Prologue
Ellie didn’t need to look out the window to know the sun was going down; she could feel it when he woke up.
There was a fluttering of excitement low inside her body, and a warm feeling of happiness that made her dance a little as she moved around the kitchen.
Dinner was almost done. She turned the heat down to keep everything warm and then went to get ready for her date.
As she passed the sliding door to the backyard, she checked to make sure it was unlocked. Sometimes he arrived early and surprised her.
She was running late and needed to shower before he arrived.
He liked her natural scent, but he wouldn’t like the citrus lotion she was wearing, or the ‘Spring Rain’ deodorant.
His senses were too acute, and the mix of perfumes could be overwhelming for him.
She had fragrance-free body wash and shampoo now, just for their date nights, but she liked to smell pretty when she was out in the world.
Lather, rinse, and then repeat (twice) took care of her hair.
He’d probably still get a faint whiff of her usual strawberry shampoo, but it would be muted and manageable.
She was using a loofah ball to scrub her skin when the warning came.
It started with an itch at the top of her spine and then, despite the steamy water, a shiver rolled over her skin.
He was close.
When the bathroom door opened, she didn’t bother to look.
She continued to wash and waited as he stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower behind her.
His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against his hard body.
There was an instant sensation of safety and contentment as their bodies touched.
She was never happier than when she could feel him. If she focused hard, she could almost see the cord that bound them together as mates. It was a beautiful thing that brought with it the scent of wet leaves and rich earth. She inhaled, drawing it into her lungs as she relaxed in his arms.
“Hello, beautiful. Getting nice and clean for Daddy?” His voice was deep, almost a growl.
“Mhm. But if Daddy starts something in here… dinner is going to burn.”
He nuzzled her hair. “I’d rather eat you anyway.” His long tongue unrolled and slithered around her neck, forming a loop that slowly tightened until it was snug like a collar. It was just a reminder that she belonged to him.
A low moan escaped her, and she ground her ass back against him. He was hard and ready for her already—but that was a near constant state, thanks to their mate bond. It affected her too. She wanted to encourage him so badly. Take me, Daddy. Take me right-fucking-here.
But dinner would burn, and as intense as their sessions got… it would probably keep burning until it set off the smoke alarms. They were oblivious to the world when they were wrapped up in each other.
Her nosy neighbor would have the firetrucks over, like last time, and hadn’t that been a fun night. He’d been balls deep in her, so close to driving her over the edge yet again, when the sirens had abruptly pulled her out of a pleasant haze.
Neither of them had noticed the smoke until then— which was pretty amazing considering how heightened his senses were.
She’d had to scramble to get dressed, pull the pans off the stove—dinner a charred black crust on the bottom—and then get to the door to explain it all to the firemen before they burst in.
It had been a bit of a mood killer.
“Um, Daddy?”
“Mmm?” He couldn’t really talk while his tongue was circling her neck, so she just continued.
“You remember what happened last time, right?”
He groaned. It was followed by a long-suffering sigh, and the feeling of his tongue releasing to slide back into his mouth. “Fine. We’ll stick to washing, but dinner is going to be fast, and after we eat, you’re all mine.”
That was okay with her. She laughed and wiggled back against him, only to receive a hard spank to her thigh. “And none of that. Good girls don’t tease, and I’m sure we can find time for a spanking before dinner, if you need to be reminded.”
It was tempting. She loved it when he spanked her but earning that spanking would lead them back to dinner burning. She was trying to avoid any more emergency calls on date night. She sighed and reluctantly stopped what she was doing. “Spoilsport,” she muttered.
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to save dinner.” He took the loofah from her. “How about I wash your back instead?”
It was a small consolation. “Okay, but then it’s my turn.”
He laughed, “Ellie, that would take longer than the sex would have.” He poured way too much body wash on the mesh ball and began to wash her back in slow, sensuous circles.
It felt heavenly, so she shut up and enjoyed it.
