Claiming Her Mate Read online

  However, when her eyes slid a little higher and to the right, her breath hitched. Eyes widening at what she saw, Summer glanced up at the man she had known for years, searching for any sign of deception. Her confusion mounting when she found none. Yet the proof was there right in front of her in the shape of a small pentagram, positioned on his right hip. A mark only found on one species. And it wasn’t human.

  “Evan?” her voice wavered as her mind searched for a possible answer.

  His expression still clouded with lust, Evan tilted his head to the side and frowned. “What is it? Do you want to stop?”

  Her tiger snarled, telling her not to care, overriding all of her senses. Stopping was the last thing either of them wanted, but she attempted one last time to stay in control. “That mark, Evan, there on your hip. Have you always had it? Do you...”

  His eyes flicked to the mark in question, then back up to hers and she could read the confusion in them. “Summer, do you really want to talk about some weird birthmark I was born with? Does it make you that uncomfortable?”

  “No, but—”

  “No buts then, not anymore.” He took a step toward her and dropped down on his knees to bury his face between her thighs. The force of his mouth on her pussy, of his lips rubbing along her labia had her leaning back and bracing herself once more on the counter. The sound of fabric tearing pierced her lust induced brain and she watched as Evan tossed the remnants of her panties to the side.

  Summer cried out as he licked and sucked, probed and teased her. He spread her pussy lips apart with his thumbs and sucked her clit into his mouth. Summer ground her pussy against his mouth, and he growled in response.

  Damn, she loved that sound coming from him. A sudden spark, almost like an electrical current, zapped her. What the hell was that?

  She threw her head back and cried out in pleasure as her orgasm slammed into her. He didn’t stop sucking on her and that only made it seem to go on longer. After letting go of her clit, he licked a path down her slit and speared her pussy with his tongue. In and out he probed her body with his tongue while he moved his thumb back to her clit and rubbed small, quick circles around the bundle of nerves. She could feel another intense orgasm approach and felt her whole body tighten in response.

  “Come again, honey. I want to taste you, Summer. I want your cream down my throat.” She was shocked at what he said, but those few words sent pleasure through her like a freight train. The intensity of what was happening had her whole body shaking and she closed her eyes as she let it wash through her.

  He gave one last lingering kiss to her inner thigh, and she opened her eyes to watch him stand. She dropped her gaze to his prick, standing stiff from the thatch of dark hair and knew she wouldn’t be truly satisfied until she finally had it inside of her. Evan stepped between her legs once again and ran his hands over her thighs, over her stomach, and up her arms. She shivered at the sensual caress.

  Evan snagged his fingers under the straps of her dress and slowly pulled them down her arms. She hadn’t worn a bra, and when the material slid over her breasts they fell free, the nipples hardening as the cool air hit them.

  “Oh God, Summer. You are so fucking beautiful.” He sounded in awe and she couldn’t help the flush that swept through her whole body at his praise. Never had a man looked at her as if she was his next breath.

  She gasped when she felt the hard, hot length of his erection rub against her cleft. Summer stared wide-eyed at Evan. They didn’t speak or move for the longest time, and Summer feared he was about to change his mind.

  “Evan?”

  He blinked several times as if to clear his mind and then stepped back. Defeat claimed her and she sagged.

  “Not here, Summer. I won’t claim you on a cold, marbled bench.”

  His words had her lifting her head and staring at him. Oh, thank God!

  He helped her off the counter and pulled his pants up haphazardly before adjusting her dress for her. His arms around her were secure and made her feel safe and protected. Despite this small reprieve, the fire that coursed through her body didn’t relent.

  “Let’s go to the bedroom,” she murmured against his chest.

  He pulled back and stared into her eyes before he nodded and led the way.

  As they went down the hallway, Summer feared he could hear her heart beating. Hell, she could hear it all the way in her ears, could even feel it pounding in her throat.

