Page 56 of Tarek

It didn’t take long for my orgasm to come crashing down, with my cock completely untouched as my hands were on his shoulders, holding on for dear life. This time, he didn’t stop. Instead, his movement became more erratic, his hips stuttering as he stiffened, his nose now tracing its way along my neck, looking for the spot he'd place his bite. And then he struck.

Pain first, sharp and bright as his teeth pierced flesh, almost immediately followed by molten heat that sent waves of pleasure throughout my body. I distantly heard myself scream and felt my body spasm as a second orgasm forced its way out of me. Then he pulled free, licking the wound, and rolled us over, his cock still inside me as he held me on his chest.

I panted softly, overwhelmed with sensation. I could hear the twin thudding of his two hearts, but that wasn’t the strangest part. No, that was the sudden presence I felt in my own chest, a contentment and wave of affection that wasn’t mine.

My head jerked up. “I feel you!”

He nodded. “The bond is complete. We will always feel each other’s presence and love. Or anger, but hopefully not very often.”

I chuckled weakly. “Yeah, I’ve felt enough rage to last me for a lifetime.”

He shifted beneath me, and his cock slid out.

“Are you alright?” he asked me, and that was certainly a fair question.

And I was more than alright, I found. Not that he had a magic dick, which, okay, it sure seemed like he did and I was happy to ride that monster a lot more often as part of our whole mate deal, but the existence of the bond. I’d thought I’d understood it, but I hadn't. I hadn’t realized exactly how it actually worked, and now Xero’s and the Center’s officers’ reassurances made a lot more sense. We were literally one in a manner of speaking. He was a part of my soul now, and I was part of his.

It made trusting him feel different from anything I'd known before. It wasn't that I had forgotten what Philip had done, or that the past had suddenly stopped hurting. It was that I no longer felt I had to carry the fear of betrayal into every moment of my future. Tarek and I would still have to learn about each other, communicate, and build a life together, but I could finally imagine doing those things without waiting for the other shoe to drop. And damn, if that didn't make our future as friends and lovers look even more enticing.

What wasn't enticing was the thought of drying cum on our skin, gluing us together.

“Come on,” I said with a sigh. “Let's get cleaned up before we're stuck to the floor and it's almost impossible to scrub it off.”

Tarek rumbled his reluctant agreement. “Shower, and then perhaps we can relax and watch a vid together?”

I smiled. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

He helped me to my feet, steadying me with his tail when my legs wobbled. I blushed, remembering just how much we'd enjoyed putting it to use.

“Yes,” he replied. “I would like to take you on many dates, for the rest of our time in this universe.”

Oh, damn. My mate wasn't only a pragmatic lawman with a soft spot for children and animals. He was a romantic, too. For the first time in my life, I didn't think that meant I was in trouble.

No, I was in luck.

.

20

DARREN

The bathroom door opened, and Skye was sitting directly outside it, staring at us with an expression of such profound disappointment that I stopped dead in my tracks.

Oh, no.

Her golden head was tilted slightly to one side, her ears drooping, and her dark brown eyes fixed on me with an accusation so unmistakable that I felt my face heat all over again. She looked like a child who'd caught her parents doing something they absolutely should not have been doing, and I had no defense whatsoever.

“Skye,” I whispered.

Her tail didn't move, and that was how I knew I was in serious trouble. Between the frenzy of getting Laura's diaper bag packed for the sleepover and the kids' things gathered in the hallway for Sarah and Nick to pick up, followed by the whole letting our bodies do the talking thing afterward, we'd somehow both forgotten Skye was even there. Completely forgotten. Lust had apparently overruled every functioning sense we possessed, including the one responsible for remembering that our fur kid was in the room.

I covered my face with one hand. “Oh, God. I'm so sorry, baby.”

Behind me, Tarek made a sound that was suspiciously like a laugh.

I turned to glare at him. “Don't you dare.”

That only made it worse. He leaned against the bathroom doorframe, his damp hair falling across his forehead, his tail moving with unmistakable amusement. His scales caught the soft light from the room, and the little fangs showing when he grinned did absolutely nothing to make him look as contrite as I thought the situation demanded.