Dark Instincts

  Then she pointed at her pussy. “Well, it’s not going to lick itself.”

  A wicked smile curved his mouth as his eyes returned human. “I’ll give my pretty baby what she wants.” Joining her on the bed and blanketing her body with his, he added, “When I’m ready.”

  Oh, the motherfucker.

  Gently slapping aside the hand that warningly swiped her claws at him, Marcus curled his tongue around her nipple. She moaned, knotting her hands in his hair. He toyed with each of her breasts; molding and squeezing them with his hands while licking, sucking, and biting her nipples.

  “Why are you still dressed?” That could easily be changed. Roni destroyed his clothes with her claws, wanting his flesh pressed to hers, wanting her scent all over him and his scent all over her. Each time he marked her, it sent an almost electric jolt to her clit. Her wolf urged her to leave her own brands, so she did—clawing the sleek skin of his back, loving the feel of his powerful muscles bunching beneath her hands.

  Unable to resist the lure of her scent, Marcus raked his teeth down her abdomen as he slid down her body, briefly stopping to dip his tongue into her navel. Hands clenched on her thighs, he then swooped down and lightly fluttered his tongue through her slit. “This is mine,” he growled against her pussy. “And I’m going to fill it up. Going to fuck it until you scream and this tight pussy comes all over my cock.”

  Roni moaned, groaned, and whimpered as he sank his tongue inside her, swirling, stabbing, and licking until her legs were trembling and she was writhing like crazy. He then licked between her folds and circled her clit before flicking it with the tip of his tongue—knowing exactly how much she liked it. Then he was sucking on her clit, and each tug, tug, tug sent sparks of pleasure lancing through her, but it also worsened the empty ache in her pussy. “Marcus, inside me, now.” Instead, he suckled harder on her clit before shoving one finger inside her, curving it just right. Like that, she shattered.

  Possessiveness roared through Marcus when she came all over his hand. “Your pussy is dripping for me.” As he knelt above her, eyes that briefly flashed wolf roamed down his body and fixed on his cock—he was thick and full and aching. Her covetous gaze almost made him groan. “You look hungry for it, sweetheart.” She hadn’t sucked him off yet; dominant females always did oral sex on their own terms.

  Her eyes flicked up to his. “I want to taste you.”

  Anticipation thrummed through him. “It’s all yours.” Sitting up, she fisted him, leaned over and delivered an almost catlike lick to the tip of the head. “Fuck.” She licked his cock like it was a fucking ice-cream cone, doing some clever swirly thing with her tongue. Bunching her hair in his hand, he growled. That was when she finally took him into her mouth, sucking so hard her cheeks hollowed. “That’s it, sweetheart, suck it.” Her mouth was heaven, and it was his. She was his. This body was his. The sex-crazed look in her eyes—that was his. He had to have her.

  Roni gasped as she suddenly found herself pinned to the bed with such strength that a jolt of excitement sizzled through her. Just for the hell of it, she struggled against his hold, but he didn’t loosen his grip on her wrists. In fact, he pressed more of his weight on her, crushing her breasts against his solid chest, and sinking her into the mattress. She couldn’t move, yet she liked it. Just as she liked the look on his face right then—it was a look that promised her she was about to be ruthlessly fucked, but she’d have to submit. Finally, she went pliant beneath him.

  “Good girl.” Releasing one of her wrists, he slipped a hand under her ass and tilted her hips. “I think my pretty little wolf is ready for me.” Knowing he was about to claim Roni as his mate . . . it was like a narcotic.

  Locking her legs around his waist, Roni bit his bottom lip hard. “Then make me take it.”

  He slammed into her, groaning as her muscles clamped around him. Her back arched as a gasp flew out of her. “Feel me,” he whispered harshly, flexing his cock. “You’re mine, Roni.” He possessively fisted a hand in her hair and tugged. “All mine.” His jaw clenched as he powered into her, so deep he knew he was in her womb. His pounding was ruthless, and his pace was relentless as he claimed her with every stroke.

  Clinging to him, Roni met every demanding thrust—taking what he gave her, wanting more. His mouth landed on hers, thrusting his tongue inside; they shared breaths, moans, pants, and gasps. Meanwhile, sensation and friction built, winding her tighter and tighter. “I’m close.” His response was to reach a hand between their bodies and circle her clit with his thumb—that was when her climax crept up on her.

