She didn’t know what it was, but the hot desire that had burned in her since the day she’d imprinted seemed to have risen into an inferno lately. She felt half wild with it. Even the ride on the motorcycle earlier today had been frighteningly erotic, and it had taken every ounce of her self-control not to start grinding against the seat. Her skin felt hot all the time. She’d taken to holding her wrists under running water, trying to cool down.
She felt hypersensitive to his touch as he tore away her clothes. The fabric of her shirt ran over her nipple, and she shivered with excitement.
“God, you want it, don’t you,” he murmured. His thumb traced slow circles along the side of her neck. So light. Barely touching at all. Maddy’s breath hitched. She didn’t dare answer him, didn’t even dare nod, in case she dislodged that thumb.
He was barely touching her. How could she be so overwhelmed with pleasure already?
She had been wrong about Mark, she realized to her dismay. He was willing to make her wait. Especially, it seemed, now that he had uncovered this new sensitivity she seemed to have. He laid her down in bed and trailed his fingers over every inch of her blazing skin, stopping to explore areas that he would have skipped right over in the normal course of events. He spent what felt like hours on the tops of her feet. Days on the crease of her hips. A lifetime on the back of her left knee.
“You’re killing me,” she whispered, arching against him. “You’re driving me insane.”
He smiled. “Do you want me to stop?”
“Don’t you dare.”
He bent and resumed his work, this time exploring her with lips and tongue, and Maddy let her head fall back and she basked in his attentions. She couldn’t keep still, and squirmed beneath him, angling her body to try and guide his tongue to the places she wanted him most.
He pulled back. “Don’t move,” he said.
“Mark—”
“Stay still.”
A strange sensation washed over Maddy. She’d felt it before, but it had been years. Yet she recognized it immediately. It was a command. Mark had given her a command, as alpha.
And she had felt the force of it.
This was a pivotal moment. Obeying him now, accepting his authority and submitting to it, would cement her as a member of the Hell’s Wolves. She would be subject to their orders from now on. She had long wondered how she would feel about this moment when it came— if it ever did—but now, gazing up at him, she realized she wanted his alpha power over her as badly as she wanted his body. She craved it.
So, she submitted to the order immediately, falling still on the mattress.
Mark noticed the sudden change. Where, before, she had been writhing and reaching, now she was motionless. She saw his eyes widen. “Did that work?” he asked.
“Yes,” she breathed.
His hand moved to her face. He caressed her cheek so, so gently. “Do you want to keep going?” he whispered.
“God, yes.”
“This is okay?”
“This is perfect. Do whatever you want with me, Mark, I’m yours.”
His teeth bared in an animalistic grin, and Maddy felt a thrill of anticipation. What would he do with this new power, now that he had it?
“Ride me,” he said.
He lay on his back, and Maddy followed his order gladly, climbing on top of him and filling herself with him, tossing her head back in ecstasy as she did so.
She began to move, his hands gripping her hips and guiding her easily up and down, as though she weighed nothing at all. When she was settled in her rhythm, he shifted his hands to the swell of her belly, then up to her breasts. Maddy felt like she was going to combust. Every touch felt like electricity shooting through her body, lighting her up, setting off sparks of pleasure in every nerve.
She wanted to keep going, to make it last as long as possible, but she didn’t have the willpower to slow things down. Neither, it seemed, did he. They climaxed quickly, Maddy gasping for air and Mark letting out a string of expletives. Then, she collapsed onto his chest to recover.
They lay like that for a long time, even after they’d gotten their breath back. Maddy didn’t want to get up and dress, didn’t want to leave this bubble of afterglow and skin on skin contact. She felt her eyelids drooping and knew she would soon fall asleep. That was fine. She was incredibly comfortable here. She had no desire to leave.
“What was that?”
She opened her eyes. Mark was sitting up, the movement of his body levering her into an upright position. She was amazed, all over again, at his strength.