at the noise, squeezing him tight and drawing his balls up tight and hard against his body.
He threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her head to the side. A whimper escaped her lips the moment he closed his mouth over the crook of her neck and sucked at her skin.
“That what you want, gorgeous?” he growled. His lion shoved forward, pulling her taste and scent into himself. Fuck, he wanted to bite down hard. Wanted to claim her completely. “Want my mark on your skin?”
Another whine dripped from her lips. Her fingers dug into his back, nails nearly pricking his skin. Was it possible to get any harder?
“Come, Lilah,” he growled against her skin. “Come on my cock and I’ll give you what you want.”
He dragged his hands down her body, smoothing and squeezing and refreshing his memory of the dips and flares of her perfect form. He gripped her hips again and moved her over him, thrusting hard to meet her every demand. Her gasps and moans mingled with his own sharp grunts as they both raced for the finish. She trembled in his arms, hovering right on the edge, waiting, waiting, waiting…
Seth roared as heat shot through his throbbing length. He struck in that moment, sinking fangs deep into her skin and marking her as his mate. His queen.
Pain sliced through him a second later as Lilah shattered around him. Her own mark slammed into his shoulder and wrapped around his heart. He rocked into her, slowing, sputtering to a stop as the last of their aftershocks faded and fresh desire twitched to life.
Seth eased back and threaded his fingers through her hair, watching her in utter amazement. Not a hint of fear or hesitation swirled in her scent as she reached forward to trace her fingers over her mark on his skin.
“Mine,” she whispered.
He tucked her against his chest and melted back against the bed. “Yours.”
Always had been. Always would be. She was the only thing in the world to make him feel complete.
Epilogue
Lilah sat back and pushed away the remains of her enchilada dinner. On both sides of the table, other Crowleys were winding down, too. As much as a Crowley could wind down, anyway. Glares were shot down the table when sharp jabs wouldn’t meet, and words were lobbed like hand grenades, regardless.
“At this point, I’d rather deal with the damn bears for all hours of the day than see Lin sunning himself naked one more time,” Dash said loudly.
“Say that to my face, asshole,” Lindley snapped back.
He slurped the last of his drink and let off a satisfied smack. “I think I just did.”
Rowdy, savage lions. Lilah smiled into her margarita. They made her feel alive.
She’d expected to struggle more with everything that had happened, but the days since returning to the ranch had come easy. Part of that was Seth making sure her every need was met, but part of it was feeling like she’d come home. Strange, since her childhood home was full of pain and even her apartment felt empty and wrong. But the tiny barn room deep in lion country? That felt perfect.
Though, she supposed, anywhere with her mate would feel perfect.
Lilah reached under the table and found Seth’s hand. Just a quick squeeze, that was all she needed. Heat flared against her palm as he tangled his fingers with hers and turned just enough to smirk at her as he took a pull of his beer, almost as if he knew what she was thinking.
Maybe he did. She didn’t exactly hide her own grin.
“Get a room!” Dash teased from across the table.
Seth switched focus and narrowed his eyes. A sharp growl turned to a yelp. “Did you just kick me? What are you, a five-year-old?”
The other man shrugged. “Just making up for lost time.”
Lilah snorted and Colette rolled her eyes with an air of exasperation that didn’t hide her smile, either.
Seth jerked again with another kick and deepened the glare he fixed on Dash. “Impatient motherfucker,” he muttered. Louder, he addressed the rest of the table. “Dash told me we’re supposed to hold hands and whisper sweet nothings at one another after every near-death experience. I call bullshit on that. From what I’ve seen these last few months, every damn week brings a new near-death with you fuckers.” He tipped his bottle toward Trent. “Thank you for setting me free to find my mate.”
“And the other thing?” Trent leaned forward. “Are you staying or moving on?”
Lilah met