  As he felt her pussy begin to flutter around him, Marcus groaned. “Yes, sweetheart, come hard for me.” He dug his teeth into her throat, tasting blood, licking and sucking to ensure that his brand could never be mistaken for anything else. At the same time, her body contracted around him as she screamed his name and her claws pierced the flesh of his back. Then her teeth locked on his shoulder and sank deep. The pleasure-pain shoved him over the edge and he exploded deep inside her, coming harder than he’d ever come before in his life.

  Roni’s breath trapped in her throat as her back bowed. A brief flash of pain sliced through her head, but it was quickly soothed away by the warm feelings that washed through her—feelings of home and safety and rightness. They were soppy and weird and unfamiliar, but they also settled her in a way she couldn’t quite explain.

  More important than that, she could feel Marcus. Feel him in her, over her, all around her . . . almost as if they shared the same skin—a sensation she knew she’d feel even when they were apart. She couldn’t see the bond, but she could feel it as surely as she could feel her connection to her arm. She could sense what Marcus was feeling as it hummed through the bond: pure masculine satisfaction. Although not yet fully developed, the bond was stable and vibrant. “Can you feel what I’m feeling?”

  Marcus nodded, licking over his claiming mark. He’d felt everything she’d felt—experienced every single flicker of emotion, every sensation, every bit of wonder. “Balanced.”

  She pursed her lips. “I don’t trust it.”

  He laughed, liking the mischief in her eyes. “Why shouldn’t you feel balanced, sweetheart? You’re anchored now.”

  “It doesn’t mean I’ll start smiling or anything.”

  “Of course not, Dimples.” That got him a whack over the head. Laughing again, he rolled them over so she was straddling him, and shaped her waist with his hands. “Now that wasn’t nice. You’re supposed to treasure and worship me.” She just rolled her eyes.

  Marcus couldn’t help marveling at how much more centered he felt, at how the feel of her inside him steadied him. Not that the anger was gone. It was still there, always would be. But Roni’s presence smoothed over the jagged edges inside him, so they were no longer sharp and cutting—healing him without changing him. “You really can’t bolt now.”

  “I wouldn’t have anyway,” she answered honestly. That got her a wide smile. When that smile turned impish, she arched a brow questioningly.

  “You know, a petty thought just crept into my brain.”

  She sighed. “You like that Nick’s going to freak, don’t you?” Her brother had come to tolerate Marcus, but that was as good as it got—for the simple reason that she was his sister, and he liked to think of her as a sweet, innocent virgin.

  “Do you think he’ll cry? I hope so.”

  “On another note, aren’t you a little . . . I don’t know . . . disappointed?” Like that, his amusement vanished and he bolted upright.

  Wrapping his arms around her, Marcus held her eyes with a serious gaze. “I need you to listen up, sweetheart. Hear me when I say that you are more important to me than any goddamn thing in this world. I’m proud to have you as a mate. Everything about you appeals to me—your strength, your intelligence, your complexity, your frankness, and the fact that you use pointless facts as social repellents. And let’s not forget your ass. I love your addictively supple body, sweetheart, but especiall
y that phenomenal ass.”

  It was impossible not to believe him when she could feel his sincerity. She could feel something else from him too—a flash of insecurity. “You don’t honestly worry that I might be disappointed, do you? Because that means I’ll have to dish out some compliments to assure you I’m perfectly happy, and I won’t be good at that.”

  “You’re perfectly happy?” Smiling, Marcus lifted her by her waist, aligned his hard cock to her pussy, and impaled her on him. “That tells me all I need to know.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  He’s your mate?”

  Smiling at Nick, Marcus slid an arm around Roni to cup her hip possessively. “I knew you’d be happy for us.”

  From his seat on the sofa, Nick gaped at his sister. “Seriously? He’s your mate?”

  Looking delighted, Shaya came over and kissed both Roni and Marcus on the cheek. “Congratulations!” Then she was crying and fanning her face. “It’s the hormones.”

