Immortals After Dark 04 - Wicked Deeds on a Winters Night

whirled around, continuing on with a goofy smile.
    But he was right behind her in an instant. “You good girl,” he rasped. “Give us a feel, then.” She swatted at him. “Tease.”
    “Temptress,” she countered.
    “Aye, that you are. No’ ten minutes ago, you made me come till my eyes rolled back in my head, and already you’ve got me randier than I was with my first milkmaid.”
    She turned and tapped her chin. “Hmm. Would you like me to wear a corset and bend over a pail?”
    His jaw slackened. “Only if you want to see a man instantaneously spill his seed.”
    She gazed at his thick erection. “Sounds like a date, then.”
    He groaned, rushing up to her side again. “I’m a heartbeat away from taking you aside and bending you over the next boulder.”
    Ha! “Then keep an eye out for one that’s about this”—she tapped her flattened hand at her hip bone—“high.”
    “Ach, I like this with you! I doona remember the last time that I felt something was... ” He trailed off, as if he didn’t quite recognize what they were experiencing.
    “Fun?” she supplied.
    “Aye, fun. And I believe I’ve discovered the key to you.”
    “What’s that?”
    “If I slake you, in return I get a smiling lass. I like this deal, kitten.”
    “Damn it, MacRieve, if you keep calling me kitten, then I’m going to start calling you something equivalent, like hound dog—and then we’ll both be losers.”
    He grinned at that and asked, “So how much of my conversation with Rydstrom did you hear?”
    She pressed her fingers to her chest. “ Whaa... ? ”
    “Come, then. I know you were eavesdropping, witch. What did you hear?”
    “I heard you say you think I’m sexy. The... sexiest.”
    “Aye, easily,” he said, making her want to preen. “And what about you? You’re more attracted to me than you were to your boy demon.”
    “ Boyfriend . I said he was my boyfriend. And even if I was more attracted to you, I’d never feed your ego by telling you.”
    “How did you get him to let you go?”
    “Why?” she asked, feeling herself softening even more toward MacRieve. “Do you think he had a hard time of it?”
    MacRieve gave her an impatient scowl as if her question was ridiculous. And for the second time, Mari thought, I might be in over my head with this male.
    But I’m thinking I like it.
    “How long were you with him?”
    She shrugged. “Almost seven years.”
    “That’s nearly a third of your life!” he thundered. “Christ, I doona care for that. Did you... did you love him, then?”
    “Yes,” she answered honestly.
    His voice broke lower when he asked, “Do you love him still?”
    Over her shoulder, she said, “I guess a part of my heart will always be his.”
    When she realized MacRieve had stopped, she turned. She found his jaw clenched, his irises turning ice blue once more, and his claws shooting longer and darker. She was witnessing more of the beast even than before.
    Mari swallowed, again reminded that this was an adult Lykae male. And one who thought she was the mate he’d ached for over centuries. She was playing with fire. No more teasing, no more toying with the sex-starved werewolf. “Just forget I said anything—”
    He pressed her against a tree, out of sight of the others. “I want to stab my claws into this demon’s neck and rip out his goddamned spine.”
    “MacRieve, just wait... ”
    His hand shot out, covering the back of her head. He leaned down to her ear. “Tonight, I’m going tae make you mine, Mariketa.” His accent was thick, his voice rough, as if even his vocal chords were altered as he began to turn. “This other male might have part of your heart, but I will possess all of your body.” He ran his other hand from her neck down to her breasts, cupping them both in turn. Under his hot, rough palm her nipples were still throbbing—just as he’d promised. “Mark my words, I will claim you so thoroughly you will no’ recall any other.”
    Intensity... Gazing up at him, she felt so small and vulnerable and recognized that she should be afraid. Instead she was aroused once more—from his deep voice, from his hand fondling her, from the idea of his taking her hard, possibly within hours.
    “After this night, you’ll arch tae my touch and crave my kiss. When the heat is upon you, every inch of your body will recognize mine as its master.”
    She gave a shaky breath, shocked—and yes, excited—by his words and by his confidence.
    “It’s as