AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He tipped his head to the side, moving closer to her; liking how her pupils dilated. “Why?”
She licked those lips he wanted to nip. “Most shifter groupings are ruled by the same breed that forms the vast majority of the pack, pride, clan, or whatever.”
“We aren’t fussed about stuff like that,” he said with a shrug. “I doubt Tate expected his true mate to be a devil shifter. She, Aspen, Bailey, and Camden were originally loners. They’ve known each other since they were children, and they still work at the rec center where they spent most of their time growing up.”
Quinley edged a little closer to him. “Tell me more about the people here.”
Liking her interest, he did exactly that.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“I like it,” said Quinley, taking in the spacious room.
Though the party wasn’t yet finished, they’d left the Tavern once midnight hit. Isaiah had brought her straight to his house and given her a tour… which had ended right here in the master bedroom. And she knew why; knew he’d saved this for last because his intention was that they wouldn’t leave it for a while.
Quinley swallowed, nervous in a kind of… delicious way. She was about to be claimed, and she just knew he’d take her, dominate her, in a way no other male had. And she had not one intention of fighting his dominance.
For Quinley, the idea of taking control in bed was a little off-putting. She wanted a dominant male who’d take the lead. It wasn’t about kink or sex games, it was just part of her nature. She couldn’t change it—nor did she care to—any more than he could alter how it was ingrained in him to lead, protect, shelter, and assume control. It just was.
Many humans had such a skewed perception of submission. Especially when it applied to outside of sex, as if they believed it weak to tend to the needs of another. She’d never really understood that. Was it not a good thing to take care of those who mattered? It wasn’t as if the situation was unbalanced—he’d provide what she needed, and vice versa.
“If there’s anything you want to change, anything you want to add, go for it,” Isaiah invited, standing a few feet away. “It’s your home now, too.”
Liking the earthy color schemes that run throughout the place, she wouldn’t go as far as to paint anything or haul in new furniture. But she’d put her own stamp on the place—it was what shifters did to claim their territory.
“That dresser is new and empty,” he added, gesturing at it. “And one side of the closet is now clear.”
“Thank you.” She cast a look at the unused vanity dresser. “That’s new as well?” Because if he’d originally bought it for a different female, Quinley would replace it.
“Yes,” he replied. “I figured you might need it.”
“You’re good at this mate-thing.”
Isaiah’s mouth hitched up. “Pleased to hear it.”
He stalked to her, every step unrushed and deliberate, making her pulse hiccup. And then he was right there, crossing over into her personal space without hesitation. His scent bounded into her and lured her cat closer.
Sexual tension arced between them, muggy and crackly. It made her stomach clench and her blood heat.
Isaiah gripped her jaw. “This face…” He dragged a blatantly proprietary gaze over her facial features, cataloguing each one. Male appreciation burned in his eyes. “It’s probably good that Havana got in the way of us being alone here earlier.”
“Why?”
“Because I would have fucked you for sure, and I want the first time I take you to be the same time I claim you as mine.” Isaiah watched as need rose up in her gaze and swallowed her pupils. His body stirred and tightened in response.
He wanted to take her. Now. Hard. But before they got to that… “Let’s make sure we’re on the same page, I don’t want any misunderstandings between us. My guess would be that, as a submissive shifter, you don’t want to lead in the bedroom.”
“Holds no appeal for me.”
“All right.” Releasing her jaw, he burrowed his hand in her hair, loving the silky feel of the thick mass. “In sexual contexts, I like to lead. The thing is… it won’t be a case where I just give you orders to follow. Sometimes, there’ll be no orders. I’ll just come to you wherever you are, bend you over something, and take you right there.”
Heat flared in her gaze, and the glimmer of her cat’s eyes flickered behind her own. He liked that he had the animal’s full attention as well as hers.
His own cat stayed back, moodily observing; a non-participant. He knew what Isaiah intended, and he was angry that Isaiah would think to brand a female who wasn’t their fated mate.
“Consent is important,” Isaiah went on, gently rubbing strands of her hair between the pads of his fingers. “I need to know I have it; that when we’re here in this house, there is no need for me to request permission because it’s already been granted. This is our space where, in terms of anything sexual, I lead and you follow. But if you ever say no, then it doesn’t happen. Simple. That’s all you ever have to say: No.”
“But you won’t ask, you’ll just take,” she understood.
