Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Awareness slowly returned to Broxen as the fog of sleep dissipated.
He was first caressed by a sense of contentment like he’d never felt, a sense of fullness that hummed in his chest and coursed through his languid limbs.
Next, he felt the mattress under his back, cradling him with just the right blend of softness and support, and the blanket draped over his body to cocoon him in warmth.
But there was another source of warmth here that was far more satisfying—the female tucked against his side.
One of his arms was curled around Gabriela, keeping her firmly in place against him, and one of hers lay on his chest. Her head was resting upon his shoulder, her breath was fanning across his skin, and she had one leg hiked up atop his.
Broxen inhaled, filling his lungs with air perfumed by Gabriela’s sweet scent, and groaned. His tail, still stuck in his pants, twisted against his leg. He loved her scent, loved the feel of her, loved having her here, with him. This was where she belonged.
My mate.
For all the good, there was one source of discomfort that couldn’t be ignored—his cock.
It had been erect and aching when he’d climbed into bed with Gabriela last night, and its status hadn’t changed.
Clenching his jaw, he grasped the bedding in his free hand, squeezing tight as he struggled to resist the urge to take hold of his shaft.
Gabriela stirred, emitting a soft moan that made his cock twitch, and somehow, harden further. Seed seeped from its tip. Broxen groaned again.
She sighed and stretched, straightening her leg along his, pressing her soft breasts against his side, and smoothing her palm down his chest and over the muscles of his abdomen. Broxen’s breath hitched, and his whole body tensed.
Tilting her head back, she looked up at him with sleepy, half-lidded eyes, and her lips stretched into a smile. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” he rasped through his teeth. He longed for her hand to trek lower, to find the source of his need and tend to it.
But that hand stilled low on his belly just as her fingers grazed the waistband of his sweatpants.
Gabriela gasped and jerked away from him, putting a distance between their bodies that might as well have been a canyon and leaving his side cold. “I’m so sorry!”
Growling, Broxen rolled over, hooked a hand around her hip, and dragged her beneath him. He shifted his body upon her, curling his fingers around the backs of her thighs and drawing her knees up on either side of him. He bent low so his face was inches from hers. His long hair fell around them.
“Never apologize for touching me, female.”
She stared up at him with wide, dark eyes.
Her hands lay on the mattress beside her head, fingers slightly bent, and her chest rose and fell with her rapid breaths.
Broxen’s gaze settled on her breasts, where her budded nipples were visible through the thin fabric of her shirt, teasing him, tempting him.
Only then did he realize the position they were in—and that his cock was pressed along her slit.
He was poised as though to rut her.
Broxen looked down at where they their most intimate parts were in contact and gritted his teeth. Thin layers of cloth, each a mere fraction of a centimeter thick, were all that separated their bodies. The restraint it took to keep from bucking his hips was immense.
“Mason…”
He took in a deep breath—one that was fragranced with her desire—and dragged his eyes back up to meet hers. There was still surprise in Gabriela’s gaze, but there was fire in it, too. There was yearning.
His jaw tightened further as a new instinct flared within him.
He bent down, lowering his face to where her neck and shoulder met, and drew in her scent again.
The tip of his nose brushed her soft skin, and she shivered.
Broxen’s gums ached, and his fangs itched at their bases, threatening to elongate.
He needed to bite her. He needed to mark her, to make his claim known to all. It was a primal drive, unfamiliar but powerful, something ancient.
Gabriela slid her hands around his sides and undulated her hips, causing herself and Broxen to draw in sharp breaths. She did it again, and again, rocking against his cock.
Pleasure jolted through him, as delightful as it was maddening, building that pressure in him.
Though it was almost too much to bear, he couldn’t get enough.
He felt her heat, felt her essence dampening the fabric separating their skin, and he craved more.
He longed to tear the clothes from their bodies and feel her slick flesh, to plunge into the hot depths beckoning him.
Broxen dropped one of his hands onto the bed beside her head and curled his claws into the mattress.
Unable to remain still any longer, he thrust against her, grunting at the pleasure that was spearing his core and racing up his spine.
Much more of it, and he’d unravel. Coming undone had never seemed so appealing as it was right now.
Gabriela moaned and arched up against him, her blunt nails digging into his sides. The air grew thick and heady with her scent, clouding his mind with a haze of lust, driving him harder, faster. He used his grip on her to pull her against his every thrust.
Soft gasps escaped Gabriela. She caught her bottom lip to silence herself, but her silence didn’t last long.
“Mason,” she rasped, reaching up to cup his jaw.
Their eyes met for a fiery instant before she lifted her face and pressed her mouth to his.
Broxen stilled utterly. His breath caught in his throat, his heart ceased beating, and his mind was suddenly empty.
Given everything else—her scent, her warmth, the friction of her body against his—that simple press of lips should barely have been noticeable.
He’d seen people kiss back on Turata, had seen humans do it in person and countless times in their entertainment, but he’d never experienced it, and had never imagined it would feel like this.
Gabriela’s plump lips were soft, smooth, pliable, and yet so confident. And she tasted even sweeter than she smelled.
He cupped the back of her head with one hand, closed his eyes, and leaned into that kiss, deepening the contact between them and his taste of her.
Her mouth opened, and she caressed his upper lip, flicking it with her tongue. Broxen groaned low and swept his tongue out along hers, and she coaxed it into a dance that he swiftly took control of. Needing more, he slammed his mouth upon hers, devouring her.
Wrapping her legs around his waist, Gabriela ground her sex hard against his cock. He swallowed her moan of pleasure and hissed his own.
“Don’t stop. Please don’t,” she pleaded against his lips. “It’s been so long. I need—”
The bedroom door swung open, bumping into the doorstopper.
Broxen snapped his head up and turned his face toward the doorway just as Ana stepped into the room.
“Mom, I’m—” She came to an abrupt stop. Her eyes rounded, and her jaw dropped.
Gabriela shrieked. Planting both her palms against Broxen’s chest, she heaved him off her. Taken completely by surprise for the second time in a minute, he offered no resistance, and he didn’t realize until it was too late that she’d shoved him away from the side of the bed where he’d slept.
His side came down on the very edge of the bed, and he bounced before tumbling onto the floor, landing heavily on his back with a thud that must’ve shaken the whole house. And of course, the way his tail was tucked away meant it absorbed a significant portion of the impact.
He barely held in a growl of pain, baring his teeth and sucking in a sharp breath instead.
Least it wasn’t my cock.
“I’m sorry,” Ana said. The door slammed shut a moment. Her muffled voice came from the other side when she said, “Just wanted to tell you I’m hungry!”
Gabriela scrambled up into a sitting position, entering Broxen’s field of view. Her hair was mussed, her cheeks were flushed, and there was a panicked look in her eyes.
“Oh, my God. She… We were… She saw—” She pressed her hands to her face and groaned. “I’ve scarred her for life.” Dropping her hands, she peered at Broxen over the edge of the bed and winced. “I’m sorry.”
Broxen chuckled despite the twinge in his tail—and in his still-throbbing cock. “Guess she knows to knock next time.”
Though she pressed her lips together tight, a laugh burst from her mouth. “Not funny!”
Grabbing a pillow, she threw it at him, hitting him in the chest. He only laughed harder as he caught it.
My lusty, feisty female.