Page 42 of Wrath

My mate threw his head back and roared. For a split second, I thought he had also found his release. Through the haze of my current high, it took me a moment to realize my mistake. Wrath appeared to grow bigger, cracking sounds similar to those he made while shifting into his battle form filling the room as he continued to move in and out of me with increasing vigor. His shoulders broadened, and the bone spikes on his shoulders and along his spine protruded further and became wider. He didn’t go into a full shift, but this partial one had my heart fluttering with equal parts of fear and excitement.

“I’m going to wreck you!” Wrath hissed as his terrifying set of double fangs descended, their sharp tips gleaming between his lips parted in a ferocious snarl.

And did he ever…

Wrath pounded into me with nearly feral savagery. Even his claws had come out to play, leaving a burning trail in their wake wherever they scraped my skin. I should have begged him to stop or slow down, but I was drowning in an ocean of pleasure that even the pain of his brutal possession couldn’t surpass. Instead, I shouted in ecstasy, giving myself over to the wild beast that had taken over him.

I lost count of how many orgasms he wrested from me. The first time Wrath joined his voice to mine, he pressed his mouth to the fleshy part of my neck. The sharp tips of his fangs pricked my skin, but the vicious bite never came. He continued to pump in and out of me while the searing heat of his seed showered my insides.

But he was not done.

Wrath had not been exaggerating when he’d warned me that the day he made me his, it wouldn’t be over quickly. I lost all sense of time as he took me over, and over, and over again. By the time he granted me mercy, my voice was shot, and I was reduced to a boneless mess. Wrecked and utterly exhausted, I let him gather my trembling body in his arms. Head resting on his chest, I surrendered to a blissful sleep to the frantic beat of his dual hearts gradually going to normal. But just before darkness swallowed me, a somber thought crossed my mind: Wrath didn’t bond with me.

That night, Wrath woke me a few times to ravish me again, and then once more this morning. We showered together, which forced me to bat away his wandering hands. On top of being a wonderful listener, an amazing cuddler—and let’s not talk about a mind-blowing lover—Wrath was a true nurturer. He never seemed to tire of taking care of me. He washed me, dried me, helped me dress—although I was forbidden to wear panties—and then even combed my hair. Sure, he was enjoying this excuse to put his hands on me, but he was the same with everything else, always attentive to my needs and emotional state.

A wistful smile played on my lips as I followed him out of my quarters. He was buck naked, yesterday’s clothes balled in his hands. Granted, his loin plate sheltered his naughty bits, but nothing hid the scrumptious globes of his sexy behind. Thankfully, it was a short walk to his quarters, and we got in before anyone could witness his ‘walk of shame.’

Kevin, too, had been carefree with his nudity, streaking it all day at home. I always had to remind him in a panic to put something on as he would forget he was baring it all when the pizza guy would ring the doorbell.

My mind froze when I realized where my thoughts had wandered. More importantly, the absence of sorrow struck me hard. I didn’t know how to feel about it. It pleased me to be able to fondly remember past moments with Kevin. However, a conflicting sense of guilt tugged at me: guilt that I was moving on, but also guilt that I should reminisce about my ex just when I’d finally taken the dive into a new relationship.

But Wrath had not bonded with me.

My fingers rubbed the fleshy part of the curve of my right shoulder. It was smooth, unscathed, devoid of the scar of Wrath’s mating bite. That bite and him injecting me with his mating hormones would have bound us for eternity, and initiated the change to turn me into his compatible mate. Last night, he had violently resisted the urge to do it. Why? His failure to officially claim me bothered me more than I would ever admit.

“You look troubled,” Wrath said, startling me out of my wandering thoughts.

He’d already put on a fresh pair of pants and was holding a clean shirt in his hand.

“It’s nothing,” I said with a dismissive gesture, feeling even more guilty to have been caught red-handed.

Wrath frowned. He tossed his shirt onto his massive bed and came to stand right in front of me. I shifted uneasily on my feet.

“We shouldn’t have any secrets from each other,” Wrath said in a gentle voice devoid of any condemnation. “There’s nothing you can’t tell me. You and I are soulmates. We can face anything together.”

I shrugged and lowered my eyes, not really knowing what to say.

“I’m guessing you were thinking about Kevin?” Wrath asked, although it came out more as a statement.

I stiffened, my gaze jerking up to lock with his, while my face heated with guilt. The upset, hurt, or betrayed look I expected to descend on his stunning features never came. Instead, he took on an air of empathy.

“And it brings back the pain of his loss,” Wrath said with sympathy, drawing me into his embrace.

I shook my head. “No it… I thought it would, or even should, but…”

My voice faded away.

“What was it about?” Wrath insisted softly.

I squirmed, feeling mightily uneasy. “Do you really want me to tell you about fond memories of my ex when they pop in my head?” I asked with a nervous laughter.

“Absolutely!” my man said as if it was self-evident. “Like I said, I’m not threatened by your past. It pleases me tremendously that you are starting to be able to think of him without sorrow. He is a part of you.”

My eyes flicked between his to assess the honesty of his words. He held my gaze unwaveringly with a gentle smile on his lips.

“You’re really something else, you know that?” I stated, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“So I’ve been told,” Wrath said teasingly.