  “I suspected it,” said Eli, “but I wasn’t totally sure.” He kissed Roni on the cheek, and shook Marcus’s hand. One by one, Caleb, Kent, and the enforcers rose from various seats around the living area of the main lodge and congratulated them—careful not to get too close to Roni. While the mating bond was incomplete, the possessiveness would be worse than ever. Nick seemed too shocked to move.

  Roni raised her brows at her uncharacteristically quiet mother. “Happy to hear I’m not living in sin after all?” Kathy didn’t answer. And, yeah, that kind of hurt. Similarly, neither Janice nor Eliza offered their congratulations, but whatever.

  “Oh, come on! He’s your mate?”

  Roni rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake, Nick! Can’t you be happy for me?”

  “I am happy that you’ve found your mate; I was hoping you would.” Nick shrugged, practically pouting. “I was just hoping it wasn’t him.”

  “I thought you liked Marcus,” said a clearly amused Eli.

  “Like? No. Prepared to tolerate? Yes.”

  Shaya patted her mate’s thigh. “Do you think, maybe, it’s not that you truly have a problem with Marcus, it’s that you’re just a little bummed that you have to let your sister go now? You’ve been used to being the main man in her life, and now that’s changed.”

  Nick folded his arms across his chest. “Maybe.”

  “I wouldn’t take it personally that he’s not warm to you,” Eli said to Marcus. “According to Mom, Nick’s been alienating people since he was two years old.”

  “When will you have the mating ceremony?” Shaya did a little clap. “Ooh, can I plan it, please?”

  It was tradition for the other females of the pack to plan the event, and since Roni wouldn’t have a clue where to start, she nodded. “Sure. Just no fairy-tale theme.”

  Shaya nodded. “Got it. How about on Saturday evening?”

  “Can you have it planned and sorted in just two days?” asked Marcus.

  “Of course. Taryn and Jaime will help me anyway.”

  Marcus squeezed Roni’s hip. “Okay then, Saturday it is.”

  “Great!” Then Shaya was crying again. “They’re good tears.”

  “I’ve just had a thought.” Jesse leaned forward. “Where are you guys going to live?”

  “One of you will have to switch packs,” said Zander.

  “I’m not,” both Roni and Marcus said in unison. Wincing, they turned to face each other.

  “This is probably something we need to discuss in private,” suggested Marcus.

  “You can’t leave me, Roni,” whined Shaya. “I’ll be the only female.”

  Kathy arched a brow. “What am I, chopped liver?”

  “And what about me?” moaned Janice.

  “You’ve got me, Shaya,” said Eliza.

  Shaya rolled her eyes. “Kathy, I think of you as more of a force of nature than a person. Janice, I don’t like you, and I’ll never like you. Eliza, you have no chance in hell of transferring to this pack, so crawl back out of my ass.” Sweet though Shaya was, she could be pretty outspoken at times.

  An outraged Janice marched out of the lodge, and a concerned Kathy trailed after her.

  “What if Jesse and I imprint?” Eliza’s glare switched to Jesse when he snorted. Chin up high, she huffed. “Fine. I don’t believe in staying where I’m not welcome.” She jumped up so abruptly that she tipped over the satchel by her foot. A case file slid out, and papers spilled along the floor. Cursing, Eliza bent down and began gathering the sheets together—snarling at Jesse when he tried to help. Just as she went to grab a particular sheet, Marcus picked it up and studied it closely.

  Curious, Roni glanced at it; her eyes were immediately drawn to the photograph that was clipped to the paper. Holy fuck. It clearly fit the description of the wolf shifter who the jackal mentioned, tattoo included. And according to the personal details provided, Noah Brunt was in fact a wolf shifter.

  “That is confidential information,” growled Eliza, snatching back the paper. She turned to Roni. “I’d say congratulations on the mating, but I find it much too hard to believe that you could possibly be the mate of someone like Marcus.”

  “Well, considering we’re wearing each other’s scent, and you can see our claiming marks easily enough, I’m confused by your disbelief. But I also don’t care.” Roni raised a hand when Eliza went to speak. “No, really, don’t bother answering—I’ve already lost interest.”

  “Seriously, Marcus, she’s a—”

  “Think very carefully before you continue that sentence,” he rumbled.

