Page 33 of Unforeseen Mate

When she awakened, Hayden was gone, and she was alone. She got out of their bed, wrapping the sheet around her, and began to explore his cave—for lack of a better term. However, it was a charming and well-appointed cave. The floors were highly polished stone. Not only was there a large fireplace that provided heat and ambient light, but there was a stove with an oven, a fridge, and a large sink with running water.

Off the main room she discovered, much to her delight, a bath and not some kind of rustic hole in the wall. No, this was a luxurious bath with a vanity, a closet leading off it, and an enormous shower. Tossing the sheet back onto the bed, she turned on the shower, adjusting the water.

She stepped into the steamy chamber and sighed, resting her head on the tile wall and allowing the hot water to pelt down onher body. She had to admit she felt better than she had when she’d finally given in to the need to sleep. Fallon had been too frightened to do anything more than the minimum when she’d been imprisoned by Strode. But here she felt safe.

The shower’s hot, steamy water enveloped her like a strong hug. She felt tension in her shoulders and muscles releasing and she leaned heavily against the wall, adjusting the shower from a lovely waterfall to something more concentrated and pulsing. She craned her neck back and forth, sighing as the water worked its magic.

Fallon grinned as she realized the only thing that would have made it better was if Hayden had been in it with her. It was easy to imagine it was his hands that held the soapy sea sponge as she washed away the grit garnered throughout her ordeal—the capture, the escape, the claiming. All of it had left its mark on her, although the bullet wound and the bite mark both seemed to be almost healed.

She was leaning back, eyes closed and letting the shower rinse the suds from her body when a pair of strong male hands covered hers and reached up to grasp her breasts and pull her naked body back into his, where he nuzzled her neck.

He turned her around, bringing his mouth down on hers. Arousal surged through her system. Hayden didn’t seem to care whether she welcomed him or not. He was not a man who asked permission, especially where his mate was concerned. The sensible paleozoologist she had always been knew she should object to the way he simply pulled her to him, taking what he needed and wanted. The truth was, the woman he had claimed as his own and turned into a supernatural creature loved the way he took control. He was a true alpha male—dominant and secure in his place in the world.

Hayden fisted her hair, dragging her head back to gain better access. His lips moved across hers, his tongue slipping past themto trace the seam of her lips, coaxing her to open herself to him. Fallon allowed herself to melt into Hayden, her body molding itself against his so that not even water could fit between them.

Her hands roamed his muscular body as he kissed his way down her throat, paying loving attention to the bite mark he had inflicted. He seduced her with his mouth, tempting her to give over to him. Couldn’t he tell she already had?

When she had awakened, the conversation they’d had about his claiming her and the way in which he’d done it had all come back in vivid detail. The way she’d wrapped her legs around his waist, straddling him and riding his hard cock like a woman possessed.

He tightened the fist in her hair, tugging it slightly and lighting up her scalp in the most delicious way. Her nipples tightened and she wantonly rubbed herself against him. Maintaining his hold of her hair as he kissed her with increasing ardor, his other hand slid down her spine, cupping one of her buttocks and pulling her closer.

Finally, when she was breathless and her lips were swollen from his kisses, Hayden’s hands slipped down her body until he grasped her thighs and lifted her off the ground in a single, powerful movement, sliding her body up the tiles of the shower. Fallon cried out as he slowly impaled her with his cock, her breasts brushing against the wide planes of his chest, making her nipples ache in the most erotic way.

Hayden pressed her against the wall, seating her to his root, and Fallon braced her hands on his shoulders. He began to lift and lower her on his cock, slamming into her and rubbing her clit with his groin. With each stroke his cock hit the sweet spot in her pussy that kicked her libido into overdrive. Her sheath clamped down on his staff as he pounded into her.

It was perfection. Heat and pleasure flooded her system. It didn’t matter how they’d come together, only that theyhad. He had spoken of an eternal connection and Fallon was certain she could feel it binding them together. She focused on the sensations as he fucked her with a relentless ferocity that bordered on primal. His thrusting continued, driving her toward another climax, and she clamped down hard, urging him to fill her with his hot seed.

Hayden’s head fell forward, resting his forehead against hers as he gave a final, almost brutal thrust to the depths of her core, groaning with the relief of his impending release as his cock swelled and twitched just before his cum filled her, folding her in his embrace before setting her down and readjusting the showerhead to a fast rainfall so that it washed away their slick exertion.

When they were clean, he helped her out of the shower and gently dried her with a towel before she returned the favor.

“I’m awfully glad you came to rescue me,” Fallon said, laying her head on his shoulder.

“Me, too, but I would have liked it better if you had never been put in danger. Just so you know, I had plans to come for you. You would have been mine with or without Abraham Strode. Come along, you can put on one of my shirts. I’ll make us something to eat.”

“If you cook half as good as you fuck, I am one lucky hellhound.” She stopped and looked up at him.

He reached back and took her hand. “It’ll be all right, Fallon. I promise.”

“I have questions. The only problem is I’m still in a semi state of shock, so I’ll probably have more later.”

“Come on, then. I’ll try and explain as best I can in a way that you can understand.”

“What does that mean? In ways that I can understand? I’m fairly bright.”

He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “I was not impugning your intelligence. You probably have a better shot at understanding than most people. As I understand it, your doctorate is in paleozoology. And part of what you do is try to reconcile myth and legend with archaeological evidence. But you haven’t grown up knowing and understanding how those of the supernatural or paranormal persuasion function.”

“Dumb it down for me,” she persisted.

“I’ll do no such thing. You don’t need it, but if I say something you don’t understand, tell me and I’ll figure out a better way to explain. If I’d had my way, I would have spent some time courting you, but time caught up with me, and I had to rush in and force a claiming on you in order to save your life. I can justify it for myself as I got the end result I wanted. But if the situation were reversed, I’m not sure I’d be taking it so well.”

Hayden grabbed a shirt from a gorgeous antique armoire and tossed it her way.

“Do you think I’m handling it well?”

“Extremely. Don’t you?”

“Not really. Most of the time it’s all I can do not to burst into tears and dissolve into madness.”

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