  Evan stopped in front of his closed door but didn’t make any movement to open it. She gripped his hand and led him inside. The room was dark and the light from the moon illuminated the bed. It gave everything a sexual, almost hazy feel. When he stepped inside she shut the door and they both stood there in silence. His back was to her and she could see how tense he was again. She tentatively ran her finger down his spine. The material moulded into the long indent and she could see his muscles flex, as if her touch was filled with electricity. He turned when her fingers stopped at the small of his back.

  “If we’re doing this, then we’re doing this all the way, Summer,” he whispered, his gaze pinning her where she stood. “You’re mine. I won’t give you up and I won’t live without you. Do you understand?”

  “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to want me back, Evan. Now I can see that was never the problem, doubt was. But for me there is no more doubt. You are my mate.”

  “I know. Somehow I think I have always known. I used to think my lack of desire for anyone else was because of losing my family. Why put myself through more heartache? Then, you turned eighteen and suddenly all I could do was think of you. I figured that was because I saw you as unattainable. You were safe. When that didn’t seem to be enough to stay away from you, I fixated on the fact you were younger than me. God, I had myself so twisted up I didn’t even see that you were everything I had been looking for, until it was almost too late.”

  His words, so endearing and raw, had tears forming in her eyes. She had nothing to say in response, didn’t even know what to say. She opened her mouth but all that came out was a soft sigh. “You don’t need to say anything. Just know that you are the single most important person in the world to me.”

  Oh God. Tears finally fell down her cheeks. “I love you, Evan.”

  Not waiting for him to respond, she lowered the zipper of her dress and shimmied out of it, standing completely nude in front of him. Arousal still coursed through her as Evan followed suit and removed his shirt. Her mouth went dry when she saw his chest. This wasn’t the first time she had seen the hard, wide expanse of his defined chest, but now, knowing what was about to happen, made everything feel so different.

  Next went his jeans, and then he too was nude. He held his arms open and she didn’t hesitate to step into them. Resting her head against his pectoral muscles, she could hear the strong, steady beat of his heart right beneath her ear. He slowly moved his hands down her arms and gripped her arse, making her moan.

  She couldn’t help but press herself against him. His erection pulsed against her belly and she felt wetness slide over her skin from his cockhead. Evan dipped his head to capture her mouth. He kissed her, pulling her more forcibly toward him. They moved as one toward the bed, never breaking the kiss. She felt the mattress hit the back of her legs and let gravity and his body take her down. The silk comforter was like water against her body and she arched her back. Breasts thrust forward, Evan didn’t wait to latch his mouth onto one. Summer gasped as pleasure sizzled through her. “Oh God, Evan. Yes.”

  His mouth on her nipple, sucking, drawing the blood to the surface, drove her mad. His teeth tugged at the swollen flesh until it bordered on painful. Her tiger scratched at the surface, Summer speared her hands through his hair and pulled him closer.

  When he finally broke away from her, he sat between her legs. He placed his hands on her inner thighs, so close to her heat she could feel the tips of his thumbs tease her lips.

  “I can’t believe we’ve waited so long.” He covered her body wi
th his and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. She felt him reach for something, smiling when he sat back, a condom in hand. While it was true shifters couldn’t catch or transmit any diseases, she was very capable of becoming pregnant, and they weren’t ready for that. Watching him roll on the latex, she laid there, anticipation racing through her. When he finally returned to her, his large, bulking frame covering hers, she sighed.

  Summer drew in a shaky breath when the thick head of his cock pressed against her pussy. He gently started to push into her body and her body greedily sucked at the bulbous head, trying to draw it in deeper. He was so big, so thick, Summer could feel him stretching her, filling her. The pain was there, but the agonizing pleasure far outweighed it.

  “Fuck, Summer. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything so tight.” Evan’s coarse language inflamed her and she lifted her hips to take more of him. The movement caused him to slide further into her, her wetness making it easier. He stopped halfway through, and when he swore under his breath, she knew he came against her hymen. “God, honey?”

