Claiming Her Heart Read online

  Game fucking on.

  TEN

  Julian

  My control vacillated, rose and ebbed depending on the situation. My anger at Angelita for putting herself in danger? My need to claim her and make her mine again? Those restricted my control. Blasting through it until there was nothing but her and me and my need for her. My desire to feel every inch of her flesh.

  Fuck the rules and the guidelines and respecting anyone else—she was mine, my mate, and I was going to make sure everyone knew it.

  She raced up the stairs ahead of me, her footsteps light and quick as we headed to my apartment. Our apartment. The place where I lived alone almost the entire year. A place where she was staying with me while she visited this last time. I was done with visits. Hopefully, so was she.

  “Julian, what—”

  I pounced on her before she could finish her sentence, herding her up the last of the stairs to the door. I’d been hard since the alley, since I got her off on my fingers. I could still smell her on them, had all the way home, and that fact drove me crazy. Control? What control? I’d lost mine somewhere between her lying to me and my finding out the truth. The crazy, ridiculous, completely unbelievable, and yet totally Angelita’s style, truth.

  As soon as the door closed behind us, I pulled away. “I want you naked. Now.”

  She made that sound again, the one like in the alley. The slight noise that sounded so much like a whimper, and I nearly came right then. Had that sound come from pain or fear, I was sure my body would react differently. But it wasn’t either of those—that sound came from desire. Pure and simple. She wanted me. She wanted to come again. And she liked me telling her what to do.

  The rustle of clothes broke the silence of the room, the sound of fabric sliding over skin. Of clothing disappearing. Good. I clenched my jaw and stood there, so close I could feel her body heat, far enough away to not touch. Waiting for her to finish. For her to give me a signal. Keeping my drive to slide inside her tight, hot body and pound her on a tight fucking leash.

  “Julian,” she whispered, her voice shaking. Again, not fear. No. My baby needed. Grew desperate as she waited. I knew that feeling.

  “What am I going to do with you, Leelee? You tell me we can’t complete the mating even though I ache to claim you and to be claimed by you. Did you know that? My need to sink my teeth into your flesh and bond us together is just as strong as yours. It’s painful, and I’m getting tired of waiting. Especially when I know you’ll spread those legs for me. You’ll take my body inside yours, just not my bite.”

  She curled against my chest. Sighing when we finally made contact. I wasn’t going to lie, I sighed as well.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, all soft and breathy. “I don’t want to lose you. Not to a turning, not to madness, not to Bez pulling me away from here—”

  “No fucking way.” I yanked her closer, backing the two of us to the bed. Sitting with her essentially curled in my lap. “I’m done with living apart. We’re not doing it again.”

  “I know.” She slid out of my lap, reaching to unfasten my jeans. Her hands eager and direct. “I know, Jul. Let me figure this out. Let me set us up right, and then we can talk about the turning. I want you with me always, I’m just so scared of losing even the smallest piece of your mind.”

  I lifted my hips to help her pull off my pants. “You won’t lose any part of me. We’ll get through everything, you just have to—” I stopped breathing as her fingertips brushed across the head of me. Fuck, I couldn’t think. Her hand wrapped around my cock, tugging and rubbing and altogether making me feel so good, I thought I could die.

  “Lee.”

  “My turn,” she said, and then her hot little mouth stretched over the tip of my cock, her tongue finding its way into my slit. I groaned loud and low, resting my hand on her head as she began to move. Up and down, in and out, all the while sliding her tongue over me when she could. Fuck, she felt so damn good. So perfect. I wanted to thrust, wanted to fuck her mouth. We’d done this before. Hell, last time, I’d gotten a little rough with her and fucked her soft mouth until I came down her throat. She’d loved it, but this was her show. She’d pushed for it, stripped down, and grabbed my cock. I’d let her decide how far to go, how deep. I’d let her own my cock.

  And she did.

