Chapter Nineteen
Graham couldn’t get enough of his mate. All afternoon he’d wanted nothing more than to sink himself into her until he blacked out from exhaustion. Just the thought of it kept a steady flow of blood running through his dick. He’d been hyper aware of her every move during dinner. He’d listened in from afar while she spoke so candidly with his mom. He realized whatever she was running from, really scared her. One thing was certain, his mom was right, she didn’t need to run ever again.
He wasn’t sure what Leonora had said to her. Leonora was always hard on new mates entering their family and he couldn’t necessarily blame her. Her true mate rejected her long ago and she still carried a chip on her shoulder though her chosen mate was far better than the original asshole. It still didn’t explain the added animosity she showed Catherine. He figured that’s what Catherine wanted to tell him before he started kindling the fire they’d managed to tamp down at his mother’s. If she wanted to talk about her past, he would listen with all of his attention. Right now, though, every ounce of his attention was diverted to the beast straining against his zipper.
“Windows,” Catherine moaned against his open mouth, finally submitting to him.
He felt around the countertops for the remote that closed the blinds to the glass doors while he continued to kiss her neck and shoulders, probably leaving hickeys. Graham groaned and lifted her ass to carry her to the table. He shoved her down against it. He noticed the remote and reached for it, hissing as Catherine’s nails raked down his shirt, slicing it as they went. The blinds fluttered closed and he shucked off what remained of his shirt. He noticed her admiring his tattoos and flexed his muscles causing her pupils to dilate even more.
Graham unsnapped her bra and she pulled it off her shoulders as he wasted no time sucking a nipple into his mouth. Her hands gripped his hair hard. His tongue swirled around the little bud and she mewled beneath him. He switched his mouth to the other nipple and massaged the one he’d just vacated with his free hand. Without taking his mouth from her nipple he unbuttoned her jeans. He jerked them downard and she used her feet to pull them the rest of the way off.
Immediately his fingers traced over the slit in her panties. She was already dripping through the fine lace of her thong and he bit down on her at the realization. She squeaked as he snapped her panties from her body. Catherine squirmed against the table until he traced his index finger through her folds. Her body shook and her hands pulsed against his shoulders. He took her mouth with his and their tongues mated. He circled her clitoris. He pushed his thumb against the sensitive nub, catching her moans as she breathed them out. At the same time as his thumb worked, he slipped his index finger down before inserting it into her wet heat.
Catherine jerked away from him and flung her head back. His eyes ate up the unmarked skin of her throat. He latched his mouth onto it, unable to keep his teeth from grazing the spot.
*More, Graham, please, more,” Catherine begged.
Graham was more than happy to oblige. He inserted a second finger, stretching her tight confines. She bucked in time with the thrust of his finger until she was a moaning mess beneath him. She was so close to the edge. His canines extended. They tingled with the need to sink them into her flesh and pump her full of his venom. He couldn’t fuck her for the first time on the kitchen table, could he? He’d slipped a condom into his back pocket just in case but he hadn’t lost complete control yet.
Graham growled against her collarbone and yanked his fingers out of her just as she was about to cry out her ecstasy. She panted his name and tried to grab him back to her.
“Just a taste. I just need a taste and we can finish this in bed.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
He was startled. Had he said that out loud? It didn’t matter. His fingers massaged her thighs while his lips trailed down the slope of her stomach. As they dipped lower, he noticed a reaction come over Catherine. She stopped writhing. Her breathing turned from lustful to panicked.
“Wait…”
He couldn’t.
“Graham, wait, before we do this…”
“No,” he growled. “Just let me taste you.”
Her legs tightened as he dropped his head to kiss her pussy. Her body jerked and he pried her thighs away from crushing his skull. He let his canines slip out and trail over her sensitive flesh. Then he covered her heat with his flattened tongue. She nearly fell off the table at the sensation.
“Graham, please, wait…”
Chapter Nineteen
How could she want him to stop? He could tell she was enjoying it. His hands kept her thighs apart and he ran them down. That’s when he froze. He felt something, just there along the inside of her right thigh: a scar. A scar in the shape of a crescent moon. He looked up to see Catherine staring down at him with pure fear lacing her every feature. He turned his head, knowing it couldn’t be what he thought. His eyes became riveted to the scar, just on the cusp of her womanhood. The half circular shape… of a mating mark.
His hand on her thigh tightened and he absently heard a surprised cry of pain. His mind was muddled. His eyes would not move from the mark on his mate. The mark was large, certainly given to her by a higher rank. It was from a wolf. A wolf with only one canine. The implications of this immobilized him. It froze him to the core. He felt his heart thudding loudly against his rib cage. The pain he felt ripped through him like a current of electricity, zapping every emotion in its wake. Once the pain did its job, all that was left was pure, unfiltered rage.
As Graham came back to reality he could make out Catherine’s soft sobs above his head. “Please, Graham, you have to let me explain. I was trying to tell you that…”
“Someone has marked you,” he whispered, his voice clogged with too much emotion. Catherine remained silent now, waiting for his next move. His grip tightened on her thigh and she winced. “Another male has marked what’s mine?” His voice grew slightly higher.
“Graham, please…” but she didn’t say anything else.
T
Graham stood sharply, shoving her legs away. “How could you let this happen?” he finally roared.
Catherine cowered back. He knew his beast was only moments away from coming to the surface. What blood had been below his waist was now pumping furiously to his heart. His eyes had long since tunneled and he felt his bones shifting beneath his skin.
A
“You let another fucking man touch you? Take a piece of you?” he asked. She shook her head. Tears streaked down her face. “I can’t believe you would be so… so reckless!” He took a quick step toward her and she shrunk back. “Who? Who did you let do this to you?!”
Catherine closed her eyes and her lips trembled. “I didn’t w-want it, Graham. You h-have to b-believe me. I d-don’t want him.”
CEDNOST
**
“Who?!”
Catherine shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes. Images assailed him of a faceless man touching her, kissing her, tasting her before sinking his putrid fangs into her flesh. He saw her writhing in pleasure, riding out the orgasm the nameless wolf gave her while he pumped his venom into her veins. He imagined her blacking out from the ecstasy and his blood curdled.
“I can’t be here. I can’t look at you,” he hissed, turning toward the door.
By the time he reached the glass door, his legs were already lengthening and hair was sprouting along his arms and legs. He stepped into the cold air and slammed the door shut, cutting the volume of her cries. He couldn’t care. His own tears of betrayal were coming. He continued walking. He was fully shifted by the time he hit the treeline and he ran.
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Surrendering to Destiny
