Taming His Mate (7 page)

Stephen groaned in her hair. “That’s it,
love. Ride me.”

The light dusting of his chest hair scraped
against her breasts while she moved up and down his length. His
fingers dug into her ass as he lifted his hips, thrusting upward.
She laved at the muscled flesh where his neck and shoulder met.

“Mark me, Kate.”

The rough rasp of his voice shattered her
control. Grinding against him, she latched onto his shoulder and
bit. Worried she’d hurt him, she stopped before her teeth broke the
skin.

“Oh, fuck, yes. Harder. Do it, Sunshine. Bite
me. Own me.”

He slipped his hand between them to stroke
her swollen clit, and any reservation she had fled. She bit harder,
puncturing his skin. The salty tinge of his blood seeped into her
mouth, and she plunged over the edge toward bliss.

She let go of his neck and threw her head
back, shouting his name as her climax hurtled through her. Pleasure
sprinted to every inch of her body. Her toes curled against his
legs. Beneath her, Stephen bucked his hips, powering into her, then
held with one hard thrust. He buried his face between her breasts
and groaned as his hot seed spilled inside her.

While they trembled against each other, Kate
wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked her fingers through
his damp hair. Nothing had ever felt more right than holding the
love of her life in her arms.

She lowered her mouth to his ear. “You’re
mine.”

He raised his head and offered her a wicked
grin. “Took you long enough, woman.”

Kate awoke to a sharp pain in her abdomen.
She rolled away from the shelter of Stephen’s arms, careful not to
wake him. Her head swam, and her stomach lurched. Slapping a hand
over her mouth, she ran to the bathroom.

She kneeled in front of the toilet and leaned
over the bowl. Within minutes, the nausea subsided, and she
struggled to her feet. Her entire body burned from the inside out.
Turning on the water, she wet a washcloth and held it to her
flushed face.

Oh, God, what was wrong with her?

Another stab of pain twisted in her gut. She
dropped to her hands and knees on the tile floor, and a shout flew
from her throat. With the ache in her abdomen, she barely
registered Stephen entering the bathroom.

He stooped beside her and raked away the hair
covering her face. “Just breathe, Sunshine. It’ll be over
soon.”

The words surprised Kate. She was on the
floor, dying, and he wanted her to breathe. Despite the discomfort
in her lower body, she threw him a disgusted glare.

A broad grin spread across his lips, and she
wanted to punch it off his face.

“How can you—” Another jab of pain snatched
the words from her.

“Sunshine, listen to me. Don’t fight it. Just
let it happen.”

What the devil was he talking about? Jesus
Christ, had her body been lit on fire? She panted through her
mouth, trying to control the roll in her stomach. A startling
fizzle of energy bolted up her spine, making every hair on her body
stand on end.

Then she heard it. A loud snap.

She focused on her fingers gripping the cool
tile. Equal parts horror and fascination, she could only stare as
they contorted, the snaps and crunches echoing in the small
bathroom.

“Stephen.” She flinched at the husky, inhuman
sound of her voice.

“It’s alright, Kate. I promise. I’m here with
you.” His hand continued to smooth over the hair on her head in a
soothing manner.

The cracking and popping intensified in
Kate’s head. She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the noise
before it drove her insane. Her bones felt as though they might
shake apart. Tremors spasmed through her arms and legs, and she
fell onto her stomach.

“Careful, Sunshine. I don’t need you busting
open your pretty head.” Stephen sat beside her on the floor and
caressed her back.

Why was he just sitting there? She wanted to
scream at him to get help, but she couldn’t push the words past her
throat.

Panic flooded her, and she tried to scramble
upright with no success. Her heart hammered in her chest. She
sucked in gulps of air, trying to accommodate her greedy lungs.
Tears pushed from behind her closed eyes. Inside her head, an odd,
guttural voice told her to calm herself. That’s when Kate realized
she was going to die.

Potent energy crashed into her, jolting every
molecule in her body with an electrical current that singed each
nerve ending she possessed. She opened her mouth to scream, and a
long, piercing howl filled her ears.

Then everything stopped.

Cautious, Kate cracked open her eyes, unsure
of what she might find. She gasped and raised her head to take in
the pinpoint clarity around her. Everything was the same, but then
it wasn’t. She glanced over her shoulder to her mate.

