Not a scene a girl expected to find while on a date.
Although she’d love an explanation, she kept her mouth shut. Soon enough he pulled up behind her Audi and switched off the ignition, but he didn’t move to get out. His hands were clenched around the wheel, and he was staring straight ahead. She noticed that his knuckles were no longer swollen or scuffed—God bless shifters’ enhanced healing. “You calm yet?”
“Calm? Let’s see. I took my woman out so she could relax, have fun, and forget about all the shit going on in her life. Then some motherfucker comes at me from behind with a steel fucking bar when I’m taking a piss, and totally fucks it up. So no, baby, I’m not calm.”
“I wouldn’t say he fucked it up. I did relax, have fun, and forget about the other stuff.”
“I would never hurt you.”
The words made her blink. “What?”
“I know I might have seemed out of control back there, and I won’t deny that I can be brutal in a fight. But I’m not someone who flies off the handle and beats the shit out of people. That guy back there is part of a messed-up pack that wants an alliance with Trey. The Alpha, Nash Morelli, isn’t happy that Trey won’t give it to him. Drake is Morelli’s Beta. He charged at Trey during a meeting, and I dealt with it. That back there was retaliation.”
“And since you just kicked his ass, he’ll probably retaliate again,” she mused.
“Probably. Which means I should stay away from you for a while.”
Her stomach bottomed out. “Stay away?”
“I should. But I won’t.” Trick held her eyes, willing her to believe him as he repeated, “I would never hurt you. You never have to fear me. Never.”
“Trick, if I feared you or I believed you’d harm me, I wouldn’t have gotten into the SUV with you. I certainly wouldn’t be thinking about having you in my bed tonight.” She opened the door, hopped out, and walked up her driveway.
Trailing behind her, Trick said, “Say that again.” Because it really was the very last thing he’d have expected her to say.
“You heard me. I already knew that you have a dark streak. You think I bought your laid-back act?” Snorting, Frankie opened the front door and entered the house. “That easygoing charm hasn’t fooled me. I know you tone down your dominance around me. What I don’t know is why you do it.”
Trick closed the door behind him. On the one hand, he liked that he didn’t have to pretend. On the other, she’d have questions he didn’t want to answer. “I didn’t want you feeling overwhelmed or intimidated. You might be half shifter, but you’re not used to our intensity, our ways, or just how possessive we can be.”
That made both her and her wolf bristle. “I’m not made of fine bone china, Trick. You don’t need to protect me from you.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is this what you meant when you kept saying I wasn’t ready for you? You don’t think I can handle you the way you are?”
“I don’t think you can handle just how much I’ll want from you. Not yet.”
“Elaborate.”
“And scare you off?” He shook his head. “That’s not on my list of things to do.”
“Why would it scare me? You’re not making sense. Are you trying to say that you’re a sadist or something? If so, that is going to be a problem.”
“I’m not a sadist.”
“Then I don’t understand what you’re getting at. Given that you’re very dominant, assertive, and you have a forceful personality, I’ve already figured out that a relationship with you wouldn’t be easy. Am I wrong?” It was a dare to lie to her.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in a relationship.”
“Never?”
“There’ve been flings, but they were short and shallow. I never let my partners get too close.” Not even Marcus. Before the enforcer mated, he and Trick had scratched each other’s itches occasionally. Trick had let him close as a friend, but not as a partner.
“So that’s all you want with me—a fling?”
Trick shook his head and gently tapped her nose. “You’re different.”
Frankie frowned. “You mean you see me as yours, since we’re part of the same pack?”
“Something like that.” He pulled his cell out of his pocket. “I need to call Trey.”
Frankie watched him closely as he swiped his thumb over the screen and tapped it a few times. “Something like that,” he’d said, an odd glint in his eyes. And then her heartbeat kicked up as it all seemed to thread together. The way her body reacted to him, that fierce determination in his eyes, the possessiveness he displayed, the way her wolf tested him to see if he was worthy. Worthy as a mate, Frankie now realized. Her wolf didn’t fight her assumption. Oh hell.
