decided. “And technically you aren’t a mate yet.” He traced her bare neck. “Not until I collar you.”
“Really?” She gestured to her belly. “This isn’t enough for me to be considered your mate?”
“It’s more than enough for me.”
“But?”
“The rules are the rules. Collar equals mate.”
“Well,” she said with a wicked gleam in her eye, “I guess there’s only one thing to do then.”
“What’s that?”
She answered him by throwing a handful of clothing in his face and rushing off to hide. He shoved the dresses and tops away and stood to chase after her. She was right. This was as close to a real Grab as they were going to get.
He spotted his backpack on a chair and unzipped the pouch where he had stowed the collar Cipher had designed. With the strip of white leather dangling from his hand, he crept through their apartment. There were only a few places she could have hidden, but he took his time searching. When he reached their bedroom, he found her shoes, her socks and then her shirt.
Getting the message, he stopped to unzip and toe out of his boots. He stripped out of his shirt and pants, leaving his weapons in a secured cabinet, before he peeled out of everything else. Naked and holding the collar, he checked the bathroom, half-expecting to find her hiding in the shower. When she wasn’t there, he knew exactly where she was.
Already rock hard with anticipation, he strode toward the room where he hoped to show Maisie all sorts of wickedly sensual delights. He should have known she would go straight to the playroom. She wasn’t the usual nervous mate terrified by wild stories. She embraced her needs and desires.
So, he wasn’t at all surprised to find her nude and rocking slowly back and forth in the black leather swing suspended from the ceiling. He was taken back to that night in the pleasure club on the cruise ship. He stopped in the doorway, completely in awe of her, and tried to memorize every detail. Her skin was pink with the flush of arousal. Her breasts were fuller now, the nipples a darker shade of brown and the veins more prominent. The swell of her belly enticed him.
But it was her spread thighs that beckoned him closer. Her pussy glistened with desire, and he wasted no time cupping her mound as he leaned in to kiss her. She moaned desperately into his mouth and swept her tongue against his. She clawed at his shoulders and dragged him deeper between her thighs, notching him in right where she wanted him.
Any other time, he would have denied her the pleasure she sought. He would have made her earn it through submission and a little pain. Later, he promised himself. There was time to drive her mad with desire and sensation later.
Right now, he wanted to give her exactly what she wanted. All the months of separation. All the struggles and suffering she had endured alone. She had survived against all odds—and done it while secretly carrying his child.
So, yes, she could have whatever she wanted.
But first...
He carefully draped the collar around her neck. She shivered under his tender touch, and he fastened the buckle, making sure there was plenty of space between the leather band and her neck. With the extra burden of making a baby on her body, he wanted nothing to compress the delicate veins in her neck.
She reached up and touched the collar, her fingertips moving along the leather as a smile curved her soft mouth. Holding his gaze, she said, “Thank you.”
“Maisie,” he whispered. “I should be thanking you for accepting me.”
She drew a swirly shape on his chest. Playfully, she said, “I can think of one way you can thank me.”
“I’m sure you can.” Terror stroked his fingertips along her labia, drawing shivers of delight. She sighed against his cheek when his fingers explored her slick heat. He trailed feverish kisses down her cheek and jaw and then her throat. She laughed when he buried his face between her breasts and then groaned when he sucked her taut nipple between his lips.
Interesting. He had always heard that women were more sensitive when carrying a child. He wondered what else had changed since he had loved her last. Only one way to find out…
Terror dotted a line of kisses from the valley between her breasts along the taut swell of her belly and each side of her hips. He dropped to his knees, cupping