Page 37 of Claimed

He’s watching me, studying me. And I feel self-conscious. He wants to ask questions, but he’s giving me some headspace, and I both appreciate and feel guilty about it.

When we sit down at the dining table, he asks, “So, what did you do for your pack? Did you have a role there?”

“I helped out with the family business. Did some paperwork. Returned phone calls and handled the office. Ordered supplies. I also took on a caretaker role for the elderly and some of the young wherever needed.”

“Took the role of an alpha’s mate, by the sounds of it.”

“I guess I kind of did.”

He studies me for a moment before adding, “An alpha’s mate’s role around here? Anything you want it to be.”

“Females aren’t given much freedom there.”

He studies me and I’m sure he’s waiting for me to elaborate.

I don’t.

“This is good,” he says after tasting a bite of omelet.

“I love to cook. But I think baking is my… specialty.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I mean… I think so, anyway. I love that there are two ovens on the wall. That’d come in handy.”

“Maybe I had some foresight, huh?”

I smile and take a bite of food and try to chew daintily even though I’m so hungry my belly hurts.

“How come you served me double the food you’ve got?”

“I don’t have a very big appetite.”

This sounds better than admitting it’s automatic for me to give the alpha the biggest portion. Greed in our pack is a sin. Supplies haven’t been abundant for a very long time. But there’s definitely one greedy individual in the pack, the one running and ruining things.

I made him a three-egg omelet, myself a two-egg one. I made him five slices of bacon, myself two. I made him two pieces of toast, myself one.

In truth, even though my portion is much smaller than his, it’s still a big breakfast for me. Much bigger than I’m accustomed to. Before working in the diner, some days I was lucky to eat this much in an entire day.

He’s not eating slowly. He looks like he’s enjoying it, and he’s nearly finished before I’m even halfway done, so I try to eat faster without making it obvious as he’s sitting across from me, talking about his village, telling me about his sister, his folks. His father was in the last council of seven alphas. Some of the alphas on his council are second or third-generation council alphas. Tyson is fourth or fifth, Greyson believes, but remarks that his sister would know for sure, though this is the first time two Savages have been on the same council. Greyson and his council have been in the position for the past few years, but untilrecently, the former council was still heavily involved as they transitioned into their roles.

I slow down when I realize he’s not in a hurry for me to finish, just leisurely drinking his coffee while chatting with me. In our pack, the men and women rarely even eat together.

We load the dishwasher together and he sweeps the floor while I wipe down the counters. When I’m done and hanging the towel, he crowds me from behind, one palm landing on the counter on my left, his right hand sliding up my right thigh underneath the shirt.

My initial instinct is to seize up tight and brace. So I do. But once his mouth lands on the bitemark on my neck, his hand sliding past my hip, gliding up my torso, stopping to cup my breast underneath his shirt, not only do I loosen up, my head lolls back and lands on his shoulder. His attention on that spot on my neck feels… incredible.

A deep, vibrating rumble rolls out of him while his mouth closes over the mate mark, making my body go gooey as sensations shuttle through me.

I’m dazed when he turns my body so we’re facing one another. The look in his eyes makes my knees buckle. But that’s okay, because he’s lifting me by my hips now to set me on the counter. His hand on my breast begins to knead as his thumb caresses my nipple. He pulls me closer to the edge of the counter with his other hand, then begins to explore between my legs.

I’m immediately slippery, which is so, so strange to me. He plays for a moment as I’m focused on sensation and quickly gasping as his hand leaves my breast, feeling almost disappointed that he stopped what he was doing there until I realize why. He’s freed his erection from his jogging pants and now he’s fillingme. Filling me, pulling sounds from me, making me feel those amazing sensations again.

He lifts me and kisses me on the mouth as he carries me through to the family room, his erection still deep in me as he moves us.

It feels inexplicably good.

We’re on the soft furniture, him on top of me, and I find myself fascinated with the expressions on his face, with the sensations inside myself as I feel this odd, new connection we have expanding even further. My mate drives into me over and over while he stares straight into my soul.

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