“Tricks?”
“Like this one.” I leaned forward until my face was only inches away from her left breast.
“As much as I enjoy a good nipple tease… I don’t think that right now is the right time.”
“Trust me,” I said. “Just trust me.”
I leaned forward even further so that the warmth of my breath rolled into her skin — more specifically, the mark upon her heart. It pulsated with a soft purple glow and as my lips got closer, the glow became brighter.
“Ah!” Jane exclaimed, head thrown back. I had finally pressed my lips against the mark, tapping into the bond we shared as mates. I winced slightly, as all her pain transferred into my body. In exchange, she was given some of my strength so that she could heal at an accelerated rate — even for shifter standards. “Wow…” she gasped as I sucked on that sensitive skin, tongue swirling around because I wanted to see how she would react.
I pulled back. “Feel better?” I asked.
“What was that?”
“Mates have the ability to help one another heal. There is a balance in energy by doing so.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“It means that in order to make you feel better, I had to take on your pain.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because if I did then you wouldn’t have let me do it,” I answered. “Besides, pain is easy enough to handle. It would have been much worse if that wrist didn’t heal properly and you were left with a permanent injury.”
“I still don’t like the idea of you hurting on my behalf.”
“I am sure that you will return the favor one day.” She was standing so close to me that I could not ignore the call of her lips. With my fingers tangled in her hair, I pulled her even closer. I thought it would be nothing more than a quick kiss but it turned into something much, much better. Her tongue was eager to play and her mouth was hungry for some action.
Before I knew what was happening, I had her up against the wall. It was slick with humidity. Her nails dug into my skin, sharper than before.
She growled with the need to mate.
Breathless, I broke off the kiss. “Someone’s feeling a little frisky.”
“Well, if you think about it, I’ll be a literal animal in bed from this point forward.”
“Mmm, I like the thought of that.” I was just about to kiss the side of her neck but Landon was quick to interject.
“Sorry to ruin all the fun but it is getting late and you two should be returning to the den. There are countless dangers lurking about and I don’t have the patience to save your asses should you get in trouble.”
“Is he being serious?” asked Jane.
“Well, about the dangers, yes. About leaving us to fend for ourselves, no. He’s an alpha and it will always be his prime instinct to protect his family.” I rested my hand on her stomach knowing that our future pup was in there somewhere.
“Come on. That wrist of yours should be good to go.”
“Good enough for another race?” Jane was quick to challenge. She might have adopted my speed but she definitely had Landon’s competitive nature.
“Just try not to fall this time,” I said with a wink. “Unless, of course, you’re falling for me.”
“It’s a little difficult to fall for a man that I’m already head over heels about.”
I smirked. “Then it looks like we have nothing to worry about.”
“Good because this time I’m going to win.”
“We’ll see about that.” There was quite a bit of smack talk as we made our way out of the grotto.