She wasn’t quite as shocked as she should have been, so maybe she’d subconsciously suspected they were mates. Or maybe she’d just had so many shocks lately that she was immune to them at this point. Her primary emotion right then was unease. Not because she didn’t want it to be true, but because she did. She wanted Trick to be hers. She just didn’t want the shit-storm that could follow.
“Trey, we got a problem,” he said. “Or we had a problem until I shoved its face down a fucking toilet . . . Drake . . . I was at the movies with Frankie. He came at me in the restroom. Tried to bash my head in with a steel bar . . . No, I’m fine. I don’t know if Morelli sent him, but I’m more inclined to think that the motherfucker was retaliating for what happened at the meeting . . . Yeah . . . No, I’m with Frankie . . . Yeah. All right. Later.” Ending the call, Trick turned to Frankie. Whatever he saw on her face made his brows snap together. “You okay?”
She swallowed hard. “Are we mates?”
Trick stilled. Really, he wasn’t all that surprised that she’d figured it out. As he’d told the pack, she was smart and open-minded. He crossed to her, pleased when she didn’t back up. “Yes, baby, we are.” He curved his hand around the side of her neck. “At first I thought this was shit timing for you, what with everything else that’s going on. But I was wrong. If there’s one thing you need right now, it’s support, someone who’s all about you. Someone who’s on your side—not the Newmans’ side, not the pack’s side, just yours.”
Frankie raked a hand through her hair. “This is . . .”
“Going to make things a lot harder for you with the Newmans. I get that. And it wouldn’t surprise me if you’re not quite sure that true mate bonds are such great things, given what happened with your parents. But I’m not going anywhere, Frankie.” He skimmed his thumb over her jaw. “It eats me up inside that I missed so much of your life. Eats me up that I didn’t realize who you were to me when we were kids. I’ve been waiting to find you—or, as it seems, to get you back—for so fucking long . . . I’m not going to give you up. Not to spare the Newmans’ feelings, and not because you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared, I just . . . Look, I watched the mated pairs when I visited your territory. I saw how devoted they are to each other. I don’t think, just because something went wrong for my parents, that having a mate is a bad thing. But I feel so torn right now. I’m still struggling to find a way to make everyone happy—”
“You can’t,” he said softly. “I wish you could, baby, but you can’t.” His pack would be happy as long as they had contact with her, but she couldn’t give them that without hurting her maternal family.
“I have to try.”
“Then you try. But the Newmans will expect you to give me up and cut contact with the pack, just like they expect you to give up sculpting—like it isn’t part of who you are.” Trick draped an arm over her shoulders, hating how vulnerable she looked right then. “Come on. You need to sit. We’ll talk this out.” He led her to the kitchen, where she slid onto one of the stools at the island. “Wine or beer?”
“Beer.” Frankie waited until she’d had a long drink from the bottle before she asked, “How long have you believed we’re mates?” She thought back to the way he’d behaved at the coffeehouse, how he’d w
atched her like a hawk, touched her with so much possessiveness. “It’s been since that first day, hasn’t it?”
Trick planted a hand on the island on either side of her, caging her in. “I knew the moment our eyes met outside the coffeehouse and my world tilted that you’re mine.”
“You were so sure so quickly?”
He gently brushed her nose with his. “How much do you know about mating bonds?”
Being half shifter, she’d made a point of learning about mating bonds by reading blogs written by shifters. “They’re metaphysical. Once they’re fully formed, they’re only breakable by death. They join the couple so closely that it’s rare that one can live without the other.”
“That’s right. Some pairs recognize each other as their true mates instantly—not often, but it does happen. Then the mating urge kicks in, and it literally drives the couple to claim each other.”
She’d read about that, read that it was like a fever in the bloodstream that sent the person’s arousal soaring, and the arousal wouldn’t go away until the couple bonded. “I haven’t felt any mating urge.”
