Alpha Eyes (Alpha Eyes: Book 1)

Chapter 4

His lips never leaving mine, he crawled over me so he was lying next to me rather than sitting on the edge of the bed. I whimpered against his mouth as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me flush against his chest, our legs starting to tangle together. The mate bond was making all rational thought fuzzy, drenching it in emotional and physical desire.

He teased my mouth open just enough to let his tongue in. Gosh, he was good! The way he pressed and sucked, sometimes the lightest feather touch and sometimes a possessive crush...He could take me to the edge just with his kisses. The mate bond drew us together like magnets, increasing our attraction to an insatiable point.

With a smooth motion, he gentle rolled on top of me. I trembled under him as he trailed kisses across my cheek and down my neck. For some crazy reason, my wolf had long gone quiet. I didn't mind not having her howling, but her sudden contentment was unusual.

He nuzzled the sensitive skin on the curve of my neck, sending waves of shivers through my body. I'd heard about mate ecstasy, only dreaming of what it would be like to have a mate ravish me like this. It truly was one of the greatest feelings.

"You're amazing," he murmured against my neck. "Truly amazing."

I moaned and combed my fingers into his hair. All of my dreams were coming true.

His teeth scraped against my neck, and my eyes widened in awareness. Was he seriously...

I gasped, my body tensing as Adrian's canines pierced my skin. A sharp pain exploded from the site and spread down my shoulder. My back arched off the bed, pressing me into his chest while I clutched his shoulders. At first it just seemed like a harsh love bite; but when he didn't pull away and the pain switched to intoxicating pleasure, I immediately knew what this was. Something crackled in my mind, like a new communication line opening up.

"Adrian..." I whimpered and weakly pushed at his shoulders. A few tears trickled down my cheeks as our bond gripped the core of my being and pulled me to him like the strongest undertow.

He broke free and gasped for a breath. He propped himself on his forearms and stared down at me, a few drops of my blood lingering on his lips. "Sierra, I..."

I sagged onto the bed and touched my neck. "You marked me?"

"I thought you wanted me to," he gasped. "Marking is part of the process, and I just wanted to make you mine. Now that I've found you, I want to know you and everything about you. I want you to know every part of me. The easiest way to do that is to for me to mark you. I'm sorry if I went too fast."

A wave of emotions that weren't mine flooded my mind. The chest-aching sadness and remorse nearly brought tears to my eyes. The depth of his concern for my feelings overwhelmed me.

"I wasn't prepared for it," I whispered. "I know that it's part of the process. And I wanted you to do it, just maybe not yet? We really just met each other."

"I'm sorry." He buried his face in my neck and kissed the tender spot where he'd marked me.

I jumped as he pushed at the edges of my mind, silently asking permission to read my thoughts. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing... I let him in and felt him relax as he started to understand that I wasn't upset with him. Marking was his way of proving how much he wanted me, and only me. It was how he planned to keep all other males away from me. I could live with that.

My wolf stretched out and purred in contentment. Warmth seeped through my veins, numbing fears and pain into oblivion. I sighed and lightly traced my fingertip along the collar of his shirt. He shivered and tightened his grip around my waist. For a long moment, we laid in each other's arms getting used to the other's thoughts and emotions.

Adrian mumbled something against my neck, sending a new wave of shivers across my skin.

"What was that?" I gently tugged on his hair, a little playful mixed with inquiry.

He propped himself on his forearms to look down at me. "Stay with me tonight?"

My heart pounded. "I, uhm... Isn't it a little soon?"

"We are mates," he reminded me. "And I've marked you, so..."

As he was already in my mind, I let him read the nervousness that was ricocheting in my thoughts. Really, there was nothing stopping us from moving forward with everything. Daddy clearly had given Adrian permission to come find me. Adrian lived in the pack house, so it wasn't like he was asking me to move across town. He'd probably stay in my room, if that's what it came down to. But the thought of sleeping in the same bed with our wolves pushing for something more...

"You're scared one or both of us will lose control," he murmured, tracing the outline of my ear with his finger. "I don't want to rush you. I already forced the marking on you, so I will happily hold back on this. Will that suit you?"

He's so sweet, my wolf crooned. He already cares deeply about our feelings and what we want. We like him.

I shoved her aside and nodded to answer my mate's question. My wolf made a good point about him being sensitive to my feelings. I hadn't been prepared to be marked, and he hadn't given me a say in that. Now he was giving me a vote in our next step.

"Soon," I promised him. "Maybe a few days of spending time with you will do the trick."

He nodded slowly, still tracing my ear. I leaned my head into his touch, enjoying the moment of calm affection. We were fully in control, even if his thoughts turned my cheeks pink.

"I'm going to go before my wolf decides that we're staying the night," he whispered.

I nodded and lifted my head off the bed to press a gentle kiss on his lips. For a moment, he hungrily kissed me back. My wolf voiced her personal desires, but I reigned in her Fifty Shades of Wolf fantasies. There'd be plenty of time for that later.

Adrian growled deep in his throat and yanked away. "I'll see you tomorrow, my beautiful mate. Sweet dreams of me." With a quick, searing kiss, he launched himself off the bed and rushed out the door.

I sagged in a quivering mess of emotions. With my heart racing, skin tingling, and lips throbbing, I actually agreed with my wolf.

Holy macaroni and cheese.