  Suctioning hard, she took me deep into her mouth. Her hands squeezed my legs, and her body writhed against mine. Fuck, it all felt so good, so hot. This was something more than all our times before, something vastly different. The feeling of change danced on the air, of something new between us. One I could practically taste as my body bowed and I came inside my girl’s mouth while she fucking moaned around me.

  We weren’t even close to done yet.

  “Fuck.” I fell back, panting, still feeling that need and power, still reaching for her. “Claim me, baby. Please.”

  “Not yet,” she whispered, slowly working her way up my body. Dropping kisses on my hips, my stomach, my sternum. I was still half hard, still needing her. Still wanting more. “Just a few more days, Julian. We’re so close.”

  And we were. I could feel it. I knew it. And I was tired of trying to take the high road.

  “Come up here.” I grabbed her arm, directing her on top of me. Dying a little again when her soaking wet pussy met my quickly recovering cock. “Do you know how much I love you?”

  “I know.”

  “I just want us together.”

  “That’s all I want too.”

  I thrust again, angling this time. Sliding the tip inside of her. Just the tip. An inch, really. Still, she moaned.

  I kissed her nose, rocking a little deeper. “Don’t leave me out of your plans again.”

  “I won’t.”

  “We’re a team.”

  “Yes. Please.” She rocked her hips, forcing me deeper.

  “Fuck, Leelee, I can’t resist you. Why can’t I ever resist you?”

  “Because we’re meant to be together. We’re meant to do this. It’s our destiny.”

  I broke. She was right—this was our destiny, and I was tired of running away from it just because I wasn’t getting my way. I flipped her over onto her back, thrusting in deep in the same movement. I knew she didn’t have a hymen anymore—we would have long ago taken care of that with all we’d done—but I still wanted that first push to be over quick. Wanted any stretching or adjusting to happen fast so I could get her off.

  But when I seated myself deep inside of her, she didn’t whine or whimper. She grabbed hold of my shoulders, wrapped her legs around my waist, and hissed a dark and demanding, “Yes.”

  My mate needed, and I’d deliver.

  “Fuck, I forgot—” I groaned, the clench of her pussy around me too good to ignore. “You gotta do that again. But I forgot the condom.”

  Angelita squeezed me again, arching her back and clawing at my shoulders as she rode my hard thrusts. “I’m good. I have an IUD, and neither of us has ever…”

  “Never. Only you.” I licked into her mouth, trying hard to concentrate. “So, we’re okay, yeah? We can—”

  “Come inside me. Just don’t stop.”

  I was very good at following directions.

  I plunged ahead, thrusting, panting, groaning. Trying my damnedest to hang on so I could make her come first. One hand between us so I could keep my thumb on her clit, I worked her over. I fucked her hard and fast.

  “Leelee,” I murmured, unable to find the words to tell her what I needed to. How I loved her, needed her, had craved this moment for so long. I couldn’t find the words, but I couldn’t hold back either. Not when she reached up and grabbed my face. Not when she clenched hard around me as she fell into her own orgasm. Not with every inch of my cock buried inside her.

  And especially not when she bit my lip before whispering, “Want to feel you come, Julian.”

  So I did. And as I came, as pleasure exploded in my spine and all through my body, I got a flash. One, single quick flash of light. Something
I hadn’t seen since before the accident.

  I got to see…shadows.

  “Angelita,” I whispered before collapsing on her. Darkness dragged me under, pulling me into sleep before I could do so much as sigh.

  * * *

  “So, wait, you saw something?”

  “I think so.” I rinsed the soap out of her hair, trying so hard to keep our bodies connected. “It was a flash. But I think I saw light.”

  She spun in my arms, rubbing her fingers over my cheeks. “How did this happen?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Julian, this is huge. We need to tell—”

  “Who, exactly?” I turned off the water and handed her a towel before reaching for my own. “Who’s going to listen to us when I start off with, Hey, Angelita and I were fucking up in my room when—”

  She placed a finger over my mouth. “Okay, yeah. Bez would kill you.”

