drawing a soft blanket over the top to create an intimate space.
This is nothing like that civilized nest. It feels different.
Animalistic.
There is a thin rope among the supplies, which Gage selects. I frown for only a moment before Gage carries me to the giant nest, lowers my feet to the floor, and sets about binding my wrists.
“What? No!”
I struggle in earnest now. The heat coursing through my body does not like this development.
“I don’t trust you not to interfere,” he says. “It would devastate the both of us, should you be injured.”
Another howl, close, kicks off a thud in the base of my skull. I feel woozy and a little disconnected from reality as my hands are drawn over my head, pulling me onto my feet. My head rolls back against the rough wooden wall. Above me is a great iron ring, and the rope is passed through.
I kick out. “Ow!” I only succeed in hurting my toe and drawing Gage’s thunderous glare.
“Brat,” he growls. Spinning me around, he lands a sharp spank to my bottom that hurts twice as much as my toes.
Goddess, his hands are big. I groan as my slick pulses out to join the other stickiness.
His head lowers, and I know he is looking at the mess I have made—the evidence of my arousal. He sucks a sharp breath in through his teeth, head lifting, shoulders straightening, he rises to his full height. My chest heaves. I shake my head, trying to rouse myself from the foolish desire I suffer to spread my legs. Left hand planting against the wall beside my face, he leans into me, his broad, naked chest inches from my lips. I can’t stop myself from pressing forward within the confines of the rope, stretching my tongue out to the limit of my reach to lick his glistening skin.
I groan as the taste hits my tongue.
He shifts slightly away so that I can no longer touch him. Writhing against the wall, I tug on the rope in the futile hope that it might release me so that I can feast upon the god taunting me. His fingers tip my chin up, and even that light touch feels like heaven.
“Drunk on pheromones,” he mutters. “It will not take much to tip you into full heat.”
A thud rattles the floor, followed by a savage growl.
He is here. Brandon has come.
Gage
I turn just in time as a snarling mass of fur bounds into the room. I spring to meet Brandon’s leap, taking him by the throat and sending us both crashing to the floor. We roll, each of us seeking a position of dominance. His claws rake my chest, drawing a little blood. I keep my fist locked around his throat. If I release him, the bastard is crazed enough to try and rip me apart.
I squeeze harder. The wolf whines, claws raking me again.
Brandon will not make this easy for me. Both the wolf and the man need to be mastered or there will never be peace. Rising above him, I heave him from the ground and toss him against the wall. Behind me, Jessa squeals. I’m glad I had the foresight to bind her lest she interfere.
The wolf scrambles up, shaking his head before facing off to me. Lips curled, he issues a savage growl.
Arms spread wide, muscles flexed, I growl right back.
He leaps again. This time I swing my fist, knocking him sideways into a tumble of fur and skittering claws as he tries to gain purchase.
We clash again and again.
I could end this. I could end him. But that is not my desire.
What I desire is his submission, and I will have it before we are done.
Jessa
The crazed sounds of snarling and growling fill my ears.
The scent of blood and pheromones fill my nose.
Shivers wrack my body. My slick weeps so copiously that it trickles and drips all the way to the floor. I’m on fire, yet I am deeply cold.
I just want them to stop.
I beg, and I plead, but they are both lost to me.
My eyes have grown swollen with tears, but I am also empty of the love and attention my body needs.
Gage is covered in blood where Brandon’s claws and teeth have found their mark. My beautiful shifter is less bloody, but he limps and carries himself in a way that suggests deep internal hurt.
In a move that speaks of impossible strength, Gage takes Brandon by the throat, lifting and pinning the snarling wolf to the wall.
“Shift