Page 16 of The Game

“Take your eyes off what’s mine.”

He jerked away.

I came back to Emmeline and kissed her. “Mine. Mine forever. This is the start.”

She opened her beautiful brown eyes. “Yours,” she agreed.

Her agreement was my trigger, and my climax hit me like a ton of bricks. I thrust hard into her and came.

She moaned long and low. I loved the sound. I loved her.

A siren wailed again, followed by the clank of doors unlocking. It was over. Our claiming was the last one.

There was no telling me twice.

I lifted Emmeline, keeping inside her with my dick still hard, and carried her through the basement to the exit. The clubs’ neon-pink lights flooded the night and the car park. Through the corridor, skeleton crew hollered as we passed, not the first of the claimed couples to leave but the best.

Outside, a crowd catcalled and whooped in the cold November air. The party atmosphere had shifted up a degree to a frenzy. Luckily, no one dared get in our way.

My car was already open with the skeleton crew’s enforcer beside it. He handed me my keys. “Congratulations to the happy couple.”

I fucking ignored him, too, carrying Emmeline around the passenger side. My grey t-shirt waited on the seat, and I reluctantly pulled out of her and tugged the shirt over her head.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Her eyes rounded, so pretty and so bright with emotion. “You are as well.”

I didn’t want to let her go, fighting the most compelling urge to keep her on me, to be in her. Likewise, she clung to my arms.

“I’ll drive fast,” I promised.

Emmeline gave a shaky nod and let me buckle her in. Then I closed her door, tucked myself away, and rounded to my side.

Another cheer went up. A burst of pride filled me.

“Fucking claimed,” I roared to the onlookers, getting a fresh wave of feverish applause and hollers.

In the driver’s seat, with my engine already on and the heat going, I didn’t take the trouble of finding my shoes. Instead, I hit the accelerator and sped us away.

The night had been incredible. Against all the odds, I’d got exactly what I wanted.

This was only the start.

I was already obsessed with Emmeline but had to walk the tightrope of bringing her on that journey with me. If I went in too hard, I’d scare her. If I didn’t show enough, her need for me might wane and, at the end of the thirty days, she’d leave me.

I wore my heart on my sleeve, so I wasn’t sure I could give her anything but the truth.

I had to hope I’d do it slowly enough not to drive her away.

Chapter 10

Emmeline

Malachi’s car headlights pierced the night on our route out of town. Traffic flowed around us. I curled in my seat toward him, tucking his long shirt over my knees. Other than that, I was completely naked. He was, too, apart from his jeans, the skeleton bandanna gone.

Even in the dark interior of the car, the man who’d claimed me was vibrant. There was no other word for it. Larger than life. Impossible to ignore.

His inkwork was fascinating; a mix of designs on full sleeves with stars, waves, and what looked like a wheatsheaf. The intricate pattern that left his throat to curve around the side of his face was flames. God, he was badass.

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