  “Exactly.” I dried myself off, sliding on a pair of basketball shorts once I finished. “It has to be us, our connection. Nothing else makes sense.”

  Angelita huffed. “I need to finish this job.”

  I couldn’t argue with that, so I only grunted my agreement.

  Angelita definitely understood it. “We have to stay together.”

  “We do.”

  She laid a hand on my cheek and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Throw on a shirt, my handsome mate. It’s breakfast time.”

  “Fine, but I’ll be pulling off yours later.”

  Her quiet laugh soothed my nerves…for the moment. “Never said you couldn’t.”

  We headed down to the main house, running into Rebel on the back porch. I could feel his tension, sense his worry, even before I took the first step up.

  “Don’t let Bez see you two.”

  No wonder. But Angelita didn’t seem to care.

  “Can we borrow a car tonight?”

  “I guess. Why?”

  “We want to go out.”

  Rebel sat quiet for a moment. Too quiet. “What are you two planning?”

  Shit. My turn. “A date.”

  “I don’t buy that.”

  “You don’t really have to,” I said with a shrug. Time to lay it all out there…or as much as I was willing to show Rebel. He may have been more understanding than my sister, but he was still her mate. If I told him too much, he’d share it with her. “We want to go on a date. That’s the story we’re sticking with. Can we borrow the car?”

  Rebel hummed, the creak of a chair rocking accompanying the sound. “Don’t get me in trouble with your sister. If Bez and Sariel say it’s okay for Angelita to drive you two around, then you can take one of the cars.”

  Angelita grabbed my hand. “They’ll say it’s okay.”

  “Good,” Rebel said. “You’d better run inside and grab some bananas and granola bars. Now might not be the best time to see anyone else.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Boy, I know your senses aren’t as strong as mine, so let me fill you in. The two of you look and smell like you’ve put in an all-night fuck fest. I’d rather not have to fight Bez to keep him from castrating you this morning. It’s too pretty outside, and my mate took too good of care of me earlier for my wolf to function at that level.”

  Angelita snorted. “Too much information.”

  “TMI? You think I want to see you two looking like this, knowing what I now know you’ve been up to? Go…grab food. Then head back to your apartment. I’ll tell them all you came down for breakfast already but were going back for a nap.”

  God bless the day my sister found that man. “Thanks, Rebel.”

  “You’re welcome. And again, don’t get me in trouble with your sister tonight. Whatever you’re doing, keep it on the down low and don’t get caught.”

  Wiser words had never been spoken.

  ELEVEN

  Angelita

  Date night turned into another practice run for recovering the idol, this time with Julian helping me. Something I hadn’t planned but felt right once we started. He was my mate—of course he should be involved in what could very well be our future business. So long as we did this one job right.

  We decided to set up a command post of sorts at a coffee shop down the street from the Federal Bank building I’d be sneaking into. It was a bit more public and wide open than I’d like, but that made the plan work even better. People in coffeehouses late at night tended not to notice the other patrons. They were usually too busy working or flirting or…watching anime, as the guy two tables over seemed to be doing. Huh. Hadn’t expected that.

  “Sound good?” Julian blew air into the mic of the small headset hanging off his ear. It looked like any other Bluetooth device for hands-free phone use, but it had a partner that shared the same frequency. The range sucked, but the sound was clear. Or so the reviews said.

  I strolled over to the display case of novelty mugs, feigning interest in the kitschy and meme-like. “Need an I’m sorry for what I said before I had my coffee mug?”

  “I don’t drink coffee.” His whispered response sounded perfectly clear.

  I walked a little farther away, heading down the hall toward the restrooms. “If we’re going to be hanging out in coffeehouses, maybe you should start.”

  “It could stunt my growth.”

  “Doubtful.”

  “It might make me jittery.”

  “That could be fun.”

  “Get back here, Leelee.” His chuckle had me grinning, had me rushing back to his side.

