I smirked. “When have I ever asked you to stay in control?”
A low growl escaped Jasper, and he pressed his teeth into my neck, lightly scraping along his mark. I shivered, so sensitive to his touch.
“Do you like knowing you’re mine?” he whispered against my skin. “Do you enjoy seeing the animal you turn me into?”
“Yes.” I didn’t intend to answer over the bond, but Jasper pressed a smile into my neck all the same.
“Would’ve made things a hell of a lot easier if you had just admitted that from day one.” He dragged his fingers down my side, pushing into my ribs. His cock hardened against my leg, telling me just how close his wolf was. Jasper pulled me closer to him, zapping all of the air still lingering between us until it was just his breath and mine.
“I was distracted…” I murmured as Jasper stood with me in his arms. He put me down, and then took a step forward, pushing me back until my shoulders hit the bark of one of the large trees.
“Sounds like a lame excuse to me, baby.” He was pushing my pants over my hips, pressing desperate kisses against my neck. His own pants joined mine in a pile at our feet, gasps escaping my lips as Jasper wound his talented fingers between my legs. He slid his fingers into the wet heat he found there, lazily stroking me as pressure built in my stomach.
“Jasp,” I breathed. But he didn’t increase his pace, thrusting and twisting his fingers as if he had all the time in the world. He grinned, knowing exactly what he was doing to me. Which he did, because now thanks to the bond he was feeling everything I was, just like I felt all of the desperation running through his body.
I clung to him, forcing my hips against his hand, desperate for more friction. For more ofhim. “So wet for me. So needy. I’d love to bury my face between your legs, but the only way you’re coming tonight is around my cock.”
“Please,” I begged. I didn’t care how pitiful I sounded. I never did. Because I knew Jasper was just as desperate as I was.
Jasper looked at me, his caramel eyes shifting to the dark ones of pure need. He nodded, moving his hands back to my hips and lifting me up, supporting my weight against the tree. I eagerly wrapped my legs around his waist, and the only thing driving my actions was the desire flooding my body. Jasper’s emotions were taking over the bond, his wolf edging him on as he fit his heavy cock between my legs. The moments came in bits and pieces as Jasper thrust inside of me with a deep groan. The sensation of stretching, of feeling whole. A quick breath in through clenched teeth. A low moan in the back of my throat. The scratch of the rough bark against my shirt we hadn’t taken off in our urgency to move as one. I tried to hold off my release, enjoying the rough way Jasper was commanding my body from the inside. Each thrust was driving me closer to release, while I was trying to figure out how to make this moment last forever.
“Baby,” Jasper whispered my name as he moved within me. I clutched at his shoulders, pleasure building at the base of my spine. “If I don’t get to have control, neither do you. Let go.” He dipped his head into my neck once more, his teeth lightly piercing the mark he had left. Electricity sparked through the bond, and I cried out my release, Jasper’s bite tipping me over the edge.
Something in Jasper’s energy shifted, and he moved with a fury I hadn’t seen in some time. His thrusts became more desperate, frantic in their pace. He clenched my sides with his hands, his fingernails digging into my skin. “One more mark to show people I’m yours…” I thought.
He roared as he found his release inside me, shaking and clinging to me even tighter. We stayed like that for a moment, as one. Our breathing steadied, and he let me go. I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart against my ear. Jasper ran his fingers through my hair. “It beats for you, you know.”
I smiled, happy and content. “I know.” I pushed him back, straightening my shirt and finding my pants. “Come on, we should head back and find the guys.”
Jasper leapt to his feet behind me, grabbing my hand. “I just hope Beau hasn’t talked Merrick’s ear off.”
The tension between us had evaporated, and for that I was grateful. I couldn’t have managed another moment with things being awkward between myself and Jasper. We found our way back to camp, arriving to find two tents set up on either side of the clearing, and a small fire blazing in the middle.
Beau immediately got to his feet, giving Jasper a knowing grin. “I thought I was gonna have to come rescue you guys.”
“In your dreams, Beau,” I muttered.
“You know it.” If anything, his smile grew bigger. Jasper threw himself down on the ground, scrounging through the food we had brought, but before I could do the same Beau tugged me toward him. “Anyways, it’s sparring time.”
I groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” When Beau was gone I didn’t have to deal with his constant impromptu sparring matches. Jasper was on Beau’s side, saying it was good for me to stay in practice, but really Beau was still trying to best me since the first day I had kicked his ass. Sometimes winning was exhausting. But even as I moaned and complained, I was getting into position, bringing my fists up to protect my face.
Beau smirked. “Knew you wouldn’t be able to refuse.”
I rolled my eyes. “Or I’m just hungry, and I know you won’t let me eat until I’ve whipped you into shape yet again.”
Merrick was whispering to Jasper at the edge of the fire, their profiles illuminated in the bright flames of my peripheral vision. “Are you seriously going to let them fight? I know she’s a Venator, but he’s like twice her height.”
Jasper’s low chuckle made me smile. “Watch. Ava can hold her own, make no mistake about it.”
Beau came rushing at me, trying to catch me off balance. I stuck to my ground, knowing he favoured his right side. When he was close enough to reach out and touch me, I stepped to the side. Merrick was right. Beau was twice my size. But that also meant twice the weight to knock off balance if he wasn’t paying attention. Which, he never was. I swung my knee out at the last possible moment, Beau flipping over my leg and toppling to the ground.
Unfortunately, he brought me down with him. I managed to stay on top as we fell, slipping my arm underneath his neck to keep him in a headlock. The trick with Beau was to never let him get on top. His size could easily overpower me, so I needed to be one step ahead at all times.
Beau was gasping, tapping at my arm tight around his neck, so I loosened my grip, concerned I was hurting him. The extra space gave him the chance he needed to roll over to his side, both of us covered in dirt as we laid side by side. “God, Ava, when will you stop falling for that?”
“Probably when you start winning.” His arm was still trapped underneath me as we grappled, but he would have it free soon, and it’d all be over. I had to think quickly. My arms were still free, and his chest was fully exposed. I brought my elbow up and slammed it right beneath his rib cage.
I hit the exact right spot, and Beau fell back with a gasp, all fight leaving him in one go as he struggled to catch his breath. “Maybe next time, big boy.” Jasper laughed somewhere to the side of me.