  Eliza snickered. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “No, but my mate would. And we all know she can take you—she already did.”

  “Maybe. But I could take her in a courtroom. She’d be sorry she touched me again.”

  “Hey, I know plenty about law,” claimed Roni. “For instance, I know that in Baldwin Park, no one’s allowed to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool. And I know that it’s illegal to hunt whales in Oklahoma. Oh, and in Singapore, it’s illegal to buy or sell gum—you can only have it prescribed by a doctor.” Everyone just stared at her. “What?”

  Marcus pulled her closer. “I love how that brain absorbs everything.”

  “If you don’t find that irritating, you really must be mates,” mumbled Nick.

  “These people might buy that you’re mates, but I don’t.” Pivoting on the spot, Eliza stormed out of the lodge, slamming the door closed behind her.

  “You have a pen and a piece of paper, gorgeous?” Marcus asked Roni. Once he had them, he scribbled down Brunt’s address, then turned to Nick. “I have to speak to my pack. You have Skype, right?”

  Sensing the urgency in Marcus’s manner, Nick leaned forward. “What’s going on?”

  “The photo of Eliza’s client, Noah Brunt, matched the description of the jackals’ tech guy. If it’s him, we now know his name and where he lives. But we’ve had plenty of false alarms since trying to hunt down this wolf, so we’ll need Rhett to do a check on Brunt.”

  Nodding, Nick stood. “I’ll have Donovan see what he can find out about Brunt too. Wait here, I’ll get my laptop.” Pretty soon they were connected to Rhett’s computer, and a number of Phoenix wolves were gathered around him. Immediately, they noticed Marcus’s and Roni’s claiming marks.

  “You’re true mates?” asked a smiling Taryn.

  “Yes,” replied Marcus. With that, his pack began exchanging money. Un-freaking-believable. “You bet on whether or not we’re mates?”

  Counting the wad of dollars in his hands, Trick spoke. “We were all sure you would both end up together, but we took bets on whether you were true mates. Oh, and on how long it would take for you guys to claim each other.”

  “You’re not in a position to judge, since you bet on whether Taryn would stay for good when I brought her home,” said Trey.

  Jaime smiled brightly. “Forget all that! Congratulations!” The other Phoenix wolves followed her lead, passing on their best wishes . . . other
than the blond pervert.

  Dominic pouted. “I’m so bummed. I can’t believe you would do this to me, Roni.”

  “Dominic,” Marcus gritted out.

  “We could have been so happy together. I feel so betrayed.”

  “Dominic.”

  “But even though you’ve smashed my heart into pieces, I don’t regret loving you. If I had to choose between loving you or being able to breathe, I’d tell you I loved you with my last breath.”

  As Jaime laughed and everyone else groaned, Marcus exchanged a look with Ryan. The enforcer nodded and then smacked Dominic over the back of the head.

  “Hey, that hurt!” But the pervert was laughing his ass off.

  Roni sighed. “You know, Dominic, I think it’s about time I tell you what everyone says about you behind your back.” A brief pause. “Nice ass.” A large hand suddenly wrapped around her throat and shook her playfully.

  “You’re not allowed to do that anymore, sweetheart,” Marcus told her, chuckling. “Not if you want the perve to live, anyway.”

  Smug, Dominic pointed at Roni. “Ha! You can’t do it anymore!”

  Shoving the idiot aside, Trick grinned at Marcus. “I told you to ignore the Seer, didn’t I?”

  “You did. And you were right. I’m not saying Kerrie lied, but—” Marcus paused when Roni snorted. “You think she lied?”

  “Totally. When she saw us together at the diner, she was jealous, Marcus. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to conclude that she’d wanted some commitment from you and was bitter that she didn’t get it. Maybe she wanted to get back at you.”

  “You’re saying she fabricated that vision, knowing it would make me dread finding my mate, make me opposed to mating?”

  “I’d say so. I do think she had a vision of you and me together, because she went pale when she saw me. But by giving you a false description of your mate, it made you expect someone very specific; that was guaranteed to make it harder for you to recognize me as your true mate when we met.”

  “That makes sense,” said Trick. “Maybe the Seer had even hoped that if the future she described was really so repugnant to you, you’d give her commitment.”