“Because something’s blocking the bond. It’s like a frequency; the way needs to be clear for the couple to pick it up. Fears, secrets, and doubts can block a bond. I don’t have to wonder what’s blocking ours. You’re struggling to balance everything. You’re trying to find a way to belong to both worlds—in doing that, you’re splitting yourself in half. All of you has to accept your shifter side.”
Frankie bristled, pausing with the bottle halfway to her mouth. “I do accept my wolf. Always have.”
“Not talking about your wolf. I’m talking about what comes with her: your heritage, your past, your pack—especially since mating with me will mean moving to pack territory. In case you’re wondering, no, you are not expected to give up your job. You’re not the only pack member who has one. The only thing you would be giving up is this house.” But accepting all that would mean the Newmans would likely turn on her.
Frankie tossed back a mouthful of beer. “If there was no mating urge, how were you so sure we were mates so fast?”
“Because nothing’s blocking the bond on my end. I have no doubts or fears about mating. I have plenty of personal issues, but none that would get in the way of mating.” He dabbed a kiss on first one corner of her mouth and then the other, needing the contact. “It’s commonly believed that our inner animals know their mate at first sight. I trust my wolf’s instincts and I listen to him, so I always believed that I’d recognize my true mate at the same time as he did. To be honest, though, a part of me started to doubt that he’d recognize her so easily.”
“Why?”
“Tao’s wolf didn’t like Riley at first, so I started to wonder if maybe our animals don’t always know instantly. I told myself that just because Tao’s wolf didn’t initially like her didn’t mean that he didn’t recognize her as his. Riley loved to drive Tao insane, so I supposed it was possible that his wolf just felt disrespected and dismissed by her.” Trick cupped the side of her neck and began lightly breezing his thumb up and down the column of her throat. “If my wolf recognized you as mine when we were kids, he didn’t communicate it to me.”
“Maybe you just weren’t as in tune with him back then.”
“I should have known.”
Frankie didn’t like the self-condemnation in his tone. “Why? Did you have the same mentality about mating that you do now?”
“No. I was a kid, so my priorities were much simpler. But I was protective of you, though I just figured it was because you were the youngest pup. I was even a little possessive, now that I think about it. When you left, I kept asking Iris when you were coming back. I was angry when you didn’t. Not at you, just at the situation. My wolf was just as angry.”
“How did your wolf react to me when we met outside the coffeehouse?”
“He went perfectly still. Searched for a weakness. Ready to pounce and claim. He sensed you were his instantly. He was pissed the hell off when I left you at the coffeehouse. Wanted to take you home and keep you safe.” He paused as something occurred to him, something that made his pulse quicken and gave him hope. “You haven’t said we might not be mates. Why?”
“I haven’t slept with a lot of guys, but I have enough experience to know that my body’s instant reaction to you wasn’t normal. At first I figured it was just because you were an unmated shifter—that it was like calling to like. But I didn’t react that way to Dominic, and he’s unmated.
“Plus I’m not a touchy-feely person and I like my personal space, but it doesn’t bother me or my wolf that you’re very tactile or that you eat up all that space. And you have this way of putting me at ease just by being there, even though I barely know you. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not willfully blind. None of that is normal, is it?”
“No, it’s not. And I’m glad that you’re so open-minded and you don’t turn a blind eye to things that you don’t understand.” He snaked his hand around to cup her nape. “You are mine, Frankie. And I’m yours. You were made for me. And I was made for you. Are you going to fight that?”
She swallowed. “I’m not going to deny that you’re right. I think you are. But I don’t know if I’m ready for the bond yet.”
“Baby,” he began softly, “didn’t you hear what I was telling you earlier? I know you’re not ready. You’re still adjusting to being part of a pack and facing the truth about your parents. The bond will demand everything from you, and you’ve got enough things demanding stuff of you right now. I can wait. I’m here, and I will continue to be here through all the shit that’s going on. I know you’re feeling like you’re being pulled in different directions, but I’m the one person you don’t have to try to please, because you please me by just existing. You’re my priority. You get me?”
