Landon was off again, running through the trees and bushes like he had as a bear. The sounds of people and the helicopter faded the further he went, until it felt like we were the only ones left in the world. And for once, birds chirped from above.
Landon slowed, then set me on my feet next to a thick tree. Warm arms came around me, turning me to face him. I didn’t know if I’d ever seen such a stark expression on his face before and my insides squirmed in anticipation.
“I need you,” he said, his voice rough. He stepped closer until our chests nearly touched, then scraped the stubble of his beard against my cheek. His hands dove into my hair, freeing it from what remained of my loosened ponytail.
Shivers exploded over my skin, my scalp tingling. I couldn’t speak because of the emotion clogging my throat. No one had ever needed me before Landon. And I’d nearly ruined everything between us by following my brother’s wishes.
“I want to claim you.” His words whispered past my ear and my heart leaped into my throat. What did that mean? It had to be a shifter thing. Nervousness spread through my belly.
But I trusted Landon. I may have abused that trust long ago, but he’d always been solid, never hurting me, always my soft place to fall. If he needed this, then I wanted it too.
“I want to be claimed,” I said, embarrassed at my breathless voice.
His eyes widened, then narrowed. A wild, triumphant look spread across his face. He crowded me until my spine pressed against the tree. Heart beating a staccato rhythm in my throat, I grasped his shoulders, my fingers cool against the warmth of his skin.
His arms tightened around me, giving me a hug that touched the ragged parts of my soul. Tears pricked my eyes. I’d missed this so much, the simple affection, the intimacy we’d created.
“I want to forget,” I said, and I meant what had just happened, but also the entire fallacy I’d had to live because of my brother. I didn’t want to think of any of it. I only wanted it to be Landon and I together, two people who loved and needed one another going forward.
Landon’s arms flexed around me. “And I want to remember.”
My heart somersaulted in my chest.
Then he lowered his cheek to mine. “I can scent your desire,” he murmured against my throat. “And your apprehension. Why are you scared?”
He could smell my emotions? I flushed. How many times had he known what I was feeling when we’d been together before?
I shook my head, not wanting to think about it. “I’m not scared of you,” I told him again. After what I’d seen him do with claws and teeth, I probably should have been, but this was Landon. “I just don’t know what claiming means.”
His stubble scratched my jaw, his nose to my cheek. He pressed his face into my neck where it met my shoulder and inhaled. “I want to mate you. Bite you. Claim you so all shifters know you’re mine and I’m yours—a commitment for as long as you’ll have me.”
My core clenched at the word “mate.” That sounded…nice. And important.Significant.I wanted that too. Arousal pooled between my thighs.
“Am I supposed to bite you too?” I’d never been into kink, though I knew Landon leaned that way. I had wanted to follow him, but couldn’t. Not when everything about kink was about trust and I’d lied to him every day.
He pulled away slightly, a small grin on his face. “If you like.” He pressed his forehead to mine and inhaled through flared nostrils. “You smell amazing. After I claim you, I’m going to eat your delicious pussy.”
Dear Lord.This claiming was getting better and better. “Yes, yes.” I patted his naked shoulder, his skin hot beneath my palm. “I want that too. Let’s get to it. Claim me.”
It was like I’d flipped a switch. The Landon who was toying with me, making me shiver against a tree with his gentle touches, turned into a wild, untamed thing.
He gripped the hem of my shirt and ripped it open. I gasped. The one side fell away, the other held on by the bandage he’d made earlier. Cool air tickled the flesh my bra didn’t cover, but I wasn’t cold. I burned up inside from the expression on his face.
Before I could take another breath, he spun me to face the tree. My pulse skyrocketed. Rough bark scratched my palms. His chest pressed against my spine, protective, warming me. His skin felt amazing and I closed my eyes to soak up the sensation.
His lips brushed the shell of my ear. “I’m going to take you hard.”
A moan escaped my lips as liquid heat pooled between my thighs. My pussy clenched. His one arm wrapped around me, separating me from the tree and pulling me against him. “My bear needs it,” he said, his mouth at my throat, the words guttural. “I need it.”
Teeth scraped my sensitive flesh. I pressed my legs together, embarrassed at how wet I was becoming. “Tell me you need it too.” His other hand fumbled with the clasp of my cargo pants.
I dug my fingernails into the bark of the tree. “Yes, I need it too.”
Releasing his hold, he moved quickly, yanking my pants over my hips. They dropped to the forest floor from the weight of the rocks inside the pockets. My black satin underwear went next, settling around my ankles. Cold air swirled between my legs before he was there again, his cock hard between my ass cheeks.
Breaths left my lips in little puffs of anticipation.
