Page 43 of The Werewolf’s Study Date

"Anytime, wolf boy.”

He tugs lightly on one of my auburn curls. "Watch it, Pope. Now come on. I'm starving."

"Tacos?" I ask, turning in his arms.

"Tacos," he agrees, kissing my forehead. "Then eternity."

Dinner is at the taco joint on Third. Boone skips the salsa because his senses are dialed up to ten, stealing bites of my rice while his hand grips my knee under the table.

"Walk me through the fine print," I say around a tortilla chip. "One last time."

He doesn't hesitate. His gold eyes lock onto mine, calm and steady. "The bite creates a permanent magical and biological bond. It links our scents and connects our vitals. If you're in real danger or extreme physical distress, I'll feel it instantly. You'll feel the same from me."

"No mind reading?"

"No mind reading. I can't hear your thoughts. I can't control what you feel."

"No obedience?"

"Never." His voice hardens with absolute conviction. "You aren't under my authority. You don't bow to pack hierarchy. You're my mate, Maisie. My equal. You can yell at me, lock me out of the bedroom, tell me no whenever you want."

"And the mark itself?"

He reaches across the table, his warm thumb brushing the soft junction where my neck meets my shoulder. A jolt of pure electricity shoots straight down my spine and settles between my thighs.

"Right here," he says, his voice dropping an octave. "My fangs break the skin, my venom seals it, and the scar stays forever. It'll ache for a day, but the bite itself won't hurt the way you think. It's heat, Maisie. It's giving the bond somewhere to land."

My breath catches. The restaurant noise fades to nothing. "Okay," I whisper. "Let's go home."

The second the door to his apartment clicks shut, the atmosphere shifts.

Outside the living room window, the full moon clears the tree line. Silvery light pours across the floorboards, and Boone stops dead in the center of the room. I watch his shoulders drop. His breathing deepens—harsh and rhythmic. The amber in his eyes turns to molten gold, bright and feral.

The managed, polite college guy is gone. The wolf is right at the surface.

"Maisie," he rasps, turning to face me. "You have no idea how good you smell right now."

I step toward him, heart hammering against my ribs, but there isn't an ounce of fear in me. I've spent weeks testing this, analyzing it, choosing it.

"Tell me what you want, Boone."

"I want you on the bed," he growls, closing the distance between us in one massive, predatory stride. "I want to taste you. I want to sink my teeth into your neck until every creature on this campus knows who you belong to." He stops an inch away, chest heaving, hands trembling with the effort of holding back. "Tell me you want it. Tell me now, or I swear to God I'll back off."

"Don't you dare back off," I say, gripping the front of his shirt and yanking him down. "I want the bond. I want you."

A ragged growl rips from his chest. His mouth crashes onto mine—hard and greedy, tasting like heat and hunger. His hands dive under my sweater, rough calloused palms spanning my waist, lifting me effortlessly off my feet. I wrap my legs around his hips, gasping into his mouth as he carries me across the room and drops me onto the mattress.

He follows me down, his heavy, solid weight pressing me into the sheets. He strips my sweater over my head in one frantic motion, tossing it aside, and then his hands are on my jeans, shoving them down my hips along with my underwear until I'm bare beneath him.

His eyes devour every inch of my body, dark gold and blazing. "Fuck, Maisie. You're so damn gorgeous."

"Boone. Take your damn shirt off."

He rips his shirt over his head, muscles flexing, thick scars gleaming across his golden skin. When he comes back over me, skin to skin, the contact scorches.

His mouth drops straight to the curve of my neck and shoulder. He licks the exact spot where the mark will go, his sharp canines scraping lightly over my pulse. A sharp shiver tears through me, and I arch upward with a breathless moan.

He groans against my skin, the sound vibrating through my bones. "You like that? You like knowing where I'm going to bite you?"