  “Do it, Evan. Please.” He groaned once before he reared back and gripped her hips tight. With one swift move he buried himself to the hilt inside of her. The feeling of his balls slapping against her arse didn’t distract her from the burning pain she felt when he claimed her innocence. Summer squeezed her eyes shut, her pussy clenched tightly around his cock. With every spasm her inner muscles made, Evan moaned in response.

  “Are you okay? Tell me you're okay.”

  She nodded because she couldn’t find her voice. Summer wrapped her arms around him and kissed his neck. He started to move then, pulling his hips back and then thrusting forward. Every time he thrust back into her she could feel her pussy stretch. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. Faster and faster he went, never relenting no matter how loud she cried out, no matter how hard the bed shook.

  Her mate was claiming her so thoroughly, and she loved it.

  Another mind-blowing climax approached and she breathed hard against his neck, begging him for it harder, faster, and rougher. She clawed at his back, and continued to cry out because it felt so good.

  He pounded into her like a madman, holding her hips so tight she knew if she were human there would be bruises in the morning. The sound of wet sex, of her pussy sucking at his cock, drove her to the brink of madness and she came hard. Wet flesh slapped together and filled her ears.

  When she heard him cry out, deep and long, she knew he was about to come. He clutched her to his chest and slipped his hand between them to rub her clit with swift flicks. “One more time, honey. Come for me once more.”

  That was all it took, his talented fingers and his gruff, erotic words send her over the edge once more. Summer couldn’t catch her breath, couldn’t think as agony and ecstasy became one. Unable to hold back, she allowed her canine teeth to drop down and pierced them into her mate’s flesh, moaning as she felt their bond snap into place. He tensed above her and let out a long, loud groan before his cock jerked inside of her and he filled the condom with cum. She felt as if sparks were literally flying between them, searing her very soul. His orgasm seemed to go on and on but when he was finally spent, they both collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily.

  Summer retracted her teeth, giving a long, slow lick across the puncture marks to close them. Her head dropped back to the pillow and she couldn’t keep her eyes open, but she was still aware that Evan was buried in her. She fell asleep that way, her mate inside her, his arms wrapped around her. The last thing she heard before she fell into the void of sleep, was something she had never thought she would hear. “I love you, Summer.”

  Chapter Five

  Evan jerked awake, frowning as he wondered what had woken him. A loud thumping at his front door answered his unasked question.

  Careful not to jostle a sleeping Summer, he slipped out from beneath the sheets and searched for some pants. Not bothering with a shirt, he quickly made his way toward the sound of the pounding, cursing under his breath. Summer needed her sleep. Between what had happened just after the party, and then their following mating, the last thing she needed was to be awoken by someone who didn’t know proper etiquette.

  He reached for the knob, almost tripping over Ally who was pacing in front of the door. “Who the hel—”

  Evan came to an abrupt stop when after opening up, he was faced with not just one of Summer’s brothers, but two, and their father. Not for the first time he was taken aback by how similar they all were. Dark chocolate hair, honey-gold eyes, and frigging huge. Built like linebackers, these men oozed power, and their fair share of danger. Evan was in no way small, but these men had a way of making him feel as if he a little house cat compared to them. Summer and Ella on the other hand, had the same hair and eyes as the male members of their family, yet there was always something tamer, gentler about them. With these men, he wasn’t sure who he found more intimidating, their father, Richard, or the Alpha, Sage.

  “Ah, gentlemen?” Nice way to impress the in-laws, dumbarse.

  He flinched when Sage noticeably sniffed the air and let out a fierce growl. “Where is she?”

  Straightening his spine, Evan cleared his throat. “I assume you’re talking about Summer, and she is asleep.”

  “In your bed?” Sage sneered.

  Richard stood behind his son, his face expressionless, however it was Chase’s that annoyed him the most. The smirk that played openly on his lips made Evan want to launch forward and smack it off.

  “Yes, in my bed,” Evan answered, meeting the Alpha’s gaze head on. He wasn’t about to let this man think he could treat the little human anyway he wanted. If Evan wanted a place at Summer’s side, he had to at least stand up to her family, right?

  Sage simply raised a brow. “We need to speak to her.”