Frankie licked her bottom lip. “I don’t think I’ve ever been anyone’s priority.”
That just about broke his heart. “You can trust that you come first to me. There isn’t one single damn thing that’s more important to me than you.” He took the bottle from her and placed it on the island. “Kiss me, Frankie.”
Tired of thinking, she shoved everything out of her head. Everything but him and how much she wanted him. Frankie pressed her mouth to his, but she didn’t kiss him. She traced his lips with her tongue, hands sliding up his chest to fist his shirt. Teasingly, she briefly slid her tongue into his mouth just enough to glide it against the tip of his own. And apparently that was all Trick could take.
With a growl he slammed his mouth on hers and plunged his tongue inside. It wasn’t a kiss. It was an explosion of need. An earth-shattering devastation of her senses.
He shoved his hands up the back of her shirt and yanked her forward so she was flush against him. Sensations bombarded her. His tongue licking into her mouth. His teeth biting her lip. Calloused fingertips digging into her waist. His dark scent swirling around her, flavored with need.
His growls poured down her throat and rumbled in his chest, vibrating against her nipples. Claws raked at her back just hard enough to feel good. And when he shoved his hand under her bra and splayed it possessively on her breast, she tugged on his hair, demanding more. Always more.
Trick cupped and squeezed her breast as he kissed his way down to her pulse. He sucked it into his mouth, felt it beating there, and decided right then that he’d one day leave his claiming mark on that very spot. He couldn’t claim her yet—not officially—but he would sure as hell make her feel thoroughly claimed. He wouldn’t take his mate for the first time on a kitchen island, though.
He slid his hands under her thighs and lifted her, and she locked her legs around him. As he carried her up the stairs, she licked, bit, and sucked at his neck—branding him as hers, and sending his need soaring. The demanding prick of her claws on his back made him growl.
Reaching the landing, he fisted her hair, snatched her head back, and took her mouth. Possessing and dominating, ensuring she knew exactly who wa
s in control. When she went pliant, he spoke. “Bedroom?”
“On your left,” Frankie rasped.
Carrying her inside, he slid her down his body. There was no finesse in the way they stripped. Clothes were tugged, clawed, and yanked until they were both finally naked.
Frankie swallowed at the deliciously masculine view before her. He was all hard muscle and sleek skin and untamed power. She skimmed her hands over his solid shoulders and down his tanned, totally ripped chest, heading right for the long, thick, hard cock that—
He tossed her on the bed, and Frankie surprised herself by chuckling. When he didn’t move to join her, she said, “You going to stand there all night or are you going to fuck me?”
“I’ll fuck you when I’m ready to fuck you,” Trick said simply, raking his gaze over her. Fuck, she was gorgeous. Her breasts were round and full, topped with rosy nipples that tightened even further under his scrutiny. The diamond anchor belly button ring was hot as fuck, especially with the black, delicate vine tattoo that started on her left hip, diagonally swirled its way across her ribs, and then disappeared up her side.
“You look ready to me,” she said, flicking his hard cock a meaningful glance.
Trick fisted his hands as she spread her thighs a little, tempting him, inviting him. Her pussy was pink and glistening, and he needed to taste it. He snapped his eyes to hers. “Grab the headboard, Frankie.” Her brow slowly lifted, but she curled her hands around the iron rungs of the headboard. “Good. Keep those hands right there. Do not let go.”
“But—”
“Do not let go.” He knelt on the bed and tapped her thigh. “Wider, Frankie. Offer me what’s mine.” Agonizingly slowly, her thighs fell open. Her scent rushed into his lungs. Yes, this was what he wanted, her all spread out for him like a feast. “I’m not going to claim you yet, but I am going to leave my brand on you. Here. Now. As many times as I want.”