  “Yes, Julian?”

  He leaned forward, his lips obviously seeking mine. Soft and sweet, the kiss he placed on me was nothing if not appropriate. Pity that.

  “Let’s get this test run done,” Julian whispered when he finally broke away. “Then we can make you chant ‘Yes, Julian’ a few more times.”

  Oh. So not appropriate. Much better. I ran my fingers up his thigh, stopping only when he squirmed in his seat. “Just a few?”

  “I thought that was you, Angel.” The sudden appearance of Red the bear shifter made me do a double take. It also made me grip Julian’s thigh a little tighter.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Julian dropped his hand onto mine, squeezing once. Letting me know he was there.

  “Checking up on my investment.” Red darted a glance to Julian and offered his hand. “We haven’t met. My name is Harley.”

  Julian held out a hand, not missing the social customs just because he couldn’t see the other man’s offer. “Julian. I’m Angel’s partner.”

  If he was surprised I hadn’t given Red my real name, he didn’t let on. Thank the fates my mate was quick on his feet, or else he could have given me away. Not that it would be that hard to find out who I was. The young female wolf hanging with the Feral Breed Motorcycle Club president? Easy as pie.

  Red—well, Harley…I’d have to remember that—raised an eyebrow at me when Julian didn’t meet his gaze. I raised one right back. Yes, he’s blind. If Harley wanted to start something about that, I’d happily finish it.

  “Nice to meet you, Julian.” Harley turned his attention to me once again as he took a seat across the table from us. “So what’s the plan, little wolf?”

  Julian squeezed my leg just as my growl rumbled in my chest, though that wasn’t enough to hold back my temper. “I’m not little, and the plan is that I go in, cut the alarm, and steal the idol.”

  Harley blinked. Twice. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it.”

  “What about cameras?”

  “They’re only on the bottom floors for the bank itself. The top ones are private offices, and no one rents more than two units, which means smaller companies. I’m not concerned.”

  “What about guards?”

  “I’ll handle them if I have to, though I haven’t seen any after the bank closes.”

  Harley sat back, sighing and shaking his head. “I’m not sure if you’re brilliant or more balls than brains.”

&nb
sp; I gave him my prettiest smile. “I prefer the first option.”

  His frown twisted. “Yeah, well, we’ll have to see about—”

  “Why haven’t you stolen this thing yourself?” Julian asked, his face firm as he stared blankly in Harley’s direction. “I mean…if your family needs it so badly, I’d think you’d be sneaking in yourself, or maybe busting down doors and knocking heads around.”

  Our bear friend leaned in, dropping his voice until I could barely hear him. “Bears aren’t exactly known for our stealth, and we’re pretty easy to pick out of a crowd simply because of our size. Besides,” he continued as he leaned back in his chair, “if they see me, they’ll know my clan stole it, which means they could come back and try to take it from us again. I don’t want to risk that. It could end badly for everyone.”

  “So you hire Angel here to do it instead, even though it could end badly for her?”

  Harley smirked, and his voice carried a bit of teasing to it. “She volunteered, son, or didn’t you know?”

  Julian’s smile turned wicked, almost as if egging Harley on. “Oh, trust me. I know everything about this deal from her perspective. I’d still like to know why someone stole your clan’s idol, though.”

  “It’s not my clan’s idol, specifically.” Harley sat back again, flicking invisible lint off his jacket. Looking almost…nervous? “Any clan can use any idol. Most have one that’s been with the leading family for centuries, though.”

  Huh. You learn something new every day. “So this one isn’t yours?”

  “No, but it’ll work just fine for us.”

  “Where’s yours?”

  “Destroyed. Interclan war. My sister and I are the only ones who survived.”

  And just like that, every dark memory of the night my pack was slaughtered came rushing back. Julian reached over, grabbing my hand and holding on tight, seeming to know how the bear’s words would affect me. How they’d open up old wounds. Old fears. Old fury that never got resolved.