Eyes drifting closed, she zoned out and let him take care of her.
And although she felt bad about the one-sided attention, he did have a point.
He was much bigger than she was, looming over her without even trying.
And he had a lot more surface area to scrub, so when he rinsed her and turned off the water, she didn’t complain.
Much. A little subvocal whining barely counted.
He dried her thoroughly with a plush towel, but when it came to himself, he simply did an allover shake that splattered the room with water droplets and left him more-or-less dry. “There, how’s that for fast? Did we save dinner?”
She sniffed. “I don’t smell anything burning so… probably.” She flashed him a grin.
“I’ll pull things off the stove while you get dressed,” he suggested.
Ellie snorted, one eyebrow rising. “Surprised you want me dressed at all.”
“You’re the one who wanted dinner first. If you’re naked I can pretty much guarantee we won’t be eating.”
That was a good point. “I’ll be right out, Daddy.”
After he left, she pulled on a plain nightshirt.
It was new, washed once without detergent, but never worn.
She hadn’t even looked at the generic design before she’d bought it, and now she saw it was screen printed with a glass of wine and some kitschy saying that made her roll her eyes.
It didn’t matter; it would be gone by morning anyway.
She’d learned, the hard way, not to bother with sexy lingerie.
It was a waste of money and never lasted more than a night.
And she certainly wasn’t going to wear something she loved, because that wouldn’t survive either.
She certainly wasn’t going to wear a ratty old pair of pajamas on date night, so she compromised with cheap, but comfortable and easily replaceable, loungewear.
It seemed to work for both of them.
Dinner was on the table when she came out.
She ignored her chair and settled in his lap instead.
They touched each other as much as possible when they were together; being separated, even by just a short distance, created a longing that could quickly become unbearable, though he said it would get easier with time.
Their bonding was still new. When he was out of sight, she could focus on other things without too much stress.
But having him there and not touching… that drove her crazy.
So they enjoyed the closeness while they ate, but it wasn’t conducive to a relaxing meal, and before the plates were half empty, they’d lost interest in the food.
She wasn’t sure which of them started for the bedroom first, but it became a race to get there.
He won, but only by cheating and using his unique cryptid abilities to get past her.
Instead of reaching the bed before him, she ended up barreling into his arms. He caught her and they rolled into bed together.
“Mine,” he growled.
“Yours.” She’d been his since the night they’d met. The night he’d kidnapped her and carried her into a world she hadn’t even known existed.
He tugged her arms up over her head. There were cuffs dangling from the headboard, and he slipped them around her wrists, without the slightest bit of protest from her. “That should keep you out of trouble.”
“I never get in trouble,” she lied, smirking up at him.
“Uh-huh. I don’t want your hands getting in the way of my fun.”
That probably meant he’d be edging her. She did have a habit of trying to take matters into her own hands when she got frustrated. She just rolled her eyes, and he moved down to straddle her body.
There was a ripping sound and most of her nightshirt vanished. “Daddy, that was new!” It was fake outrage and they both knew it.
“Too bad.” He nuzzled her bare stomach, nipping and kissing the tender skin as he worked his way down between her legs.
She spread her thighs, offering herself up to him like a sacrifice, and he took her without hesitation. His tongue, so long and agile, was actually not very useful for licking, but it had different applications that were even better. And there were … other compensations.
He parted her slippery folds, and his tongue began to ease inside of her, fucking her with shallow thrusts, and then going deeper to stroke her inner walls until she was writhing. No human tongue had that kind of dexterity.
“See—this is why I miss you when you’re gone, Daddy.” Her voice was breathy. They both knew it was a lie, or at least not the whole truth. She missed him for more than one reason.
Small whimpering noises trickled out of her mouth, and a liquid warmth pooled in her core and began to spread.
Thanks to their bond, he knew exactly how to control her pleasure.
One moment drawing it out, to make her beg for more, and the next driving her on until her whole body clenched on the verge—always pulling back before she reached her peak.