Page 45 of Brandon’s Mate

She could feel his intense desire to give to her—to give her something back for everything he’d taken away. The knowledge—the certainty—that he cared about her. He always had. He’d never stopped.

It was mind-blowing.

His panther was snarling, intensifying the sensation between her legs, pushing her over the edge. Kitty shattered, all of her walls falling down, everything in her reaching for Brandon, the way it always had.

She was left gasping, gripping onto his shoulders, and then he was suddenly in her arms and she was tearing at his jeans, feeling his shaft hot and hard underneath them, needing all of him like she had never needed anything before.

He helped her, pushing away that cloth barrier so that she could touch him, lick him, bite him with wolfy love bites and fill herself with his scent.

She wanted to touch every part of him—had to. She wrapped her hand around his shaft, stroking its silky hardness, hearing him moan and curse because it made him want her even more.

He wanted her.

She stroked again, and again, loving how it made him growl and buck his hips. She slid lower, dipping her head until she could taste him, drawing his shaft into her mouth and making him want her more, more, more.

She could never have enough of him. Her wolf could never have enough of him.

“You are so beautiful,” he was murmuring. “So badass. So hot. So sexy.”

She was crazy now, wanting all of him. This wasn’t enough. She needed him inside her.

She crawled up, hands on his chest, straddling him. He cupped her breasts, stroking them, and then she guided him inside her, sheathing him completely.

He filled her, so tight and hard, so deep and intimate. Kitty moaned, throwing her head back as she rose up and lowered herself, riding him.

He watched her intently, as if drinking in the sight of her, moving his hand so he could fondle her clit. The feeling grew in her, more intense even than the last time, and he seemed to sense when it grew almost unbearable in its pleasure.

Brandon reached up and pulled her down to he could wrap her in his arms. He flipped them both over so she was beneath him, one of his arms behind her head and the other crooked around her knee so he could drive deeply into her.

She could feel him losing control, moving faster and deeper, hitting her clit with every thrust. She felt herself clawing at his back, overwhelmed by the intensity.

His body tensed up, and with one more deep thrust he drove her over the edge. Kitty cried out, holding onto him as the only thing keeping her from being swept away.

Brandon captured her mouth, kissing her deeply, holding her to him as if he wanted every part of them to be connected.

She felt him pulsing inside her. The connection she’d thought they lost opened up like a river in flood, and there was nothing but the feel of his body and his emotions—need, desire, love, protectiveness, possessiveness.

Fear, and hope.

And nothing to do but hold on to each other.

Chapter 17

Brandon lay awake, Kitty asleep in his arms. It felt like he was aware of every molecule of her body: the warmth and weight of her draped across him, the beating of her heart against his, the scent of her hair and the silky feel of it across his chest.

He wished he knew what the hell was the right thing to do.

This was what he’d dreamed of—just not the way he’d dreamed of it happening. He’d wanted to have something to offer her. A home, a crew, a place where she felt safe.

A mate she could respect.

Not a broken panther and a revenge mission.

For that short time, when he was buried inside Kitty, her heart opening to his, he’d thought maybe that would be enough for his cat. It had soothed him for a little while, but he could already feel that yearning for something more, the dark churning emotion that meant blood.

Now the ghosts were back, pacing around the bed. His cat growled, knowing they didn’t belong, wanting to kill them, not knowing or caring that they were already dead.

Kitty stirred in her sleep, muttering uneasily under her breath. All he’d ever wanted was to protect her and keep her safe, and he couldn’t even hold her without giving her fucking nightmares.