“You’re mine,” he rumbles, like he’s evoking an ancient vow. “And I’m yours.”
Mate.
I feel another trickle of slick between my thighs and his nostrils flare, his gaze sharpening. “You take my hand now, there’s no going back.”
“You don’t need to convince me.” I lick my lips, my mouth suddenly desert dry. He’s so close, but still so far out of reach. “I’m not going to change my mind.”
“You sure? Even with all of this?” He waves a hand, indicating some part of him that he thinks is undesirable, but I clearly have a different viewpoint.
“You’re mine, Bluff.”
He nods, a matching possessiveness flaring in his eyes, and the next moment he’s plucked me off the table. He moves so fast, I’m not sure that all my hours on the Shorin-Ryu matwould even make a difference. Not that I’m trying to escape him, my arms looping around his neck and my legs clutching tight to his waist. His chest presses firmly against mine and undeniable need washes over me, turning my blood molten. I’m finally touching him, and our bodies are wrapped so tightly, I can feel the hum of his dominance under his skin. God knows why he was trying to warn me off, because my alpha is perfection wrapped in dusty denim.
He tilts his head again, the curtain of his hair brushing his cheek. “Last chance, Abigail.”
I hold his gaze as I sweep his hair back and squeeze my legs tighter around his waist. “Do I look like I’m going anywhere, Bluff?”
There are a few people still within earshot, and I’m vaguely aware of someone calling my name, but Bluff turns away from the sound, stepping deeper into the shadows. My back presses against the exterior wall of the gym, but I barely feel it as Bluff runs his nose from my neck to the corner of my lips. It’s a sweet torment, the slow possession of my skin by his warm, wet mouth, and I shudder against him, tipping my neck to give him better access. “A kiss or a bite, butterfly? You’re gonna get both, but you can pick which one comes first.”
He makes it sound like we have all the time in the world, but I can definitely hear someone behind us now and I clutch him tighter. “Start with the bite. I can wait for the kisses.”
His lips turn up, a pleased rumble vibrating from his chest, and then his mouth closes over my scent gland. He sucks the sensitive flesh, his tongue sweeping over the delicate ridge like he’s memorizing the shape. Or maybe he’s just preparing me for what’s about to come, because when he bites down, pain and bliss spark through me, turning the world white at the edges.
“Mate.” I don’t know if I hear the word or whisper it, because I’m lost to the sensation of his claiming sinking into me. It’s ashot as a falling star, ripples of warmth that fill the cold, empty place in my chest. Instead of fading away, it swells and grows, a euphoric burn that I never want to put out…
“What the fuck?”
Pitt bursts out of the gym door beside us right as Ark’s hand lands on Bluff’s shoulder, white knuckles flashing as they spin us away from the shadows. Pitt’s shock is spiraling into anger, but it has nothing on Ark’s fury as he pulls his fist back and punches my mate square in his smiling face.
Chapter Sixteen: ABBIE
I don’t know how Bluff manages to absorb the punch and not drop me on my ass, but he slowly lowers me to my feet, his arm still wrapped around my waist. He faces Ark, eyes cautious but unrepentant. “Settle down, brother.”
“Settle down?” Ark looks like he’s just been hit by an electric shock. “Are you fuckinginsane?”
I can feel Bluff’s wince, like a tremor through our bond, but he doesn’t move to defend himself when Ark draws his fist back a second time. Ark’s dominance is like a rockfall sliding downhill, ready to engulf us both, but he jerks to a stop as I hurl myself between them. “Leave him alone! It’s not his fault!”
Ark’s furious gaze drops to mine, his scent like scorched tar in my lungs. “Step aside, Abbie.”
“No! We’re scent matches, okay? You can’t hit him for this.”
Pitt has been looming behind me, ready to leap in, but now he makes a choking sound. “You’rewhat?”
“He tried to stay away.” I turn and give Pitt a beseeching look, my heart sinking as his hand wraps tightly around Bluff’s bicep. “We only met a couple of times, and he fought it. This wasn’tplanned, but if you’re going to yell at him, then you have to yell at me, too.”
Something that looks a lot like hurt flashes in Ark’s eyes. “Is that why you came back to the club? Forhim?”
He spits the word, and I swallow hard as I turn back to Pitt. I won’t stoke Ark’s anger, but I’m not ashamed of what I’ve done, either. I hate to see the confusion in Pitt’s green eyes, though. “You know why I’m here. I came for Wings, but also for us. To see if we could make it work. And Bluff is part of that now.”
Pitt studies me for a long, tense moment, then offers a jerky nod. “We need to talk about this, obviously, but what’s done is done…”
“This is a long way from beingdone!” Ark growls, his dominance swelling until I can feel it biting into my skin. “Do your fucking job, Pitt. I want him gone.Now!”
I can’t hold back a strangled cry, images of incinerators flashing through my mind. When he says gone, he doesn’t meangone… does he? “Wait, Ark! He didn’t do anything wrong…”
Ark whirls on me, his jaw clenched so tight, I can see the bone jutting against his tanned skin. “He dideverythingwrong, and he damn well knows it.”
“Wrong for who, Ark?” Bluff asks quietly, his hand still resting gently on my hip. He’s tense, but there’s no aggression in his scent, and I wonder if he smells as honey-sweet to Ark as he does to me. Does that make it worse? I don’t know what to say to calm him down, but he’s not looking at me anyway. All of his aggression is focused on Bluff as he says, “I’d apologize, but it feels exactly right to me.”
