Mate Claimed (Shifters Unbound #4)(35)
Author: Jennifer Ashley

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Eric put his finger to his lips and smiled at his sister. He felt good, happy, energized. Whatever pain had twisted at him last night was gone, not even vestiges lingering to stab at him.

Cassidy did not look displeased to find Iona snoozing in Eric’s bed. “Shane is back,” she whispered. “He needs to talk to you.”

Eric nodded, and Cassidy tiptoed away. Eric kissed Iona’s hair again, and Iona came awake with a start.

She blinked at him in confusion, sultry black lashes over lake blue eyes. Then she came fully awake and tried to pull away.

“What am I doing in here?…Oh, yeah.” Iona’s look turned concerned. “Are you all right?”

“Haven’t felt this good in a long time.” Eric felt his smile stretch his face. “Sleep with a mate is a great cure.”

He cupped Iona’s cheek and slanted a kiss across her mouth. A deep kiss. He swept his tongue across hers, half rolling onto her to press her lips apart even more.

Iona’s fingers bit into his shoulder, nails lightly scratching as she arched up to him, her thin nightshirt a flimsy barrier. Eric broke the kiss and lowered his head to her br**sts, teeth closing around one nipple through the fabric.

Iona’s little moan of pleasure almost had him spilling his seed. Eric skimmed the shirt up to bare her abdomen and the blue satin panties she must have picked out to go with the bridesmaid’s dress.

He nipped the waistband of the panties, then licked her belly above them as he pushed up the shirt to expose her br**sts. Her br**sts were pale, lush, and full, as Eric remembered from running with her in the desert, firm globes that fit so nicely into his hands. He ran his tongue around the areola of one nipple and sucked the tip into his mouth.

Iona rose to him, pushing herself farther into his mouth. She parted her legs, her foot coming up to skim his bare thigh, urging him. Eric feasted lovingly on her br**sts, first one then the other, reveling in the firm feel of her ni**les against his tongue, the soft flesh on his lips.

He licked between her br**sts, then slid up her body to kiss her mouth, pressing his aching hard-on over the satin panties.

“Accept my mate-claim, Iona,” he whispered. “Join with me under sun and moon, and we’ll have a mating frenzy that lasts all year.”

Iona ran a hot hand through Eric’s short hair. “We’d be tired.”

“And hungry. But we wouldn’t care.”

“Hungry.” Iona’s eyes gleamed. “Please tell me Shifters eat pancakes.”

“Sometimes.”

“Do they have breakfast in bed?”

“That can be arranged,” Eric said. “Is that what you want? Me, I just want to enjoy the taste of you.”

He scented and felt that the satin under his c**k had grown damp. He could draw the panties down and lick the nectar of her, and be perfectly sated.

Iona pretended she wasn’t as rampant for sex as she was. “I’ll pay you back for all the food I ate last night. Or, I’ll buy more for you. In fact, I’ll go grocery shopping…right after breakfast.”

She started to sit up, to shove him away to get at her butter and maple syrup. The thought of syrup on Iona made Eric press her back down into the bed.

He opened her mouth with his tongue, licking the moisture behind her lips. He felt her fingers tracing his tattoo, and again the light scratching.

Eric rolled onto his back, pulling her over on top of him. Her nightshirt had slid down again, covering her br**sts, but Eric cupped them through the shirt. He positioned her so he could rub against her satin-covered pu**y, his c**k tingling with the near satisfaction of it.

If he ripped the underwear from her and let himself slide inside now, the two of them wouldn’t come out of this bedroom for days. Eric would forfeit the Challenge to Graham by not showing up, but who cared?

Challenges and their rules had been created by Shifters to prevent them from killing each other over scarce females in a free-for-all. Let Graham try to take Iona away and see what happened. Eric would simply kill him, problem solved.

The way Iona made Eric feel was primal, a throwback to the bad old days when Shifters fought to the death over a mate and were happy to do it. The Fae had created Shifters to be fighting beasts, and the beast always lurked close to the surface.

Iona’s little growl wasn’t helping. Eric smelled the feral being in her, uncontrolled by Shifter rules and a Collar. She was wild, free, and Eric wanted her.

Iona touched kisses to his face, his nose and mouth, her lips featherlight. Her body rubbed against his as she did it, sending Eric’s blood searing. He had to have her, had to slake his need on her before he faced the world today.

One burst, that’s all it would take. A few quick thrusts inside her, and Eric would be satisfied.

He knew that was a lie. Eric wanted the lovemaking to last. He wanted to lock himself in this room with her and let the world go to hell.

Iona gave him another kiss on the lips, then rolled away from him, so quickly that he lost his hold on her. “I think we should go have the pancakes now.”

Eric growled. He grabbed her wrists, came off the bed, pulled her up with him, and pinned her against the wall. He kissed her hard on the mouth as she ran her hands along his naked body, his erection nowhere near tamed. Her br**sts pressed into his chest through the nightshirt, the heat from the join of her thighs caressing his flesh.

“You saved me last night,” he said.

“You’re all right now?”

He touched his forehead to hers. “Better than ever.”

“You look it.”

Eric grinned at her. He always wanted to laugh around this wonderful woman.

He released her, his body protesting all the way, and shoved her at the door. “Breakfast. I’ll be right there.”

Iona stopped before she opened the door, her gaze dropping to his groin. “Looks like you need to take care of something else first.”

“Exactly. Get out of here.”

Eric laughed softly as Iona opened the door a crack and slipped out, leaving him alone and aching.

Iona heard the shower running for a long time after she’d washed and dressed and made it to the kitchen to join Diego and Cassidy. No pancakes. But Diego was whipping up a batch of eggs, peppers, cheese, and broken fried corn tortillas he called chilaquiles. He’d already made a stack of toast slathered in butter, cinnamon, and honey.

Iona piled her plate high with the toast. She’d make good on her promise to go grocery shopping, because she was eating all the Wardens’ food. In spite of Eric’s reassurances, she knew that Shifters had little money, and food must be expensive for them.