  “Like I said, she is sleeping,” he said as calmly as possible. “If you want to come in and wait for her to wake, then you’re welcome to.”

  Sage took the invitation by sidestepping him and entering his house. Sighing, Evan gestured for the other two men to follow as he led them to the kitchen. If he was up, he may as well make coffee.

  On the counter still sat the coffees he had made the night before. He smiled when he remembered why they hadn’t been finished. Hell, they had barely been touched. Pouring them down the sink, he set about preparing new ones for them and their unexpected guests.

  Grabbing the milk from the fridge, he was taken by surprise when a hand clamped down on his arm and wrenched him around. “What the hell?”

  “What the hell is right,” Sage snarled. “Why do you have a mating bite?”

  Evan’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the words to tell the Alpha that he had mated his younger sister, but he was saved by a deep growl. “Because he’s my mate, and brother or not—Alpha or not, I will hurt you if you don’t let go.”

  Summer stood only meters away from them in a pair of his old sweats and a t-shirt, looking ready to pounce. Damn, she looked hot in his clothes. A very basic, primal part of him wanted to prowl over there and stake his claim so her brothers and father knew exactly who she belonged to now. He had never felt anything like it. Maybe that was all part and a parcel of mating a tiger shifter.

  “Summer?” Sage frowned in confusion. “How the hell could he be your mate? You’ve known him since you were a bloody child. Surely you would have sensed it when you turned eighteen.”

  Her eyes darted from her brother to Evan and back again. He could see the emotions warring inside of her. Tugging his arm out of a stunned Sage’s hold, he walked over to Summer, wrapping her in his arms.

  “It’s my fault,” he murmured as he held her tighter.

  “Explain,” Sage demanded.

  Evan knew he wasn’t ordering him as the Alpha, but as a concerned older brother. He stared down into the bottomless honey-gold orbs that belonged to his mate, his heart skipping a beat at the realization that Summer was actually his. “My actions led her to
believe that if I knew I was her mate, then I would feel obligated to mate with her. I fought my attraction to her so hard, that she thought I wouldn't willing choose her.”

  Her father, who had been unusually quiet up until that point, finally spoke. “So what’s changed, son?”

  He felt the tension running through Summer. “Dad—”

  Richard cut his daughter off. “It’s an honest question, sweetheart. I mean nothing behind it, I am just curious, as are your brothers. Up until last night he barely acknowledged you, and now, today you are mated.”

  “That’s not true.”

  All eyes turned to Chase, and he scoffed. “Oh, for the love of God, are you all that dense? I mean, I love you, Dad, Sage. There are no two people I respect more in the world, but that respect is taking a canning right now. Can you honestly tell me you never saw the way he looked at her? Could you not smell the lust, desire, even love he felt for her? Because I could, every damn time I was around him.” Chase grinned at him and chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong, at first I wanted to ring your neck, dude. That was my little sister you were eyeballing. Then I noticed the way she looked at you...with so much longing, it actually broke my heart.”

  “Chase?” Summer whispered softly.

  “I knew what he was to you.” He gave her a sad smile. “I knew he would eventually pull his head out of his arse. You just had to be patient. When I saw how jealous he was last night I thought, finally.”

  “Why do you seem so sad about that?” Summer frowned at her brother.

  “Because I was having fun poking at him last night,” Chase said, dipping his head in Evan’s direction. “Instead of paying attention to that slime ball, or letting Evan race after you like he wanted to, I took the time to have a little fun with him. If I had just had you cut straight to the point, or had been paying more attention to Brad’s behaviour…”

  “No, Chase. Don’t,” Summer whispered. “Brad barely touched me. Yes, he drugged me, and the fact there are drugs out there that can affect shifters like it did to me, scares the hell out of me. But the worst of it came from him pushing me down the stairs.” Evan’s heart sped up when she turned her gaze on him. So much trust and love shone back it was nearly enough to bring him to his knees. “Besides, my mate came for me. Evan stopped Brad from following through with whatever he had planned.”