Chapter 14: Claimed

Ella

At first, I think Sinclair is angry, but then his lips curl into a lethal grin, and a growling laugh vibrates in his chest. He slides his hand over my cheek and around my nape, tangling his fingers in my wet hair. “Do you know what it means, to ‘top from the bottom,’ little wolf?” he asks ominously, his thumb massaging my neck in steady circles.

“No,” I reply, shifting nervously.

His demeanor is so predatory, so foreboding, and I know I’ve miscalculated in trying to rush him.

“It’s when you try to get your own way by provoking or manipulating me, using reverse psychology,” he explains darkly. “It’s an attempt to take control from your Alpha, your mate, without them realizing you’re doing it.” Sinclair prowls forward, and I instinctively retreat until my back hits the tiled wall. My heart hammers, and Sinclair rumbles with satisfaction as he watches me struggle with his dominance. “I was willing to let you get away with making me come too soon because I know how hard it’s been on your generous heart to always be on the receiving end in the bedroom, but your mischievous wolf needs to know she can’t trick me into doing things her way.”

“And h-how are you going to teach her?” I ask nervously, a shiver racing down my spine as his green eyes flash with an unnamed emotion.

“Well, I was planning on taking things slowly but making it as fun for you as possible,” Sinclair says, sliding his knee between my thighs. “Now I think I might just drag it out, make you work for your pleasure. What do you think about that?”

I’m tempted to roll over and accept defeat, but my traitorous wolf rankles at his suggestion. I can feel her rising within me, and I revel in how different it is to exist in this body now that I’m sharing it with a full-fledged wolf. In the past, my inner voice has been a comfort, a friend, and more recently, a conundrum; now I feel like she’s at the wheel, and I’m merely along for the ride. “I think that’s a terrible idea,” I reply, my voice decidedly sullen. “I shouldn’t have to wait at all when I’ve already been without your mark for so long.”

Sinclair chuckles, reaching behind him to turn off the shower tap. He sweeps my feet off the ground, carries me out of the shower, and tosses me unceremoniously into my nest without bothering to dry me off. I hiss and bare my fangs at him, but this only causes Sinclair to roll me over and pepper my bottom with swift spanks, holding me in place with a hand on my lower back. I howl and protest, but he doesn’t listen.

Despite myself, I feel heat pooling between my legs, and there’s something satisfying about Sinclair taking me in hand this way. I blame my wolf—the ridiculous creature loves his dominance in a way I don’t quite understand, but she and I are one now. I find my hand sneaking between my legs as he punishes me, a jolt of utter rapture pulsing through me when my fingers connect with my clitoris.

Realizing what I’m doing, Sinclair flips me onto my back. “I thought I told you that your pleasure belongs to me, mate,” he rumbles, seizing my hand and sliding my fingers into his mouth, licking the wetness from my skin. “I see I’m going to have to take things up a notch.”

Sinclair pins my hands above my head. “Tell me now, baby. Will you be okay if I restrain you?”

Unlike before, his phrasing doesn’t trigger my past. Instead, it sends my foolish wolf into a fresh fit of rebellion. “I’d like to see you try,” I challenge, wriggling against his hold.

Before I know it, my wrists and ankles are cinched to the four corners of the bed, and I’m spread-eagle, immobile, and completely vulnerable. For a second, I panic, but the moment Sinclair hears my heart rate increase, he rests his palm on my belly and leans over me so I can see his face. “You’re okay, trouble. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

My wolf settles, knowing she’s safe in her mate’s hands, and I submit to Sinclair’s retribution.

“So lovely,” he observes, petting my swollen sex. “So slick and sensitive.” His thumb works tight circles on my clitoris as he leans down to tease my nipple with his tongue, and I lift my hips to meet his touch, biting back a needy moan. I’m already so turned on from the shower and his spanking that it doesn’t take long before I’m teetering on the edge of orgasm. Unfortunately, Sinclair is so tuned in to my body’s cues that he senses my imminent peak and pulls back at the last moment.

I cry out in frustration when his stimulation disappears, whining and glaring at my mate. I know he’s planning on doing the same thing over and over, but this knowledge only makes me more defiant. Sinclair lowers his lips to mine, stealing a kiss as he croons, “Such a fierce little wolf.” I nip his lower lip, hard enough to draw blood, and he swats my clitoris, obviously unconcerned with the crimson liquid pooling at the corner of his mouth.

Over the next hour, he repeats this torturous pattern, using his hands and mouth to bring me to the very edge of ecstasy before pulling back, leaving me disappointed and desperate. I arch into his touch, eventually begging for the release he withholds. Still, he doesn’t give in, continuing his relentless pleasure campaign until my defiance is gone.

Only when my eyes are full of tears and my vicious snarls have turned to whimpering moans does he untie my hands and feet. He rolls onto his back and encourages me to sit astride him. Finally free to climb atop him and seek my own pleasure, I balk at Sinclair’s massive size. I’m not sure if I can take him all, but Sinclair sits up, cupping my face in his hands and stealing breathless kisses from my lips. “You’re in control, baby, just this first time,” he intimates gruffly.

But I only have so much control. If you don't act soon, I'm going to take you whether you're ready or not. Being ready isn't the problem, I think wryly. I’m so ready I could scream. The true issue is whether I can handle such a man, but I suppose the only option I have is to try. I carefully center the flared head of Sinclair’s cock at my entrance, certain I’m going to come to pieces the moment he’s inside me.

It doesn’t happen that quickly, because it’s no easy feat cramming his girthy length into my tight tunnel. Still, as soon as my hips settle against his, Sinclair rocks up into my heat, rubbing his cock head against that special spot inside me and setting off fireworks. All of a sudden, the last hour of stimulation crashes over me in a stunning haze of lust, and I detonate around him.

“That’s it,” Sinclair encourages, beyond caring about anything other than our mutual release. “Such a good girl, coming all over my cock.” I toss my head back and cry out as he lifts my hips and begins thrusting at a relentless pace, even though I’m the one on top. It doesn’t take much to send me over the edge again, and Sinclair’s deep voice and dirty words only egg me on.

“Fuck, you’re so tight, baby,” he purrs. “I could stay here forever. Night and day.” Sinclair kisses his way down my neck, and all I can do is hang on. “Perfect, just like that, gorgeous.”

I lose track of how many times I climax, but Sinclair has certainly broken his own record. At what feels like the end of an eternity, he grazes his fangs over the spot where my neck meets my shoulder and sinks them in deep. I scream as a bright, white light takes over my vision, blinding me figuratively and literally. Love, fate, and pure magic intertwine, consuming us both as our bond cements. Before I can think better of it, I sink my own fangs into Sinclair’s pectoral muscles, staking my claim as surely as he’s staked his own.

In the delirious aftermath, I float in Sinclair’s protective embrace, finally feeling complete after so many years of searching. All in all, this feels like a new beginning for us, and even if it isn’t, becoming mates in every sense of the word gives us a connection that can never be broken. We’re a true team now, and that has to be an advantage in the upcoming campaign… right?