Beth laid her head on his pec and her hand on his waist. “I’m really glad everyone’s okay.”

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”

He ushered her into the study and shut both doors, the warmth of the fire a balm…and an enticement. As she walked over to the paper-strewn desk, he tracked the sway of her hips.

With a flick of the wrist, he locked them in together.

While he came over to her, Beth reached out to try to make some order of the documents. “So what hap-”

Wrath pressed his hips into her ass and whispered, “I need to be in you.”

His shellan gasped and let her head fall back onto his shoulder. “Oh, God…yes…”

Growling, he slipped a hand around to her breast, and as her breath caught, he rolled his cock against her. “I don’t want to take my time with this.”

“Me neither.”

“Lean on the desk.”

Watching her tilt and arch her back nearly made him curse. And then she spread her feet apart and a fuuuuck slipped out.

Which was exactly what he was going to do.

Wrath canned the lamp on the desk so there was only the dancing golden light of the fire to illuminate them, and his hands were rough as he ran them over her hips in anticipation. Crouching behind her, he dragged his fangs down her spine and made her shift her weight onto one foot so he could pop off her stillie and shuck her Sevens free. He was too impatient to do the other side, though-especially as he looked up and saw her deliciously unfussy black panties.

Right. Change in plan.

The penetration was going to wait.

At least the one with his cock.

Staying on his haunches, he removed his weapons with both care and speed, making sure the safeties were in place on his guns and his blades were clipped into their holster. If the door wasn’t locked, they would have been put in the combination gun closet, no matter how hard up he was for his female. With Nalla around, no one in the house was running the risk of Z and Bella’s daughter picking up any kind of weapon. Ever.

Disarmed, he took off his wraparounds and tossed them onto the desk, then slid his hands up the backs of his mate’s smooth thighs. Splitting her wide, he arched up and put himself between her legs, lifting his mouth to the cotton that covered the core he was going to be coming into very soon.

He pressed his mouth to her, feeling the heat through what she wore, her scent driving him wild, his cock kicking so hard in his leathers, he wasn’t sure whether or not he’d just orgasmed. Nuzzling and then licking at her through the panties wasn’t enough…so he took the cotton between his teeth and rubbed at her sex with it, knowing damn well that lateral seam was massaging right at the spot he was dying to suck her off at.

There was a thump-thump as her palms repositioned on the desk and a rustle as papers flitted down to the floor.

“Wrath…”

“What,” he murmured against her, working her with his nose. “You don’t like?”

“Shut up and get back to doing-”

His tongue slipping under the panties cut her off…and made him have to slow himself down. She was so slick and wet and soft and willing, it was all he could do to keep himself from hauling her on the rug and going at her deep and hard.

And then they’d both miss out on the fun of anticipation.

Moving the cotton aside with his hand, he kissed her pink flesh, then delved in. She was oh, so ready for him, and he knew it because of the honey that he swallowed as he dragged upward in a long, slow lick.

But it wasn’t enough, and holding the panties to the side was distracting.

With his fang, he punctured them, then split them apart right up the middle, leaving the two halves to hang off her hips. His palms went up to her ass and squeezed hard as he quit fooling around and got busy working out his female with his mouth. He knew exactly what she liked best, the sucking and the licking and the going in with his tongue.

Closing his eyes, he took it all in, the scent and the taste and the feel of her shuddering against him as she peaked and came apart. Behind the fly of his leathers, his cock was screaming for attention, the rasp of the buttons not nearly sufficient to satisfy what it was demanding, but tough shit. His erection was going to have to chill for a while, because this was too sweet to stop anytime soon.

When Beth’s knees wobbled, he took her down to the floor and stretched one of her legs up, keeping to his pace while shoving her fleece to her neck and putting his hand under her bra. As she orgasmed again, she grabbed onto one of the desk legs, pulling hard and bracing her free foot into the rug. His pursuit pushed them both farther and farther beneath where he discharged his kingly duties until he had to crouch down to fit his shoulders.

Eventually her head was out the other side and she was gripping the pansy-ass chair he sat in and dragging it with her.

As she cried out his name once more, he prowled up her body and glared at the stupid, nancy chair. “I need something heavier to sit in.”

Last coherent thing he said. His body found the entrance to hers with an ease that spoke of all the practice they’d had and…Oh, yeah, still as good as the first time. Wrapping his arms around her, he rode her hard, and she was right there with him as the storm rolling through his body gathered in his balls until they stung. Together, he and his shellan moved as one, giving, receiving, going faster and faster until he came and kept going and came again and kept going until something hit his face.

In full animal mode, he growled and swiped at it with his fangs.

It was the drapes.

He’d managed to fuck them out from under the desk, past the chair, and over to the wall.

Beth burst out laughing and so did he, and then they were cradling each other. Easing onto his side, Wrath held his mate against his chest, and tugged her turtleneck and fleece back into place so she wouldn’t be cold.

“So what did happen at the meeting?” she said eventually.

“None of the council showed.” He hesitated, wondering where the lines were with respect to Rehv.

“Not even Rehv?”

“He was there, but the others didn’t make it up. Evidently, the council is scared of me, which is not a bad thing.” Abruptly, he took her hands. “Listen, ah, Beth…”

Tension threaded through her reply. “Yes?”

“Honesty, right?”

“Right.”

“Something did go down. It involves Rehvenge…his life…but I don’t feel comfortable telling you the ins and outs because it’s his biz. Not mine.”

She exhaled. “If it doesn’t involve you or the Brotherhood-”

“It does only because it puts us in a difficult position.” And Beth would be in the same tight spot if she were in on the info. The thing was, protecting the identity of a known symphath was only half the problem. Last time Wrath had checked, Bella didn’t have a clue what her brother was. So Beth would have to keep the secret from her friend, too.

His shellan frowned. “If I ask exactly how it presents an issue for you guys, I’m going to know what it is, right?”

Wrath nodded and waited.

She ran her hand down his jaw. “And you would tell me, wouldn’t you.”

“Yeah.” He wouldn’t like it, but he would. Without hesitation.

“Okay…I’m not going to ask.” She leaned up to kiss him. “And I’m glad you gave me the choice.”

“See, I’m trainable.” He held her face and pressed his mouth to hers a couple of times, feeling the smile that lit her lips by the way the stroking sensation changed.

“Speaking of training, how’d you like some food?” she said.

“Oh, how I love you.”

“I’ll deliver.”

“I think I’d better clean you up first.” He whipped off his black shirt and carefully stroked up her thighs to her core.

“You’re doing more than cleaning me up,” she drawled as he let his hand rub between her thighs.

He surged up, making a move to mount her again. “Can you blame me? Mmmm…”