His wide eyes held a mix of surprise and awe.
She tried to speak to him, but all that came out was a high-pitched
yip. He threw his head back and laughed, the action drawing her
attention to the well-defined contours of his perfect neck. How had
she never noticed something that sexy about him before?

Kate sat upright but scrambled for purchase
when her hands slid out from under her. She landed on her stomach
once again. What the hell? Glancing down at her hands, she gaped
when a pair of furry legs attached to a set of paws came into
view.

Stephen roared with laughter. “Oh, my God,
Kate. That look is priceless.”

A growl vibrated through the air and her
body. She would’ve fallen over if she wasn’t already flat on her
belly when it dawned on her that noise came from her. From
somewhere deep inside her. She’d
felt
it.

Holy shit! She’d shifted.

Shocked, she twisted around, taking in the
soft, brown hair covering the Wolf’s body she inhabited.

“Here, let me help you up, Sunshine.” Stephen
gripped her around the chest and assisted her as she rose to her
feet. Uh, paws.

Upright, she tested her weight, lifting each
leg. When she was sure of her balance, she inched her way out of
the bathroom, anxious to get to the mirror in her bedroom.

Stephen guessed what she was after and opened
the closet door, exposing the length of the mirror attached to her
door.

With each step, her nails clicked on the
hardwood floor until she paused in front of her own reflection. She
stared at the beautiful brown wolf with a mix of disbelief and
wonder. The set of white markings around her eyes and head set her
apart from other wolves she’d seen in their pack. Baring her teeth,
she moved closer to examine the sharp points.

Elation bubbled inside Kate. She’d done it.
She wasn’t a failure, or defective. Damn it, she was a Wolf just
like the rest of her pack.

Stephen knelt beside her, his intense blue
gaze meeting hers in the reflection. “You’re gorgeous. And you’re
mine.”

Pleased with his praise, Kate rubbed her head
against his bare chest.

He stroked her ears. “Change back,
Sunshine.”

She frowned, unsure how to accomplish the
feat. Thankfully, he must’ve read her mind.

“Just think it. Imagine yourself human. It’s
that simple. You control the Wolf.”

She closed her eyes and pictured herself in
human form. For long moments, nothing happened, but then she felt
it—the tingling at the base of her spine, the flush of heat, the
rush of power sifting through her body, the startling series of
snaps and groans.

Kate opened her eyes and glanced in the
mirror, hesitant at what she might find. The brown wolf was no
longer there. Instead, Kate sat in her place, wrapped in Stephen’s
arms.

“I turned into a Wolf.” So what if she stated
the obvious? By God, she’d shifted.

She laid her head against his shoulder and
reveled in the feel of her mate wrapped around her.

Stephen chuckled against her temple. “Yes,
you did. A stunning Wolf at that.”

Kate glanced up at him. “You weren’t
surprised. You knew this would happen?”

“I had a suspicion.” He placed a tender kiss
on her lips. “One of my aunts couldn’t shift until she completed
the bond with her mate. Something about the mate bond brings the
dormant Wolf gene inside to the surface.” Stephen nipped her bottom
lip with a stinging bite. “And that was precisely what I wanted to
explain to you this morning. Hell, I could’ve told you this years
ago if you would’ve just opened up and trusted me like mates
should.”

“Oh.” Of course, he just had to be right. She
rolled her eyes. “Okay. Okay. I get it. No more secrets.”

“Damn right.” He lifted her off the floor,
settled her on his lap, and cuddled her in his warm embrace. “I
love you, Sunshine. Always will.”

Kate slid her fingertips along his jaw. She
was a fool to have ever doubted fate, and an even bigger one to
have doubted Stephen. She could’ve lost this strong, gorgeous man
because of her own stubbornness and insecurities, but he’d stood
resolutely at her side. For years, she’d loved him from afar, but
not any longer. He was hers, and she had no plans to ever let him
go.

She pulled his mouth to hers, her lips
hovering against his. “I love you, too, Stephen.”

He drew his head back, one corner of his
mouth quirked upward. “Does this mean you’ll go for a run at four
in the morning with me now?”

Thanks to all you lovely readers for reading
Taming His Mate
. I had a lot of fun writing about the two
stubborn main characters, Stephen and Kate. But hey, sometimes you
can’t fight love, right?

Feel free to drop me an email at
[email protected]
if you
would like to contact me. I love chitchatting about books and would
love to hear from you guys.

Visit M. Limoges at:

http://chitsuen.blogspot.com

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